Mymensingh, Bangladesh
08-09 May 2009
I got wind of this from Mustafiz Bhai sometime in late April. He was planning to combine two efforts from two types of creative people in the same place. The place was no other than Mymensingh, the place of Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin. They would visit the places that inspired the timeless works of the Shilpacharya. Some renowned artists would break free, and some photographers would capture moments in their frames. The idea instantly caught my attention. I decided to give it a go! The time was the 7th of May 2009, Thurday, evening; when we start for Mymensingh. A busy Friday and Saturday later we would be at Dhaka once more. But all on a sudden my luck turned towards the dark. I got official duty on the 9th, which made my going incomplete. I lost interest and began to think of some activity that would at least keep me busy on Friday morning. While I was thinking of the cheap alternative, my luck turned again late on Thusday afternoon, this time towards the brighter side. My official work was canceled and I was free. I called and I booked my place. Although I couldn’t become part of the team that left Dhaka on the night of the 7th, I could still be part of a smaller team that was going for a single-day return journey. I got tagged with Mustafiz Bhai and his small team. The artists and other photographers were already there at Mymensingh on Thursday night.
We started off at around 6:30AM, after an odd, but severe transport problem forced Mustafiz Bhai to pick me from near my place. We lost half and hour because of this. My humble apologies were trying to hide my face in that sparsely-crowded vehicle; without any success though. Anyway, once we were on board Mustafiz Bhai’s 4x4, we needed no worry. He was flying through everything that come his way! Even before we could make it to Mymensingh, we could imagine that we would reach there before our expected time of arrival. And that’s what happened. We reached Mymensingh before 9:00AM; early enough to catch everyone at breakfast. We arrived at the Agricultural University campus in Mymensingh. We fetched the place where our other team members stayed the night. It was a nice dormitory. We found them at the breakfast table and didn’t think that we needed time before we could sit at the table; we were hungry like hell.
Anyway, even from the morning hours, we could imagine the weather awaiting us; it was hot and humid. But it couldn’t deter us from starting off. As soon as we had our “khichuri” breakfast, we moved. Three vehicles carried us through the university campus. We crossed the Shilpacharya Zaidul Abedin Auditorium and couldn’t help take some snaps of the great sculpture “Bijoy ‘71”. Light was bad, yet we clicked. But we had to board our vehicles quickly because we have several places to visit within the day. We would be coming back to the campus; so, we would get more opportunity shooting the sculpture. This is one of the most organised university campuses I’ve seen in Bangladesh. A very well-designed campus that provides a real joy to any visitor. It was planned/designed by a renowned architect Paul Rudolph. This was my second visit to this campus. Last time I visited this place was back in 2005.
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
Radha Shundori School......... still declaring its existence......
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
Doors that are always open..........
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
There's always hope at the end of the tunnel........
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
They're now part of the structure.........
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
Peekaboo..........
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
A hole that is big enough.........
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
Spreading wings........
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
Divide and rule..........
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
A message...........
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
You're part of Nature..........
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
Empty hallways..........
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
A new hope emerges from the ruins..........
Out first target was Mrittunjoy School, the school where Zainul Abedin studied and developed his devotion to art. He studied here in the early 1920s and then moved to Kolkata to study art at the Government School of Art. His teachers at Mrittunjoy School encouraged him to go for further study in art. We arrived at the school just before 10:00AM. There was another school adjacent to Mrittunjoy School, which had some old ruins. We moved there and got perplexed by the state of the ruins. Established in 1927, Radha Shundori School’s original building was in absolute ruins and looked like shaky enough to come down with any kind of quake. We explored the ruined building in detail, amazed by the textures created by time. Our artist friends also went about their duty. Overgrowth of all kinds devoured all parts of the building and their roots created some natural pillars along the walls. There were cracks on the floors and holes in the walls. Graffiti adorned the ruinous walls in some places and carried the messages of some groups with specific aims.
The ruinous building wasn’t alone though. There were other newer buildings within the compound, which were active and classes were regular in those buildings. This particular building stood almost like a museum. We went there on a holiday; the school was closed. But there were cultural classes going on there. Music and dance schools for children were open. These cultural classes were run privately by Udichi. We watched the students sing the national anthem and then they went about their usual practices.
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
An artist's impression.........
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
Some fields were waiting to be harvested..........
We left the school by around 11:00 for Zainul Gallery by the Old Brahmaputra River. Once there, we found that there was some kind of program going on inside the gallery. So, we went straight for the river. The Brahmaputra was low to say the least. By around 11:45AM, we were crossing the river on boats. In fact, the other bank was not actually the other bank of the river at all. It was a huge shoal in the middle of the river. The shoal looked like almost a permanent one. There were people living there on the shoal. Paddy fields were in abundance there. It was the time for harvest. Some of the fields were already harvested. Others were showing off their golden colours, waiting to be harvested.
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
There's a poet in all of us.........
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
Playing at marbles..........
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
A small dispute............
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
"And here I go........"
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
Guarding the gates..........
the marks on the earthen walls suggest that there's a newly-wed bride in this house...... these are her hand-prints, which are supposed to bring good luck........ a Hindu tradition..........
The weather was extremely challenging for us. It was hot and extremely humid; drenching to be exact. We were struggling to keep ourselves fit. There was hardly any cover there in the shoal. Some of us found some houses and trees and tried to utilize the shades. We also very much enjoyed the cool water from the tube-wells. It seemed like from the heavens in that severe heat. Some children were playing under the shade with glass marbles. They reminded us of the olden times. Our Roman Bhai joined them for a bit of childish fun. By around 1:15PM, we decided to move. We crossed the river once more and tried to get some rest.
We had a refreshing lime drink at the other bank. But we were surely exhausted. The exhaustion was on everyone’s face. We boarded our vehicles and started for the Udichi office, where we were supposed to have our lunch. The cool shade of the Udichi office was almost too much for us. As soon as we finished our lunch, we were down. We lay on the floor like dead. It took some effort to move us out.
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
Inside the huge Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin Auditorium........
We thought a cooler place would be the Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin Auditorium inside the Agricultural University. So, we went there and sat inside the empty hall. It’s a pretty big auditorium as we discovered, and it was cool too. But it didn’t give us the comfort we were looking for. So, we moved off once more. We moved to the dormitory and found a comfortable place to relax there. We relaxed until the temperature became tolerable.
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
Colours of Summer..........01
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
Colours of Summer..........02
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
Colours of Summer..........03
We moved again by around 5:00PM. We walked and enjoyed the beauty of the nice campus. Big water-tanks were surrounded by lines of trees, leaving nice reflections on the water. We though we could come back there before sunset. Summer flowers adorned the roads and alleys everywhere. We proceeded towards the river.
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
Afternoon activities on the Old Brahmaputra.............
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
A refreshing dip......... it was a hot day indeed......
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
Sharmin.............01
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
Sharmin.............02
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
Sharmin.............03
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
Sharmin and friends..........
The Old Brahmaputra seemed very calm and without a lot of activities. Only some boats were there in the river, mostly ferrying people to the other bank (the huge shoal) of the river. We found some children bathing in the water. They made us think like a child. It was hot and we were dreaming, if we could join them there in the water. But we cooled ourselves with some refreshing clicks. The children were more than happy to pose in front of our cameras. They showed us the smile that keeps them going. They aren’t the luckiest people on earth, but they sure know how to smile.
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
"Bijoy '71"
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
"Bijoy '71"
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
"Bijoy '71"
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
"Bijoy '71"
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
"Bijoy '71"
We moved right after 6:00PM. The sun was down and the light began to fade. We went to the sculpture (Bijoy ’71) once again. We found the morning light too harsh, but this time, the evening light was just about perfect. We snapped a few until around 6:35PM.
It was now time to pack. A group of us already left for Birisiri in Netrokona. I have a plan to give a visit there too, but not in this season. I plan to make it in autumn (sarath). The other group was planning to go back to Dhaka. I had a different plan altogether. I kept an option from the start. I wanted to see how much I could manage during the day. I knew I had already missed the morning lights. So, I thought if the day’s efforts didn’t give me enough, I would try to stay back for another morning’s light. The day’s efforts were just too hectic for me; and the light conditions also didn’t suit me that much. I decided to stay back.
So, it was time to say goodbye. The team of artists took their way, while the photographers took theirs. It was a nice experience capturing the same frame in different canvas. This was a new experience for everyone. It was also the start of a new venture. People from different lines of creativity coming together to exercise their thoughts. Mustafiz Bhai gets a big thanks for bringing us on board. And he’s already started to think about the next venture. And I don’t want to miss that one too.
Anyway, I went to the town and stayed the night at a Station Road hotel. I went to Station Road instead of staying at the university dormitory. This suited my morning venture more. Once I reached the hotel, I could discover how tired I was. After a refreshing shower and an average dinner, I fell flat on bed. I had a plan to wake up early. My target was the Shambhuganj Bridge.
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
A gloomy awakening...........
The morning broke off amid a cloudy sky. Within 6:00AM, I was at the bridge and found the sun quite high already, although the sun was basically behind the clouds. If I had any plans of shooting some landscape depicting sunrise, I had to dump that instantly. I could realize that I was late.
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
The dried-out Brahmaputra could deceive you........ the embankment tells you what the river becomes in the rainy season.........
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
Morning silhouettes..........
Last time round I found some fishermen on the river. They were fishing with nets on the shallow waters of the Brahmaputra. But I couldn’t find a single fisherman this time. I couldn’t find the reason behind this difference. Anyway, this time the river contained a bit more water than last time, as I observed. I was attracted by the huge embankment being constructed on the western bank of the river. I wanted to have a feel of the structures being built to counter the force of Nature.
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
"I've seen a lot of that"
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
That beast climbs so well.........
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
Tag team.....
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
Riding the beast...........
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
Eyewitness.........
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
Hope............
 |
| From Mymensingh, May 2009 |
Hopes............
As soon as I arrived on the western bank, some heavy construction machinery moved in. These monsters made great noise and went about their duties. A bulldozer was flattening soil on the embankment and in the process, began to slowly move towards the edge of the embankment. I thought the vehicle might drop off the top of the embankment. But I was amazed by the traction power of the monster. It literally moved over the slope of the embankment like a giant lizard. This was my first experience watching the power of such machines. Another earth mover moved in and started to move soil on the embankment. There were onlookers near the machines, eagerly watching the activities that might just give them a better security in the rainy season. The river may die in the dry season, but it will surely come back hard in the rainy season. The massive embankment and the high watermarks on the pillars of the bridge are the evidence of the river’s two faces.
I stayed there on the embankment up to almost 7:00AM. I was planning to catch a morning bus; so that I could reach Dhaka before heavy traffic slower progress. I packed up and proceeded to Mashkanda bus stand. The return journey to Dhaka was of two-and-a-half hours. It wasn’t as tiring as it might have been if I was planning to return to Dhaka the night before. The other team reached Dhaka overnight on the wheels of Mustafiz Bhai. They said that he drove like a champion. I wonder how he could manage that after such a day.
The tour was a mixed bag for me. But there were some new things that came in front of me and new ideas that made me think. Another tour is always another lesson; and always an inspiration for more tours. Mymensingh is fast becoming one of my set touring areas. Only time will tell.
