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Boats set sail at Bengal

Our rich tradition and variety of boats on display

Harun ur Rashid
With replicas of boats, life-size sails on masts, anchors and anchoring lines, radar and merchandise, the gallery at the Bengal Shilpalaya at Dhanmondi has taken a look of a port. Entering the gallery,.one will just get struck by the magnificent display of replicas of boats. And wliat curious names of these boats’-Balam, Patam, Malar, Bajra, Podi, Ghashi, Kosha, Jong, Shampan, Pansi, Shandhi, Haranga and so many more. The gallery holds an exquisite display of different kinds of boats seen plying in the rivers and coastal areas of the country.
Yves Marre and Rumi Marre Khan have organised the exhibition. The couple has already become familiar to the Dhakaites for their noble endeavour in presenting a treasure trove of our rich culture. They founded a tourism company named Comic in 1977. They journey across the waterways of Bangladesh in Malar and Kosha boats collecting information and designs of various country boats. And the boat carpenters of the Char Kalyanpur of Pabna have created these replicas of boats from those designs.
As a riverine country, boats have been the major means of transport since limes people started to settle in this fertile land. And settlers built boats of extremely varying natures and shapes and most unique designs. However, foreign influences have often affected the designs especially in cases of sea-vessels. On the south of the biggest delta of the world is the Bay of Bengal, which has been the gateway to foreign traders. Hence we get the Chinese-influenced Shampan with a Chinese name, the Arabic-influenced cargo boats and others.
The traditional boats of Bengal not only differ in designs; these designs are also among the safest ones in the world as well as the most well-adapted to the Gulf of Bengal. ’Scientific studies carried out by western architects confirm this fact,' mentions Yves Maire in an article published in the brochure brought out for the exhibition. ‘Not only the shapes, but also theknow-howand lite limber used were of such good quality that English sailors had the idea of selling up naval shipyards in Cltiliagong,'wrilcsMarre. The boats have been collected from the different regions of the country. There are Dinghy, Baich, Kosha and Panshifrom the vicinity of Pabna. Prom Serajganj have come Shandhi and 1 laranga. brom the river of Surma in Sylhcl comes Ghugi, from Kushtia comes Balam, and from Khulna comes Podi. Among the boats seen in the rivers and coastal area of Chittagong are the very well-known Sltampans. There are the fishing boats and die cargo boats that also ply the riverways of the country carrying
goods.
The only aspect that would seem a bit monotonous about the display is that there is little variety in the colour of the sails of these boats. Perhaps a few more colourful sails could be used for these beautiful replicas. That would, in fact, presenl the boats more realistically.
The endeavour of the Maires is noteworthy as it enterprises into upholding the rich tradition of Bangladesh. The display runs till October 11.