Sonargaon, Panam City:
Sonargaon
was the administrative centre of Eastern Bengal
under the Muslim rulers of Bengal. To be more specific, Sonargaon was
the capital of the ancient kingdom ruled by Isha Khan of Bengle. Today,
old Sonargaon is home to some of the oldest buildings in Bangladesh and
it is the name of an upazila of Narayanganj district.
Historical
ancient capital Sonargaon is about 27 kilometers to
the southeast of Dhaka. It is difficult to locate exactly the medieval
city, but from the extant remains it appears to have embraced a wide
tract bounded on the east, west and south by the Meghna, the Shitalakhya
and the Dhaleshwari rivers respectively and on the north by
Brahmaputra.
Photo:
Sonargaon the History.
It
is evident that an extensive Muslim settlement had grown over the
entire Mograpara and Goaldi region from the existing archaeological
remains, and perhaps the Muslim capital city developed in and around
Mograpara on the northern bank of the river Menikhali, extending towards
Goaldi and Baidyer Bazaar. The Hindu capital city, most probably
comprising the area between Panam-Nagar and Khasnagar, was not
altogether abandoned during Muslim rule, and perhaps constituted the
place of residence of the early Muslim governors.
The
historic city of Sonargaon survives only in name. Sonargaon lost its
eminence with the rise of capital city Dhaka and by the second half of
the nineteenth century it was reported to have 'dwindled to a village'
with 'dense jungle'. But in about a century the area between the
Sitalakhya and the Meghna, having communication facilities afforded by
the Dhaka-Chittagong highway cutting through it, has turned it into a
productive area with agricultural fields and industrial set-ups on both
sides of the highway. The recent modern settlements on either side of
the road, to the left towards Panam city and Goaldi and to the right
towards Mograpara and adjacent villages, are fast changing the
environment and have given the area the look of a suburb.
Panam City is also known as "the
lost city". It is situated at Sonargaon Upazila of Narayanganj District.
Panam city was built by the upper-middle class Bengali
businessmen, mainly Hindu cloth merchants, in the 19th century. It was
built in the once capital of Bangladesh, Sonargaon. This city is now in
ruins. In the last of 19th century, Panam
city was built in Sonargaon. That time, business of cotton and other
cloths were developed based on the Panam city. That time, Sonargaon got
it heritage back a little. In the first part of the 20th century, some
rich Hindu businessmen started to live permanently in the city. The
still remaining ruins of the buildings were the residence of those
businessmen. In those days, no city at the east Bengal was near as
wealthy as Panam. All the buildings in the city were built facing a
single road, which is 5 meters long and 600 miter wide. There still
remain 52 buildings. The whole city is surrounded with artificial
canals. These canals were dug to protect the city from any outside
attack. There was only one bridge to enter the city in the west side.
Back of every building is a pond. These ponds were used for household
works. After the 1965 war of India-Pakistan, Hindu businessmen started
to leave, and the city was deserted. World monument fund listed Panam
city in the World 100 ruined city in 2006.
Photos:
The lost city 'Panam'.
Bus services are available to there
from Gulistan, Dhaka. It will take around 1 hour to reach at the place.
You have to get down from the bus at Mograpara Crossing. From the
crossing, you have to take a rickshaw to reach at the ancient city, it
will cost round about 20 Taka. It will be wise to start walking from the
western part of the Panam city, and then move forward to eastern side
until you reach to the end of the city. This is a very short path. So
you can move slowly by watching the old building structures. If you have
a camera you will be busy in taking photographs, that’s for sure. Also
you can enter the narrow paths (path between two buildings) to watch the
buildings from the back side. These buildings are controlled by the
Bangladesh government and looks like they are doing it well. The area is
very neat and clean. You'll find like as if you are in an unknown area.
While walking through the Panam city, sometimes you'll find no one at
anywhere, and it will give you a different feel. Take as much time as
you can, no hurry, move slowly, and enjoy yourself.
Lok
Shilpa Jadughar (Folk Art and Craft Museum) of
Sonargaon was established by Bangladeshi painter Joynul Abedin on March
12, 1975. The house was built in 1901, originally called Bara Sardar
Bari.
Sonakanda
Fort is a Mughal river-fort located on the bank
of the Shitalakshya River at Bandar, Narayanganj.
Khasnagar
Dighi is a lake in Khasnagar village.
