Bangladesh in Two Weeks: Dhaka → Jessore → Khulna → Bagerhat → Mongal Port → Sundarbans → Dhaka → Dhumrai

Earlier this month, I traveled to Bangladesh with the primary intent of visiting two of the microfinance field’s premier institutions, the 2006 Nobel peace prize winner, Grameen Bank, and BRAC in order to gain insight into a different set of microfinance/microenterprise development models developed to address the larger issue of poverty. The trip also served as an ideal opportunity to explore another part of South Asia, unique in its blend of cultural, religious, and linguistic character.

Dhaka is the city of rickshaws (400,000 run each day), which may possibly be the primary mode of transportation for its 16 million inhabitants by day and 13 million inhabitants by night. The sites of Dhaka are diverse in architecture, mirroring its history as part of several Indian Hindu dynasties, Buddhist kingdoms, the Mughal empire, British Raj, and East Pakistan before evolving into the modern capital city of the 1971-established Bangladesh.

Rickshaw drivers awaiting business outside the Pink Palace

The city is situated along the Buriganga river, and its Sadarghat serves as a lively economic center, where merchants and clients engage in the buying and selling of a variety of goods.

Boatmen of the Buriganga River

Trading at Sadarghat

The lone boatman

Religious shrines and monuments are in abundance, and Dhaka is believed to have been named after the Dakeshwari Hindu temple, honoring one of the many forms of the goddess, Kali. Azaan can be heard five times a day, and the melody and vibrations never cease to stir my soul, evoking an overwhelmingly surreal divine sensation tugging within the depths of my core. The Star Mosque (Tara Masjid) is one of the most ornate mosques of the city, studded with blue star motifs and colorful shards of Chinese porcelain. After visiting this piece of history, we moved on to the Lalbagh Fort, which is an incomplete Mughal palace fortress that was abandoned after the death of the daughter of the Mughal leader at the time, Shaista Khan.

View of the Lalbagh Fort upon entering

Dormant at the Fort

The Tara Masjid

Ornate decor of the Tara Masjid

Preparing for Jumma (Friday) prayer

Bangladesh is home to three UNESCO world heritage sites, of which I visited two. Bagerhat, a historic mosque city, is located in Khulna division in the southwest corner of the country. There are over 50 mosques and mausoleums that were constructed under the Mughal ruler, Ulug Khan Jahan, mostly made of red brick, blending Mughal with more modern architectural styles. The most significant of these is the Shat Gombuj Masjid, containing more than 60 pillars and 81 domes.

View of the Shat Gombuj Masjid from the Bagerhat museum

The Shat Gombuj Masjid

A few of the Shat Gombuj's 60 pillars

The three-domed mosque of Bagerhat

Pilgrims at the shrine of Khan Jahan

Perhaps 200 kilometers away from Bagerhat is the second world heritage site, the Sundarbans, the “single largest block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world” and home to the notorious man-eater, the Royal Bengal tiger. The forest covers 10,000 square kilometers, of which 6,000 are in Bangladesh and 4,000 fall within India. In order to reach the forest, we hired a small engine boat from Mongal Port and rode down the river for nearly 2 hours before reaching the Karamjal Wildlife breeding center, where I’ve never seen so many alligators cooped up in a single space. Deer and monkeys are also bred here to ensure that the forest’s wildlife remains replenished. Once we reached our second stop, the hiking began through the forest with an armed escort in the case that we were to chance upon one of the man-eaters. Unfortunately, the most exciting sighting was its month old paw prints amidst the lingam-like roots of the mangrove trees.

The Sundarbans mangrove forest

The lingam-like roots of the mangroves

Paw prints of the notorious man-eater

On the return to Mongal Port, we stopped to visit some of the several fishing villages that exist in pockets along the river. Several hundred thousands of people have lived here for generations, primarily living off of the income from selling fish. They’ve suffered a series of disasters that have made life difficult and dangerous. In 2007, the entire area was hit by Cyclone Sidr, resulting in the loss of nearly 10,000 lives. Entire livelihoods were destroyed, provoking agencies like BRAC and Grameen to intervene and provide rehabilitation and development support to these villages. Homes have been rebuilt, and additional livelihood activities such as shrimp harvesting have been promoted to provide additional sources of income for these communities. But, the communities’ daily threat originates from the Royal Bengal tiger, which claims 100 lives annually. In the area we visited, claims were made that nearly every household had lost one member to the man-eater!

Fishermen village in the Sundarbans

Camaraderie in the village

View of fisherman's home from the river

Bangladesh is not yet a tourist attraction, and posters have been erected to promote tourism within the country, stating, “Come visit Bangladesh before the tourists come!” which I found quite amusing. But, I do think I’ll be back, whether it be for work or to explore the eastern coast, containing the tea gardens of Sylhet and the world's longest continuous beach of Cox’s Bazaar.