Ruplal House: The Magnificent Past of Farashganj

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.

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.

Shoshi Lodge (শশী লজ) is located at the center of Mymensingh city which is also known as the Residential Palace of  Moharaja Shoshi Kanto Acharya (মহারাজা শশীকান্ত আচার্য). This palace is very close to the river Brahmaputra which is being used as Women Teachers Training College from the year 1952.

According to the history, most of the rulers from Zamindar family have adopted babies in different era and those adopted child ruled the area later. For example Gourikanta(গৌরীকান্ত) was adopted by Roghunondon(রঘুনন্দন). Son of Gourikanta was Shashikanta(শশীকান্ত) and his wife adopted Surjokanta (সূর্য্যকান্ত) as she was childless. Later, Surjokanto became the prominent Zamindar of Mymensingh district. People used to call him as Moharaja(মহারাজা).

Moharaja Surjokanto Acharya was the Zamindar in Mymensingh region for long 41 years. During the reign of his Zamindari he did so many work for social welfare and made a remarkable change in infrastructural development.

He started to build an unique two storied building on an area of nine acre at the end of nineteenth century. Childless Zamindar Surjokanto named after this building in the name of his adopted son Shoshi Kanto Acharya. After completion of construction this building was extensively damaged by a destructive earth quake on the year 1897. Zamindar Surjokanto was immensely worried at this great loss.

Later Zamindar Shoshi Kanto Acharya re-built this building with many additional features in the year 1905 and did more renovation work in 1911. This unique classical architecture and its surrounding will certainly attract a traveler to explore this place recurrently.