electoral campaign, 1991 Photo

Photographer’s Note

Another scan from an old print of a slide ; one of these days, if I ever stop travelling for a longer time, I'll work directly from the boxes full of slides taken over the years when working and travelling ; I guess that the original framing was larger but I had bigger lenses back then.

Jan. 1991 : not so easy to travel during the middle of the Gulf War but I did not encounter major problems despite the warnings from my embassy (I learned to say in Bangla "I'm not American, I'm not for Bush and not for Saddam, I'm just for Peace !"...)

This was also a pre-election time : with brick kilns and chimneys in the BG, in the outskirts of Dhaka, this boat was used by the Awami league team, the A.L. being one of the 2 major political parties but that time it lost the elections.

Bangladesh is a country of rivers and canals, more numerous than the roads ; this boat was heading towards a political rally in a nearby town. The colour of the party is green and its symbol, a country boat (seen on the flags - a big part of the electorate being illiterate, these visual signs are very important).
Deafening noises by very very loud-loudspeakers on boats, trucks, buses, cars, even rickshaws and cycles all day long !

(One can recognize the hand painted portraits of (among others) Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (the founding leader of Bangladesh, considered the father of the nation : he headed the Awami League, served as the first President of Bangladesh and later became its Prime Minister) and his daughter, Sheikh Hasina, who lost these elections (Feb. 1991) but who was the Prime Minister of Bangladesh from 1996 to 2001.

Her rival, Khaleda Zia, heads the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and won in 1991.)

cobraphil8, zmey, faubry, leo61, nicol_g, axiotea, ChrisJ, holmertz, Vasa has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

jasmis (50360) 2008-09-26 4:55

From a deep drawer... Really impressive presentation.

Regards my dear friend.

cobraphil8 (11652) 2008-09-26 5:40

Hi Catherine,
so impressive effect with this crowd on this boat is unbelievable that this happens even to float!
Good WE
Philippe

zmey (7250) 2008-09-26 6:19

hahaha, Catherine, this looks like one jolly boat; flashy colors, people sitting on top of each other (almost); i can easily imagine the sound of loudspeakers filling the air. i find it interesting to see the factory chimnies in the background.

TFS
kristaps

faubry (32291) 2008-09-26 7:54

tu ressors tes anciennes photos et ton scan n est pas si mal;; des couleurs chaudes et vives, impressionnant le monde à bord..
passe une bonne fin de journée
bises
francine

leo61 (43398) 2008-09-26 8:59

Hı Catherıne!
I am sure today ıt ıs stıll lıke thıs.crowded boats.
A good colorful shot and a good tıght crop.
Greetıngs fro Göreme
today a bıt raıny but stıll fantastıc
Leo

axiotea (16093) 2008-09-26 10:38

Salut Cath
Une photo reportage qui nous fait découvrir les banderoles du parti(de cette époque) et on peut s'imaginer l'ambiance frénétique qui peut régner à bord de ce bateau bondé... et le tout sous une belle lumière. Comme à ton habitude la note est intéressante!
Amitiés
Marilyn

hispic (7399) 2008-09-28 2:09

Hi Catherine,
Impressive shot of the very busy boat. Compressed perspective by telephoto lens makes plenty of punch. I like this deep saturation and strong contrast a lot.
Have a nice day, Hisashi

ChrisJ (70203) 2008-09-28 3:18

Hi Catherine

This brings back memories of my trip to Bangladesh in 1999/2000. Seems little has changed since 1991. That boat looks packed, in this superb daily life scene. Tfs! Amities.

holmertz (9636) 2008-09-28 12:08

Hello Catherine,
This is a picture that makes me smile. It's a "right-on-time" snapshot, telling a lot about Bangladesh. The colors are those of a scan, creating an old time feeling.
To explain my smile, I must tell you this story: Back in 1972 I took a train from Dhaka to Chittagong the day after some major political rallies in the capital. I arrived at the railway station only to find my train so hopelessly crowded that I had to buy a first class ticket just to get on. I counted to 42 persons in my compartment intended to seat 8 (or something like that). For hours I heard passengers from every other coach leaning out of their windows screaming "Maulana Bashani" (the popular leader of an islamic party), as the passengers of the other coaches leaned out and shouted "Bangladesh Communist party".
Best wishes,
Gert

Vasa (5500) 2008-09-30 4:08

Bonjour Catherine,

la composition chargee de details et le sujet bien informatif. Les couleurs que j'aime. Le bon photographe a la bonne place et au bon moment. A ne pas croire, il y a 20 ans... C'est une bonne idee de nous montrer ce moment decisif de Bangladesh, chere amie.

Je tiens les pouces pour la suite.

Branko

Photo Information

Copyright: Catherine M D (noborders) (14199)
Genre: People
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 1991-01-00
Categories: Event
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): ~ Bengal (Bangladesh and W. Bengal), ~ some scans of old photos from Asia [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2008-09-26 4:09