বড়কুঠি

Panam Nagar (পানাম নগর), ancient Painam, a locality now in Sonargaon upazila of Narayanganj district. It is about 2.5 kilometre to the north of Dhaka-Chittagong highway at Mograpara point. It is said to have been the site of Hindu capital city of Sonargaon emerging in the seventh decade of the thirteenth century. The Panam area formed part of the Muslim metropolis developed on the south of the old city, and perhaps constituted the place of residence of the early Muslim governors'. After the Mughal conquest of Sonargaon (1611) the Panam area was connected with the ruling metropolis by construction of highways and bridges. Panam still possesses three brick bridges belonging to the Mughal period: Panam Bridge, Dalalpur Bridge and Panamnagar Bridge.

The existence of these bridges, and the canals enclosing the site on three sides is indicative of its being a suburban area of the medieval city. The pucca road which leads from the Mograpara crossing on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway in the direction of Panam extending up to the Neel-Kuthi looks like a dividing line between medieval Sonargaon and the present Panamnagar, the only surviving relics of the Panam area. The Panam township stands on the east of this road opposite Aminpur, and a one-arched humped bridge leads from the same road over a narrow canal to the main street of Panamnagar.

In all probability the present Panamnagar grew as a by-product of the commercial activities of the english east india company and of the Permanent Settlement. The East India Company established their factory in Panam for the purchase of muslin and other cotton fabrics. The Company, for the purchase of muslin, used to distribute annually to the weavers from their factory in Panam as much as a lakh of rupees as dadni (dadni system advance), and it is estimated that there were then 1400 families of Hindu and Muslim weavers in and around Panam.

Sonargaon developed into a center of trade in cotton fabrics, chiefly English piece goods, during the colonial period, and thereby grew the new township of Panamnagar. A group of Hindu talukdars, who came into being from among the traders in the nineteenth century, chose this site for their residence. The existing brick buildings of Panamnagar, obviously the residence of the Hindu merchant-talukdars, can be dated back to early nineteenth, and the later ones to late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Panamnagar which developed in the nineteenth century, continued to flourish till the end of the Second World War.

Panamnagar, a unique township, stretched in a single street 5 meter wide on the average and 600 meter in length. All the buildings have the character of urban street front houses and are lined up on either side of this street which ends up at the Panam bazar. Fifty-two houses exist in dilapidated and disused condition having 31 in the north side of the street and 21 on the south. Panamnagar appears to be well protected by artificial canals all around. Two fairly wide canals run parallel to the street on its either side and joined by a narrow canal on the western side over which is the entrance bridge (Panamnagar Bridge). On the eastern side, the canal on the south swerves rightward and goes eastward crossing the north-south road that passes through the Panam bazar. The northern canal, the Pankhiraj Khal, runs eastward to meet the Meghna-Menikhali stream.

During 1850, the greater Gopalganj area was ruled by the Zamindar. At that time, they made hundreds of buildings for their residence and official purposes. The buildings were made in the traditional Zamindar Bari look and style. In the last 150 years, most of the houses were destroyed by erosion. After being taken by the government, the authority turned some of these houses into government buildings. Now, most of the houses are abandoned or occupied by local people.

There is a cluster of old buildings in the Ulpur Area which is situated in the Gopalgonj - Takerhat highway, not so far from the Gopalgonj main town. As soon as you cross the Ulpur bridge from Ulpur bazar, the buildings start to appear. The first one was used as the Union Land Office (Government) but is now abandoned. The local people over there are now using it to stock fodder.

The second was probably used as a duplex residential complex but now is being used as the Sub Post Office. The surrounding environment is good and the building is covered by bamboo stocks. In the main road, there is a large old building, which was probably the main building. Outside this building the words "Dinesh Dham" in Bengali is carved in a white slate. This building is currently occupied by some local inhabitants.

If we go farther, then we will see another broken house formerly used as the Upazilla Registry office, now almost completely in ruins. "Din-Dham" in Bengali is also carved outside he building in white stone.

The overall environment of this village is very good and peaceful. Walking for an hour in the silence of this area will be relaxing. The most attractive structure is the Temple. The walls of the temple is decorated with colorful glass & ceramics. The temple looks good but it is also abandoned so the temple has shifted into a newly constructed building.

The Central Cooperative Bank was established in 1921 during the British Period, under the then British Lord [Lawrence John Lumley Dundas, 2nd Marquess of Zetland]. All the transactions of his area where held and maintained by this bank. From the architectural point of view, undoubtedly this building holds the year old history. It is considered to be the oldest bank in Natore region. The foundation of the bank was laid by The Honorable Nawab Saiyed Nawab Ali Chowdhury Khan Bahadur C. I. E. on 15th February 1921.

The condition of this building is not good, as this years old structure has not been renovated yet and remain forsaken or excluded. Also, the government has not been any precautions to preserve this building. Now, it is being using by local people for some other purposes. The local government authority should take steps to save this historical attraction.

There is a folk art and craft museum for the visitors & tourist travelling in Sonargaon. Sonargaon Folk Art and Craft Museum remains open from morning to afternoon (9 AM to 5 PM). Wednesday and the Thursday, this museum is closed for weekend. This is prosperous with several unique collection those you'll never find at any other place. Some are lost from our country, and only those are remains. The main museum building is placed at the "Sardar Bari". "Sardar Bari" was built by a Hindu Zamindar of Sonargaon in 1901. Alike the other Zamindar house of that period, this one also looks like Indian houses, but the shape of the house was looked like the European Palaces. The baroque decoration and the elaborated painting on the plaster of the building are really eye catching.

Lok Shilpa Jadughar (Folk Art and Craft Museum) of Sonargaon was established by Bangladeshi painter Joynul Abedin on March 12, 1975.

It will cost you 10 taka to enter the museum area. Its a vast area, and will take you lots of time to round the area. You'll find a art gallery of "Zainul Abedin" inside the museum area. There are two Exhibition Galleries inside the museum. Both of them consist of some status showing the local life of Bangladeshi people, for example farming, woman working etc. Also you'll find the miniature version of the several boats from my country, which are now a days vanished after competing with the mechanical vehicles.