MUGHAL DHAKA AND THE LALBAGH FORT:PART - II

During the hundred years of Mughal rule in the province, several illustrious Governors like Mir Jumla, Shaista Khan and Ibrahim Khan successively occupied the ‘suvadarship’ of Bengal who embellishe and expanded the city with numerous palaces, mosques, ‘katras’fortresses, roads and highways. Many of these noble monuments are associated with Shaista Khan. Soon after the transfer of capital to Murshidadad desolation and ruins overtook the proud city named after Jahangir. The pitiless forces of nature and vandal hands of man hastened the process. During the period of its unprecedented prosperity it also monopolized the overland and sea-borne trade of the East. Dhaka become the chief emporium of the indigenous products of Bengal, where foreigners in large number flocked to exchange their commercial wares. Manrique writing in 1640 noticed, “So extensive is the trade that over one hundred vessels are yearly loaded up in the ports of Bengala with only rice, sugar, fars,oils, wax and other similar articles. Most of the cloth of made of cotton and manufactured with a delicacy and propriety not met with elsewhere. The finest and richest muslins are produced in this country, from fifty to sixty yards long and seven to eight hand-breadths wide, with borders of gold and silver or colored silk. So fine, indeed, are these muslins that merchants place in hollow bambus, about two spans long, and thus secured, carry them throughout Corazane (Khorasan), Persia, Turkey and many other Countries”. Of the ambitious architectural vestiges little have survived today. Bishop Heber visiting the city in 1824 pensively observed “Two-thirds of the vast area of Dhaka are filled with ruins, some quite desolate and overgrown with jungle, others yet occupied by Mussalman chieftains, the descendants of the followers of Shah Jahangir and all the ‘Lions of war, prudent and Valiant Lords, pillars of the Council, Swords of Battle’ and whatever other named of Khan,Amir, or umra the Court of Delhi dispensed in the time of its greatness. Of the 300000 inhabitants who roost like bats in these old building, of rear their huts amid their desolate gardens three-fourths are still Mussalman. Dhaka predominently was a city of the Mughals. In hundred years of their vigorous rule successive Governors and princely viceroys who ruled successive Governors and princely viceroys who ruled the province, adorned it with many noble monuments in the shape of magnificent palaces, mosques,tombs, fortifications and ‘katras’, often surrounded with beautifully laid out gardens and pavilions. Among these, few have survived the ravages of time, aggressive tropical climate of the land and vandal hands of man, the imposing Bara and Chhota Katras, Lalbagh Fort, tomb of Bibi pari, Sat Gumbad Masjid, the mosques of Haji Khwaja Shahbaz (1679), Khan Muhammad Mridha and Kartalab Khan (1704), the Husaini Dalan and a series of river forts at Idrakpur in Munshiganj, Hajiganj and Sonakanda at Narayanganj, erected as bulwork against the recurring raids of the Mugh and Poutuguese pirates in Dhaka, are some of the important monumental legacies of the Mughals. The imposing Katra buildings, erected in the middle of the 17th century on the traditional Cental Asian plan of caravansarais with a grand river front and a monumental gateway, were originally planned as residential palaces of the governors. But the finest specimen of the period the Aurangabad Fort, commonly known as Lalbagh Fort which, indeed represents the unfulfilled dream of a Mughal prince. It occupies the south western part of the old city, overlooking the Buriganga on whose notthern bank it stands as a silent sentinel of the old city. Rectangular in plan, it encloses an area of 1082` by 800`feet and in addition to its two graceful lofty Gateways on south-east and north-east corners and a subsidiary small 3damed mosque, the mausoleum of Bibi pari the reputed daughter of Nawab Shaista Khan and the Hammam and Audience Hall of the Governor. The main purpose of this fort, it seems, was to provide a defensive enclosure of the palacial edifices of the interior and as such was a type of palace-fortress rather than a siege fort. The construction work of the fortress was begun in 1678 by Prince Muhammad Azam, the third son of emperor Aurangzeb, during his viceroyalty of Bengal (July 1678-October1679), but could not be completed on the grand scale of the original design as he was suddenly recalled by his father to join the war against the Marhattas in the Dhaka. So his dream of adorning the city with a magnificent palace-fortress, remained unrealized. His successor, the high-born ‘Amir-ul-umara’ Nawab Shaista Khan, the nephew of the illustrious empress Nur Jahan and brother of the ‘Lady of the Taj’ (Mumtaz Mahal), was undoubtedly the greatest of Eastern viceroys who rules the province with an iron for about a quarter of a century (1664-1678 and 1679-1688).Although he continued the construction work of the Fort for some time, it is said, he eventually abandoned the work due to sudden death of his favourite daughter Iran-Dukht, better known as Bibi pari (Lady Fairy) who was betrothed to Prince Azam, considering this unhappy incident as an inauspicious omen. The surviving monuments inside the Fort partly confirm this tradition that the construction work was abruptly abandon and left unfinished. However from the account of Sir William Hedges it is clear that Nawab Shaista khan was residing in the palace-fortress during the time of his visit of Dhaka. At present the defense wall on south and part of west, measuring over 2000 feet long, survives to a height of about 20 feet from the surrounding ground. On the southern side five octagonal bastions project beyond the alignment of the outer wall. The semi-octagonal bastion next to the south-eastern Gateway is of exceptional size with a 13 feet wide gun-platform. It seems that the supply of water inside the fort was ensured by embedding twin earthen pipes inside the entire length of the wall below outside all the bastions and the defence wall are relieved with ornamental blind merlons at the rampart level. Close to the south-western octagonal corner tower of the Fort outside, the remains of an incomplete city-gate is still visible. But, by far, the most elegant architectural remains of the Lalbagh Fort are its two lofty monumental gateways on the north-east and south-east facing each other at a distance of 800 feet from one another. Though somewhat similar in appearance, the southern gate in more elaborate and imposing. It rises in three storeys in stages and flanked on either side with a vestibule and stair-room, built from inside. Top storeys are incomplete , but the fronton below open into a graceful archway, framed in stone work. On either side of the expensive arched opening ,a plastered semi-octagonal alcove below and an oriel window in two stages above, crowned by a cupola each, relieve the facade further. The top of the gateway was originally crowned by 4 pillared kiosks majestically breaking the skyline, two of which yet survive. The central passage is spanned over with domed ceiling variegated with fretted design.