Home Was The River is a visual narrative that embodies elements of performance and staging to explore my relationship with my Bangladeshi heritage. Water bodies and the Bengali identity have a symbiotic relationship as the homeland is surrounded by water and the people rely on water bodies for food and farming.

My most early memories of Bangladesh are filled with moments of being in presence with water: from the lake that would be filled with water lilies near our local moseque,  to my father teaching me how to catch fish, to the rice paddies in my sister’s home.

The slow dance sequence in the performance draws inspiration from Bhatiyali, a popular Bengali folk dance that originated among the boatmen and communities that lived near rivers.

Folk songs like Bhatiyali were traditionally sung by marginalized communities in Bangladesh as a way of forming a strong sense of identity and creating stories about themselves that have been passed down through generations.

This performance is a homage to my Bangladeshi heritage by donning the traditional Shelwakamez attire, carrying the lily flower in palms and recreating scenes from home to bring back memories of the comfortable sights and sounds of home.