In Calcutta, one of India's best-known large cities, many street people have been chased off to the city's outskirts over the past two years. The city took this action in the hope of attracting foreign investment. In addition, the streets are now cleaned twice a day, in the morning and evening. All such action, however, does not mean that poverty has disappeared. This photo, showing a mother and child early in the morning in busy downtown Calcutta, tells the story vividly.
Children come here to pick up small fish dropped from the boats.
I wondered whether the children took the fish home to eat with rice or whether they sold the fish to help support their families. Different from the notorious traffic congestion in Bangkok, rickshaws comprise an overwhelming percentage of the traffic in Dhaka. These vehicles are an important mode of transportation in the city. Since Bangladesh reportedly has the world's highest population density, that probably makes Dhaka the world's most densely populated city. Besides being the home of the world's largest movie industry, the city is also the home of just about any other conceivable kind of business activity.