The Uninvited Beauty of the Water — Water Hyacinth

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Water hyacinth can, in a sense, be called a paradox. On one hand it is unwanted, on the other it is part of nature. Yet the water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) is not native to this soil. Its journey begins in the Amazon basin of South America. It is said that during the colonial era, someone brought it to this subcontinent for its ornamental beauty. And it never left. Today it spreads across the wetlands, canals, beels, rivers, and haors of Bangladesh like an occupier — sometimes blocking waterways, sometimes cutting off light, sometimes etching worry lines on the foreheads of fishermen and farmers. Environmentalists call it one of the most harmful aquatic weeds in the world. In Bangladesh its name is kochuripana — a name spoken with far more irritation than affection.

And yet.

In the soft light of the monsoon, the water hyacinth blooms. And that blooming — extraordinary. Clusters of flowers ranging from pale violet to lavender. Each petal holds a golden eye, standing like small torches above the dark, glossy green leaves. Seen from a little distance, the individual plant disappears. What remains is only a sea swaying in waves of purple and green.

This photograph is of that moment. In the shallow focus, the edges melt into an impressionist haze, while at the very centre, sharp in focus, stand a few flowers — dignified and luminous. Completely indifferent to their own reputation.

Water hyacinth is a dialectical presence in our wetlands. It covers the water, yet it also purifies. It absorbs heavy metals from polluted water. It blocks waterways, yet shelters small fish and aquatic insects. In recent years, artisans and entrepreneurs have been crafting baskets, bags, and furniture from its dried stalks — transforming an environmental problem into a livelihood.

What we call foreign, invasive, or unwanted — its own beauty perhaps does not catch the eye easily. Yet sometimes the most neglected thing holds within it the most beautiful scene.

“Poetry of Water and Wilderness”, Pubail, Gazipur

4 April, 2026

Device: Sony