In Photos: Saturday Evening at a Temple in Dhaka

Older devotees recalled past tensions, including the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, while younger voices spoke of growing social distance.

Shome Basu

Older devotees recalled past tensions, including the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, while younger voices spoke of growing social distance.

in photos saturday evening at a temple in dhaka

The crowd at the Old Dhaka Dhakeshwari Temple. Photo: Shome Basu.

A Saturday evening at Dhakeshwari Temple during Shani Puja was alive with incense, chants, and a swelling crowd of devotees. Amid tight security and traffic, thousands gathered in a festive atmosphere reminiscent of Durga Puja. Visitors like Sujit Sarkar from Mymensingh dismissed narratives of constant hostility, pointing to the scale of participation. Moments of pause during the nearby mosque’s azaan reflected a lived coexistence. Older devotees recalled past tensions, including the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, while younger voices spoke of growing social distance. The evening revealed a complex reality of faith, memory, and identity among Bangladesh’s Hindu minority.

All photos by Shome Basu.

This article went live on March twenty-ninth, two thousand twenty six, at six minutes past eight in the evening.

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