Participating Artists Press Agency
“Shahidul Alam”
Wednesday 16th of October 2024 – page 1
Dhaka -
TThe shop used to be in nearby Dhanmondi, a more upmarket location. They didn’t need to pay rent for the roadside stall, but had to bribe the police 100 Taka…
Shahidul Alam –
Migrationpapa
Dhaka -
Many of the inhabitants of Sadek City Model Town live in narrowly packed lines of rooms made of bamboo. They can get water from nearby tubewells and have electricity for…
Shahidul Alam –
Migrationpapa
Dhaka -
The bed in this family home almost fills up the entire space of the 8 foot by 8 foot room. Things are stuck up on the walls to save space…
Shahidul Alam –
Migrationpapa
Dhaka -
Much of the land on either side of the Beri Bandh embankment used to be a swamp, and most homes are built on stilts. The refuse from nearby tanneries and…
Shahidul Alam –
Migrationpapa
Dhaka -
Rickshaw owners keep their own rickshaws in the garage for safety. They also let out the place for others who do not have enough rickshaws/rickshaw vans, to justify a garage…
Shahidul Alam –
Migrationpapa
Dhaka -
Most male migrants who come into from villages have skills like farming and fishing, which are not useful in the city. They initially work as rickshaw drivers or labourers. Rickshaw…
Shahidul Alam –
Migrationpapa
Dhaka -
Rickshaw wallas are very proud of their rickshaws and most rickshaws are brightly decorated. But with times getting more difficult, there are fewer adornments, and hand painted decorations are being…
Shahidul Alam –
Migrationpapa
Dhaka -
The Mohakhali Flyover, acts as a bus station, an open air market. An intercity train heads towards a station near the international airport. Dhaka Bangladesh by Shahidul Alam.…
Shahidul Alam –
Flyoverpapa
Dhaka -
Most people have a ‘tabiz’. They are usually small pieces of paper with writings from the Qur’an, packed in little tubes or small caskets. They are often tied around the…
Shahidul Alam –
Migrationpapa
Dhaka -
Photo studios are generally adorned with pin up of popular movie stars. Often clients request to be photographed as their favourite star. The studio generally has a full complement of…
Shahidul Alam –
Migrationpapa
Dhaka -
This is the man around whom I will be building my story. He lives on the upper floor of the wooden huts in Sadek City Model Town.…
Shahidul Alam –
Migrationpapa
Dhaka -
Looking into the sun from the rickshaw garage. Rickshaws get regularly ‘stolen’ and the garage is notified. Once they pay the protection money, they are told where they can pick…
Shahidul Alam –
Migrationpapa
Dhaka -
Kali is considered the goddess of time and change. Although sometimes presented as dark and violent, her earliest incarnation as a figure of annihilation still has some influence. Shahidul Alam/Drik/Majority…
Shahidul Alam –
Migrationpapa
Dhaka -
A narrow wooden stairway takes people to the upper floor of the two storied accommodation in Sadek City Model Town. The rooms do not have windows so the upper rooms…
Shahidul Alam –
Migrationpapa
Dhaka -
With the upper floors of the bazaar demolished, light and rain come through the new openings. Plastic sheets of different colours make up the impromptu rooftop. Nice colours and space…
Shahidul Alam –
Migrationpapa
Dhaka -
A rickshaw walla with his baby girl. While it is difficult to make ends meet with what one earns pulling a rickshaw. Once children are born, it becomes more difficult…
Shahidul Alam –
Migrationpapa
Dhaka -
The concept of privacy is very different in a home where the whole family lives in one room.…
Shahidul Alam –
Migrationpapa
Dhaka -
The footpath next to the Mohakhali Flyover is a thriving business area. A young man swats away flies from his freshly fried ‘shingaras’ meat pies. …
Shahidul Alam –
Flyoverpapa
Dhaka -
Kadar moton ghumai literally translates to ‘sleeping like sand’. It is generally used for small children who drape themselves around their mother, sleeping as if the world didn’t exist. These…
Shahidul Alam –
Migrationpapa
Dhaka -
You need very little to set up a shop. Here a balance and a wicker baskets and some plastic bags, make up the entire furniture. Even what is sold (legs…
Shahidul Alam –
Migrationpapa
Dhaka -
Most male migrants who come into from villages have skills like farming…
Shahidul Alam –
Migrationpapa
Dhaka -
The owners of the rickshaw garage are often themselves former rickshaw pullers. These owners are migrants too. Rickshaws often get stolen. They are also taken away by local protection rackets…
Shahidul Alam –
Migrationpapa
Dhaka -
As children we used to talk about Italian Saloons (‘It’ is a brick in Bangla, so these were saloons where you sat on roadside bricks). We also had Mongolian Saloons…
Shahidul Alam –
Migrationpapa