Under the title, "Bangladesh-er Nouka", a solo photography exhibition of photographer MA Taher is now on at the National Art Gallery of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Segunbagicha in the city. The exhibition depicts the vibrant life of people around the rivers of the country. Bangladesh is synonymous with rivers, and the boats are its lifeline. The photographs show, in vivid detail, the rich connection of the people of Bangladesh with its rivers.

Taher has been working on boats of Bangladesh for a long time. With the launch of the exhibition the people of new generation will experience the past glory of our culture. The present exhibition is about boats of Bangladesh. These photographs speak about the importance of boats in the life of people of Bangladesh and their historic value.

MA Taher said in his comment, "I've seen sailboats with plethora of designs in my younger days at the Sadarghat, Buriganga, Shitalakhya and Arichaghat river ports. Those boats are rare to find these days. Instead of the wooden boats, metal bodies can be seen more often now-a-days. The rivers have lost their tide and salinity; waters have been polluted due to the environmental degradation. Many rivers have been filled up by unauthorized occupiers and therefore our river communications have come to a standstill. Besides, modern means of communications have contributed to the downfall of river communications. For more than three decades, I've travelled from Teknaf to Tetulia and covered every hook and corners of Bangladesh. I have been fascinated by the beauty of rivers and boats and my camera lens had never taken a break from capturing these. I sensed the imminent extinction of our rivers and boats and hence I kept on capturing them as much as I possibly could. The fruit of this effort of mine is the current exhibition Bangladesh-er Nouka."

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