Dhaka revisited

Arindam Sarkar

American travel writer Paul Theroux wrote in his book Riding the Iron Rooster that when Chairman Mao Zedong died in 1976, a Chinese statistic revealed there were 70 million Mao portraits hanging in China.

In 1981, China's communist party general secretary Deng Xioping, who regarded "all portraits as feudal", initiated a "no-portrait policy" in a party congress that pointed to the mistakes of the Cultural Revolution.

For the first time, China denounced its chairman. Thus began the removal of portraits and washing of the Mao slogans painted on the walls.

Paul Theroux observed in 1987 that for the tourists visiting Beijing, Mao remains confined to the Mao Zedong Memorial situated near Tiananmen Square.

The scene however is different for the tourists making a trip to Dhaka. On August 15, 1975, Bangladesh's Father of the Nation Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was brutally assassinated at his Dhanmondi residence in Dhaka.

But almost 40 years later, Mujib and Mukti Joddhas, who fought for the freedom of Bangladesh against West Pakistan, remain etched in the hearts and the memorials, museums, murals, sculptures, universities, songs, poems, festivals and parks of Dhaka.

Travelling in Dhaka, one cannot but get soaked deep into the bloody history of Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971.

And this spirit comes alive in the grand display of pictures, portraits, posters, mementos, T-shirts, museum objects and huge martyr's memorials that now have become important landmarks of the Bangladesh capital.

Dhaka has many similarities with Kolkata. The rickshaws, autos, thela garis (pull carts), bikes, small roadside paan and cigarette shops, street beggars and the Bengali look of contentment are all very much Kolkatan.

But the similarities end here. The fleet of foreign cars of the latest makes plying on the Dhaka streets could put Kolkata to shame, the West Bengal capital however provides much better traffic management, chains of multi-cuisine and fine-dining restaurants, hotels, roadside eateries, shopping malls and book corners than its counterpart across the border.

"We are a growing metro. But ours is a shambled economy. There is tremendous inflation. I guess with stability and healthy economy, we will catch up with other world metros," said a Dhaka hotelier.

Bangladesh capital is divided into two parts: people refer it to as the old and the new Dhaka. Actually, the old Dhaka is the original town centre with its wholesale markets and old structures that give the flavour of the traditional Dhakaias.

And a passage through Lalbagh, Islambagh, Hazaribagh, Nawabganj Chowk, Islampur Market and Nayabazar in old Dhaka helps understand what the city looked like before 1971.

It is in old Dhaka you get to see the famous Dhakeswari Temple of Goddess Kali. Though the temple has been given a national status, it made headlines in the past for being vandalized on several occasions during Hindu-Muslim tensions in Bangladesh.

Historically, old Dhaka is very significant. It is the nerve-centre of the city and many important events associated with the Liberation of Bangladesh in 1950s, 1960s and 1971 took place here.

New Dhaka is the commercial belt of the metro with some of its areas specially dedicated for residential purposes. This is the place where you find swanky buildings, congested streets, heavy traffic, shopping centres and modern-day architectural structures like the Jatiyo Songsad (Parliament).

While Army Cantonment, Gulshan, Uttara, Baridhara, Dhanmondi and Bonani are the posh residential areas of new Dhaka, Mohakhali, Farm Gate, Bangabandhu Avenue, New Market, Paltan, Panta Path and Motijheel form the central business district of the metro.

"Dhaka, which is a city of over 6 million people, is gradually coming to terms with its position as a world destination. But it would probably take another decade for things to fall in place," said a Dhaka publisher.

Unlike in Bangkok and Singapore, a tourist in Dhaka has extensive sightseeing to do instead of just shopping or filling up tummy with street-side salivating dishes.

Dhaka is contemporary history. Dhaka is about the bloody saga of liberation that Bangabandhu Mujibur Rahman and the Mukti Joddhas fought for eleven months in 1971 to snap its chord from its western partner to declare Independence.

And a city tour brings alive all that. The first stop in this historical journey is the Central Shahid Minar, which is the symbol of Bangladesh Nationalism. Built to commemorate the martyr's of the Language Movement of 1952, this was an agitation of East Pakistan to recognize Bangla as the State language instead of Urdu.

The significance of this memorial is that it was the first popular uprising of East Pakistan against the autocratic rule of West Pakistan. It is this popular movement that inspired several other political agitations subsequently and eventually precipitated the formation of Bangladesh in 1971.

Nearby is the Dhaka University campus. Apart from producing intellectual stalwarts of undivided Bengal, the university also gave birth to massive student movements and was the factory that churned out Mukti Joddhas in the 1971 War.

Located at Shegun Bagicha is the Mukti Juddho Jadughar (Liberation War Museum). On display, inside the two-storeyed museum are the objects, posters, pictures, genocide skeletons, arms and ammunitions and battle gears of the Mukti Joddhas. Burning inside is an eternal flame in memory of the freedom fighters.

The National Museum is the repository of coins, scriptures, sculptures, metal objects, ivory and silver filigrees of the Hindu, Muslim and the Buddhist period of Bengal. This is the only museum in Dhaka that doesn't highlight its freedom movement.

The Jatiyo Sritee Shoudhow (National Memorial) is built to commemorate the martyrs of Bangladesh Liberation War. Completed in 1982, it is designed by famous Bangladeshi architect Syed Moinul Hossain.

The tallest point of the memorial shoots up till 152 feet. Spread over 34 acres, it has several mass graves of the martyrs.

Among the many parks in Dhaka, Suhrawardy Uddyan is a historical venue. Previously known as the Race Course, it was here that Bangabandhu and millions took the oath of independence on March 7, 1971.

Interestingly enough, it is here on December 16, 1971, Lt Gen. AAK Niazi of Pakistan surrendered to the Indian commander Lt Gen. Jagjit Singh Arora. And Bangladesh was born.

In this city, one cannot miss the architectural wonder called Jatiyo Songsad. Sprawling over a huge area, this is the Parliament of Bangladesh. Famous architect Luis Khan designed the complex. It is situated in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.

Dhaka is often called the City of Mosques. But as far as architectural splendour goes, Baitul Mukarram, the national mosque of Bangladesh, bags the crown for uniquely combining the Muslim architecture with that of the modern times.

Established in the Sixties, the mosque was designed by architect Abdul Hussain Thariani. Baitul Mukarram resembles the famous Kaabah at Mecca.

To end the journey, one has to sign off at Botrish Nombor Dhanmondi (32, Dhanmondi) – the former official residence of Bangabandhu. It is here that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated along with his seven family members in the wee hour of the August 15, 1975.

The only two survivors were Bangabandhu’s two daughters Sheikh Rehana and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Bangabandhu’s house has been turned into a museum and was dedicated to the nation by Sheikh Hasina. The museum is a virtual-reality walk that brings alive the orgy of death unleashed by soldiers at the break of dawn.

Preserved in the museum are the bedrooms ravaged by soldiers, dozens of bullet holes on the walls, books, chairs, beds, pillows, glasses with blood stains, the gory picture of Sheikh Mujib after he was sprayed with bullets and the objects used by Bangabandhu and his family members.

"The most haunting place is the staircase with the blood stains of Bangabandhu. He was shot on the stairs," said the assistant curator of the Bangabandhu Sritee Jadughar.

Last but not the least is the rivers of Bangladesh. The Ganga, Jamuna and the Brahmaputra with its innumerable tributaries crisscross this land of rivers. A trip to Dhaka is, perhaps, incomplete without spending some time on a steamer that is cruising on the Ganges and serving the best and piping hot Hilsa delicacies.