Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[name] => Panam Nagar
[post_id] => 11238
[post_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/bn/places/panam-nagar/
[thumb_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/229750_223480837697299_316414_n1-225x300.jpg
[post_content] =>
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.
)
[1] => Array
(
[name] => Bangladesh Parliament
[post_id] => 5737
[post_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/bn/places/national-parliament-house/
[thumb_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/National-Parliament-of-Bangladesh-naimul1-300x200.jpg
[post_content] =>
Bangladesh Parliament or 'House of the Nation' or 'Jatiyo Shangsad' is located in capital Dhaka with area of 208 acres. It was designed by Louis Isadore Kahn and made of concrete and marble showing a rich blend of ancient and modern architecture. Use of different geometrical shape and floating outlook are some different attractions of this glorious creation. You can visit only surroundings and lakes of the Parliament as it is not open for all.
Parliament of Bangladesh is a unicameral legislature consisting of 350 members of which 300 Members from 300 territorial constituencies that is one from each constituency, on the basis of adult Franchise. The remaining 50 seats are reserved for women who are elected by the aforesaid elected Members in accordance with law on the basis of procedure of proportional representation in the Parliament through Single Transferable Vote. This provision for 50 reserved women seats will continue for ten years from the beginning of the 9th Parliament.
As per provision of clause (3) of article 72 of the Constitution, the term of a Parliament is five years. It is ordinarily dissolved on completion of five years from the date of its first meeting after the general elections. The President has the authority to dissolve the Parliament earlier, if at any time he is satisfied that there is no Members of Parliament. The term of Parliament can be extended beyond 5 years by an Act of Parliament by not more than one year at a time when the Republic is engaged in war.
)
[2] => Array
(
[name] => House of Poet Quazi Kader Newaj
[post_id] => 18491
[post_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/bn/places/house-of-poet-quazi-kader-newaj-2/
[thumb_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/house-of-poet-Quazi-Kader-Newaj2-300x225.jpg
[post_content] =>
Historic and archaeological importance of the majestic house of poet Quazi Kader Newaj, an icon of Bangla literature, has been lying uncared in Sreepur upazila town under Magura district, as the authorities concerned are ignoring its tourism potentials.
The poet is specially recalled for his masterpiece of poetry ‘Shikhaker Marjada’. The poet was also a freedom fighter as he played an important role during the liberation war. He was also a good teacher. The poet and his kin were buried along this majestic building.
The splendid building still stands tall along the bank of the Kumar River beckoning the people passing by it to have a look of its grandeur and magnificence. None can resist the temptation of taking a look at the captivating old structure when one passes by it.
In the absence of proper maintenance and renovation, weeds have grown in and around the house while the mossy bricks are crumbling down from the decaying structure. The house has lost much of its charm of terracotta due to the authorities’ negligence. Locals have already taken away many of the bricks, plaques, wooden doors and windows. The house has become a safe haven for drug addicts and gamblers due to lack of proper initiatives for its preservation and maintenance. Local people use the building as their cowshed and it has turned into the public toilet.
Unfortunately, the government has done nothing to renovate the palace, though the historic site can fetch a large amount of revenue every year.
)
[3] => Array
(
[name] => Goaldi Mosque
[post_id] => 10965
[post_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/bn/places/goaldi-mosque/
[thumb_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/DSC068591-300x225.jpg
[post_content] =>
Sonargaon contains quite a number of Archaeological evidences, helping the scholars to reconstruct the Medieval History of Sonargaon area of Bangladesh. Goaldi Mosque, one of the very few surviving medieval monuments in the city of Sonargaon. About 6 km north-west of the little township of Panam, near Sonargaon in Narayanganj district, there are two such precariously surviving old single-domed mosques in the sequestered hamlet of Goaldi, virtually hidden behind thick bamboo brakes and clusters of mango and jackfruit tree groves.
Built in 1519, the graceful, single-domed Goaldi Mosque is the most impressive of the few extant monuments of the old capital city, and a good example of pre-Mughal architecture. This mosque is one of the few remnants from the Sultanate period in Sonargaon, during the reign of Sultan Hussain Shah in 925 Hijri (1519 AD). It was built by Mulla Hizabar Akbar Khan in the early 16th century, during the reign of Alauddin Husain Shah at a place called Goaldi - half a mile northeast of Panam village in Sonargaon. Sonargaon was the administrative center of medieval Muslim rulers of East Bengal. It became as the capital of Bengal during Isa Khan's ruling. The area falls under present-day Narayanganj District, Bangladesh. This mosque is more elegant and ornate in comparison to the earlier Sultanate mosques at Bagerhat.
There are some ornamental black stone pillars inside the prayer hall for the support of the roof. Corresponding to the three arched doorways on the east there are three richly decorated mihrabs on the west wall, of which the central one is bigger and beautifully embellished with curved floral and arabesque relief on dark black stone, but the flanking side mihrabs are ornamented with delicate terracotta floral and geometric patterns. The central stone mihrab is framed within an arched panel with an expanded sunflower motif in the centre. Below that the spandrels of the multi-cusped arch of the mihrab are decorated within a rectangular frame. The engrailed arched recess is carried on stunted octagonal pillars faceted at stages. Four round-banded turrets at the outer corners rise up to the curvilinear cornice.
)
)