Much of Bangladesh is flooded for almost six months of the year. Movement is restricted and people are confined to their dwellings. We look at the daily routine of people in a village in the northern province of Sunamgonj.
The rainy season, which lasts from May to October, transforms the landscape. The only way to visit the local market or neighbouring villages is by boat.
There is no bus service between the villages and the market, so people have to walk or take a rickshaw. During the rainy season, however, there is a water-borne taxi service which collects people from the villages.
During the rainy season, fields are transformed into lakes with a plentiful supply of fish. This forms an integral part of the Bangladeshi diet and can also provide a good source of income.
The flooded fields provide a perfect environment for relaxation after all the daily chores are finished. Plastic bottles are tied together and used as water-wings by young children learning to swim.
Dwellings have to be built on higher ground because of the annual flooding. Villages are often found in clusters of two or three, interlinked by rickety bamboo bridges.
Several generations will live together in the same dwelling. In these extended families, grandparents look after the children who are too young to work with their parents throughout the day.
Communal pumps supply fresh water from underground springs. This is used for drinking and bathing but in some areas, there is a risk of the water being contaminated by arsenic which is naturally present in the ground.
Almost all available land is used for growing rice or grazing cattle. Traditional methods are used to plough the fields but if they can afford it, a farmer will hire a modern machine which is quicker and less labour-intensive.
Women are usually responsible for harvesting and drying the rice. Afterwards, it is placed into sacks and stored, while any surplus generates income for the family by being sold to traders in the local market.
Because animals cannot graze in the fields during the rainy season, hay and rice stalks are collected and stored. Everybody, regardless of sex or age, contributes to the work which needs to be done in the village.
Cows are kept in a shed during the night to keep them safe from both predators and rustlers. They are washed in the pond every morning to keep them clean and healthy.
Livestock is sold at the market every Saturday. The busiest time of the year in at the end of Ramadan, when heads of Muslim families traditionally slaughter an animal to celebrate Eid ul Fitr.
Most dwellings are constructed with plaster and corrugated iron, but people who have left the village send money home to build proper houses for their families. Words: James Melik. Photographs: James Melik/Israil Ali
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