If you ever wonder what the streets of Dhaka, one of the most densely populated cities in the world, look like, then these photos might give you a perspective.
This is a city of chaos. The street means it's halfway occupied by hundreds of random vendors selling different products. Most of our street looks like a mini market.
While we need broader streets and footpaths to go and walk freely, we have the opposite!
This one is from one of the popular streets in my area called 'Ring Road'. As I have said, the streets are occupied by small carts and rickshaws.
Everything is so unorganized, that even a countryman gets overwhelmed and can't cross the street without our help of us.
You may think that I was shopping but I was not, simply passing by on the footpath and this was my view.
When I see others talking about 'mindful walking', this view of the street comes to my mind. How can anybody walk here peacefully when they get rushed by a crowd of pedestrians, you have to fear pickpockets and whatnot!
Again, that's not all.
There are some roads with big shopping malls, and parking places, and things are very organized there. You guessed it right, this is a bit posh area where everything is a bit pricy compared to the other place.
You can say, if you have a good amount of money then you can live in this city comfortably. But people like us can't afford everything and have to adjust to so many things.
But the good thing is there's no restriction and you can go anywhere you like. I sometimes do window shopping when I come to this street. These are not high-range brands so I often buy from them. This time I was seeing their winter collection and sale products so I can grab some later when I can.
Blur photos are on trend, so I decided to add this one although thought to delete it.
Anyway...
All these comparisons reminded me of photos I have seen somewhere. It was a photo of Brazil where the city was divided by a river showing how life is different; one side is a posh area and the other is a slum.
The funny thing is, we have the same thing here. The place is called Gulshan, where a lake divides the city. And there one side is for the rich and the other side is for the poor living in slum or low-budget housing.
Yes, I was thinking all this, about life, about how we are living, this city, and everything while walking. Would you call it a mindful walk or a chaotic one? I don't know what but this is how life is here, this is what our city looks like at night.
