Brief
Ahsan Manzil (আহসান মঞ্জিল, Ahsan Monjil) was the official residential and seat of the Dhaka Nawab Family. This magnificent building is situated at Kumartoli along the banks of the Buriganga River in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The construction of this palace was started in 1859 and completed in 1872. It was constructed in the Indo-Saracenic Revival architecture. It has been designated as a national museum.
In Mughal era, there was a garden house of Sheikh Enayet Ullah, the landlord of Jamalpur porgona (district), in this place. Sheikh Enayet Ullah was a very charming person. He acquired a very big area in Kumortuli (Kumartuli) and included it in his garden house. Here he built a beautiful palace and named it “Rongmohol”. He used to enjoy here keeping beautiful girls collecting from the country and abroad, dressing them with gorgeous dresses and expensive ornaments. There is a saying that, the foujdar of Dhaka (representative of mughal emperor) in that time was attracted to one of the beautiful girls among them. He invited Sheikh Enayet Ullah in a party one night and killed him in a conspiracy when he was returning home. That girl also committed suicide in anger and sorrow. There was a grave of Sheikh Enayet Ullah in the north-east corner of the palace yard which was ruined in the beginning of 20th century.
Around 1740 century, in the period of Nawab Alibardi Khan, Sheikh Moti Ullah, the son of Sheikh Enayet Ullah, sold the property to the French traders. There was a French trading house beside this property. The trading house became wealthier after purchasing this property. In that time, French traders could do business here without paying any taxes by a decree from the emperor Awrangajeb.
In that time, the French became very wealthy by doing business here in competition with the English and other European companies. They made a big palace and dug a pond for sweet water in the newly purchased property. The pond still exists in the compound of Ahsan Manjil which was called “Les Jalla” in that time. In the English-French war, French got defeated and all their properties were captured by the English. In the 22nd June of 1757, the French left the trading house with a fleet of 35 boats from the river station of Buriganga in front of Kumartuli.
In 1785, the French transferred the property to a French tradesman named Mr. Champigni, and retaken it at 1801. According to Paris agreement of 1814, the French claimed all their left properties at Dhaka, and in 1827 the property was again returned to the French. For the increasing power of the English, the French was forced to left subcontinent. They decided to sell all their properties in Dhaka. So in 1830, the trading house of Kumartuli was purchased by the established landlord of Dhaka Khwaja Alimullah.
After some renovation work, the trading house became the residence of Khwaja Alimullah. In his time, a stable and a family mosque was added in the compound. After his death, his son Khwaja Abdul Gani made a great flourish to the property, and named it “Ahsan Manjil” on his son Ahsan Ullah. In the east side of the old building, he made a new building with a different design, and also done great renovation work to the old building. Since then, the old building was called “Ondor Mohol” and the new building as “Rong mohol”.
In the evening of 7 April 1888, a devastating tornado hit Dhaka city causing great damage. Ahsan Manjil was severely damaged and abandoned. An English engineer from Kolkata arrived here to examine the palace. He gave opinion that except the “Rangmahal”, all other parts of the palace have to reconstruct. So Khwaja Abdul Gani and his son Ahsanullah turned their full attention to rebuild the palace. Both of the building was reconstructed during that time with a new design and supervised by the local engineer Gobinda Chandra Roy.
The old French building was reconstructed to a two storied building keeping similarity to the Rangmahal. A gangway was made with wood connecting the first floor of two building. The most beautiful thing made in this time was the dome, which made the palace so beautiful. After the death of Khwaja Ahsanullah in 1901, the glory of Ahsan Manjil was ended. His successors couldn’t continue the glory because of the internal family quarrel. They rented different parts of the palace to tenants, who actually made it a slum. In 1952, govt. acquired the property and left in supervision of the Dhaka Nawab court. In 1985, Dhaka National Museum acquired the property and made it a museum.
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[name] => {:en}Bangladesh National Museum{:}{:bn}বাংলাদেশ জাতীয় জাদুঘর{:}
[post_id] => 4469
[post_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/places/bangladesh-national-museum/
[thumb_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/national-museum-Yazdi-Syed-Madakur-Mohammad1-300x225.jpg
[post_content] => {:en}
The Museum was established in 1913 is a four storied building with forty galleries under its 4 departments of natural history, History and Classical Art, Ethnography and decorative art and Contemporary art and World civilization.
The museum has a vast and elaborate collection of old coins, books on art, ivory and silver filigree works, images made with metal, many textiles including the famed Muslin fabric and Nakshi Kantha, arms and ammunitions from the Mughal time, series of painting and sculptures dating back to the Buddhist and Muslim period, handicrafts and models of the village and city life and most importantly- priceless articles of the liberation war of Bangladesh which signifies the backbone of the history of Bangladesh can be found there.
The ground floor consists of some old guns at the entrance and the hall where the people book their tickets or assemble to hear the history of the museum. The hall leads to a grand staircase. Beside the hall, there is a smaller room which also acts like the hall (it is also used by the guides to tell the visitors about the history) and a simple staircase.
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১৯১৩ সালে একটি চারতলা ভবনে এই জাদুঘরটি প্রতিষ্ঠিত হয়। এখানে প্রকৃতির ইতিহাস, বিশ্বসভ্যতা, মানবজাতির বিবর্তন, সমসাময়িক চিত্রকর্ম সহ বিভিন্ন বিভাগে মোট চল্লিশটি গ্যালারি রয়েছে।
জাদুঘরের বিশাল সংগ্রহের মধ্যে রয়েছেঃ প্রাচীনমুদ্রা, শিল্পকর্ম, রুপার গয়না, হাতিরদাঁত, নকশীকাঁথা ও বিখ্যাত মসলিন কাপড়, মুঘল আমলের অস্ত্র ও গোলাবারুদ, বৌদ্ধ এবং মুসলিম শাসনামলের চিত্রকর্ম এবং মূর্তি, বিষ্ণুমূর্তি, শহর এবং গ্রামের জীবনযাত্রার বিন্যাস, গ্রামবাংলার হাতেরকাজ, বাংলাদেশের মহান মুক্তিযুদ্ধের অমূল্য স্মারক ও দলিল সহ বহু মূল্যবান এবং দুর্লভ জিনিস।
জাদুঘরের মূল ভবনে প্রবেশের ঠিক আগেই (যেখানে দর্শনার্থীরা জাদুঘরের ইতিহাস শুনতে জড়ো হন) এবং প্রবেশের সাথে সাথে হলরুমে বেশকিছু প্রাচীন কামান চোখে পরবে। জাদুঘরে প্রবেশের পর হল রুম অতিক্রম করে বিভিন্ন তলায় যাওয়ার জন্য সিঁড়ি দেখতে পাবেন। জাদুঘরের বিভিন্ন গ্যালারির পাশাপাশি একটি ছোট কক্ষও রয়েছে যেখানে গাইডরা দর্শনার্থীদের ইতিহাস সম্পর্কে বর্ণনা করে থাকেন।
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[1] => Array
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[name] => Taka Museum
[post_id] => 10111
[post_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/places/taka-museum/
[thumb_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/P_20150616_1200521-300x169.jpg
[post_content] =>
Currency Museum is located at Mirpur beside Bangladesh Bank Training Academy. This project is taken regarding the enlargement of the currency museum into money museum. The country’s eminent artists, architects and historians have worked together for the museum along with the central bank to make it launch.
Museum authority has collected local and foreign coins and banknotes in different ways to enrich this museum. The museum has now thousands of coins and notes from the Pala, Sena, Gupta, Sultani, Mughal and British periods. About 2500 coins and notes found in Wari-Bateshwar of Narsingdi will be reserved in this Museum. Bangladesh Numismatic Collectors’ Society handed over 100 coins of different eras to the Currency Museum of Bangladesh Bank.
The historically significant deposited coins included 48 of the Alauddin Hossain Shah era, 29 of Nasiruddin Nusrat Shah, four of Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah, five of Sikandar Shah, three of Giasuddin Azam Shah, three of Rukunuddin Barbak Shah, two of Nasiruddin Mahmud, one of Mahmud Shah, one of Shahjahan, two of Badsha Alamgir , one of Islam Shah and one of the Shah Alam era.
A museum, first of its kind in Bangladesh, will help young people to know about the currency’s history and its evolution. Not only the history of Money, this museum will also help people to get acquainted with the lifestyle, education, culture and various aspects of archaeological evolution of human civilization through coins and currencies of different eras.
It showcases coins and banknotes, which are witnesses to history, to uphold the history and heritage before the present and future generations. Efforts are already on to collect old coins and install digital signage, touch screens, LCD monitors etc to equip the ‘Taka Museum’ into a modern, prosperous, state of the art, rich in information and technology-based museum.It has been established with modern technology to attract visitors.
The Governor, Expressed his appreciation in people of the society who are coming forward to enrich the collections of the Taka Museum of the bank, Dr Atiur Rahman said those institutions and individuals who would handover old coins as presents to the museum would be gladly accepted and the presenters would be properly recognized.
Background History: A currency museum was set up in the Bangladesh Bank in 2009, which was displaying currencies of almost all countries of the world. Initiatives had been taken to expand this museum to open the 'Taka Jadhughar’. At the end, the central bank's existing currency museum is being restructured as the 'Taka Jadughar'. The restructuring of the 'Taka Jadhughar' took place on the premises of Bangladesh Bank Training Institute at Mirpur. Along with this, the central bank is collecting obsolete coins and banknotes to exhibit in the gallery.
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[name] => {:en}House of Poet Jasim Uddin{:}{:bn}কবি জসীমউদ্দিনের বাড়ী{:}
[post_id] => 5865
[post_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/places/house-of-poet-jasim-uddin/
[thumb_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/House_of_Poet_Jasimuddin-Pervez21181-300x225.jpg
[post_content] => {:en}
Jasim Uddin is the famous poet from Bangladesh, especially for his dedication to write poems about the folklore culture. He is the only poet from the country whose poems depicts the beauty of the villages and people of villages. The house of our beloved poet is situated by the river "Kumar". The river itself is an enchanting for its beauty and environment. Inside the house premise, you'll find the grave of the poet (actually a family grave for poet's family).
To enter inside the house premise, you'll require 5 taka per person. Inside the premise, you can see some used objects of the poet, for example camera, plates, bed, chair, some photos etc. You'll find lots of quotes from the poet (some from speech, some from poem, and some from story). You'll love to read those from there. Especially the ones those were at your text book during your childhood education.
At the outside of the house premise, it’s a nice picnic spot. Lots of visitors used to come to this place to pass the afternoon. The river, and the field beside the river is lovely for enjoying the beauty of the sunset. The large field beside the river is now a playing ground for the local people. They used to pass their afternoon using playing football or other local plays there. It’s also a lovely scene where kids are playing. For visitors, there are benches to sit, under sheds.
During the 1st January to 18th January, there used to be a Mela (Fair) at this ground by the name of the Poet. But the Mela unofficially used to extend for another 2 days. So the total duration is 20 days.
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আমাদের লোকসংস্কৃতির উপর কবিতা রচনার জন্য কবি জসীমউদ্দিন খ্যাতি অর্জন করেন। বাংলাদেশে তিনিই একমাত্র কবি যার কবিতায় এদেশের গ্রামের সৌন্দর্য এবং গ্রামের মানুষের জীবনযাত্রা নিখুতভাবে উঠে এসেছে।
আমাদের সকলের প্রিয় এই কবির বাসভবন কুমার নদীর তীরে অবস্থিত। চমৎকার সৌন্দর্য এবং তার চারপাশের মনোরম পরিবেশের কারনে এই নদীটির আলাদা খ্যাতি আছে। বাসার অভ্যন্তরে পারিবারিক কবরস্থানে কবির কবর রয়েছে। কবি জসীমউদ্দিনের বাসায় ঢুকতে আপনাকে পাঁচ টাকা প্রবেশমূল্য দিতে হবে। এখানে আপনি কবির ব্যবহার করা বিভিন্ন জিনিসপত্র দেখতে পাবেন যেমনঃ ক্যামেরা, প্লেট, চেয়ার, খাট, কিছু ছবি ইত্যাদি।
এছাড়া এখানে বিভিন্ন ভাষণ, কবিতা এবং গল্প থেকে কবির নিজস্ব উক্তি দেখতে পাবেন। এসব উক্তির কিছু কিছু আমরা আমাদের পাঠ্য পুস্তকে পড়ে এসেছি তাই এসব পড়ে আপনি আপনার ছেলেবেলায় হারিয়ে যাবেন। কবির বাসার বাইরে একটি চমৎকার পিকনিক স্পট রয়েছে যেখানে বিকালবেলা মানুষজনের সমাগম ঘটে। এখানকার নদী এবং ধানক্ষেত ঘেরা পরিবেশে সূর্যাস্তের অপরূপ দৃশ্য উপভোগ করতে পারবেন।
এখানে নদীর পাশেই অবস্থিত বিশাল মাঠটিতে স্থানীয়রা খেলাধুলা করে থাকে। ছোট বাচ্চাদের ছোটাছুটি দেখে হয়তো আপনি শৈশবে হারিয়ে যাবেন। দর্শনার্থীদের বসার জন্য মাঠের পাশে পৃথক শেডের ব্যবস্থা রয়েছে। প্রতিবছর জানুয়ারি মাসের ১ তারিখ থেকে ১৮ তারিখ এই মাঠে কবির নামে একটি মেলার আয়োজন করা হয়ে থাকে। তবে স্থানীয়দের অনুরোধে মেলার মেয়াদ দুইদিন বৃদ্ধি করা হয়ে থাকে।
{:}
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[3] => Array
(
[name] => Varendra Research Museum
[post_id] => 3022
[post_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/places/varendra-research-museum/
[thumb_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/varendraresearchmuseumrajshahi15-300x225.jpg
[post_content] => Varendra Museum (Bengali:
বরেন্দ্র জাদুঘর) is a museum, research center and popular visitor attraction located at the heart ofRajshahi town and maintained by Rajshahi University in Bangladesh. It is considered the oldest museum in Bangladesh. Varendra museum was the first museum to be established in East Bengal in 1910. The museum started out as the collection for Varendra Anushandan Samiti or Varendra Investigation Society got its current name in 1919. The Rajahs of Rajshahi and Natore, notably prince Sharat Kumar Ray, donated their personal collections to Varendra Museum. Varendra refers to an ancient janapada roughly corresponding to modern northern Bangladesh.
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