Our boat trip went through small villages outside of Dhaka, and it was really interesting to see the locals bathing, washing their clothes, and swimming along the riverbanks. Some of the women who were bathing or washing their clothes in the river would cover their heads as our boat went by. Many of the children we saw would run and jump into the river and attempt to swim out to us. One boy was actually able to grab onto the boat for a few seconds before letting go. And everyone waved to us - people in boats, along the riverbank, and when we walked through the villages.
The boy in the bottom of the picture is the one who got a hold of our boat
Some fishing boats along the riverbank
More bathing/playing children
We saw a lot of boats carrying various things including bricks, vegetables and water plants
Here's a good picture of the houses along the river and the locals bathing and washing their clothes
One of the many nice things about being on the river was how quiet it was. There was the occasional screaming group of kids yelling hello while waving and jumping up and down, but that was about it. At least that was all we heard until we came across the boat pictured below. The boat was blaring loud Hindi music (at least I believe it was Hindi) and all of the women were dressed provocatively (for Bangladesh, that is) and dancing. I absolutely could not believe my eyes. The women here are EXTREMELY reserved - this was the last thing I thought I'd see in a Bangladeshi village. As they passed by, I overheard another woman on our boat talking to the guide. Apparently this boat consisted of hijras, a South Asian term used to describe physiological males who have a feminine gender identity. Hijras live in well-defined, all-hijra communities led by a guru, and they 'adopt' boys who are rejected by, or flee their biological family.
The word hijra is Urdu, derived from the Arabic root meaning "leaving one's tribe" and is now used in the Hindi language. Hijras have a long recorded history in the Indian subcontinent that dates back to the Kama Sutra period, between 400 BC and 200 AD! After hearing about them on the boat for the first time, I proceeded to google it when I got home. It is really quite fascinating!
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