450 year old Panam Nagar

Silence around, two people on the way to the dead city. Dead noise and unspoken history are embedded in every brick in this city. The demolished buildings and structures standing on both sides of the road testify to the lost tyrants. About 450 years ago, two-storey buildings on both sides of the road forced me to think about how rich the city was. Walking on the road to Panam city, it may seem that Isha Khan is gone. What a mystery is embedded in the place. Each story has a story attached to it. Even though I am ruined, it has no shortage of attractions. The buildings can not be fascinated by the style of construction.

Sonargaon and Panam Nagar

Sonargaon was once the capital of Bengal. So, the center of Sonargaon was built on trade, trade and ports. The importance of Sonargaon's geographical location is understandable. Sonargaon is surrounded by four rivers - Brahmaputra in the north, Dhaleshwari in the south, Meghna in the east, Shitalakshya in the west. Such a geographical location was perfect for business. Thus 1338 in the reign of Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah, the capital of Bengal was declared as the golden village, which later became known as Sonargaon.

In 1346 Ibn Battuta described Sonargaon as an important port city, citing its direct commercial relations with China, Indonesia (Java) and the Malay Islands.

In the center of the capital was gradually formed an elite class, who were mainly merchants or merchants. As a result of the elite's residence, traders and merchants from other areas lived here. At that time the upper class people needed it; For the convenience of their business, some cities were established in golden villages. Panam Nagar is one of them. According to the writings of the gateway to the city of Panam, the city was spread by the wealthy Hindu merchants in the early 19th century. This area was famous for muslin cloth and blue business.

"According to the historian James Taylor, Arang's weaving station was located in Sonamgarh, Panam, and Panam Nagar was a famous market for the muslin trade."

At present, only one paved road is there for visitors to visit Panam Nagar. There are 52 buildings on each side of the road, 600 meters long and 5 meters wide. Although the buildings have a touch of local construction industry, they were originally created in a mixture of European and Mughal architectural styles. There are buildings from one level to three storeys. The walls of the building are quite wide. The walls are made of bricks and shapes of various shapes. Some are like seeing the decoration of a building's walls. Various designs, colored glass, stone, curry, ceramic, terracotta have been used for decoration. Although the floors of most buildings are destroyed, there are few survivors, especially in the buildings where the Ansar stands. Most of the floors are mosaic in red and white and some are seen in white and black marble.

Now in the modern Dhaka city, we are constantly worried because of unplanned urbanization. If there is any major disaster, there is no escape area in this city and the empty space in front of the house or the garden is a matter of imagination. It is surprising to think that 450 years ago, the importance of planned urbanization to the people, but in modern times we do not realize it. Yes, Panam can be called a planned city. Almost every building in this city has a vacant lot or a courtyard. Some are in front, some behind, and some in the middle of the house. There are water wells and tied pond ferries. Around the city area are deep canals, which are thought to be the defenses of the city. There are several religious structures, such as monasteries, temples, pagodas.

The nature and the noise-free environment of Panam city will take you to another world in the midst of the moment. After looking down you might want to look at the city from the roof of a building. However, one should not try to get up on the roof, because the buildings are very weak. Locals were informed that the roof of the building had been accidentally hit several times before.

Renovation of the city of Panam

Remaining in disrepair for hundreds of years, the once-glorious Panam Nagar reform initiative was undertaken in several stages. None of the initiatives taken at different times were effective. Once the work was started, however, the work was basically wasting away the physical form of the city. It was stopped when archaeologists and civil society objected.

The World Monument Fund included the name of the city of Panam in the list of the 100 most destructive cities in the world. However, the Department of Archeology, Panama Nagar, took initiative to reform the city in the 2001. The people were occupying these buildings hundreds of years old. Authorities are trying to recover the buildings from illegal occupants as a reform initiative. The local administration resumed its preliminary work in 2009 after the Panam Nagar was completely occupied. However, at the expense of almost half a penny, the name of the renovation work was wasted in such a way that the archaeological beauty was being washed away with a lime-drying. Reforms were halted when experts prevented it. Now, seeing the situation of Panam city, it is understood that many buildings are standing with pride, when they can no longer maintain pride and they will collapse! Although a deal was to be signed with Korea-based multinational company Young Wan to renovate the five buildings, it did not. At present, Ansar camp in Panam city will be visible but lack of management.

How to go to this city

Panam Nagar is 30 km from Dhaka. Panam Nagar is located in Sonargaon upazila of Narayanganj. From Gulistan, Narayanganj bus will go to Sonargaon. We have to get down to Mogara Para. From there, CNG-run Autorickshaw or Easybike can be made to Panam Nagar.

You can see more at Sonargaon

If you leave for Panam city in the morning, you can visit some more places in Sonargaon. Near the city of Panam, there is a museum of artisan Zainul Lok and craft. Artist Zainul folk and crafts museum can walk from Panam Nagar. Walking can take ten-fifteen minutes. You can also go to rickshaw or auto-rickshaw. People and crafts enter the museum, leaving the large headquarters on the left. There will be two soldiers on horseback on the pond. And if you go straight to the museum.

There is a bookstore nearby. From here you can rent a boat and travel around the Meghna river. Maya Island (local name Nalchor) can be crossed again near the river.

Post and image source : roar.media/bangla/main/travel/450-years-old-panam-city/

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