Inside a green picturesque surrounding of Jahangir Nagar University, the sprawling acres of land holds this beautiful monument dedicated to the language martyrs of 1952.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 0 comments


Lots of colourful and ornamental pagodas and temples located in different areas of the country attract tourists from home and abroad. Among the temples Kalinarayana Temple (Joydevpur), Kantaji temple (Dinajpur), Dhakeshwari temple (Dhaka), Joy Kali Mandir (Dhaka). Adinath temple (Moheshkhali) and so on are noteworthy.

In the western part of the country there are several 3 to 4 centuries old temples. Jessoreswari of Khulna is the most famous among them. In addition there are Raghunath mandir and Gopinath mandir of Abhoynagar, Ganesh mandir of Jhenaidaha, Krishna and Durga mandirs of Moh­ammadpur, Shiv mandir of Magura, Kodala Moth of Khulna, Lakhsminarayan and Jorhbangla mandirs of Jessore, Pancha-Rotno mandir or Noldanga, In Kushtia, Shilaidaha, which is associated with Rabindranath, Lalon's tomb and Mosharaf Hossain's homestead are a must-see for all.

There are several temples and ashrams in Coastal Bengal/ Jal Bangla. The names of the Kali temple. Sugandha pith in Barisal are noteworthy. A few miles north is the 400-year-old Maha-Bishnu temple at the Lakhsman kathi village, east of Batajore, In Madaripur one will find the Pronob Mott, the former headquarters or the Bharat Sevasram Sangha at Bajitpur village, founded by the nationalist and reformer saint, Swami Pranavananda Maharaj.

In Southeast Bengal there are at least 50 famous temples and viharas in Chittagong city alone. Some of the well-known ones are: Raj­rajeswari Kalibari, Chatteswari Kalibari, Panchanan dham, Nandan-kanan Buddhist Mandir, Brahmo mandir, Koibalya-dham, Jagatpur ashram, Sitakunda, Pancha-batika of Swami Vivekananda fame, etc. In and around Comilla there are Abhoy Ashram. Iswar Pathshala. Gandhi Ashram of Noakhali, the half-­a-millennium old Chandi-mura temple, the 10th century Maynamati Vihara and many more.

Sylhet has hundreds of famous temples dedicated to Lords Kali, Shiv and Sri Krishna. Bagala Matar Mandir of Habiganj and Kalibari of Jaintiapur are known throughout the subcontinent.

In North Bengal kings and zamindars (landed gentry) have built many temples, Mosques, palaces and ashrams. One of the most famous temples is the terra cotta Kantaji Mandir of Dinajpur. In addition, Bogra's Karatoa Tott tirtha, the Bardhan-Kuthi Mandir of Rangpur, the Shiv and Gobindo mandirs of Putia deserve special mention.

Besides Paharpur and Mahasthangarh, other noteworthy Buddhist religious establishments include Bhasu Vihar, Halud Vihar, and Sitakot. There are many khyang or pagodas in Ramu upazila of Cox's Bazar and Chittagong.


Husaini Dalan a Shiite shrine in the old part of the city of DHAKA, attributed to the Mughal Period. It is a common practice among the Shia community to build edifices to commemorate the martyrdom of al-Husain, at the battle of Karbala in Iraq on the tenth day of Muharram 61 AH (10 October 680 AD). The building seems to have been originally erected by one Sayyid Murad during the governorship of SHAH SHUJA, who, although himself a Sunni, was eager to preserve and patronise Shiite institutions. Traditions relate that Sayyid Murad, having seen al-Husain in a vision erecting a tazia khana (house of mourning), was inspired to raise the building, which he named Husaini Dalan. The original building may have been a small structure, expanded to its present form in later times. The EAST INDIA COMPANY repaired it in 1807 and 1810, and a portion of the building was reconstructed after the earthquake of 1897.


It is the National Mosque of Bangladesh. Its construction began on 1960, and has been going on in phases. Architect T Abdul Hussain Thariani was commissioned to design the mosque complex. The plan included shops, offices, libraries and parking areas within the complex. The design of the mosque reflects the architecture of the period as can be seen from the use of a white and almost cube-form for the main building. A Mosque without a dome over the roof of its main prayer hall must have been a unique experiment. The main building is eight storied and 33 meters high from the ground level. The area of the main prayer hall is 2464 SQ meters with a mezzanine floor of 171 SQ metres at the eastern side. Verandas surround the hall on three of its four sides. The mihrab of the hall is rectangular instead of semi-circular. Excessive ornamentation is avoided throughout the mosque, since minimizing ornamentation is typical of modern architecture. The Baitul Mukarram mosque is modern in its architectural style. It has found its place in the hearts of the Muslims because of the resemblance of its form to the Holy Kaaba at Makkah.

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