10 match's found in 'River' category -

Boat trip on Turag

In the hot glare of the August sun, we drove slowly to Muradnagar ghat through the heavy traffic. One of our team members developed serious phobia about water and became concerned about our plan to stay overnight in the boat. To the jeers of our other team members, she asked me with suspicion: “You must be truthful ... do you think our boat will be big enough and won't sink?”

Prelude of a dream

While our boat was moving near the sandy gentle slope of the riverbank, several boatmen called us to hire their country boats, transformed into steel plated boats powered by irrigation pumping engines. We boarded an open boat, amid much noise and billows of smoke. We edged our way through the crowded boats and began our voyage down to the Dhadhar char on the dead, calm and clean water, taking photographs of the changing panorama and birds. As the cool gentle breeze was blowing, we, sitting on the open boat, forgot about the comfort of a shade.

Sallying down the Sitalakya

Morshed is always unpredictable. You cannot guess when he will fly off the handle or when he is talking serious. So when he suddenly proposed a boat trip on his 'Ashar Tari', we were both sceptical and half-hopeful. All we knew is the next day's weather should be perfect for a boat ride -- a bit of rain, a lot of clouds, no sun and rivers swelled up with rushing water.

Sallying down the river

It was still 11 in the morning. But I felt the urge to know what was happening to our lunch. "Let's start the cooking," I suggested to Morshed with the hideous feeling that the peeled onions, green chillies, limes and garlic were all that was there for meal. There were no real ingredients like chicken and other things that Morshed promised the night before.

PART-1

Cloud gazers

Not the wide concrete Ghat, but the fruit bats hanging upside down from the banyan tree reminded us that we visited this place in Kapasia before. Sitalakhya flows so peacefully in front of us, full to the brim in monsoon.

Cloud gazers -PART-2

Verse of the sky

I softly launched the inflatable raft in the water, jumped on it and paddled along the shore. Then I rowed to the middle and gave up on the oars. I lay on my back on the soft, inflated raft and let it drift aimlessly. The strong current quickly carried me along and I did not bother to row back. The raft bobbed wildly in the lapping current . It sent a different feeling through my body. I felt so weightless -- like a feather; I could feel the water pushing against my back, making a soft gurgling noise, everything so effortless. I lay blissfully and watched the bank roll by, slowly like the pan shot in a movie; the Jam and palm trees, the thickets, the slopes, the erosion.

Pleasant Padma

We were out of Dhaka crowd and the spell of month-long scorching heat. We drove down to the Mawa ghat through the smooth metalled road under the cover of gray cloud and occasional friendly drizzle.

Sleepy Padma

The bone chilling wind whipped our cheeks. We cringed inside our armour of jackets, scurf and caps, seeking some warmth on this winter morning. But that did not help much. The boat moved slowly, like a mother duck. The thud of the engine seemed muffled by the chill, too. Very slowly it cruised down the Balu river and then fell onto Shitalakhya.

Contic experience Part-1

Sailing down the Jamuna

The boat sat there on the still water at Aricha Ghat. From the high bank, it looked quaint and rather ugly. We stood there nonplussed and wondered whether we had wasted our time coming so early on this winter morning to the Jamuna, and whether the ride was worth it. It looked like a long, low and rotting country boat. Very raw. A long pole had shot up into the sky from the middle of the bamboo canopy.

Contic experience Part-2

The enchanting chars

We were now in the middle of the Jamuna and heading towards the Padma. A wind got up and the chill factor multiplied. Our jackets and the thin shawls provided by the khalasis were proving inadequate. We climbed down to the deck. It is 23 feet wide and quite long. So spacious that you can have a good party there. We noticed something funny about the deck -- the front part which is exposed to the sky is warmer than the rear part covered by the canopy. We thought the engine must have its exhaust in the front. There was a manhole port and we opened it to go inside. Some empty wine bottles and water bottles lay there. The warmth remained a mystery.