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A bird's eye view of the flood

HARUN UR RASHID
here's a magnificent aspect even in the struggle of our poor countrymen, especially at times of natural calamities like floods. Foreign photographers fail to see this facet of the country and present Bangladesh as a land of poverty, misery and natural disasters. But our youthful photojournalists can see the gleaming side of that struggle,' said eminent litterateur-educationist Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, while inaugurating a photography exhibition at the Drik Gallery on September 4.
Indeed, displaying some unique glimpses of the people's struggle against the odds of the recent floods, Drik Picture Library is holding the exhibition to raise funds for the flood-
afflicted people. The two-week exhibition is being held on the occasion of Drik's 15th anniversary. The display contains 40 photographs by 16 photographers from different projects of Drik, including Out of Focus and Pathshala. up for sale, the photographs have been priced at Tk. 2000 each without frame.
The photographs in this exhibition reveal not only the grievous aspect of the floods but also the inspiring and humanitarian characteristics of our people. And this ranges from religious activities to daily household chores to different personal and organisational relief endeavours. One photo, taken by Foysal Ahmed Dadon of Out of Focus, thus portrays some Hindu women of Kamrangir Char pouring milk into the flood water as a ritual,
hoping that the floods would subside.
A number of pictures show families living on rooftops. While living in such misery, these people are not away from their daily work: a picture by Swapna Akhter thus brings into focus a boy swimming through the flood waters while carrying containers filled with drinking water. Another photo of Rabia Sarkar Rima shows a boy holding a teapot and a cup above the water level and swimming towards those awaiting the leisurely opportunity.
The pathetic aspect of the floods has also been captured in several photographs. Abir Abdullah's picture focuses on a corpse of a child tied to a small banana-raft having arrived at a ghat in Kukkurhat village in
Gaibandha. Another of Abir's photos show some people living on houses installed on a thick layer of floating water hyacinth.
Like many places of Dhaka, the posh area of Gulshan also went under knee deep water and an aerial view of Gulshan became the subject of Reza's photographs.
At the inaugural ceremony Muhammad Zafar Iqbal was all praise for the photojournalists of the country as 'they are carrying out remarkable work, often risking their own lives.' He also pointed at the increasing use of digital cameras, which have definitely heightened the quality of photographs. 'And Drik's exhibition is an attestation to this,' said Iqbal.
The exhibition runs till September 17 from 3 pm to 8pm.