The contrast between the natural beauty of the countryside always amazes me; the harshness of growing up in the city and rural life is always different.
This is the mapping journey of my contribution on September 17, 2022, at Shiala Bazar, belonging to Barabihanali Union Parishad of Bagmara Upazila of Rajshahi. I checked the map to see if the location existed on maps, and it wasn’t there. After taking pictures and adding places on the maps, the people around were curious about what I was doing there.
When some people voluntarily come forward in the interest of mapping, the moment is memorable; the feeling as a Google Local Guide is different;
This was a unique market where the shopkeepers did not have to close their shops for mid-day breaks or prayer breaks; they were always open, which was interesting.
Shri Niranjan has been doing a tea stall business in Fatepur market since 1992; I was very excited to hear his story while adding his tea stall to the map. After hearing the story of my mapping work, he invited me for a cup of tea in his hand. The most outstanding achievement from these people is love, which cannot be expressed and written down.
I knew from the story that Mr Niranjan’s house is in Bilshimala village of Sonadanga Union Parishad of Bagmara upazila; he has five family members, including his wife, two daughters and a son. From this shop, he makes an average of 2,500 takas (about $25) daily and manages his family well with it.
People in rural towns quickly get in touch with new people and share their experiences. One such is Md. Masud Rana, working as an area manager in a pesticide company. Seeing my enthusiasm for mapping, he asked me about the process of contributing to maps and asked if I could show him the details procedures. I tried to show him the initial process and also led him by adding a location from his email address.
He says, this will be a good companion for him during his leisure time. “From now on, wherever I go, I will help the community people in my free time like this.”, he added.
I love to hear that like-minded communities are willing to share stories of people, shops, businesses, and historic buildings to add to the mapping. The stories of the people of the cities and the rural towns should spread to the world. Thanks, everyone.
