Bishwa Ijtema is and annual global Islamic Congregation held at Tongi, Bangladesh by the river Turag. It lasts three days and is attended by over five million Muslims, making it one of the largest congregations after the Hajj to Mecca and the gathering of Muslims in Karbala, Iraq. Devotees from approximately 150 countries, including the host country, Bangladesh, attend the three-day Ijtema seeking divine blessings.
The last day witnesses the maximum crowd with people flocking to the prayer ground for the “AkheriMunajat”. Roads get closed and trains constantly plying between Tongi and Dhaka become the only means of transportation. The sheer mass of people who travel to Tongi by these trains is a sight by itself. The prayer ground of 0.65 sq Km near Tongi rail station, clearly falls short of accommodating such large number of devotees and many of them perform the prayer on the road, Tongi station or on the trains.
On these day the Tongi rail station and its surroundings witnesses a sudden rush of incoming people and myriad of activities, actions & movements. It all seemed like chaos at first but when looked closely it was like waves, rolling in without obscenity, fracas or sadness and everything finally falling into place with the prayers. And when the prayers came it was all peace.
About Arka Dutta
I am a Mechanical Engineer by profession, living in Kolkata and an amateur photographer who loves to engage in social and cultural documentary related photography. Two of my great passions in life is travel and photography. I believe that travel broadens one’s view of the world and photography is my continuous lesson of living in the moment. I love to experience other cultures, meet different people from diverse communities. Through my photography I seek to document my own personal experience, and to capture the scenes and events as I see them and share them.
Living in the moment and capturing it, is my way of sharing with the world how I see things; whether it be humorous, sad, serious, playful, profound or just plain creative. Photography helps me to express my personality and how I view this world we all live in. Encountering the natural world both with my eyes and through the lens is an excellent reminder that I share this earth, this environment with all other living beings and also share responsibility for it well-being.
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All the pictures in this post are copyrighted Arka Dutta. Their reproduction, even in part, is forbidden without the explicit approval of the rightful owners.
1 comment
Great images that illustrate very well the emotions and experiences portrayed, good job!