Khan Mohammad Mridha Mosque

The Chandamari mosque in Kurigram is an ancient Mughal mosque that has been around for centuries. However, the mosque is falling inexorably into ruin due to acid rain and lack of proper maintenance. The mosque is situated in the village of Chandamari in Chakirpasha union under the Rajarhat Upazila in the district of Kurigram. No one knows the exact year the mosque was built or who built it. The locals consider it the oldest mosque in the area, at approximately five hundred years old. The architecture of the mosque is very similar to that of other buildings dating back to the Mughal times. It should be mentioned that there is no department of archaeology in the district. Should archaeologists visit the mosque and perform carbon dating experiments, its year of foundation may be pinpointed.

During a visit to the site, local man Abdul Zalil Sarker and President of the Mosque Committee Jakir Hossen Chowdhury told Star Insight that perhaps future generations will know the exact age of the mosque. "It was built in the 16th or 17th century. It bears some similarities to the structure of the Atia mosque (1609 AD) in Tangail," a local historian said. Local sources say that though there are 52 decimals of land in the mosque's name, whilst it is established on only five decimals. The height of the mosque is 45”. There are three large, four medium and twenty-four small domes on top, the four corners and around the mosque respectively. Nine of smaller domes have been damaged.

This mosque, however, is not one of a kind. Hundreds of old buildings with ample antique value and rich heritage are crumbling due to lack of care while others are even being deconstructed. The issue seems to be ignored completely by authorities despite plenty of public interest and protest.

The mosque was made with flat tally bricks, which were cemented together with a kind of paste called Bhishkas. The thickness of walls, roof and domes are 4”. From a long period of continued carelessness, a crack had formed in the center of the 3 large domes. Being unfit, the middle dome was reduced by ½ feet and repaired by the mosque committee, who also built a tin-shed porch in front of the mosque.

Nine Dome Mosque is now a protected monument of the Department of Archaeology, Bangladesh. There are 3 pointed arched openings on the north, south and east sides adjoined within tall rectangular frames. The western wall is relieved with three semicircular mihrabs of which the central one is larger and is projected to the west.

The decorations of the multi-cusped mihrabs contains terracotta floral, scroll and foliage patterns within rectangular panels. Each Mihrabs center is decorated with chain and bell motif. Apexes of the arches have diaper designs and large rosettes at the spandrels. Rest three walls are relieved with only two niches in each.

The corner towers are round and are surfaced by eight bands of moldings. The exterior walls are eased with vertical panels. The curved cornice is very prominent.

খান জাহান আলীর মাজারের অর্ধেক কিলোমিটারেরও কম দূরত্বে ঠাকুরদীঘির পশ্চিম তীরে নয় গম্বুজ মসজিদ অবস্থিত। এই মসজিদটি বর্তমানে বাংলাদেশের প্রত্নতাত্ত্বিক অধিদফতরের অধীনে একটি সংরক্ষিত নিদর্শন। মসজিদটির উত্তর, দক্ষিন এবং পূর্বদিকে লম্বা আয়াতক্ষেত্রাকার কাঠামোর মধ্যে তিনটি ধনুকআকারের ফটক রয়েছে। নয়গম্বুজবিশিষ্ট মসজিদের পশ্চিম দিকের দেয়ালে তিনটি অর্ধ গোলাকার মিহরাব রয়েছে যেগুলোর মধ্যে মাঝখানের মিহরাবটি বড় এবং পশ্চিমদিকে হেলানো। খাঁজকাটা মিহরাবগুলোতে টেরাকোটার উপর আয়াতক্ষেত্রাকার কাঠামোর মধ্যে ফুল ও পাতার নকশা রয়েছে এবং মিহরাবের মাঝখানে শিকল ও ঘণ্টার নকশা রয়েছে। মসজিদের খিলানের শীর্ষে বুটির নকশা এবং খিলান, ছাদ ও দেয়ালের মধ্যবর্তী স্থানে গোলাপের নকশা রয়েছে। নয়গম্বুজবিশিষ্ট মসজিদের অবশিষ্ট তিনটি দেয়ালের প্রতিটিতে দুটি করে খিলান রয়েছে। মসজিদটির কোণায় অবস্থিত টাওয়ারগুলো গোলাকার এবং এগুলোতে আট স্তরের ঢালাই রয়েছে।

Nayabad Mosque is located in the bank of the river Dhepa, just 1.5 km south-west of the infamous Kantaji Temple at Dinajpur in Bangladesh. The mosque is named after the village “Nayabad” in which it stands in the Police Station of Kaharole. According to an inscription found on the central doorway, it was constructed at 1793 AD in the reign of Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II. During that period, Raja Baidyanath, the last of the Dinajpur Royal family, was the Zaminder (feudal land owner).

Nayabad Mosque was erected at a time when the soil of Dinajpur had already been enriched with one of the most remarkable Navaratna temples, the Kantajew Temple in 1752 AD. The founding Royal family of Dinajpur was still prominent. According to local traditions, the mosque was built by Muslim architectural workers who had come to this place from the west to build Kantaji Temple. They had settled in Nayabad, a village near the temple, and had built the mosque for their own use. There is a grave of an unknown person in the premises of the mosque. Local people believe, this is the grave of Kalu Khan, the master architect of Kantaji Temple.

It is an oblong three-domed mosque with octagonal towers at the four corners. There are three arched entrances to enter the mosque. Among them, the central one is bigger than the flanking ones. These are equal in height and width. There is an arched window each on the south and north sides. Inside in the western wall there are three Mihrabs in line with the three entrances. The central Mihrab is bigger than the flanking ones which are of equal size. Three hemispherical domes cover the mosque, of which the central one is bigger than the side ones. Pendentives have been used in their phase of transition. The parapet and cornice are straight.

Terracotta plaques have been used in decoration of the mosque. At present there are about 104 terracotta plaques rectangular in shape, used in the surface decoration of the mosque walls. The platform of the mosque is enclosed by a low brick wall with only one access from the east. On either side of the mosque are to be seen a number of tombs each of found fixed over the central doorway of the mosque.

It was built at a time when Sultani era was at its end and Mughal era had just set in. According to the inscription found in the mosque, it was built by Nawab Mirza Murad Khan, son of Jawahar Ali Khan Kakshal, in 1582 AD (989 Hijri).

The end of the 16th century AD is regarded as a tumultuous period in the history of Bengal due to anti-Mughal resistance spearheaded by the Bara Bhuiyans. During this era, the region, mentioned as ‘Sherpur Morcha’ in Ain-i Akbari by abul fazal, was the stronghold of the Kakshal rebels. They expressed solidarity with the bara bhuiyans of Bengal and the Afghan leader Masum Khan Kabuli. In fact Khherua mosque came into being to serve the community. As it was built while a political crisis was going on, a degree of negligence is evident in the construction and ornamentation of the mosque.

The rectangular mosque is 17.34 meters long from north to south while 7.5 meters wide from west to east. Its dimension from inside is 13.72 meters long and 3.8 meters wide. The walls are about 1.83 meters thick. The mosque has three entrances on the east, of which the central one is bigger than the two on its sides. Also, there is an entry on each side on the north and the south. Inside the mosque, on the west wall, there are three half-cylindrical concave mihrabs within a rectangular frame. The one in the middle is bigger than the other two and all three are devoid of any ornamentation.

Kherua mosque has three domes in a row, which look like three bowls of same size placed upside down. There is no motif or ornamentation on the domes. The construction looks similar to that of Sultani era. The two sides of the cornice are slightly curved taking after the traditional hut of Bengal. This type of roof treatment is seen in most of the 15th century architectural works. In the front walls some paneling work was done. There was some ornamentation with terracotta tiles, which are no longer there now. There were two inscriptions engraved on the two sides of the central entrance. One inscription is still there while the other is being preserved in the Karachi Museum. From the shape of the stone used for the inscription, it is assumed that the piece was the part of a statue; and the inscription was inscribed on the backside of the statue and placed on the wall. Kherua Mosque demands a great importance as an example of early mughal mosques in Bengal.