Ahsan Manzil (Bengali: আহসান মঞ্জিল, Ahsan Monjil) was the official residential palace 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 was completed in 1872. It was constructed in the Indo-Saracenic Revival architecture. It has been designated as a national museum.
History
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" (Rangmahal). He
used to enjoy here keeping beautiful girls collected 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 the 20th century.
Probably in the period of Nawab
Alibardi Khan around 1740 century, 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. On 22 June 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 was called "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 for the
"Rangmahal", all the other parts of the palace would have to be
reconstructed. So Khwaja Abdul Gani and his son Ahsanullah turned their full
attention to rebuild the palace. Both of the buildings were 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 floors of the two buildings.
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 following a massive
restoration programme which utilised historic photographs of the property.
Description
and construction
Ahsan Manzil is one of the most
significant architectural monuments of Bangladesh. The building structure was
established on a raised platform of 1 meter, the two-storied palace measures
125.4m by 28.75m. The height of the ground floor is 5 meters and the height of
the first floor is 5.8 meters. The thickness of the walls of the palace is
about 0.78 meters. There are porticos of 5 meters height on the northern and
southern sides of the palace. The building has a broad front-facing the
Buriganga River. On the river side, an open spacious stairway leads right up to
the second portal and on their stands the grand triple- arched portals. There
was once a fountain in the garden in front of the stairs which does not exist
today. All along the north and the south side of the building run spacious
verandahs with an open terrace projected in the middle.
The palace Ahsan Manzil is divided
into two parts: the eastern side and the western side. The eastern building
with the dome is called the Rangmahal and the western side with the living
rooms is called Andarmahal. The high octagonal dome is placed on the central
round room. There is a large drawing room, card room, library, state room and
two other guest rooms are located on the east side of the palace. The ballroom,
the Hindustani room and few residential rooms are situated on the western side.
A beautiful vaulted artificial ceiling, made of wood, decorates the drawing
room and the Jalsaghar. A splendid dining hall and few smaller rooms are placed
on the west part. The floors of the dining and Darbar Halls are decorated with
white, green and yellow colored ceramic tiles. The famous store room, where the
valuables of the Nawabs used to be stored, was in the middle of the five rooms
located in the western half of the ground floor. Along with those rooms a
Darbar Hall or assembly hall and a chest room is also place there.
Dome of Ahsan-Monzil
There are attractive wooden stairs
in the room that is attached to the north of the domed room. The balusters were
ornamented with vine leaves made of iron along the railing of the stairs. The
wooden ceiling of the room, decorated with geometric designs, is very elegant.
The verandas and rooms are covered with marble. The doorways are placed within
semicircular arches. The inner doors had multi-colored glasses. Wooden beams
supported the roof of these rooms. The architecture and the decoration is one
of a kind in whole Bangladesh.
The construction of the famous dome
of the Ahsan Mazil, which is at the center of the palace, took a lot tedious
planning. The square room on the ground floor was built with a round shape and
brickworks were done around the corners. To give the room an octagonal shape,
squinches were given around the roof corners. The eight corners of the octagon
was slanted gradually to make the dome look like the bud of a lotus ( kumud
kali). The peak of this dome is 27.13 m above the ground. Ahsan Manzil was
severely damaged during the tornado that occurred on 7 April 1888.the western
block of Andermahal was completely demolished and later it was entirely
rebuilt. The present day dome, which is situated on the top, was built during
the time of reconstruction. This place was also damaged during the earthquake
of 1897 but Nawab Khwaja Ahsanullah repaired the whole place again.
Glory
days
Nawab Sir Salimullah with his family
in front of Ahsan Manzil
In 1874, Lord Northbrook, Governor
General of India attended an evening function in the palace when he came to lay
the foundation of a water works installed by Nawab Abdul Ghani. In 1888, Lord
Dufferin also accepted the hospitality offered at Ahsan Manzil. In 1904 Lord
Curzon, on a visit to East Bengal, stayed in this palace on 18 and 19 February
to win public support for the proposed Partition of Bengal.
Ahsan Manzil, an architectural
treasure, is a witness to many historical events of Bangladesh. From the last
part of the 19th century to the initial years of Pakistan, the Muslim
leadership of East Bengal emerged from this palace. The nawabs of Dhaka used to
conduct their court affairs here as chief of the panchayet (village council)
everyday. Many anti-Congress meetings were held here under the patronization of
Nawab Ahsanullah, a staunch believer in Muslim identity. Almost all the
Viceroys, Governors and Lieutenant Governors of British India who visited Dhaka
spent some time at the Ahsan Manzil. Almost all political activities of Nawab
Khwaja Salimullah centred round this palace. Ahsan Manzil was the cradle of the
All India Muslim League. With the decline of the Nawabs of Dhaka, Ahsan Manzil
also started to decline.
Decline
In 1952, the Dhaka Nawab State was
acquired under the East Bengal Estate Acquisition Act; it became impossible for
the successors of the Nawabs to maintain the palace due to financial constraints.
Nawab Khwaja Habibullah started living at Paribag Green House soon after the
acquisition of the zamindari. The palace was soon on the verge of collapse as
successors rented out rooms without considering its dignity. Over the years
illegal occupants turned the place into a filthy slum. After the independence
of Bangladesh, most of the nawab family went to abroad in search of a better
livelihood and work. On 1974, the owners of the palace decided to put it up for
auction.
Renovation
Recognizing the historical and
architectural importance of the Ahsan Manzil, the government of Bangladesh took
the initiative to renovate it. In 1985, Ahsan Manzil and its surroundings were
acquired. After the completion of the renovation work in 1992 under the
supervision of the Directorate of Public Works and Architecture, it was brought
under the control of Bangladesh National Museum (20 September 1992). A museum
has been established there.
Rare Exhibits inside Ahsan Manzil
Considering the historical
importance and architectural significance of Ahsan Manzil palace, the
government was trying to conserve it since the later part of the Pakistani
rule. The father of nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman canceled its
auction proposal option. On November 2, 1974, he ordered to establish a museum
and tourist center after its proper conservation.
No comments:
Post a Comment