Chittagong, Bangladesh- August 2017. Daugter of a migrant fisherman on the shore of Karnaphuli river. Fishing nets were getting prepared there as well.
From Lushai to demise
by Kazi Riasat Alve
From Lushai to demise, iPhone project depicting memoirs of Karnaphuli river, tale of the river and people living across it.
Karnaphuli, a river of Southeastern Bangladesh is the protagonist of the story. In the history of this part of Bangladesh the river Karnaphuli has a long significance. Personally I’m also very much connected to the river. I grew up on the other side of the river, as long as the time changed and I had to move to another side, in the urban side of the river. Thus Karnaphuli divided my life; this river is like a dividing line for my life. Through crossing the line I grew up as an adult from a child.
A small ship was being renovated on a dock in Karnaphuli river. There are some seating arrangements for tourists who usually come to travel the place. This place was not much busy but days by day the place is getting crowded with ships and tourists because of rapid urbanization.A goat was eating leaves on the shore of Karnaphuli river. The owner of the goat is a local inhabitant of the shore of Karnaphuli river, whose family is mostly depended upon the river.
Chittagong, a southern city and the major financial center of Bangladesh, where I’m living in as an adult. As like as me, the city Chittagong has grown as major city through the line of Karnaphuly. As time has passed and as long as Bangladesh is booming as an emerging economy in this part of the world, the city Chittagong is growing bigger and busier. But the river Karnaphuli is slowly proceeding on the verge of demise as the city grows.
Abdul Kashem, a former fisherman describes how billowy Karnaphuli river was during his childhood.A homeless destitute man was selling fish in a fish market situated on the bank of the Karnaphuli river. He collected those fish in a cheap rate from the fishermen who were working on the shore of the river.
The history and the ethnographic scenario of Chittagong have developed based on the line of Karnaphuli. As a photographer I decided to witness how the river shaped the livelihood of the people of this particular part of the country, and how the landscape is changing across the river Karnaphuli. As long the landscape is being changed, the connection between river and the people is also changing. Because of the urbanization and the continuous demise of the river many people’s lives has been changed across Karnaphuli. Many traditional livelihoods have been disappeared, many people moved to another profession. Through this story I’m finding these connections of people and the river karnaphuli.
Fishermen were making nets on the shore of Karnaphuli river. Some of them were having nap as well. Most of them are migrant fishermen and they get temporary employment durin an specific time of the year.
Signal room of a railway bridge which crossed over Karnaphuli river. That bridge was built during British colonial period and was only way of communication with other side of Karnaphuli. This railway signal room is still active after many years and reamains as one of the memory of colonial time of Indian Sub Continent.An abandoned caterpillar was seen on the bank of Karnaphuli. A drug addict person was resting there after taking drug. The river is also on the verge of demise just like the caterpillar and the person.The river Karnaphuli is gradually being dried up as a result from unplanned urbanization and as well as climate change. This photo was taken under the Karnaphuli bridge, which shows how the river is dying. During my childhood I travelled on boat through this point of Karnaphuli, which is now dried up and habitated by people.An abandoned sunken ferry ship on the bank of Karnaphuli river. The river itself is on the verge of demise just like this ship because of the unplanned urbanization.
Kazi Riasat Alve, 1990, is a Bangladesh based photographer, at first he majored in Marketing and communication studies but he always had a vision… More »
