One
of the most noteworthy architectural monuments in Bangladesh is the Ahsan
Manzil. It is situated at Kumartoli, Dhaka on the bank of the river Buriganga.
It was then the dwelling palace of the Dhaka Nawab family. Before it became the
residential palace, it was the Garden House of Sheikh Enayetullah, the
illustrious landlord of Jalapur during the Mughal Period. His son Sheikh
Motiullah sold the Garden House to the French traders in 1740. French traders
used it as their business center. In 1830 Khwaja Alimullah, the father of Nawab
Abdul Ghani purchase that French trading center building and renovated it into
his residence. Nawab Abdul Ghani employed Martin & Company, a European
construction and Engineering firm, to make a master plan for their house. The construction
of the palace begun in 1859 and completed in 1872. Abdul Ghani named it Ahsan
Manzil after his son Nawab Khwaja Ahsanullah.
Ahsan Manzil is a witness to many historical events of
Bangladesh. The Muslim leadership of East Bengal emerged from this palace, from
the last part of the 19th century to the initial years of Pakistan.
It was used as the chief of the Panchayet (village council) of the Nawabs of
Dhaka to conduct their court affairs every day. Almost all the Viceroys,
Governors and Lieutenant Governors of British India who visited Dhaka spent
some time at the Ahsan Manzil.
Ahsan Manzil is one of the most important architectural
structures in Bangladesh. The structure is built on a raised platform of 1
meter. The structure measures 125.4m by 28.75m. The palace is two-storied building.
The height of the ground floor is 5 meters and the first floor is 5.8 meters.
The palace 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 dome which is placed on the
central room is in octagonal shape. The construction of the famous dome took a
lot tedious planning. The eight corners of the octagon was slanted gradually to
make the dome look like the bud of lotus ( kumud koli). The peak of the dome is
27.13 m above the ground. The east side of the palace contains large drawing
room, card room, library, state room and two other guest rooms. The western
side contains the ball room, the Hindustani room and a few residential rooms.
The drawing room and the ball room were decorated with a beautiful vaulted
artificial ceiling which is made of wood. The floors of the dining and darbar
halls were decorated with white, green and yellow colored ceramic tiles.
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 of iron along the railing of the stairs. The verandas and rooms are
covered with marble. The doorways are placed within semicircular arches. The
inner doors contain multi-colored glasses. The roof of these rooms is supported
by wooden beams. The architecture and decoration is one of a kind in whole Bangladesh.
On the 7th April 1888 during the tornado the
palace was severely damaged. The western block of Andarmahal was entirely
demolished. Later it was entirely rebuilt. During the time of reconstruction
the present day dome was built, which is situated on the top.
The government of
Bangladesh took the project to repair the Ahsan Manzil after recognizing the
historical and architectural significance of it. It was taken under the control
of Bangladesh National Museum in 1992, after the ending of the reconstruction
work. A museum has been launched there. Today the visitors of Bangladesh have
the opportunity to see the beautifully restored and preserved Ahsan Manzil. It
remains open for tourists six days a week in day time except Thursday and
government holidays.
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