The River Buriganga in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Despite being the recipient of 80% of Dhaka’s sewage and other pollutants the Buriganga river always looks magnificent in spite of its human adversaries. This river featured heavily in the film I made with Hazuan Hashim ‘Going East’.

I took the above photograph in the late afternoon when the light was very diffused because of the smoke pollution—creating a silvery sheen on the water. The haze and smoke created a sense of heaviness.

The people in the foreground boat appear small compared to the industrial backdrop, suggesting a theme of humans versus industrial power.

Brick works and tall smokestacks emit thick, dark smoke that spreads across the sky, forming a heavy horizontal band. The smoke visually echoes the shape of the boats and divides the frame into layers —water below, industry above.

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