DHAKA, BANGLADESH. AHSAN MANJIL, THE ‘PINK PALACE’

Re-posted from Bangladesh Unlocked (bangladeshunlocked.blogspot.com)

Entrance Ahsan Manjil, - The Pink Palace

This neo classical building, with some distinctly oriental influences, stands on the banks of the much abused Buriganga River in Old Dhaka, painted a rather lurid pink, is a living testament to the lack of a traditional aristocracy in Bangladesh.

The Amazing Ahsan Manjil, - The Pink Palace

Reconstructed after 1888 by Sir Khwaja Salimullah Bahadur, the fourth ‘Nawab of Dhaka’, following a disastrous cyclone that ravaged earlier building work, it shares much of its distinctively Bengali Anglo Oriental appearance with many of the Zaminderbari of Bangladesh.

Titles such as raja, maharajah and nawab abound in the Zamindari of Bangladesh, having been awarded, honorifically, by the British, in recognition of loyalty. In most of the Indian sub continent, most rulers have long histories and heritage, claiming, in some cases to support their authority, descent from Hindu deities.

Terracotta Ahsan Manjil, - The Pink Palace

The last of the Mughal aristocrats, although actually descended from earlier Afghan invaders, was the last Nawab of Bengal who was defeated at the Battle of Plassey in 1757 by Robert Clive of the East India Company. This victory rapidly established the Company, a commercial company of merchant adventurers, as the new rulers of Bengal.

Corridor Ahsan Manjil, - Thi Pink Palace

This commercial administration was carried out by the East India Company’s own version of traditional Zaminders. Under the Mughal rulers, these were more like the feudal lords of Europe, tasked with military as well as fiscal responsibities, the former by far the most important. After 1757, the priorities were reversed. The investors in the Company required a good return on their investment, and securing that return became the responsibility of the Zaminders. Unsurprisingly,, the military responsibility of ensuring  the security of the territory, was held in the hands of the army of the Company, with its British and Mercenary officers and specialists.

Side Wall - Ahsan Manjil, - The Pink Palace

A number of the Mughal period Zaminders had thrown in their lot with the British at the time of Plassey, or had at least remained absent from the Nawab’s forces.. an impetuous young man, with a contested claim to the role of Nawab, he was not popular.

However, whilst confirming those who remained, and explaining to them the new focus of their responsibilities, where territories were forfeit, the tax gathering rights were put up to auction. The result was a rise of anew ‘aristocracy’ who were usually business men, many of them Hindu traders.

Wooden Bridge, Ahsan Manjil, - The Pink Palace

The ‘Nawab’ of Dhaka was, of course, one of the most powerful and significant of these ‘New Men’.

The ancestors of the man that the British installed as Zaminder in Dhaka, the great grandfather of Sir Khwaja, Khwaja Alimullah, in 1843, was descended from Kashmiri traders in gold dust and skins. It is reasonable to suppose that he was the highest bidder when the tax gathering rights for Dhaka, at that time a small town, were auctioned.

Walk way - Ahsan Manjil, - The Pink Palace

Not unnaturally, the palace became a centre for the social and political life of Dhaka, hosting Governor Generals and Viceroys after the British Government took over the administration of British territories in India.

At Independence and partition, like other Muslim Zaminders, the Nawab’s found their position at first secured, then, when the new state of Pakistan enacted government possession of such properties, unsecured.

At the heart of Old City, the building is certainly one of the few Zaminderbaris in good repair in Bangladesh. It is, perhaps, just a pity they couldn’t have found a less lurid pink wash for the walls!

Within, is a museum of social life, although, like most museums in Bangladesh, poorly curetted, but probably worth a visit.

ARMENIAN CHURCH, OLD DHAKA

Re-posted from Bangladesh Unlocked (bangladeshunlocked.blogspot.com)

Armenian Christians, with a closer affinity to the Orthodox Church of the East, than the Catholic Christians who arrived in Bangladesh with Portuguese traders some hundred or so years earlier, arrived in the mid 18^th Century, before the fall of the Nawabs of Bengal and the east India Company takeover.

Needless to say, they were welcomed by both administrations as great and internationally connected masters of trade and commerce. The Moghuls may well also have found a use for their skills in their administrative organisations. One of the means of ensuring less corruption was to employ outsiders in the sentive areas of finance.

In 1781, the fine, distinctively Eastern styled Armenian Church, and its cemetery were dedicated, and have been arresting place and house of worship until today.

The uniqueness of its outward appearance is matched by the richness of its interior decor, of which a magnificent, unusual, mahogany spiral stairway to the loft is not the least of its appeals.

Admission is not hard; the caretaker is always willing to open the gateway to welcome visitors, expecting nothing more than a donation to the church.

DHAKA AFTER DARK

Re-Posted from Bangladesh Unlocked (bangladeshunlocked.blogspot.com)

Like every other city in the world, when the sun goes down Dhaka can find opportunities to party!

Also like so many other cities, the lights can go down too as the national power system fails to keep up with the growing demand of a nation with a 6 to 8.5% GDP growth rate. Then, the heavy atmosphere of a near tropical night can be deafened by the din of generators!

Streets of Dhaka City

But when the lights are on, in the discos and party places of the city, or illuminating buildings and structures, Dhaka also becomes a dream that the traffic jammed city of the day could never conjure up.

As one of the world’s largest cities, and still growing apace, it probably isn’t surprising that its becoming a 24 hour a day city, lit up and throbbing through the hours of the night.

Chandrima Uddan, Dhaka

Dhaka after dark is another experience!

BARA KATRA, DHAKA

Re-Posted from Bangladesh Unlocked (bangladeshunlocked.blogspot.com)

The remaining, ruinous, visible part of this palace in Old Dhaka might well serve as a metaphor for the life of the man it was built for.

Constructed between 1644 and 1646, it was built as the residence of the second son of the immortal Shah Jahan, the Mughal Emperor who constructed the Taj Mahal in memory of his wife.

Shah Suja didn’t have long to enjoy the home as the Viceroy of Bengal. He was soon recalled to Delhi and became embroiled in an internecine strife the likes of which few dynasties or imperial families can match. Aurangzeb, Suja’s younger brother, seized the Peacock Throne, defeating and murdering the eldest brother, imprisoning the father, and pursuing Suja himself into exile.

Bara Katra, Dhaka

Suja, in fact, left a further trace in Bangladesh. Kolatoli Beach in Cox’s Bazar was once an area known as Palongki, named for the train of 1,000 palanquins that carried Suja and his family to Arakan. The envoy rested for a time where Cox’s Bazar now stands and left some of the royal retinue at Ramu, the nearby ancient sea port.

In Arakan, Suja was robbed of his treasure and his wife raped on the orders of the King. Suja then fled, it seems, to Tripura, where his brother’s writ did not run, and there he disappears from history.

His palace in Dhaka he left in the care of his agent. 22 shops were created to generate income to support the building as a hostelry for travellers and a hostel for the homeless. An early example of sustainable charity!

In an ancient city in which palaces, mosques, temples and churches are regularly demolished, it is unsurprising that surrounded by encroaching shops and a clutter of unplanned development, the original grandeur of the building is almost impossible to distinguish.  

As the traveler passes through the ancient archway, they should take a good look. It may well not be around much longer!

Sadar Ghat, Old Dhaka

Re-Posted from Bangladesh Unlocked (bangladeshunlocked.blogspot.com)

Even early on a Friday morning, what passes for a weekend in Bangladesh, the Sadarghat launch centre on the banks of the famous Buriganga River throngs with travellers.

Launches at Buriganga, Sadarghat, Old Dhaka

If anywhere in the country can be said to be the pulsing heart, it is surely here. Beside the restored residence of the Nawabs of Dhaka, the descendents of late 18^th Century Armenian Jewellers and financiers, who, early in the 19^th Century acquired the tax gathering rights to this ancient, although then, fairly small city, this launch ghat has, for centuries, been the destination and departure point for the river journeys across Bangladesh. And, despite railways and road transport development, it remains, not only the cheapest means of travel, but clearly, also the most environmentally sensitive.

Launch ghat at Buriganga, Sadarghat, Old Dhaka

To every main riverside town throughout the land, the ‘launches’ depart in every direction. Locally constructed, often simply on the banks of the great rivers themselves, the safety record of these craft is not, perhaps, all that it might be, especially in adverse weather, or at night, but there must be few, if any, countries in the world, like this one with its 800 rivers and tributaries, that are so reliant on this, the most ancient of means of transport and communication.

No visit to the many attractions of Old Dhaka that are slowly disappearing under the weight of ‘progress’ can be complete without this exciting experience.

People at Sadarghat, Old Dhaka

The Unchanging City

Dhaka, one of the most populous cities in the world, is among the cities few have been to. Despite of the reputation it has gained over time as one of the most chaotic cities on earth, undoubtedly it has a unique charm all of its own. It never fails to touch a visitor- through the liveliness of the narrow zigzag streets of old Dhaka, or the feeling of ice cold sugarcane juice in the summer heat, or the festivals that colour life itself.

History suggests, Dhaka started as a Buddhist settlement by the river Buriganga, literally meaning Old Ganges, certainly since the 8th century and has expanded to be known as a Megacity today; and according to the experts to be the largest accommodation in the world within 10 years. The blend of such past with present has given it its unique flavor. For example the Bakorkhani, a baking tradition that dates back to the Mughal period; Shakhrain Kite Festival, which includes the tradition of Fire Eating; the Bengali festivals known as Pohela Baishakh, the new year celebration according to the Bengali calendar, and Pohela Falgun the festivities welcoming the arrival of Spring amongst others.

Besides the cultural attributes, its historical significance has attracted a number of civilizations throughout time - signs still can be seen in form of palaces, forts, buildings and diversity in architecture. Ahsan Manjil or The Pink Palace, Lalbagh Fort, the Bara and Choto Katra (Mughal period palaces), the crowd of Chawkbazar, Mughal period mosques like Star Mosque and Shahbaz Mosque, and 11th century Dhakeshwari Temple, the momentous National Assembly Building designed by the great Louis I. Kahn, and countless other sites.

All these are testimonies to its rich past and are among the points of attraction for the tourists and locals equally. Many of these places are famous tourist destinations today, under the department of archeology, and many not taken proper care of and getting lost in time.

In this blog we have tried to highlight the rich history and culture of this fabulous city, and put together scattered information of people, places and lifestyle that make Dhaka the unique city it is. Please feel free to help us understand this city better, by sharing your experiences and stories. No matter where you live in Dhaka, do share with us your stories and interesting places around you, so that we can share it with the world through this blog.

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