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Diverse Faiths and Shared Culture is a journey through the Hindu, Buddhist, and Islamic heritage of Bangladesh. It is impossible to imagine how Bengali culture rules over their diverse faiths; this small land of brotherhoods never had any religious boundery. Frienlyness, hospitality, and kindness are the Bengali religion. This 4-day trip presents the history, culture, lifestyle, architecture, and archaeological sites of Tangail, Sirajgonj, Natore, Puthia, Rajshahi, Gaur, Kushumba, Paharpur, and Bogra.
Primitive sari weaving, archaeological and heritage sites, the local bazaar, and the famous sweet production of Tangail will be your first visits. Navaratna temples in Sirajganj are an architectural treasure of the 18th century. Exploration continues through Natore Rajbari, Uttara Ganabhaban – a royal palace from the 18th century (1734), also known as Dighapatia Palace.
Once Puthia was called a village of Laskarpur Pargana, it was named after a certain fief holder, Laskar Khan. Laskar Khan has been following the examples of other Afgan chiefs of Bengal who opposed the establishment of Mughal rules and abstained from paying revenue to the Mughals during the Mughal period. Mughal emperor Akbar took punitive action against him at the end of the 16th century, and they were planning a revolution against Mughal empowerment. Bravery and trusted general Man Singh was sent to Bengal to suppress the revolutionary governors (suborders) as an immediate order by Emperor Akbar. Laskar Khan was soon evicted from his fief by General Man Singh with the collaboration of Bhatsacharya, which was eventually granted to the Zamindar of Puthia. Bhattacharya was offered to take charge of quite an area of Laskarpur, which he was not interested in! Pitambar, the son of Batshacharya, became the first zamindar of Laskarpur, and Puthia became the capital. Pitambar’s younger brother Nilambar was the first to get the title “Raja” from the Mughals. Pitambar did a lot of fabrications around his kingdom to secure the newly declared capital. He had built huge water tanks (Beki Chowki, Mora Chowki, and Gopal Chowki) all around his palace area to ensure the security of the royal palace from the enemy’s easy attacks. He dug a big pond (Shyam Sharobar) in the center, by the western side of the castle, for beautification as well as a source of good water.
This Puthia zamindary was divided among four co-sharers, among whom Panch Ani (Five Annas) and Char Ani (Four Annas) co-sharers earned recognition for conducting the zamindary in 1744. Panch Ani, the estate of Maharani Sarat Sundari and Maharani Hemanta Kumari, was famous for the successful management of their zamindary. On the other hand, the Char Ani estate of Raja Paresh Narayan and his wife Monomohini had become famous as patrons of education and learning. The Estate of the Puthia Royal Family was the wealthiest and second-largest estate in British Bengal. In the field of architectural establishments, the role of the Puthia zamindars is praiseworthy. Raja Nilambar’s successor has built some fabulous Hindu temples and a castle around the central pond, among which some of them are now ruins. Puthia has the highest number of historic temples within such a small area.
Rajshahi, the prosperous university town, is famous for its sericulture (silk production). Rajshahi grows almost half of the country’s famous mangoes, and litchis, and is the only silk industry in the country. Strolling along the mighty Padma (Ganges) River and watching the sunset is a favorite pastime of residents and visitors. A block southeast of Rajshahi Government College, on a high bank of the Padma River, is one of the last remaining examples of the Indigo Factories (Neel Kuthi) that once flourished in the region, This historic structure is known as Baro Kuthi. The place has apparently been a reminder of countless crimes committed during British rule. Apart from these, you will still find quite a number of buildings in Rajshahi town from the Raj era period, now converted into colleges and schools.
The Varendra Research Museum is the oldest (1910) and has a huge collection of rare black basalt sculptures. The predominantly British-style building has some interesting Hindu-Buddhist features. The museum has artifacts from all over the subcontinent, including some rare examples from the ancient city of Mohenjo-Daro in Pakistan and a great collection of local Hindu sculptures.
The ornamentation on the black basalt stone inside the 16th-century Kushumba mosque presents the unbelievable skills and crafting capability of artisans. Kushumba Mosque is one of the last examples of the finest stone works in Bengal.
Somapura Mahavihara, or Paharpur Buddhist Vihara, is the highest Buddhist stupa south of the Himalayas and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Mahasthangarh is standing over the graveyard of the ruins of ancient “Pundravardhana, only a few kilometers away from Bogra town. It is the oldest known city in Bangladesh and the first Hindu capital of ancient Bengal, dating back to at least the 3rd century BC. The Mahasthan archaeological site consists mainly of foundations and hillocks hinting at past glory. This region was not only the religious center for Hindus, Buddhists, or Muslims but also an important commercial entrepot of the silk trade, which is only a few kilometers away from Bogra. The site museum is worth visiting and has an interesting collection of recovered pieces on display. Statues of Hindu gods, terracotta plaques, and some bronze statues; were mostly found during the excavation of this monastery from the Pala period.
The Bengal delta is a great horseshoe-shaped, flat, low-lying floodplain land, the open part faces the Bay of Bengal to the south. The north and eastern edges are fenced by detached hill networks, and out of this region flow some of the major rivers in southern Asia—the Ganges, the Brahmaputra, and the Meghna.
Chars are the shifting river islands built from river erosion and sedimentation, which may disappear the same way. The sandy islands and low-lying flood-prone areas at the river’s edge that are deposited, eroded, and re-deposited by the river tide, are known as CHAR.
Newly formed lands in some areas increase the mainland toward the waterbody, and in some areas, the sedimentation happens within the river, surrounded by the water all around. The rivers have always been natural veins of communication and transportation. Approximately 4 million people inhabit the island of Char, with around one million people actually living on the island char, they are surrounded by water for most of the year. People living on these islands include some of Bangladesh’s poorest. Erosion and annual flooding force thousands of households to move each year between the banks of the Jamuna (Brahmaputra) River. Some of these households shift five to seven times in a single generation. Furthermore, the chars are mostly isolated from major markets, with a significant amount of time and money being spent by their residents to reach the mainland. The vast majority of char households are not covered by standard government services, including health, education, and police protection. The rate of illiteracy and child marriage is very high in the Char villages. Some NGO efforts for elementary education have slowly started to lighten the lives of some of the chars. Interaction between char dwellers and the private sector is also weak, as transport costs are high and the chars are not connected to the national electricity grid. Seasonal agriculture and fishing are the main ways of living for the char inhabitants. A daylong or a few-hour country boat trip through any of the char villages would be a high recommendation to feel the richness of primitive life around.
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