SURPRISING BANGLADESH, refreshing & much more...

Come to Bangladesh and experience tourism in a new light---refreshing and much more. Bangladesh in its essence is perhaps best symbolized by the Brahmaputra. In Bangladesh, it is known as the Jamuna, the Padma and finally the Meghnabefore it opens into the sea. The Brahmaputra is a river of timeless, mythical proportions. This is a journey through time, a journey that explore the dynamics of river, itself an enduring legend—and the people who live along its diverse shores. The journey is both geographical ans spiritual –from the Bay of Bengal to the source, from Islam through Hinduism and Animism to Buddhism. It is also a journey through the maze of cultures that sit outside the mass religious and cultural practices of South Asia. It is the story of the people, cultures and customs of a river that is older than the Himalayas, other than time itself.

For Bangladeshis the river is alive, the life-giver through its offerings, and death itself in fury. At its widest, the banks are separated by miles.

Again on this river under the looming monsoon sky, fishermen haul in their catch f Padder Ilish (Hilsa from the Padma). Life on the river is changing. The plaintive Bhatiali song is being replaced by the drone of the engine. But still, the river remains central of the Bangladeshi way of life and Abbasuddin’s songs still drift across the waves of the majestic Brahmaputra.

The deltaic land, its unspoilt verdure, the warmth of a hospitable people, their ancient heritage cradled in pristine folds of nature in again vibrantly contemporary, the modern bridging today with the romance of yesteryears.

Basic Facts

Official Name	People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Capital	Dhaka
Area	147,570 sq km (56,977 sq mi)
Population	162,221,000 (2009 estimate)

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