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.