Boats, boat-building and traditions of connecting water based communication have always been rich and low cost convenient transport in Bangladesh. This is because of the geography of the country, which is part of the biggest deltaic plain in the world, sheltering the one of the most densely populated nations. About 50 percent of Bangladesh is covered in a vast river system.
Waterways and boats are thus understandably an integral part of the country’s communication system. While sea vessels from the Bay of Bengal adopted exotic styles due to the influences of foreign traders, the wooden boats of the inland waterways developed their shapes and forms free from foreign influences into more than 50 different types. These riverboats were built using skills and technologies that have been passed down orally by boat-builders from generation to generation.
Traditional country boats vary in design, size and constructions materials. They would be either of bainkata type or of flat bottom type. A bainkata type boat would have a golui fore and a spoon shaped hull whereas a flat bottom type would have neither. Commonly used timber in boats making are from local woods Jarul (Dipterucarpus turbinatus), Sal (Shorea robusta), Sundari (Heritiera fomes and Burma teak (Tectons grandis). River and boat are central to traditional Bengali culture like Bhatiali, a traditional form of folk music about boating, fishing and rivers and they fascinated generations of Bengali artists and poets. In fact without boats on can’t but think of riverine Bangladesh.
This is why, boats have been part and parcel of our day today life. To mark this traditional transport of river in Bangladesh, four stamps and a miniature sheet were issued by Post Bangladesh which shows this craft.
http://www.mediabd.com/newissue/images/asia/1/242e2.jpg
The stamp is designed after a photo and shows us a river watercraft the KUNDA which is made of a trunk of a palmtree cut in half, she is used on the Madhumuti River in Bangladesh
Bangladesh 2016 10t sg?, scott?
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/40513690
