North of Dhaka on the Lakhya River, a wooden country boat, or nouka—overcrowded and barely above water—symbolizes Bangladesh as aptly as does its national flower, the water lily. Often the only choice for travel, boats ply some 5,200 miles (8,400 kilometers) of waterways. Though overflowing with 112 million people crammed to approximately 2,700 people per square mile (roughly 1,045 per square kilometer), Bangladesh abounds in what it needs most: prottasha—hope.

—From "Bangladesh: When the Water Comes," June 1993, National Geographic magazine