The Power of Maps for Orientation and Communication

One day, when I was in Bangladesh, a friend gave me directions to someplace like this: "Buddy, walk on the right side of the bridge; you'll see an alley on the left. Go through the alley; the last house is mine." We can never fully grasp how saying left/right creates so much confusion when giving someone directions to a place! However, it makes sense in specific contexts, like "When coming from Dhaka towards Gazipur, keep 'X' on your right-hand side"- something like that. Still, both giving and understanding directions is an art deeply connected with geography.

A couple of days ago, I went on a field visit to Onion Creek for a water resources course. The place is quite far from my home, but it's on a bus route, so I took the bus instead of getting a rideshare. When my destination is on a bus route, I usually opt for public transport instead of relying on someone's ride. I also love exploring new places with Google Maps open on my phone.

For any research, visiting a place in person is crucial, in addition to studying it on maps. As a technical person, it's a massive challenge for me to understand something and explain it simply to others. Geographic knowledge is essential to provide directions to a place, path, or orientation. That's why traditional wayfinders were all geographic experts, even without formal training.

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As kids roaming around our ancestral villages, we would often get disoriented and exclaim: "How come our Gazipur (my residence) home's west is that way, but here it's the opposite direction?"

Although funny, the reason behind this is straightforward. As children, our home was our entire world. We grew up intimately knowing which way our porch, main entrance, kitchen, etc., faced. We observed the orientation of our parents, and we prayed. Thus, a mental map of the surroundings developed in our minds. Visiting a new place would jumble up this mental map. We would start thinking the directions East-West-North-South have changed!

Even after growing up, I can't count how many times I've been similarly confused. And if I see the same pattern on the opposite side of the planet, it starts feeling like that's the correct orientation. For example, in Dhaka, our balcony faced east so that we could see the sunrise from there. Same with my home in Austin, Texas - I can see the sunrise from the balcony. No confusion there. But for prayer times, there used to be a lot of disorientation initially. I would accidentally face west instead of east quite often.

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Whenever my father would send me to a place, he would explain like this - "On the east side of shop X in the market, and you'll see Market Y. Walk south from there. No need to take a rickshaw. It's only a 10-minute walk west to your Uncle Z's house." I would instantly get overwhelmed with all the east-west directions. But now I understand it's the proper way to give directions. Telling someone your left/right will surely confuse the other person. Your left may not be the same as their left.

Once, my father sent me to my little uncle's new home in Dhaka's Arambagh/Kamlapur area. He did not use oral directions like east-west this time. Instead, he sketched a map himself on a blank paper. I still have that hand-drawn map! Since it wasn't to scale, he first marked some major roads. Plotted relative landmarks, like Kamlapur Rail Station, Notre Dame College, etc. Then, some smaller streets and alleys. Used arrows and text to indicate various directions. I successfully navigated to my uncle's house just by following that map blindly! This is the power of maps.

Our social studies textbooks always had a geography chapter that induced anxiety in me. If we could correctly draw the maps in exam papers, we would gain marks. I've traced and labeled so many obscure contours for geography exams. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would end up working with maps as a career! My last map works in Dhaka were exhibited in the Nagarnama exhibition by the Bengal Institute in 2019.

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Before Google Maps became globally popular, I remember watching Hollywood movies where a character would turn on a map on the car dashboard. The protagonist would drive according to the map directions, turning left and right. It all seemed unbelievable back then. Now, all of that has become a part and parcel of daily life. Not just the developed world, it's fascinating how even simple rural folks in my country who lack access to formal education are adept at using Google Maps.

My father was also fond of maps. He passed away in 2006. I wonder how thrilled he would have been to witness the widespread adoption of maps today. For people accustomed to east-west-north-south, maps are a language. One that almost everyone is now fluent in. And it's an accurate language - whether for providing directions or general discussions.

Map is a language, Geography is a lifestyle.