Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[name] => Bhetarbandh Zamindar Bari
[post_id] => 6317
[post_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/places/bhetarbandh-zamindar-bari/
[thumb_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Bhetarbandh-Zamindar-Bari-by-Shipon-Borua1-300x184.jpg
[post_content] =>
Bhetarbandh Zamindar Bari or landlord house is located at Bhetarbandh village in Bhetarbandh union about 16 km far from Nageshwari sub district of Kurigram district. At the primary period of British ruling time, the headquarter of bhatarbandh pargana was at Rajshahi. After banned Permanent settlement law the bhatarbandh pargana headquarter transferred to Nageshwari sub district of Kurigram district. Wood made half part of the Landlord house is now lost. Now another half part of the house use as a union council office.
[This spot needs more detail. If you have more information and photos, please be advised to add in our website. Your name will be published as a Content Contributor]
)
[1] => Array
(
[name] => Betila House: The Forgotten Palace of Manikganj
[post_id] => 17193
[post_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/places/betila-house/
[thumb_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Betila-House-2-300x163.jpg
[post_content] =>
The Betila (বেতিলা) House in Manikganj was built about a century ago by Jyoti Babu (জ্যোতি বাবু) and Satya Babu (সত্য বাবু), a couple of affluent merchants involved in the trade of Jute, the golden fibre of Bangladesh. This palatial house is located in a remote area named Betila which is within the parameters of the modern day Manikganj proper. Explorers/travelers searching for heritage sites in Manikganj over the internet may come across several links of the famous Baliati Zamindar’s Palace but never find any links on Betila. This is primarily because the Betila House was not a Zamindar’s (Land Owner) palace, and secondly since it is located in such a remote area, people hardly know about it. Rich people of those era are known to build such palatial houses in remote areas and live lavish lives, even though they were not 'Zamindars' or royalty.
For someone looking for heritage sites, the Betila Mitra Union of Manikganj would be a fabulous one to come across. It’s situated in semi rural setting (being not too distant from urban areas) and doesn't seem particularly unique on first impression but once you begin to explore it's culture and heritage, beautiful places like the Betila House amongst several others begin to surface. The seemingly tame Betila Canal runs across the area, connecting two major rivers Kaliganga (কালিগঙ্গা) and Dhaleshwari (ধলেশ্বরী) but like most waterways of Bangladesh, one can anticipate its ferocity in full monsoon season when rising water levels which is also evident in the way it has eroded both its banks, specially at the lone bridge that was constructed some time back.
On both the banks one will come across a series of heritage buildings, the pinnacle being on the eastern bank, the Betila Palatial house surrounded by rich foliage. It’s a combined structure of two separate buildings both of which are two-storied, standing almost intact, side by side and with an expansive open field before them.
)
[2] => Array
(
[name] => Kusumba Mosque
[post_id] => 3656
[post_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/places/kusumba-mosque/
[thumb_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/84463426-300x199.jpg
[post_content] => Kusumba Mosque is named after the village of Kusumba, under the Manda upazila of Naogaon district, on the west bank of the Atrai River. It is inside a walled enclosure with a monumental gateway that has standing spaces for guards. It was built during the period of Afghan rule in Bengal under one of the last Suri rulers Ghiyasuddin Bahadur Shah, by one Suleiman who was probably a high ranking official. The inscription tablet in Arabic (only the word ‘built by’ is in Persian) dating the building to 966 AH (1558-59 AD) is fixed over its eastern central entrance.
Although built during Suri rule, it is not influenced at all by the earlier Suri architecture of North India, and is well grounded in the Bengal style. The brick building, gently curved cornice, and the engaged octagonal corner towers are typical features. The mosque, presently protected by the Department of Archaeology of Bangladesh, was badly damaged during the earthquake of 1897. Although the main fabric of the building is of brick the entire exterior walls, and the interior up to the arches of the pendentives have stone facing. The columns, platform, floor, and perforated side screens are of stone. The mosque has a rectangular plan with three bays and two aisles, three entrances on the east and two each on the north and south sides.
The central mihrab is projected in the west. The interior west (qibla) wall has two mihrabs on the floor level opposite the central and southeastern entrances, but the one in the northwestern bay is above a raised platform ascended by a staircase on the east. The presence of such a platform in a non-imperial mosque indicates that not only royalty, but nobility and high-ranking officials were also separated from the general public during prayers. The mihrabs have elaborate stone carving. They have cusped arches crowned with kalasa (water pot) motifs, supported on intricately carved stone pillars which have projections and tasseled decorations hanging from chains. Bunches of grapes and vines curve in an almost serpentine manner on the mihrab frames, and kalasas, tendrils and rosettes are reduced to dots.
The platform edge has grape vine decoration, and there are rosettes on the spandrels of the arches supporting the platform, as well as on the mihrab wall. The stone used in the exterior facing is of a coarse quality and carved in shallow relief. Mouldings are most prominent decorative feature on the outside. They divide the walls into upper and lower sections, run all along the curved cornice, around the corner towers, in a straight line below the cornice, and frame the rectangular panels in the east, south and north walls. The spandrels of the central entrance arch are filled with small kalasa and rosette motifs. The north and south sides have screened windows.
)
[3] => Array
(
[name] => {:en}Rose Garden Palace{:}{:bn}রোজ গার্ডেন প্যালেস{:}
[post_id] => 1529
[post_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/places/rose-garden-palace/
[thumb_link] => http://offroadbangladesh.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/rose-garden-1-300x225.jpg
[post_content] => {:en}
The Rose Garden Palace was built by a Hindu Zamindar Hrikesh Das in the late 19th century. Around that time jalsas (parties) held at Baldha Garden were an important part of the social life of the city's wealthier Hindu residents. The story goes that Hrishikesh, a Zamindar of lower caste background, being insulted on this account by someone at one of the jalsas at Baldha Garden, decided to create his own garden to outshine that of Baldha. Here he staged jalsas of his own. The centerpiece of the garden is an elegant pavilion. However, this was not created as a residence, but rather a setting for entertainment such as musical performances (although subsequent owners did use it as a house). This extravagant lifestyle caused Hrikesh to go bankrupt and he was forced to sell the property.
The palace was bought by Khan Bahadur Kazi Abdur Rashid from Hrikesh in 1936 and renamed the building Rashid Manzil. His eldest son Kazi Mohammed Bashir (Humayun) who carried his name and fame until this generation.
The building, which remains a private property to date, has been renovated by its owners keeping the original character fully maintained. At present it is owned by Qazi Abdur Raqib, Barrister, who has leased it out to the Bengal Motion Picture Studios Limited.
The building has Corinthian columns and has eight apartments including a central hall on its ground floor. The upper floor has a further five apartments including a large dance hall in the middle. In the front yard, there was a fountain originally, the structure of which still remains. There are several classical marble statues in the garden, although the rosegarden that gave the mansion its name does not exist anymore.
The lodge contains on the ground floor eight apartments including a central hall whilst the upper floor has a further five apartments including a large dance hall measuring in the middle. At the back of the building to the east there is a veranda triple-arched entrance porch which leads to a staircase for the upper storey. Originally there was an ornamental fountain in the garden and a number of classical marble statue.
{:}{:bn}
১৯ শতকের শেষের দিকে হিন্দু জমিদার হৃষিকেস দাস রোজ গার্ডেন প্যালেসটি নির্মাণ করেন। সেসময়, বলধা গার্ডেনে অনুষ্ঠিত হওয়া জলসাগুলো শহরের বিত্তবান হিন্দুদের সামাজিক জীবনের গুরুত্বপূর্ণ অংশ ছিল। বলধা গার্ডেনের এমনই এক জলসায় হৃষিকেস দাস নামক এক নিম্নবর্ণের জমিদারকে অপমান করা হয় এবং এর ফলে তিনি নিজেই বাগানবাড়ি স্থাপনের সিদ্ধান্ত গ্রহন করেন। হৃষিকেস দাস তাঁর নিজস্ব বাগানবাড়িতে জলসার আয়োজন করতেন। তাঁর বাগানের মূল আকর্ষণ ছিল একটি নয়নাভিরাম সাজঘর। তবে বাগানবাড়িটি শুধুমাত্র বিনোদনের জন্য তৈরি করা হয়েছিল (যদিও পরবর্তী মালিকরা এটি বসবাসের জন্যেও ব্যবহার করতেন)। বিলাসবহুল জীবনযাপনের কারনে হৃষিকেস দাস দেউলিয়া হয়ে যান এবং ফলশ্রুতিতে তাঁকে তাঁর সম্পত্তি বিক্রি করে দিতে হয়েছিল।
১৯৩৬ সালে খান বাহাদুর কাজী আব্দুর রশিদ এই প্রাসাদটি হৃষিকেস দাসের কাছ থেকে কিনে নেন এবং প্রাসাদটির নামকরণ করেন রশিদ মঞ্জিল। তাঁর বড় ছেলে কাজী মোহাম্মদ বশির (হুমায়ুন) আজ অবধি তাঁদের নাম ও খ্যাতিকে ধরে রেখেছেন।
আজ অবধি ব্যাক্তিগত সম্পত্তি এই ভবনটির মূল আবেদন ধরে রেখে ভবনটিকে রক্ষনাবেক্ষন করা হচ্ছে। বর্তমানে এই প্রাসাদটির মালিক ব্যারিস্টার কাজী আব্দুর রকিব প্রাসাদটি বেঙ্গল মোশন পিকচার স্টুডিও লিমিটেডের কাছে ভাড়া দিয়েছেন।
প্রাসাদটির নীচতলায় একটি হলরুম ছাড়াও করিনথিয়ান কলাম এবং আটটি কক্ষ রয়েছে। প্রাসাদের উপর তলার মাঝে নৃত্য করার জন্য হল ছাড়াও আরও পাঁচটি কক্ষ রয়েছে। প্রাসাদের সামনে একটি ঝর্ণা ছিল যেটির চিহ্ন আজও বিদ্যমান। প্রাসাদের বাগানে কয়েকটি মার্বেলের তৈরি মূর্তি রয়েছে যদিও স্থানটির নামকরণ যে গোলাপ বাগানের জন্য করা হয়েছে সেই গোলাপ বাগানটি এখন আর নেই।
প্রাসাদের পিছনে পূর্বদিকে একটি বারান্দা আছে যেখানে প্রবেশের জন্য ধনুকাকৃতির তিনস্তর বিশিষ্ট একটি প্রবেশপথ রয়েছে যেটি দিয়ে উপরে ওঠার সিঁড়িতে যাওয়া যায়।
{:}
)
)
