Boats set sail at Bengal
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 Contic 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 times 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.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. 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 Marre in an article published in the brochure brought out for the exhibition. 'Not only the shapes, but also the know-how and the timber used were of such good quality that English sailors had the idea of setting up naval shipyards in Chittagong,' writes Marre.
The boats have been collected from the different regions of the country. There are Dinghy, Baich, Kosha and Panshi from the vicinity of Pabna. From Serajganj have come Shandhi and Haranga. From the river of Surma in Sylhet 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 Shampans. There are the fishing boats and the 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, present the boats more realistically.
The endeavour of the Marres is noteworthy as it enterprises into upholding the rich tradition of Bangladesh. The display runs till October 11.