Dhaka's Caravansary

An etching Bara Katra by Sir Charles D'Oyly in 1823. Image: Courtesy

Once upon a time, Buriganga was a river of fresh, crystal clear water, bustling with trading vessels from different parts of the world. Rich merchants used to sail along this river to trade their merchandise in Dhaka, a city of fortune for them. Thousands of immigrants and travellers used to come to this rich city in search of a better living. However, Dhaka, with its many caravansaries, always welcomed these guests with warm hospitality. A symbol of those glory days of Dhaka is still standing in a grungy part of the city– Bara Katra.

It was designed and built by Abul Qasim being ordered by Mughal Prince Shah Shuja, the then governor of Bengal and the second son of the then Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. Legend says, one day Prince Shuja decided to build a large caravansary in the city. But he did not like the traditional design of caravansaries which were just like cheap hotels. He called on his chief architect Abul Qasim and told him that he wanted a lavish palace built for him by the river Buriganga.

Photos: Prabir Das

Abul Qasim spent all his engineering geniuses to build the palace whose southern wing was extended along the river. At that time the river used to flow just beside the Bara Katra. In 1641, when the palace was finally completed, Shah Shuja declared that he actually built the palace as a caravansary for the travellers, immigrants and merchants all of whom would get free food and accommodation here. A stone inscription was found on a wall of the palace which says, "Sultan Shah Shuja, spent his life in charity and hospitality. Being ordered by this most benevolent ruler, Abul Qasim Tubba Hossaini erected this auspicious building. Twenty two shops have been attached with this building to bear its maintenance cost. All the travellers residing in this building will be served completely free of cost. If anybody breaks this deed, he should fear the wrath of Allah in the judgment day."

Bara Katra, which means the big, colonnaded building, is a superb mixture of central Asian and Mughal architecture. The building is divided into two storied southern wing and northern wing which enclosed a quadrangular colonnaded central courtyard that housed the 22 shops. Each wing housed 22 living apartments for the guests. Two gateways were built in the northern and southern wing. The southern gateway itself is a three storied structure with a central archway which used to provide direct access to the courtyard from the city. The white plastered walls of the building were decorated with intricate floral patterns.

However, most of this marvellous structure has been destroyed over time. The still existing part of this building has been occupied by unauthorised establishments. Department of archaeology should take steps to preserve this one of the last symbols of Dhaka's glorious past.