at the river 2....

riverside, old dhaka, dhaka, march 2012

we gave the images back. adnan and me. went down to the riverside, early in the morning, walked around, had breakfast and then searched for the people.

i never actually did this. giving images back. i send them via mail, yes of course, but actually to come around and give them back was something i just never done. i don't know why. i think it always a question of time. was too busy with other things.

like in new york, and the guy i met in brooklyn between factory buildings and empty streets. him and his friend. he tall ginger hair, very scinny and his friend, small and quite jobby. like in a good movie or comic. i talked with him, asked him if i could take an image of him, he said yes. asked him to fill out the paper an answer the question about the perfect day. so he did. asked him if he wants to have the image and if he could give me his mail. after a few minutes he asked what would happen if he would not have an e mail adress. i said i would sent it to him. he smiled. i never did it.

before i left i wanted to bring it to him, really, was so fascinated of this shy guy, withdrawn and quite, who talked so quietly. his teeth were blue, most of tehm in teh back and his shoulderbones, even wide and strong, were thin. thin body. they had a trolley with them, empty. said they wanna go shopping.

i still wanna visit him. one day, when i come back to new york.

 

“I would be in 10 years in my house, hanging out with my friends and my job would be owning a store in a corner.” Christopher Christman, 19

street, old dhaka, dhaka, march 2012

the market at the riverside. old dhaka. it is loud, incredible loud, messy. people are running up and down, cars, big lorries are coming. a lot of them. parking on the side road. at the same time, people wanna pass, having huge boxes full of oranges on their head. rickshaws in between. shouting from the lorries. the people with the boxes quiet. traffic jam. i am totally stuck, next to me a rickshaw lorry, next to a lorry, next to people and next to some stales with the food. me in between. where are my legs and try to fight for some extra space for my bag with my camera. people coming towards me, pushing me in a the right side. loose the balance. a bit. scream. finally the guys are looking. at least.

adnan said: i cannot believe how relaxed those people are..
me: well if you have this everyday i would be probably as well... cannot do that much isn't it?

shop, riverside, old dhaka, dhaka, march 2012

jam, old dhaka, dhaka, march 2012

shop 2, riverside, old dhaka, dhaka, march 2012

traffic jam from above, old dhaka, dhaka, march 2012

delivery, riverside, old dhaka, dhaka, march 2012

the first person we gave the picture back, was the young one. the guy who helped out in his father's business and wanted to go to dubai. got it promissed after ahving a training as mechanic in dhaka. till then he would work in his dad's business. he said. 2 weeks ago.

he was quiet. i gave him the pictures, said a few words in bangla. as much as i could. he just looked, looked at the images. quiet. i told him to go to adnan. at least he could talk to him. felt a bit weared.

people reacted differently to the images. the woman in the red dress who made plastic smaller held my hand all the time. like men would do it in bangladesh. a sign of sympathy, importance and closeness. we looked into each others eyes, i smiled. everything i could say was said. she just holded my hand, arm, tight.

the woman, who are cleaning the plastic paper are strong woman. tough. i would never ask them for a fight. i would loose. when i saw them the first time they were suspisious. about me, adnan and what we did. asked for money. the seocnd time they were still suspisious, but now proud. holding the picture in their hand, up.

adnan said later the guy was tiered. apparently he just woke up when we arrived. adnan got told by his friends and he said the young guy should wake up immediatly. i understand now. it was 8 am in the morning.

recycling, old dhaka, dhaka, march 2012

lorry, old dhaka, dhaka, march 2012

worker with jute, old dhaka, dhaka, march 2012

it is spring time. the wind apparently comes from the coast. that's why. i guess.

they are the second ones i saw within one hour. the first one i saw at the riverside, just haf an hour before. a boy, maybe 10 years old was playing.

he was good. the kite was hight his hand movements experienced. he did not care about the other kids. looked at the kite.

the kite was out of a plastic bag, fixed on a stick, the plastic paper well strapped around it.

he did not talk with me. i asked if i could talk with him, for our project, recycling. would be maybe nice, not sure. would give it a try. but he said no. ran away. was not interested.

before that he was searching for a moment in the pile of waste. hardly saw anything. just saw that he pulled out a little peace of plastic, did not even see that. imagine it. just saw him attaching another plastic piece as a tale onto the kite. looked perfect. maybe real genius don't have to pretend.

kiteplayer, old dhaka, dhaka, march 2012