Dhrubo Alam

Rose Garden: A history of passion and pride

At Kamini Mohan (K.M.) Das Lane in Tikatuli of Old Dhaka, there lies a majestic mansion called “Rose Garden”. Interestingly, it was built to host parties by one of the prominent zamindars of Dhaka, named Hrishikesh Das. He built the Rose Garden in 1931 on a 22-bigha plot along with a famous garden that had various species of rare roses. Thus the compound earned the name “Rose Garden”. The central piece of the garden is the elegant building.

4y ago

The curious case of bus routes in Dhaka

Dhaka is probably one of the very few megacities in the world without any proper design or guideline for the operation and expansion of its public transport system.

5y ago

Trails of Khan Jahan Ali

The history and the political landscape of Bengal have been greatly determined by its geographical position, like that of many other countries of the world.

5y ago

West meets East

On June 3, 2019, the world of architecture lost one of its greatest designers and theorists, Stanley Tigerman. It is difficult to label the celebrated architect as a modernist or an early postmodernist; his works were wonderful fusion of modernism, technology, playfulness and pragmatic inventions.

5y ago

Save Dewanbari before it’s too late

Dewanbari is a beautiful historic site located at Aminbazar, Dhaka. Declared as a “heritage site” through a gazette notification on February 2, 2009, the complex is comprised of a palatial residence, a three-domed mosque, a pond and a graveyard.

5y ago

A historical legacy at risk

If you commute regularly along the Azimpur Road, perhaps you have noticed the ongoing construction of multi-storeyed apartment buildings for government officials by the Public Works Department (PWD)

5y ago

The dark side of Dhaka's urbanisation

Just over a decade ago, in 2008, almost half of the world's total population used to live in urban areas. This phenomenon has continued and is expected to gain further momentum in future.

5y ago

From Elephants to Motor Cars

Dhaka, the capital of present day Bangladesh, is supposedly a 400-year-old city, established by Islam Khan in the year 1608 or 1610, and has also been the capital of the Mughal Subah (province) of Bengal intermittently. The city started on the banks of the Buriganga and expanded along the river.

6y ago
March 5, 2018
March 5, 2018

Armenians in Dhaka

The Armenians most probably came to Bengal before any other European merchants and played an important part in the export-import business of not only Bengal but also the whole of India.

February 5, 2018
February 5, 2018

The rise and fall of the Dutch in Dhaka

First came the Portuguese; afterwards, more than a century later, came the Dutch. We generally call them "Olondaj" in Bengali ...

January 22, 2018
January 22, 2018

The Portuguese in Dhaka

The Portuguese were not only the first Europeans to arrive in Bengal but to Dhaka as well. By that time, they were already infamous for their piracy and other adventures on coastal areas, the Sundarbans and along the big rivers.

January 1, 2018
January 1, 2018

Why Dhaka's liveability is only worsening

DHAKA, the capital of Bangladesh, and one of the fastest growing cities of the world, has been infamous for a while for being over-populated, traffic congested, waterlogged (urban flooding) and polluted (e.g. toxic waste, poor

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