Rupban Mura

Rudrakar is a famous place in Shariatpur. It was built 150 years ago. It's been evaluated one of the Sacred places for Hindu religious people. It stands at Rudrakar Union in Shariatpur. Everyday, people from different directions come to visit this place.

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The year was 1888. Viceroy Lord Dufferin of India was scheduled to visit these parts on an official tour during the then British Raj. A grand Ballroom Dancing program was organized by the English in honor of the Viceroy. And thus began a search for a suitable venue which was not only beautiful enough to be fitting of such an occasion but was also equipped with all appropriate amenities and facilities. In line with this requirement, three houses were short listed: Ahsan Manzil, the current Banga Bhaban (President’s Residence) & the Ruplal House. Finally, due to modernity of all the facilities available, its incomparable beauty and it’s grand architectural style the Ruplal House was chosen as the site for this grand program.

Ruplal House (Rooplal House) is located at Farashganj, just beside the bank of the Buriganga River. It was built by two prominent merchant brothers from Dhaka, Ruplal and Raghunath Das. It cannot exactly be determined how old the building actually is, but according to the locals there it may be around 150-200 years old.

Apart from Ruplal House, there is another adjoining buildings both of which have almost similar architectural styles, but the Ruplal House is the most beautiful one among the others. Nowadays Ruplal House is known as Zakir House, and the other one is known as Noorjahan House. However, nowadays inside both the buildings you'll find a vibrant spice and vegetable market.

The house has more than 50 rooms including a Hall Room, all of which are large and spacious consistent with the architecture of those time. The building has large cylindrical columns in line with the architectural styles of Ancient Greek buildings. Also top of the building, especially the ledges are also decorated with intricate designs reminiscent of Greek Architure as well as the Victorian Castles of England. But now a days, mostly due to the lack of maintenance, trees and unbridled weeds have grown up the wall of the building.

No one is available there to clean the premises &/or maintain it and also inside the building you'll find unauthorized people living. Recently Bangladesh government has announced this as archaeological property, but as of yet no action taken to preserve it.

The evidence says about Armenian community in the region during 17th to 18th century and their existence. Armenian Church was build in 1781 on Armenian Street in Armanitola. The site was an American graveyard before before the church built. Agaminus Catachik, an Armenian, gave away the land to build the church. Michel Cerkess, Okotavata Setoor Sevorg, Aga Amnius, and Merkers Poges helped build the church.

Mother Teresa stayed in this church during a visit to Dhaka.

In the old graveyard, among the 350 people buried there, a statue stands at the grave of Catachik Avatik Thomas, portraying his wife. The statue was bought from Kolkata and the grave is inscribed with the words "Best of Husband." Following the domination of their homeland by Persian powers of the time, Armenians were sent by their new rulers to the Bengal region for both political and economic reasons. Although the Armenian presence in South Asia is now insignificant, their presence in Dhaka dates back to the 17th century. Armenians came to Dhaka for business, and have been acknowledged for displaying a passion for trade comparable to that of the Bengalis of the time. In Dhaka, Armenian merchants traded in jute and leather, and profitability in these businesses convinced some to move permanently to Bangladesh. The area where they lived became known as Armanitola.

In 1781 the now famous Armenian Church was built on Armenian Street in Armanitola, then a thriving business district. The site was an Armenian graveyard before the church was built, and the tombstones that have survived serve as a chronicle of Armenian life in the area. Agaminus Catachik, an Armenian, gave away the land to build the church. Michel Cerkess, Okotavata Setoor Sevorg, Aga Amnius, and Merkers Poges helped build the church.

In the fifty years following the church's construction, a clock tower was erected on its western side. Allegedly, the clock could be heard four miles away, and people synchronized their watches with the sound of the tower's bell. The clock stopped in 1880, and an earthquake destroyed the tower in 1897. The Armenian played a prominent part in the jute trade in Dhaka and are reputed to be the pioneers of that trade in the second half of the 19th century. Today, the last Armenian that takes cares of the church is Mikhail Hopcef Martirossian (Micheal Joseph Martin). He was also one of the Armenian who was in the jute trade.

Itakhola Mura is an archaeological site in Mainamati. This site is one of the most impressive ruins. It lies in three terraces on adjacent hillocks just opposite the Rupban Mura site across the Kotbari road in Comilla. Excavations have revealed here a grand stupa complex with an attached monastery, located 42m to its north. The cultural phases of the site are stated (or overstated) to be five; the earlier three being still buried underneath the later remains.

The Stupa Complex was originally built as a solid stupa in the traditional style on a 13.1 meter square basement. However, it has one peculiarity; a small sanctum (2.4 m x 2.1 m) built in the center of its eastern or front side.

Subsequently, the shrine was enlarged and elaborated by additions and alterations, especially by adding three long narrow chapels in the eastern side after blocking the old sanctum; thus giving the structure an oblong shape (41.4 m x 24m). In this particular feature, it is strikingly similar to the Rupban Mura shrine. The side chapels were ultimately blocked up, leaving space for a few cubicles for installing cult images, as in other parts of the shrine. This establishment is surrounded by a 2.6 m wide circumlocutory passage and is enclosed by a 1.2 m thick boundary wall.

This holy precinct is again enclosed within a much larger, well-defined, and better preserved boundary wall (79 m x 56 m), in the slightly lower second terrace. It contains three interesting subsidiary shrines, two in two corners of the eastern side, and the other, a slightly larger one, at the back in the west. An elaborate entrance with 22 broad steps at the Center of the eastern side leads to the much lower third terrace. The outer face of its damaged boundary wall in this front side is excellently decorated with offsets, sunken panels, and ornamental designs.

Five votive stupas lie at the base of the long staircase, three of them in a north south row within a well-defined enclosure, all semi-cruciform in shape, like that of the larger subsidiary shrines in the western side of the second terrace. They certainly represent an experimental early stage in the development of the cruciform style in Buddhist architecture that we see in mature form at shalvan vihara, paharpur, Vikramashila and many other sites. These structures may reasonably be dated as belonging to 7th-8th centuries AD.

The Monastery This medium sized monastery of the usual square shape with 19 cells and one entrance hall was built around an open courtyard, 16.2m. Square, on a separate mound. Its monumental gateway complex, 17.6m x 8.5m, projecting outwards, lies at the Centre of the eastern wing. Some of the cells have brick-built bedsteads. This structure was badly damaged by brick-hunters in 1944-45.

Mentionable antiquities from the site, besides the stucco image, are three round pellets of solid gold, (19 tolas), and a copperplate inscription, discovered during clearance work after the excavations. The copperplate has not yet been deciphered.