The iconic Tara Masjid did not always have those stars!

Illustration: Ashif Ahmed Rudro; Photo: LS Archive/Sazzad Ibne Sayed

You may already know that in Old Dhaka's Armanitola, there is a mosque that goes by the name Tara Masjid/Sitara Masjid (Star Mosque).

You may have even visited this place, and probably was awed by its beauty, with the gorgeous stars and other motifs that adorn it. But in fact, the stars after which the mosque took its name actually were a latter addition.

Today, it is hard to imagine our beloved Star Mosque without its stars. And with that comes the obvious question, what was the name of this mosque before those stars were added?     

Well, it was simply known as the mosque of Mirza Ghulam Pir, owing to the man who built it. The building was simple enough, with none of the decorative elements that we see today. 

But all that changed when a businessman, Ali Jan Bepari, renovated the mosque, adding those stars and other motifs and hence, elevating the building from simple to the highly decorative one we see today. Since then, it has also been come to be known as Tara/Sitara Masjid. 

This renovation (and also extension) of the age-old mosque took place in 1926.    

Sources: "Dacca: A Record of its Changing Fortunes" by Ahmad Hasan Dani; Banglapedia