Circling on the city

Ahsan Manzil by Tanzim Farha

"Again we have focused on the vicinity of the city such as the Buriganga river. We have also focused on details of city life and this includes Dhaka's nightlife where you see old elements side by side with the new such as a rusted van cart next to a flashy new car. In between are elements like parks and open space, which are not sufficient even though we enjoy them in some quantity. There is one picture in which the trees have been taken from the top and next to it is another photo focusing on the mushrooming multistoried buildings nearby with not a single tree around them. The contrast should provide the consciousness that we need greenery in the city too to bring in breathing space."

Asked how many photographs were there, Huda said that there were 51 entries comprising of the ones by eleven photographers i.e. Anwar Sadat, Din Mohmmad Shibly, Manzar-e-Shamim, Laila Anwar, Prodip Aich, Shahadat Parvez, Sanjida Shaheed, Sharin Syed, Mustafa Ali and Tanzim Farha. Talking about the selection of the photographs, Huda said, "We brought in buildings and old heritage, city life, open space and the negative side of development. The photographers were young ones. They are mostly students and organised themselves. 'Shilparag' gallery was initially involved with the 'Chobi Mela-1' when Nepal was focused on two years ago and so came in touch with these photographers. Beyond these is Manzar-e-Shamim, who is a middle aged physician who has a large collection of photographs."

Talking about "Shilprag"'s next project, Huda said that it would be organising an exhibition of local architecture. Elaborating on why he had selected the theme of the cityscape, Huda said, "I'm an architect and feel disturbed when I see that the city is not developing in the way that it should. We come across this in the media everyday and so I felt that this should be a fairly good theme for an exhibition so that it increases the viewers' consciousness of what is wrong with the city's development. Again, we can read the minds of the painters, photographers and architects who are an integral part of our society. The exhibit include both black and white and colour pictures as long as they reflect well the subject, bring in different angles, play on light and shade."

In Shahadat Parvez's photograph one saw an aerial view of the water mass in between Banani and Gulshan. One sees the slum along with the multistoried houses. Sleek cars are seen in front on a road that are contrast with the green-gray water at the back and beyond these are the tall Gulshan buildings. The photograph has been taken from the BRAC centre and presents three areas of land with the water in between. This was a colour photograph in green, brown, gray and white.

Parvez's other picture of Shakharipatti brought in an ally in which you saw buildings on two sides. The wires and poles coexisted with the shanty shops with their signboards. Passersby with objects on their heads and hands were included in the frame to make the presentation more picturesque. This was also in shades of gray and brown. Parvez brought in the contrast between untouched nature and mechanical mindless growth in a set of photographs, placed side by side. One was a green belt with the city beyond while the other had no greenery around.

A traffic light with orange oblong bulbs had been focused on by Din Muhammed Shibly against the backdrop of the royal blue glass wall -- that had been crisscrossed -- of a multistoried building, a common sight, now in the city. This focused on the modern building materials in Dhaka.

With the city in the misty romanticized background was a collection of boats arranged in a floral pattern in the photograph by Tanzeen Farha. In front were more boats while there were steamboats at the back.

The photo exhibition was both educative and interesting for the eye to linger over. It was certainly welcomed.