Dhali Majhi (not his real name), is a 45-year-old fisherman from Dangmari village, Dakope upazila of Khulna district. It is near near the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest.

At first glance, Dhali Majhi appeared healthy and strong. I found him to be optimist. Despite enduring much hardship, he continues to hope for a better life. He studies up till Class Eight, but struggles with reading a detail of a statement. The statement will crop up later in this article and introduce a deeper story.

Dhali, however, has developed a practical grasp of numeracy through his years of navigating fishing cycles and dealing with household needs. His family is originally from Ashashuni of Satkhira. They relocated to Dangmari after Cyclone Sidr in 2007 due to increasing salinity and deteriorating livelihoods there in the home village. Some of the extended family members are still living in Ashashuni.

Dhali now lives with his wife, son and elderly father; his mother passed away several years ago and was buried in their original village. When we asked him about his mother’s burial, his response was quiet and seemingly indifferent. “She was buried in Ashashuni,” he said. Yet beneath the simplicity of his words lay a deeper emotional truth, a subtle but powerful indication of the enduring bond with the land he left behind, and the silent grief of a life uprooted by loss and displacement.