Summary

The website content is a personal narrative about a photographer's journey through Bangladesh, capturing moments that reflect the culture, daily life, and festivals, while reminiscing about the past through the lens of photography.

Abstract

The photographer, Suntonu Bhadra, shares a collection of images and stories from his travels across Bangladesh, highlighting the essence of life and the significance of photography in preserving memories. Through his lens, he captures the spirit of places like Mirpur, Shitolokhkha River, and the Charukola Institute, showcasing the vibrancy of festivals, the serenity of nature, and the bustle of daily life. The images, taken with a Nikon D90, are accompanied by reflections on the experiences that shaped his understanding of the country's rich cultural tapestry. The photos serve as a medium to revisit the past and relive the moments that have left an indelible mark on his memory.

Opinions

The photographer believes that photography divides human life into a series of moments, each valuable as a complete existence.
He values the stillness in photographs that can capture and recall memories.
Traveling and photography are seen as ways to connect deeply with places and their cultural aspects.
The photographer finds beauty in the reflection of light on water, highlighting the vividness of nature.
He appreciates the preparations for cultural events, such as the Mongol Shovajatra, as an integral part of Bangladesh's heritage.
The images and the stories behind them are cherished as a way to keep the past alive and relive precious moments.

Photography ▪ Country ▪ Past Memories

Shadows Of The Past In Captured Images

and associated background stories

Image title: **Shadows of the Past.** Image courtesy: the writer. All rights reserved by the writer.

“Only photography has been able to divide human life into a series of moments, each of them has the value of a complete existence.” Eadweard Muybridge (Quoted)

Images tell stories, stories that merged within the stillness! The stillness the photographer tried to capture and recall — the recall of the memory that was visited.

Traveling in different places brought a lot of exposure and experiences for me. The madness, the serenity, people, cultural aspects, heritage, party, clubs, wild-life, street-side foods — everything connected me to know more about the places. And, the pictures captured the related memories to cherish later on days.

Following are some pictures shared from my 500px account, with related stories. I hope you will enjoy the ride on the pictorial journey.

Title: Gladiator Posture (almost)!

Location: Mirpur 13.5 Sector, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Every weekend, our friend group used to roam around different parts of our country, Bangladesh. On one of the weekends, we didn’t schedule any place to visit, and the time was ticking. One of my friends lived near the location, and when we came to pick him up from his residence, we decided to explore the place, as suggested at that time for a cup of tea, adjacent to the site.

Once we went there, we decided to spend the rest of the day on the spot, as it was still an unexplored zone for any visitors. A greenfield, open and crowd less, we spent hours and hours walking around, photo-shoots for Facebook, and returned home after the sun-kissed the grasses before it went to hide in the sky.

This picture was when we were entering the field. Russel Crowe’s Gladiator walk in the open grass field, with the song of Enya, that’s what I thought once captured the snap.

Some other captured actions:

Left image title: **Breaking obstacles**. Right image title: **Revenge**. Image courtesy: the writer.

Title: Reflecting Light.

Location: Shitolokhkha River, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

I took the above pictures during another one of our weekend outings outside Dhaka. After a fruitful tour, we were returning to the capital and decided to have an hour’s break beside the river, nearby a cement factory.

The light’s reflection made a smooth color splash over the water, which triggered me to capture the vividness through my camera lens. A soft glow, with ravishing palette shadow on the calm water, the picture came out A-Okay, I guess. Nights were brighter in youth!

Title: Souls in shadows or reality!

Location: Charukola Institute (Art School), University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.

It was the last day of the Bengali calendar (চৈত্র সংক্রান্তি, Choitro Sankranti), and the art school was getting ready for the 1st day of the Bengali calendar. The students and the faculty were making the necessary preparations for the next day’s big procession (Mongol Shovajatra, মঙ্গল শোভাযাত্রা) and 1st Boishakh (পহেলা বৈশাখ, 1st day of the 1st month in Bengali Calendar), which still is one of the biggest festivals celebrated in Bangladesh and West Bengal part of India.

People gathered inside the institute to see the preparations of art, masks, statue, dolls, and color festoons. Along with that, local songs and cultural shows took place under the trees within the institute. I captured the image while roaming around, observing the preparation phase, and the canvas was waiting for me to take a snap. So, I did.

By the way, Mongol Shovajatra is one of the ‘intangible cultural heritages of the world’, announced by UNESCO in 2016.

Left & middle Image title: **Choitro Musicals.** Right image title: **Masks.** Image courtesy: the writer.

Title: The saga of life.

Left image title: **Busy Boatmen.** Right image title: **Life goes on.** Image courtesy: the writer

Location: On the bank of the river Jamuna, Bangladesh.

I took both the pictures on the bank of a river around the year 2013. The morning scene around the riverine side was always busy.

Boatmen were gathered on the riverside to take goods and people for crossing the river. People gathered to cross the river and attend the nearby Bazar (market). A crowded fish market nearby, where just-caught fish from the rivers were wither sold or served as dishes. A busy vibe on a regular day, everyone was on the mark to start their daily chores, crowded and eventful moments ahead.

Life goes on; memories might remain. The time tickles, and we leave our past. But cherishing the moments can relive the moments, even for a tiny bit! The last (2nd) image depicts the meaning of life; it moves on.

Each one has distinct memories, with different connections to those places. Time moved on; the moments are still fresh when viewed in these images.

Camera used: Nikon D90, 18–105mm.
All the images are under the writer’s 500px account, rights reserved. Picture source is mentioned in the link here.

Suntonu Bhadra ▪ December, 2020