Balapur Zamindar House

Type: ইতিহাস ও প্রত্নতত্ত্ব

Contributed By:

Brief

In different location of Narsingdi district there are a number of Archaeological sites which attract traveler and explorer to visit these places recurrently. Balapur Zamindar House (বালাপুর জমিদার বাড়ি) is one of the old palatial buildings in this district. If someone interested to visit the oldest buried civilization area in Bangladesh named as Wari-Bateshwar, then it would be better to take a glance at Balapur Zamindar House while moving there. It’s situated at Balapur village, Madhabdi Upazila of Narsingdi district.

This Zamindar House was built by local Zamindar named ‘Nobin Chandra Saha’ in 1906. It is also known as Zamindar Kali Babur Bari (কালী বাবুর বাড়ি). It’s a complex of buildings scattered in a particular zone. Basically, most of the buildings are three storied and some are one or two storied. Dept. of Archaeology in Bangladesh doesn’t announced it as a protected site yet. So like many others old houses in Bangladesh it is on the way of ruining.

No matter how decorative and ornamented this house is, it’s almost abandoned and some people who living in this house are so called ancestor of Zamindari estate at Balapur. Some local people are selling all the floor tiles made by white stone desperately.

But, Still today this beautiful palace standing with its own identity and spreading the essence of colonial palatial architecture in Bengal. If proper steps being taken this structure can be preserved & conserved for the future exhibiotion.

How to go

It’s a easy going track from Madhabdi bus stop. Once you are there at the bus stand then you will find several options in your hand to reach at the Balapur Village. You may ride on a shared CNG auto rickshaw or Rickshaw to reach at Balapur Bazar via Balapur-Meghna bazar road.

How To Reach: নরসিংদী জেলা

The communication system of this district is very good. The Dhaka-Sylhet highway, one of the important highways of Bangladesh, passes through Narsingdi. It is only 1/2 hours distance from Dhaka. Inter-district road communication is also better from here.

Water way communication is also very good as lots of river flows through Narsingdi. Dhaka-Chittagong and Dhaka-Sylhet, two most busiest rail route of the country goes through Narsingdi. People can easily go Narshingdi by boarding this buses.

From Gulistan -Meghalay Luxury, from Sydabad & Gulistan bus terminal – Monohordi Paribahan, Anna Super Service, BRTC Bus. From Mohakhali Bus stand – PPL, Chalan Bil Transport, Arabian Transport, Badsha Paribahan.

By Road
By Train

Mohakhali, Airport Bus-stand, Abullahpur, Tongi (station road):

1. BRTC
Address: BRTC Bus Depo, Kamlapur, Dhaka.
Phone: 9333803, 9002531

2. BRTC AC Bus Service
Route: Roptani-Abdullahpur-Narsingdi-Bhairab

3. Badsha Paribahan (Pvt.) ltd.
Route: Dhaka- Bhairab
Phone: 01710-856066, 01842-526223
Fare: 120-145 BDT

4. Chalanbill Tranport Limited
Route: Dhaka to Bhairab
Phone: 01715-019550
Fare-120-145 BDT

5. PPL Super
Route: Mohakhali – Narsingdi
Phone: 01817074515, 01845950701, 01831343894
Fare: 90-105 BDT

6. Meghalay Luxury
Phone: 01711-609199, 01711-523079
Fare: 80 BDT

The transportation between Dhaka City and Narsingdi district is quite fair. The distance from Dhaka city to Narsingdi dictrict is around 59.4 km. In train, it would take around 1 and half an hour to travel to Narsingdi from Capital city. It has 10 train stations inside the district.

Trains, travelling to Sylhet and Chittagong and only developed train, like Mahanagar usually stop in the Narsingdi rail stations. Where as Titash commuter and Egarsindhur stops in different stations in Narsingdi.

Where to Stay

1) Circuit House, Narsingdi (Government)
Phone: 02-9462083
Mobile: 01735-840294

2) District Council Postal Bungalow (Government)
Postal Bungalow Road, Narsingdi
Phone: 029463765
Mobile 01712-521274

3) Dak bungalows (Government)
Roads and public departments, Narsingdi
phone: 029463222

4) Rest House (Government)
Civil surgeon’s office, Narsingdi
Phone: 029463181

5) Rest House (Government)
LGED Office, Narsingdi
Phone: 029462260

6) Hotel Nirala
Library parti, Narsingdi market, Narsingdi
Phone: 029463393
Mobile: 01711-196699

7) Hotel Al-Arafat
215/1 siendabi Road, busstation, Narsingdi
Phone: 029463393
Mobile: 01712-130139

8) Hotels Mamataj
Patilbari Road, Narsingdi
Mobile: 01711-952120

9) Hotel Aziz
Patilbari Road, Narsingdi
Mobile: 01712070231

10) Hotel Riyaj
Patilbari Road, Narsingdi
Phone: 946 to 516
Mobile: 01712-609045

11) Hotel Tanim
Patilbari Road, Narsingdi
Phone: 9463982
Mobile: 01718-916143

Things to do

Once you are determined to pay a visit in Narsingdi District you will find a significant number of options for wondering around. We would rather suggest you to follow the link- http://www.offroadbangladesh.com/aplaces/places-visit-narsingdi-district and help yourself to make an Itinerary.

If you are very unfamiliar with making itinerary then you may contact us.

Eating Facilities

You will find local restaurants and hotels nearby the Balapur Bazar. If your demand is something more than local cuisine, then you may find out a hotel or restaurant at Madhabdi bus stand.

Map

Array ( [0] => Array ( [name] => Radha Krishna and Shiva Kali Temple [post_id] => 9111 [post_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/bn/places/radha-krishna-and-shiva-kali-temple/ [thumb_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/shib-kali-1-169x300.jpg [post_content] =>

Radha Krishna and Shiva Kali Temple is a Hindu religious Architecture situated in Munshiganj Sadar, which is very near to destruction.About 100 years old (now rebuilt) Radha-Krishna Temple and the other one is about 190 years old (locally informed) Shiva temple at Atpara, Sukhbaspur, Munshiganj Sadar Upazila. Adjacent to this temple there are two more temples which appear to have been erected recently. It is a 'Pancha ratna' temple resting on a square sanctum. Its south-east corner ratna along with large portion of the body is missing.

Architectural property of Temple:

The four turrets are set on the roof top corners while the large fifth central sikhara rises above those. The wall of the temple is 63cm thick. The temple has sharply curved cornices and an arched shape entrance on the south but its lower portion is in a dilapidated condition.

The char-Chala central ratna rests upon its rectangular base which has an arched entrance and panel decoration. The south and other sides are relieved with imitation doorway design and paneled bands. The central tapering tower rises above and terminates in an iron shike. The four miniature corner turrets are similar to the central one and have four openings each.This variety is the most popular type of temples that flourished in Bengal in the 19th century AD.

) [1] => Array ( [name] => Bhai Girish Chandra Sen's Old House [post_id] => 23726 [post_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/bn/places/bhai-girish-chandra-sens-old-house/ [thumb_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Old-House-of-Bhai-Girish-Chandra-Sen-9-200x300.jpg [post_content] => Girish Chandra Sen also known as Bhai Girish Chandra Sen ( ভাই গিরিশ চন্দ্র সেন), a Brahmo Samaj missionary, was the first person to complete the translation of the Qur'an into Bengali in 1886. It was his finest contribution to Bengali literature. Born in the village of Panchdona of Narsingdi in 1835 in the famed Dewan Baidya clan, he learnt Persian and Sanskrit in early life and started working as a copywriter in the court of the deputy magistrate in Mymensingh. He also taught for a short while at the Mymensingh Zilla School before engaging wholeheartedly in journalism and literary activities. He was attracted to the Brahmo Samaj under the influence of Keshub Chunder Sen and Bijoy Krishna Goswami and joined it as a missionary in 1871. He traveled through India and Burma to propagate his new faith. The plasters on the walls of this two floor house have almost completely fallen off, baring the brick work, which is covered in a thick moss. The ceilings on both the floors have entirely caved in. Trees have grown all over the walls, thereby creating large cracks. The wood work from doors and windows is completely stolen. To overcome those destruction and deterioration of this old House owned by this famous Scholar, Government has taken necessary steps to renovate the building immediately. In the year of 1869, Keshub Sen chose four persons amongst his missionaries and ordained them as professors of four old religions of the world. Girish Chandra was selected to study Islam. The others selected to study different religions were Gour Govinda Ray for Hinduism, Protap Chandra Mazoomdar for Christianity, and Aghore Nath Gupta for Buddhism. This was a time, when even translating religious scripts from Islam was considered as desecration of the sanctity of the scripts. The Holy Qur’an was considered too sacred for translation, as such most of the Muslim scholars refrained from even trying. A firm believer in the basic unity of all religions, Girish immersed himself in his studies and later went to Lucknow in 1876 to study Arabic, Islamic literature and the Islamic religious texts. He was involved in intense studies for about five years. His keen interest in different religions and his liberal outlook earned him the respect of followers of other religions. On completion of his studies, he returned to Kolkata and engaged in translation of Islamic scriptures. After hard labor of six years from 1881-1886, he produced an annotated Bengali version of the Qur’an via Persian. Girish Chandra wrote and published a total of 42 books in Bengali. His books were greatly appreciated by the Muslim community which referred to him as 'Bhai Girish Chandra'. The Muslim society, in his days, respected him enormously and gave him the title of a Maulavi. Girish Chandra Sen spoke fluently in Bengali, Urdu & Persian. A simple soft-spoken person, he endeared himself to all those who came in contact with him. His autobiography, 'Atmajivani' (আত্মজীবনী), was published in 1906. He passed away in 1910. ) [2] => Array ( [name] => Judge Bari and Ukil Bari [post_id] => 10277 [post_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/bn/places/judge-bari-and-ukil-bari/ [thumb_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/110-300x169.jpg [post_content] =>

Traveling Nawabganj without paying a visit to Judge Bari and Ukil Bari (জজ বাড়ি এবং উকিল বাড়ি) (formerly known as Brojo Kutir) is nearly incomplete trip. Originally it was built as the residence of a Zamindar over a century ago, the Brojo Niketan was acquired by a judge in 1984, and henceforth became known locally as the judge bari, the residence of the judge.

Next door to the judge bari, on a corner of a sprawling playground made famous by the sheer attendance of Mahatma Gandhi in 1940, is another Zamindar’s house, which has been acquired by a lawyer, and thus taken the new name Ukil Bari.

In a small shrine between these two old palatial houses, one will come across a statue whose head has been knocked down, allegedly by the Pakistan Army during our Liberation War in 1971, supposedly of Gautama Buddha. A little inside the Ansar controlled areas, one would come across the Brojo Kutir - the older palace of the Zamindar, and yet another palatial house of Kokil Peyari. It has now turned into a local picnic spot.

) [3] => Array ( [name] => Tokani Pal House [post_id] => 8643 [post_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/bn/places/tokani-pal-house/ [thumb_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/TPP-12-300x200.jpg [post_content] =>

Munshiganj, or Bikrampur as it was formerly known as home to a number of rich landlords and merchants, who lived in palatial houses, built on large estates. Most of these perished in course of time as the mighty Padma River devoured most of Bikrampur. Of all that remain in today’s Munshiganj, the largest is the house at Abdullahpur, known as Tokani Pal House (টোকানী পাল বাড়ি). There isn’t enough source to know about who built this house, but Tokani Pal, an elderly merchant from Barisal, bought this 7 acre estate and moved in here sometime in the early 1890s. His second wife Nabanga Sundary and all six sons from his two marriages accompanied him.

The estate now consists of 11 buildings and six ponds. The sprawling gardens have hundreds of trees – fruit bearing, medicinal, or for wood itself. And there were once several hundreds of flowering plants. But when Tokani arrived, the estate was in a mess. Kamini Pal, the eldest son of Tokani,took charge of cleaning up the estate. He chose a place to set up a temple, dedicated to Radha-Shyam, of whom they had been followers for generations. By this time, the masons of Abdullahpur had made a name in craftsmanship and expertise, and Arfan Ostagar was the most revered of all. He was hired, for a daily fee of five quarters and a pack of tobacco. His designer had to be paid an additional three quarters. A 15X6 feet room was planned to build, with a wide sprawling varanda, where followers could sing devotional songs every evening. The room would have a large platform, on which would rest a large metal statue of Radha-Shyam. The exterior wall would be decorated with fine ceramic designs. Once completed, the temple became a marvel, people from far and wide came over to see.

The Pal’s principal business was surrounded around the Kamala river port of Bikrampur, which was known as the Second Kolkata. Betelnuts, mustard, lentils etc would arrive from Barisal or Chandpur, and would be traded with Kolkata. Almost 20,000 laborers worked daily at this port, where the second largest wholesalers were the Pals. They set up warehouses at places as far as Barisal, Jhalokathhi or Shwarupkathhi, or Chandpur. Kamini Pal also became the most prominent money-lender. Dwarkanath became a prominent dealer in Kerosene oil. Other brothers also chipped in here and there. Business for the Pals was running well.

After the Partition of India, a large section of the family moved to Kolkata. Those who remained to protect the family businesses, soon found it difficult, as business with Kolkata became complicated. They had to explore new business avenues, but that wasn’t too easy.

In 1971, Hindus were being tortured or killed, their businesses were being shut down, their houses were being torched. The Pal estate being protected with a strong high boundary wall became a safe refuge, not only for members of this family, but for members of extended families, and also for friends and their families. About 500 people had found safe shelter here, until one dark night, when the Pakistani Army entered the compounds, killed several family members, and set the main houses of fire. The entire clan moved to India through Agartala.

Almost two years later, Shashadhar Pal, the second son of Dwarkanath Pal, who by then was head of the clan, returned with his family. But by this time major parts of the estate had been grabbed and taken over by others. He tried to revive some of the businesses, but did not quite succeed. His family members went back to Kolkata, but he decided to stay back, reminiscing his childhood memories, and gradually selling off part of their properties. He lived either in one of the houses within this estate, or in the other Pal House, which also was built by his uncle Kamini Pal several decades ago. He passed away in the late 1990s.

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