A meeting with the river...Through the eyes of the pupils of the Alliance Française of Dhaka, Bangladesh

We asked the Alliance Française of Dhaka to draw the portrait of the River Brahmaputra.

Thank you to François Grosjean, its director, and his pupils for sharing!

It would be the wolf. Depending on the countries it traverses and the light, the river can take on various shades of gray.

Accepting the reality of life. In Bangladeshi Muslim religion, as well as in Hindu beliefs, the concept of destiny is prevalent. The river symbolizes the connection between these different religions and the necessity of a shared destiny.

Red. Because the river’s water, like the blood flowing in our veins, is a source of life. This color recalls the blood shed for the country during the events of 1947 and 1971, resulting in over 3 million deaths.

0. The Brahmaputra is the origin of everything.

It would be the Jean Renoir film called “The River” that we have just seen in the class at the Alliance Française. It’s a glimpse, a film of old news, a story that shows the link between the fluidity of life, the symbols of life and death.

It would already be a character linked to Shiva. In Hindu mythology, Shiva let fall a lock of his hair, thus forming the River Brahmaputra. This mythical legend is deeply rooted in Hindu religious culture and symbolises the sacred link, a spiritual link between divinity and nature.