Barsha

Barsha (bar'sa) a Bangla term meaning the rainy season. According to the bangla calendar, it comprises the months of Asad and Shraban (from mid-June to mid-August); but in true sense it starts from June and continues up to October. It is the time when the southwest monsoon winds bring most of its total rainfall (more than 80%) to Bangladesh and when the whole country remains water saturated. Most floodplains remain inundated during the Barsha.

Depending upon the local elevation, the depth and duration of barsha varies in different parts of Bangladesh. For instance, in low lying parts like haors, beels, jheels of sylhet, netrokona, kishoreganj, gopalganj and pabna districts barsha stays for the longest period (more than six months). In other places, like the central parts of Bangladesh, it lasts for about 3 to 4 months. In the rural areas, boat navigation becomes a common mode of transport during the season. Barsha is very important for the farmers of flood-free areas and/or shallowly flooded (0 to 30 cm depth) areas for preparing land and paddy seedbeds. Barsha is also important for the fishing community of Bangladesh. During this time, the inundated floodplains become a large habitat for a wide variety of aquatic flora and fauna. The season coincides with the production of a large number of popular tropical fruits, such as mango (Am), jackfruit (Kathal), black berry (Jam), pineapple (Anaras), guava (Peyara), deuya (Artocarpus lacucha), chalta (Dillenia indica), latkan (Baccaurea remiflora), palm (Tal). [Mohd Shamsul Alam] [Alam, Mohd Shamsul Professor of Geography and Environment, Jahangirnagar University]