Sunday, November 05, 2006

Dhaka through the ages...


Sikh Gurdwara Dhaka: Gurdwara Nanak Shahi, the main Sikh Gurdwara in Bangladesh, is situated in the campus of the Dhaka University near the arts faculty building. At one time it was known as 'Sujatpur Sikh Sangat', as it was situated in what was then Sujatpur mouza. It is believed to have been built at the initiative of a Sikh priest sent by the sixth Sikh guru, Hargobind Singh (1595-1644), during the reign of Emperor Jahangir. Some others believe it was built by the ninth Sikh guru, Teg Bahadur Singh (1621-75).


Dhakeswari Mandir: It's a Hindu temple, said to be built in the 11th century in old Dhaka Lalbagh area. This is considered the oldest and most prominent of the Hindu temples built in Bangladesh through the ages. The photo of temple at right was taken by Fritz Kapp in 1904 while the left picture is what it looks now. The pond shown in the old picture no longer exists.


Saat Masjid Dhaka: The seven-domed mosque (Satgumbad) was built at the north west outskirt of Dhaka. Now it is very much in the centre of city. The sketch of the Saat Masjid drawn by the British collector dates 1874.

Chawk Mosque (Dhaka):
Located in the Chawkbazar area of old Dhaka, the mosque has been altered and extended so much that today it is hardly possible to have an idea of its original form and design (to compare see the photo post below with Bibi Mariam cannon). The western half of the 3.05m high vaulted platform (28.65m from north to south and 24.38m from east to west) is occupied by the original three-domed mosque proper. The vaulted rooms underneath the platform must have been originally devised for providing residential accommodation for students and teachers. Multi-storied extensions have been made on the north and east sides. The original three-domed roof has been demolished and a new one of similar nature (with a bigger central dome) is built over the upper storey. This is perhaps the earliest dated mosque in Bengal that was built on a high vaulted platform. A Persian inscription over the central doorway of the mosque proper records its construction by Subahdar Shaista Khan in 1676 AD.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

nice pictures of the temples.the description is realy helpful to all. sir i m a student of architecture,buet.L-5, T-2, doing a thesis project on development of Langalbandh site (a histrical place for hindu community- Holy bath) u can search for Langalbandha in google and see "The Daily Star Web Edition Vol_ 5 Num 660" ..sir u can work on it. it realy interesting. it should be explore to all.. my email address tofa_4300@yahoo.com. sir do contact if u r interested....and realy nice work sir-- about ur all in the webpages..

Anonymous said...

Great work done here. I am currently studying Architecture in China and need to make a presentation on a city of Bangladesh I like. So I thought Dhaka would be the best. I was Randomly looking for information and found your Blog site. Really appriciate what you have done with comparing the old n current.