The sailor of Kheyaghat

The boatman of Kheyaghat waits by being tied to a strong bamboo pole or sometimes propped up by a logi bench. When the passenger arrives, take the boat and run to the other side. The sound of splashing water is very dear and familiar to them. He ran from side to side listening to this sound all day long. Kheyaghat is near the Dhaka end of the Babuganj Bridge built on the Buriganga. Even though the bridge has been built, the Khayaghat is still in operation. But the crossing of people has decreased, the income of boatmen from the neighborhood has decreased. It’s hard now. Days are spent in poverty due to lack of income. The last three lines of Rabindranath Tagore’s poem ‘Majhi’‘Māyadiha’ōrāji/ baṛahalēāmihaba/ khēẏāghāṭēramājhi’(“Mother if you agree/ When I grow up I will be/ A sailor of KheyaGhat) may have been cherished by these sailors of Kheya boat. Boats are intermingled with life in riverside Bangladesh. Due to gradual expansion of roads, railway communication, decrease in navigability of rivers, etc., there has been a decline in water communication. Over time, waterways have disappeared as riverbeds have become overgrown and inland tributaries have become arable land. Sailors are losing their jobs.