Published on 02:22 PM, January 22, 2024
The many shades of the Bangladeshi winter
The people, flora and fauna take on a new attire. While some, with rugged clothes, get busy fighting the cold with very little on their plates...
Star Digital Report
As the biting cold takes hold, Bangladesh is seen dressed in many garbs encapsulating the sights, sounds and emotions that are ruled by winter.
The people, flora and fauna take on a new attire. While some, with rugged clothes, get busy fighting the cold with very little on their plates, nature dons new looks in nooks, corners, and alleys of Bangladesh.
Photos: Anisur Rahman, Prabir Das, Habibur Rahman, Sheikh Nasir, Titu Das, Amran Hossain, and Palash Khan.
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A day labourer warms her feet above a fire by the roadside in Rajbandh area of Khulna’s Batiaghata upazila. Amid the chilly weather, like her, many head out from home early in the morning in search of work. Photo taken on December 13.
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Covering himself with a woollen blanket, 95-year-old Narendranath Biswas sets off to the local bazar on a misty morning in Bill Pabla area of Khulna’s Dumuria upazila. Photo taken on December 18.
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GOROM GOROM PITHA … Vendors selling pitha, or rice cake, across the country are spending their busiest time of the year as people flock to their roadside stalls for some warm pitha, sweet or savoury with an array of bhortas, during winter afternoons. This delicacy is an especially favourite one for all Bangladeshis in the colder months. The photo was taken in the capital’s Karwan Bazar on December 19.
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Carrying a heap of dried branches, Sofia Begum walks back home in Rangasree union of Barishal’s Bakerganj upazila. The 65-year-old collects these branches to use as firewood. The photo was taken on December 20.
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WINTER WOES … While some strike luck and find discarded or donated pieces of clothing, others have only sacks or bags to wrap themselves in to stay warm. People on the streets are the worst sufferers during winter, as they have to resort to the cold footpaths under the open sky to spend their nights. The photo was taken in the capital’s Farmgate area on December 24.
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Holding books, five-year-old Azizul and his three-year-old sister Muskan walk back home on a cold winter morning in Rajabadh area of Khulna’s Botiaghata upazila. At the break of dawn, the two set off every weekday to attend Arabic lessons at a local madrasa. Photo taken on December 19.
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As the sun peeks through the treetops, its beams, piercing through the morning mist, leads the way for early birds. Donning shawls, sweaters and jackets, locals gradually step outdoors as the rays brighten the gloomy road in Khulna’s Dumuria upazila.
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WINTER DELIGHTS... After dipping a piece of bread into a cup of piping hot tea, Ismail blows off the heat before serving it to his sister Lamia, who eagerly waits for the next bite. Donning vivid hoody caps, the siblings enjoy the winter mist through small sips of the drink in Khulna’s Dumuria upazila. Photo taken on December 11.
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A woman looking at various shades of woollen yarn at the makeshift stalls near Bangabandhu Avenue in the capital’s Gulistan. With the arrival of winter, many are now busy collecting woollen yarn to weave sweaters, scarfs, and caps for themselves and their loved ones. Sellers here charge Tk 360-Tk 700 per kilo, depending on quality. Photo taken on December 12.
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Underprivileged people gather around a fire for warmth in Dhaka’s Indira Road area. The low temperatures over the last few days are causing difficulties for those living on the streets of the city. Photo taken on December 20.
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With dew drops gathering on a spider’s web, it may seem as if the webs have turned into jewelled wonders, every thread a string of gems as smooth as pearls and as sparkling as diamonds. Each of these “jewels” is a drop of water the web has collected from the misty air. Photo taken on the foggy morning of December 26 in Khulna’s Batiaghata upazila.
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A homeless man sits still in the winter morning, wrapped in a worn-out shawl. Like him, many others in the city have no place to take shelter in this cold weather. Photo taken near the High Court area on December 28.
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Gliding from one mist-drenched petal to another, an ant sips dew droplets sparkling under the freshly risen sun in Khulna’s Botiaghata upazila by Habibur Rahman on the morning of December 30.
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Covering herself from head to toe, vegetable vendor Hasina Begum waits for customers to arrive at the kitchen market near Abu Naser Hospital intersection in Khulna’s Khalispur on the first morning of 2024.
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As water recedes in Fukria Haor of Sylhet Sadar, farmers get busy with Boro cultivation. With a single reap a year being the farming trend in these lowlands, the cultivators have to wait for winter to plant paddy saplings, harvesting the crop before the area goes back under water during monsoon. Photo taken on January 3.
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After losing her home to river erosion, 75-year-old Bakul Begum moved to Khulna city for shelter. She took refuge at the railway station and survived by seeking alms. However, for many like Bakul, life has taken a more difficult turn due to the ongoing cold spell. Photo taken in Shibbari area on January 4.
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A mother wraps her arms around her son to shelter him from the cold as they ride a rickshaw van amid speeding vehicles. Photo taken near the capital’s Banglamotor intersection on January 9.
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Vegetables brought from nearby villages are being unloaded from boats in Sylhet’s Kanaighat Char Bazar on January 12. Growers sold each 100 cauliflowers for Tk 4,000 to Tk 6,000, depending on the size. Prices of winter vegetables remain relatively high in the kitchen markets for what traders say is a supply dearth owing to reduced production.
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Covering themselves in warm clothes, four children wait for the sun to peek out from the foggy skies. Photo taken in Sunamganj’s Jhawbazar area on January 13.
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