A photo story by Moiyen Zalal Chowdhury
As you walk down the path of Ashulia on a holiday, a thought may cross your mind, wish I had a plot here! I could see the beautiful nature by opening the window, and I could get relief from the suffocation of the city. You are also jealous of the friends you know who’ve already confirmed this paradise. See the next one.
Have another look at the previous one. Your troubles and aspirations will increase a little more when you discover that the metro rail has started from here. Now you could go to the office quite comfortably, avoiding traffic jams. Ah! You could post selfies sitting in the sky. Waterbody on the right. Just wow. See next.
See the previous photo. You look a little further. How complete the river is! You can come here in the afternoon and take pictures. There will be such landscapes. Proceed to the next photo.
Go back to the previous photo. You may think, what is exactly these two people are looking for at the river? The river boundary? Leave it. There is nothing much to worry about these people. What kind of people would they be who sit like this on the road? They surely do not live in those flats. See the next one.
See the previous one. You will go to Birulia Bridge. From there, you will want to take beautiful pictures to post on Facebook. Looking at these trees standing on an island, you will try to figure out which drama you watched on YouTube where you saw this scene! You will also feel like going. But like the previous picture, this sand-carrying launch will not grab your attention. You will find no meaning in this pillar in the river. The excitement of boating on the right side’s boat will play inside you. See the next one.
See the previous photo. You are absorbed in the dream of securing your place in this condominium. And look at the next one in the desire to have tea in a clay cup next to the Birulia Bridge.
Revisit the previous photo. You can’t make a connection with the sand dredger and the place on the left in the river. You wouldn’t think that the place on the left wasn’t there. The river has occupied that place earlier. See the next one.
See the previous one. You may not have noticed, but the dog may have noticed that there was a river a few days ago. Now giant cranes are coming and filling up the river, biting the land. That traditional dredging pipe is there. And the man who is supervising is looking at someone with a camera and moving forward with suspicion saying, “Who are you, brother? A Journalist?” See the next one.
See the previous photo. If you ever stop and think, you can think. This is what happens. First, it is filled with sand, which loosens the river. There is a chimney nearby, from where the bricks come. There are two towers, and there is the network. There is a camp, and labourers come there. There the guys become male leaders, brokers and build new buildings. They dream of owning the building. In that building comes the idea of making a new income by advertising cement. Shameless catkin flowers still bloom there. People come here to visit. Fuchka stall opens. The cycle continues. Dhaka continues to grow. Nature is defeated. The end.
মঈন জালাল চৌধুরী সহকারী অধ্যাপক, ইউনিভার্সিটি অফ লিবারেট আর্টস। পি এই চ ডি ও পোস্ট ডক করেছেন জাপানের হিরোশিমা বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ে।
