City in Frame
Juicy, flavourful pineapples of Madhupur flood markets
Pineapples grown in orchards of Madhupur upazila are known for their flavour and sweetness. Farmers say yield is good this year,
A pigeon lovers’ paradise
If you are a bird lover, the pigeon market in Nayabati of Khulna’s Khalishpur is the place for you. Every
A day at the circus
Once a vibrant source of entertainment, the circus industry now fights for survival. Circus companies once travelled the country, especially during winter, showcasing the impressive acts of their skilled artists.
Jabbarer Boli Khela
Like each year, Jabbarer Boli Khela took place at the Laldighi Maidan in Chattogram on April 25. Sixty wrestlers took part in the 114th edition of the historic tournament.
It’s mango time
The mangoes of Satkhira have already won hearts at home and abroad. For the ninth time, farmers in the district are expected to export mangoes to different destinations including Germany, Italy France, Denmark, and the UK this season.
A cry for water
Over 100 families of at least 90 Mro neighbourhoods in Bandarban and its foothills face a severe water crisis almost every year, especially from January to May.
Crisis engulfing rivers of south
To protect croplands from saline water, a 4,800km embankment was built between 1961 and 1971 in the country’s southern coastal area.
Aman research: Gangarampur offers a ray of hope
In Gangarampur village of Khulna’s Batiaghata, a local farmers’ platform and a voluntary organisation have been researching Aman rice since 2009.
Gulshan Under Siege
Dhaka is shocked to the core as seven to eight men, aged between 20 years and 28, storm a building on Gulshan Road-79 housing “O Kitchen” and “Holey Artisan Bakery”, eateries popular with foreigners living in the capital. The gunmen take dozens of customers and staff hostage last night, and when police try to approach to negotiate, they hurl bombs and spray bullets killing two officials. Law enforcers cordon off the entire area and a standoff begins while family members of the fallen try to come to terms with the unimaginable. While law enforcers try to establish contact with the hostage takers, SITE reports that IS has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Biggest Shopping Bonanza of The Year
You don't only shop for yourself. You shop for your spouse, children, parents and relatives and friends you hold dear. Eid has become a time when we give gifts to our loved ones and that's why this month has become so big. From the tiniest of nose pins to elaborate Katan saris that have six figure price tags, from cufflinks to Rajshahi silk Punjabis, everything is bought and sold during Ramadan. The shopping arcades are crowded beyond belief. Everyone is in a hurry to get their shopping done before shops run out of the Eid collection and their sizes. And those who celebrate Eid outside Dhaka have more urgency. They have to get all shopping done before they head out for Eid holidays. The photos were taken from malls across the capital.
Fest of Fruits
Summer is the season people complaint about the heat and humidity and the rainy season for being too wet. But these two seasons have a special attraction that nobody can deny. They are the seasons of juicy and mouth-watering fruits. This is the second week of the rainy season, which comes right after summer in the Bangla calendar. The market is flooded with popular fruits like mangoes, jackfruits, litchis, and pineapples. The fruits are also added to iftar as delicacies. The fruit season thankfully coincided with the month of Ramadan.
Chawkbazar Charm
Hawkbazar has age-old tradition of being the capital's most popular iftar bazaar. Hours before the iftar time, makeshift food stalls open at this Old Dhaka spot with scores of iftar delicacies. Items that attract most include five-foot shik kebab and giant shahi jilapi. Another attraction is the grand “boro baper polay khay,” a chicken item mixed with puffed rice, fried chickpea, parched rice (chira), etc. The festivity and the food items make it a must-visit place at least once every Ramadan. This is also one of the oldest business hubs in the city.
Boro Bounty
The months of April-May herald the Boro harvesting season in the rural Bangladesh. Rice being the mainstay of the country's agrarian economy is the main cereal crop farmers grow in bounty. Thanks to a favorable weather and better crop management and inputs under their disposal growers are joyous to reap a bumper Boro this year. If these pictures, captured in the countryside, are something to go by - farming families are all passing busy days harvesting, thrashing, packing and marketing the freshly reaped paddies. In the hindsight, current market prices of rice are rather bearish that acts as disincentive to the growers of the investment-intensive irrigated-rice. Many pin high hope on government going into rice market with better price offer this year. However, delay in launching of...
A 100-year-old Wrestling Contest
WELL-OFF businessman Abdul Jabbar Sawdagor of Badarpati area in Chittagong organised the first Boli Khela in 1909 to encourage youths to join the anti-British movement and help them improve their physical strength. From then on this wrestling competition has been known as Jabbar-er Boli Khela to the people of the region. The competition has become a festival, and a three-day Baishakhi Fair is also held around it. This year the 107th Boli Khela was on the 12th of Baishakh and wrestlers from various areas of the country took part. People look forward to the fair at the Lal Dighi ground since special treats to home decoration objects are available there.
In Colour, in Music
Braving the sweltering heat, city dwellers thronged Shahbagh, Dhaka University and Ramna Park areas on Pahela Baishakh to welcome the new Bangla year. Clad mostly in red and white, thousands of people started gathering at Ramna Batamul as the dawn broke for the Chhayanaut programme. Then it was the Mangal Shobhajatra in front of the Fine Arts Faculty near Shahbagh. There were programmes in the area celebrating the new year all day. There was something for every one.
MURDER SPARKS OUTRAGE
The murder of Shohagi Jahan Tonu, 19, a second year student of history at Comilla Victoria College on March 20, triggered a nationwide protest. People especially the young have been enraged by what they say negligence in arresting anyone in connection with the murder of Tonu, whose body was found only a few hundred yards away from her cantonment home. Protesters have taken to the streets, blocked Shahbagh intersection, wore black badges, formed a human chain, and held a long march to Comilla demanding justice for the killing of the teenager.
Flower Fiesta
It was a burst of colours and fragrance at the Krishibid Institution in the capital. Roses, marigolds, lilies, gerbera, daisies, tuberoses and gladiolus were all competing each other at the two-day Flower Fest 2016 held there, winning the hearts of the visitors with their unmatched natural beauty. Not a single shade of red, yellow, green, pink, orange was missing and the flowers came in a whole range of shapes, which soothed not only the eyes but tickled senses with sweet and earthly scent. Organised by Bangladesh Flower Society, the festival celebrated both local and foreign flowers, arranged in beautiful banquets. Even the venue was adorned with yellow-orange marigold strings, creating a fairy-tale ambience.
A Spiritual Journey
Several thousand of Hindus perform pilgrimage on the Chandranath Hills, a 1,300-foot high retreat in Sitakunda Upazila of Chittagong, every year. During their journey to the top, the devotees not only enjoy the picturesque beauty of the nature but also connect themselves to the mysticism. They go there to visit Chandranath National Great Temple which has idols of Biru Paksha and Chandranath, Lord Rama along with Laksman-Sita-Byas Kunda etc. Legends say when Sita-Rama-Laksman of Ramayana were exiled, they stayed in the hills for days. A century-old puja and a fair was organised in the hills at the beginning of this month.