Bung Binh Thien in the season of changing water color

The flood season is coming to Bung Binh Thien, the largest freshwater lake in the West, located on the border of An Phu district. The water surface, which is usually clear blue, has now changed color due to the alluvium flowing into it from the Binh Di River (Binh Ghi). Every change in nature, no matter how slight, brings about a profound movement in the rhythm of people's lives, where "water" is the only thing that does not stand still.

Fishing in Bung Binh Thien

In the afternoon of June, the sun has not yet set but the wind is blowing steadily on the water surface. Bung Binh Thien is not as noisy as imagined, nor is it too quiet. On a small boat, Mr. Vo Van So (a resident of Dong Ky hamlet, Quoc Thai commune) talked to me with a thick Western accent. "This season, the wind is strong, the water is a bit muddy. When the wind stops, the water becomes clear again."

I asked about the flood season, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyet Lan (near C3 bridge) said: "This pond is clean, not polluted. Linh fish, Thiet fish, and Perch fish also live well."

Besides the gentle color change of the water, the most impressive thing in the journey of observing Bung Binh Thien is the way people connect with the lake every day to live. As nature changes, the life here also changes in its own way.

I met Mr. Duong Van Y (a fisherman living in Bung Binh Thien hamlet), who has been doing the job of removing traps for nearly 20 years. He said that this job was passed down from his grandfather, through 3 generations. “We set the traps, put bait, add food to attract fish, wait for a lot of fish to be removed. Sometimes we catch linh fish, and we can divide it into a few hundred. Sometimes we lose money, each person gets very little,” he said.

Y’s story is not unique. Here, everyone has their own season and profession, but no stable job. After finishing unloading the rice husks, some people go to transport passengers, others work for hire, construction workers, porters, whatever they are hired to do. Life around the village is not abundant, but enough to get by if one is diligent.

Bung Binh Thien, with its layer of alluvium quietly dyeing the lake's surface, is not always brilliantly beautiful. The beauty here does not lie in the color-corrected photos or promotional words. It appears in the simple words of the fishermen, in the meal of braised linh fish on the raft, in the steady rhythm of rowing in the windy afternoon...

A lake area, hundreds of ways to make a living. Whoever lives with it, rich or poor, leaves a part of their life in the water that silently changes color to the rhythm of nature. And there, perhaps, is the most beautiful thing about a land that does not need to be ostentatious but is still enough to touch the memories of those who have gone far away.

BICH GIANG

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/bung-binh-thien-mua-nuoc-chuyen-mau-a423324.html