This “Signs of the City” series began as a way to get me out the door in the highly urban environment of Dhaka: one thing I could count on finding any time I walked out the door was at least a commercial sign or flier, so I made it my goal to get out each day and photograph a sign or two, even when the heat was oppressive or the traffic unusually heavy and loud. During last month’s return to Bangladesh, after the unexpected departure of the PM (on August 5, for anyone who looks closely enough at the gallery below to wonder why the “36th July” painting), I saw lots of new graffiti and more color in both Cox & Dhaka than I’d seen in past visits. All the images in this post come from a wall around some large compound not far from the office.
Two more airborne shots from my Cox to Dhaka flight last month. North of Chattogram (Chittagong) and looking east northeast, above; and still in Cox, looking south, below.
Hadn’t seen this little enterprise on past visits, so when my colleagues asked (during a walk in the camps two weeks ago) if I wanted to pay for the adventure I took the chance. I wanted to help this guy do the pulling, but he was too proud. It was hard work for him and mildly unnerving for me when the little raft rocked a bit, but a new experience, and it seemed the onlookers enjoyed it as well. Given the landslips I saw during the walk, including reports of a few lives lost in some of these, I worried very much when overnight and the next day or two much heavier rains came. One ongoing goal for me is keep reducing my carbon footprint as much as possible, given the frequency of all these extreme flooding, heat and drought events I feel like I’m seeing everywhere.
Some street & city scenes from Cox. One of my first posts during this recent visit showed you a few new graffiti panels in Dhaka, and here you see more of this flourising and colorful new graffiti art which I’m told sprang up rather spontaneously after the sudden departure of the PM in early August. I’ll share more from Dhaka itself, later.
This “Signs of the City” series began as a way to get me out the door in the highly urban environment of Dhaka: one thing I could count on finding any time I walked out the door was at least a commercial sign or flier, so I made it my goal to get out each day and photograph a sign or two, even when the heat was oppressive or the traffic unusually heavy and loud. During last month’s return to Bangladesh, after the unexpected departure of the PM (on August 5, for anyone who looks closely enough at the gallery below to wonder why the “36th July” painting), I saw lots of new graffiti and more color in both Cox & Dhaka than I’d seen in past visits. All the images in this post come from a wall around some large compound not far from the office.
Some street & city scenes from Cox. One of my first posts during this recent visit showed you a few new graffiti panels in Dhaka, and here you see more of this flourising and colorful new graffiti art which I’m told sprang up rather spontaneously after the sudden departure of the PM in early August. I’ll share more from Dhaka itself, later.
(so much world, so little time....) 