Dhaka City at Night, March 2009

A Night-walk in Dhaka with the TTL Buddies
Dhaka, Bangladesh
19-20 March 2009

The big photography exhibition is drawing near. 57 participants, 57 photos. Drik Gallery; 25-29 March 2009. Needed some publicity. One of the most effective ways to publicise is to spread some posters around. Thats what was done. An event was devised. "Through the Lens: Bangladesh" (TTL) group of Flickr organsied this extraordinary event to support yet another great event. It was decided to conduct some postering around Dhaka City. The best time for postering is night. So, we all came out with our cameras at night. It was one crazy event. But one of the most memorable.

We all gathered around Drik Gallery at Dhanmondi between 10-11:00 at night. We had a rickshaw van with us with the posters and glues. We started off after 11:30PM and roamed around Dhanmondi. We were more interested in having a close look at the city at night. This is what we always miss. Everyone of us had a hidden desire to go out with a camera at night. But none of us really managed to do this. And all wanted to be a part of the publicity team for the big exhibition. So, when this crazy event came up, everybody jumped in. We had a total of 26 participants. Shawon Da was the craziest among us; joining us from Sylhet. He finished his office in the afternoon and boarded the bus. A lot of others were ruining their luck for not being able to participate. We missed them too.

From Dhanmondi, we went to the Dhaka University area and did our work there. The last part of the walk was the most interesting. We went to Old Dhaka and found the whole area bustling with activity. This is what is normal for that place. Businesses the works during the early hours and rest of the day they take rest. We ventured into one of the very busy local restaurants and had biriani.

We came back to Dhaka University area again and had "adda" there. Some of us had enough by around 4:15AM. Others waited for the birds to sing.

It was an unforgettable event. Thanks to all the TTL buddies for making this a special success.

Here are some of the glimpses that I was able to capture during this walk.

From Dhaka City at Night, March 2009

In the name of religion........... I've noticed and snapped this particular deposit box in too many places around the country..... this deposit box concept thrives on the religious sentiment of the population....... the original beneficiaries of this particular deposit box is in Patuakhali, in the south of the country.....

From Dhaka City at Night, March 2009

12:12AM, Dhanmondi
Duty is pain.......... even though its a duty, sometimes it becomes too much to handle...... especially when its a night shift........

From Dhaka City at Night, March 2009

12:19AM, Dhanmondi
Goal........... they jumped in front of car headlight....... not quite Ronaldo, but you can't keep them away from being one at the dead of night..... their football was a PET bottle...... but their expressions didn't say they were that unhappy about it......

From Dhaka City at Night, March 2009

12:40AM, Dhanmondi
Guarding culture......... our culture has many contrasts..... this is what you'll regularly find in a Third World country....... modern concepts like beauty parlours go parallel with traditional concepts like religious gatherings ("waaz mahfil").... one tries to guard the tradition, while the other tries to keep away from reach....

From Dhaka City at Night, March 2009

01:16AM, Dhanmondi
Tearing through......... the Dhaka City Corporation has its own ways of managing its duties..... the City was never planned at its inception....... all the infrastructure is built as its needed...... this calls for constant civil works in different parts of the City......... here, the road is being dug up at the dead of night....... morning will find the road in total mess........

From Dhaka City at Night, March 2009

01:47AM, Dhaka Univerity
On the base of freedom........ homeless people spending the night at the base of Raju Memorial........ the sculpture was made as a symbol of people's determination not to let terrorism control us......

From Dhaka City at Night, March 2009

01:56Am, Dhaka Univerity
The night is still young......... this young man was not feeling as tired as others around him....... something, some thought, kept him awake........

From Dhaka City at Night, March 2009

02:00AM, Dhaka Univerity
And he had enough............

From Dhaka City at Night, March 2009

02:08AM, Dhaka Univerity
Freedom is a relative word........ its difficult to imagine what brings freedom to whom....... but one thing is for sure, it brings peace of mind.......

From Dhaka City at Night, March 2009

02:32AM, Old Dhaka
Priority........ our priorities differ....... and we adapt to situations according to our priorities....... others may consider this difficult or impossible, since the priorities of their lives are different..........

From Dhaka City at Night, March 2009

02:34AM, Old Dhaka
Bustling..........01
restaurants of Old Dhaka at their busiest....... businesses here come alive at the dead of night...... the people engaged in those businesses dine at these restaurants at the most unusual hours of the day....... but its completely natural here......

From Dhaka City at Night, March 2009

02:34AM, Old Dhaka
Bustling..........02

From Dhaka City at Night, March 2009

02:35AM, Old Dhaka
Chicken time......... a chicken is being taken out of the cage for slaughtering...... it would soon be served at the restaurants...........

From Dhaka City at Night, March 2009

02:37AM, Old Dhaka
Puzzle..........

From Dhaka City at Night, March 2009

03:24AM, Dhaka University
King of the streets..........

From Dhaka City at Night, March 2009

03:29AM, Dhaka University
Moonrise over Raju Memorial............

Jahangirnagar University Naturewatch, September 2008

Jahangirnagar University Naturewatch

12 September 2008

It was a quickly organised tour. JU has always been one of my favourite spots for a quick getaway. So, when the call for the tour came up, my heart leaped! My recent trips came in May and February in 2008. The February tour was a birding tour, but the May tour was a tour of Summer colour. This time it would be mostly a birding event. I took my birding equipment with me and left everything else back home.

Birdwatcher of Bangladesh (BoB) was the tour organiser. They are the most avid birders around here. Its difficult to match their knowledge and enthusiasm. Faisal Bhai of TTL Group in Flickr gave the impetus; though a little late at night on the 11th. But 5:00 in the morning?? You gotta be kidding! I would've struggled even if it was 8:00AM! But when I met one of the birders the day before, I got inspired. Why not give it a try? May be not as early as 5:00AM, but 8-8:30 would be manageable. This is the month of Ramadan. Other times would've been a little easier.


Bronze-winged Jacana.........


Rufous Treepie...........

Going to sleep after the late night Seheri and waking up by 7:00AM wasn't an easy task at all. Neaz Bhai was my travel mate; while others reached JU a zillion hours ago! We boarded the bus by around 7:45AM. The road was clear and we eased to JU by around 8:15AM. The birders were already at work near the Fazilatunnesa Hall. The large tank near the Hall attracts a lot of migratory birds in the winter. A lot of spectators also flock here to enjoy this marvel of Nature. But this is Autumn. And the tank was largely empty. Not quite actually. A single Bronze-winged Jacana was finding its food among the floating plants. This became my first victim. The trees on the northern end of the tank was full of many types of birds. But the single Rufous Treepie captured my attention more than anything else.


Asian Koel..........


Red-vented Bulbul.........

Others were moving south. So, I thought it would wiser to follow the experts. That way, it was possible for me to find the birds much more easily. On the way, we found quite a few birds and had a field day clicking. Asian Koel, Red-vented Bulbul and others kept us busy. The experience of others helped them to capture more shots more quickly. I tried to follow them as much as I could.


A couple of juvenile Asian Koels waiting for its Common Myna mother.......

We found a couple of juvenile Asian Koels sitting right beside the road. They were waiting to be fed by a Common Myna mother! Well, this is a species that apparently relies on other birds (in this case, Common Myna) to bring up their children. The Koels are actually bigger than their mother Myna. We didn't really get a look at the mother though.


An Orange-Headed Thrush moving around the bush.........


The ever busy Coppersmith Barbet.......


Coppersmith Barbet having a feast......


Indian Pond Heron also joined us at a nearby tree........

We proceeded and hit the jackpot! A single Orange-Headed Thrush was jumping around the bush near a big tree. Everyone readied their guns! This single bird also introduced the Coppersmith Barbets on that tree. This is a beautiful bird; very colourful. But its colours are extremely hard to capture. Its a very busy bird and is constantly moving from one branch to the other. The thick leaves of the tree provided the crucial cover from the sun and made our lives difficult. The shadows under those leaves made photographing these birds damn difficult. But the birders were persistent. And when I say persistent, I mean it! They clicked the heck out of those Barbets! I don't know how many thousands of clicks those birds attracted, but it certainly didn't prove enough when the birders literally had to be taken out of that place! I also found an Indian Pond Heron on a nearby tree; spotted by expert birdwatcher Zamir Bhai.


The juvenile Scaly-breasted Munia allowed us to go "macro" close!!


But they kept on having their feast........

That place around the tree provided more opportunity to shoot and made the tour worthwhile. The bushes around there had a whole flock of Scaly-breasted Munias. We went close. Closer! Closer! We went close as long as the distance was the minimum focusing distance of the lens! It seemed like a bird-macro! I wondered how could we all go so close to those birds, yet they didn't bother to move! One of the birders gave me the reason: "they're juvenile". They're yet to get their full training. They just continued to eat right in front of our clicking machines.


Indian Pond Heron looking around..........


Spotted Dove basking in the Autumn sun.......


The silver beauty: Kaash Phul.......


Some were just hanging in the air.......


There was a whole bunch of them.......


Some were drying their wings........


Others were reaching for the Autumn skies......


Some were trying hard to distinguish themselves from cotton!!

By around half past nine, we started to move. We moved towards the vast open spaces behind Mohsin Hall. The path towards that place was also not devoid of birds. I snapped an Indian Pond Heron and a Spotted Dove on the way. But what caught my real attention on this path is the "Kaash"; "Kaash Phu". These white marvels just bogged me down while others proceeded. I simply couldn't leave these cotton-like beauties without snapping. This is Autumn; Bengali season of "Sarath", and Bengali month of "Bhadra". And this season is characterised by those silvery white flowers. For some time I was wondering whether I would be able to get a view of Kaash this year. I can't complain now. The Kaash was at its full blossom there. Though the whole place wasn't flooded; yet it was enough for me to continue clicking. I fell behind; but with a very valid reason.

I proceeded very slowing; stopping on the way. By around 10:00AM I was at the big playing field and found the birders toiling away under the scorching sun. Some of them were crawling on the ground looking for that rare glimpse! I enjoyed their enthusiasm more than anything else. But I didn't have the energy to chase the birds like they could. We were all tired actually. None seemed fit enough to continue this venture under that kind of heat. Most of us were also fasting; so, thirst grew up to our tongues and made us call it a day.

We were all tired. But it was a great trip. We had a lot of fun and for me especially, it was a trip of knowledge. I was able to learn from them things that otherwise would've been very difficult for me to get. I came back tired physically; but mentally I came stronger; for yet another naturewatch, which may come pretty soon. I would keep my fingers crossed.

Jahangirnagar University: The Beauty of Summer [May 2008]

01 May 2008

As Jahangirnagar University (JU) is one of my favourite places for a quick getaway, I always look for excuses to pay a visit there; even if thats during the scorching heat of summer. During my last visit to JU on 15 February, I put Sakran, my wife's cousin, on Krishnachura alert! I told him to call me the moment he find the red flowers in full bloom. That being the case, Sakran all on a sudden called me on 27 April. I knew that I had a long weekend coming, starting on Labour Day. But I needed to be sure of my time; so, I waited until the 30th before I gave Sakran my full go-ahead. Told him to stay there. As usual, I looked for partners. But people were busy for the day, I had to stick to my own individual plan.

Original plan was to jump into the bus before 10AM. But the heat seemed too rough; so decided to start during the afternoon, when the sun would become at least a little tired. I boarded the bus exactly at 4:00PM and reached JU by 4:45. Scorching summer heat didn't give me any respite during the whole journey. Saw a few Krishnachura in bloom right beside the main gate. Sakran told me to come to his hall. Once I reached there, I found Sakran in the middle of an inter-batch cricket match. So, we waited until the match was over (Sakran unfortunately lost) and he got freshened up a bit. I watched the Indian Premiere League match for the time being. Anyway, we were on our way to walk around the campus by 5:15. The sun became quite bearable by then. We took a northerly route from Sakran's hall (Al Beruni Extension Hall) and went past Transport and Munni Sarani. It wasn't long before we started to find some Krishnachura on fire. The road took us towards the Vice Chancellor's house and beyond. The last part of the road was particularly fascinating. Before the JU School and teachers' quarters, we could see the road decorated with beautiful colours. We took our time to take photos as well as enjoying the beauty of nature.

Before long the sun set in front of us. A scorching summer day went down with the sun. But this is a place where one can really see the beauty of nature. Most would like to hide themselves from the sun. But sun is the reason summer gets such magnificent colours. Our country is blessed with six seasons. And before we go near the nature and feel it, we do not realise what makes this blessing so unique.

I boarded a return bus to Dhaka in the evening. The weather was no pleasant even without the sun. But hey, what would I except during the summer? And we need summer if we want the nature to bloom. We have to accept what nature brings for us; because thats were the beauty lies. This is one beauty man cannot create; at least for now.