Coastal Frontiers Launched
May 30th 2012
Today marks the formal launch of the Coastal Frontiers website. We are delighted to welcome you all to our new home!
Image Gallery
This section contains our photographs from the field, of the Bay of Bengal’s coastal frontiers the communities that inhabit them.
The Irrawaddy Delta
The Irrawaddy Delta, photographed from 16,000 feet. The Irrawaddy, like the Brahmaputra and the Ganga and the Kaveri, has long been a highway between the Bay of Bengal and the interior: one of its many “coastal frontiers.”
Myanmar Port Authority
Headquarters of the Myanmar Port Authority. These were once the offices of the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company, which brought steam transportation to the Irrawaddy, linking it more closely with the Bay of Bengal’s shipping.
Irrawaddy River Pilot
An Irrawaddy river pilot, photographed between Bagan and Mandalay: colonial officials made many attempts to codify the expertise of local navigators—expertise that remains very much alive.
Rangoon Harbour
Crossing the Yangon River to Dalah. There is little sign, today, that Rangoon was the world’s greatest port of immigration in the late-1920s, greater even than New York City. But the ageing ferries on the Yangon River show that this is still a vital waterway, and teems with traffic.
The following photographs were taken by Debojyoti Das on a field visit to the Sundarbans in May and June 2012.
A fisherman preparing for deep-sea fishing.
A temple in the background, built by a local Hindu community.
Boat construction in progress.
Boats docked in Frazergung fishing port,
Sundarbans, West Bengal, India.
Coast Guard patrol boats.
Fishing boats in Bakkhali, Sundarbans.
Sundarban fisherman.
Windmill project.
