Reimagining public journeys: Reviving folk culture on Bangladesh’s rails and rivers
Public transportation systems move millions of people every day, yet they rarely engage the deeper cultural life of a nation. In Bangladesh, however, the two great arteries of mobility – railways and river routes – offer an extraordinary opportunity to reconnect travel with culture.
Bangladesh Railway connects dozens of districts across nearly three thousand kilometers of track and carries hundreds of thousands of passengers daily.
Similarly, the country’s vast river network supports one of the most important inland waterway systems in the world. Thousands of passengers spend long hours traveling by train, launch, or river vessel, moving through landscapes that have shaped the nation’s cultural memory.
There is significant potential to use these public transport systems to revive folk and traditional performance and artworks, leading to a resurgence of national culture.
The proposed national cultural initiative seeks to integrate Bangladesh’s traditional folk arts with passenger services on both railway and inland waterway systems. Train and river journeys could be transformed into vibrant cultural experiences through live performances on railway platforms, inside train compartments, and on the decks of river vessels such as launches and passenger ships.
Bangladesh’s railway network connects 44 districts and serves hundreds of thousands of passengers daily, while the country’s extensive river system supports one of the world’s most significant inland waterway transport networks. Recognizing the long hours many passengers spend traveling, the initiative proposes using these public spaces as platforms for cultural engagement and heritage preservation.
Imagine a train departing from a district town where passengers waiting on the platform witness a short puppet performance or a folk music recital before boarding.
During the journey, performers move through selected compartments presenting brief cultural segments – regional songs, humorous folk narratives, or mime performances that reflect the heritage of the region.
Similarly, river journeys offer a particularly poetic setting for cultural expression. On the open deck of a launch traveling under the evening sky, passengers might listen to Bhatiyali songs that echo the long tradition of riverine music in Bengal.
On moonlit nights, storytelling, Baul music, or short folk theatre performances could transform an ordinary river journey into a memorable cultural experience.
Such performances could also serve an important civic purpose. Folk performance traditions have historically communicated social messages in engaging ways.
Artists could incorporate themes related to environmental conservation, public health, anti-corruption awareness, and social harmony, thereby turning entertainment into a powerful tool of public communication.
The benefits of such an initiative would be considerable. It would enhance passenger experience by transforming routine travel into a cultural encounter.
It would create new employment opportunities for folk artists whose traditional professions are under threat. It would preserve and archive valuable cultural traditions through documentation and digital recording. And it would introduce younger generations – and international visitors – to the richness of Bangladesh’s folk heritage.
Under the proposed program, traditional artists would present short performances during train departures, station waiting periods, and selected segments of train journeys.
Similar performances could be organized on the open decks of river vessels during inland waterway travel. Performances may include regional folk songs, Baul and Bhatiyali music, puppet theatre, bioscope shows, mime, magic performances, storytelling, and short folk theatrical presentations.
The initiative also proposes establishing a national database of folk artists and organizing training workshops to prepare performers for audience engagement in transportation environments. Participating artists could receive stipends or performance-based honorariums, creating sustainable employment opportunities while encouraging the continuation of traditional art forms.
In addition to entertainment, performances may incorporate public awareness messages related to environmental protection, river conservation, public health, anti-corruption initiatives, and the Sustainable Development Goals. Historically, folk performance traditions have served as effective tools for communicating social messages to broad audiences.
The program may initially be introduced as pilot projects on selected railway routes and key inland waterway routes such as Dhaka-Barisal, Dhaka-Chandpur, and Khulna-Barguna. Pilot implementation would allow organizers to assess passenger response, operational feasibility, and optimal performance formats before expanding the initiative nationwide.
The initiative also envisions documenting these performances through high-quality audio-visual recordings, creating a digital archive that preserves rare artistic traditions while making them accessible to researchers, cultural institutions, and future generations.
By combining transportation infrastructure with cultural programming, the initiative aims to enhance passenger experience, preserve endangered folk traditions, generate employment opportunities for artists, and promote Bangladesh’s cultural heritage to both domestic and international audiences.
If implemented successfully, the program could position Bangladesh’s railway and river transport systems as innovative platforms for cultural preservation and public engagement, turning everyday journeys into meaningful encounters with the nation’s living heritage.
(The author is Professor of Theatre and Performance Studies, University of Dhaka).
