Access to a Ghat and a Canal

Access to a Ghat and a Canal

According to an article by M H Haider, published in The Daily Star, one side of the house used to open up to Dholai Khaal, a historic neighbourhood in Old Dhaka, named after the canal built in 15th century by the Mughal Subehdar of Bengal, Islam Khan I. At present, we can only visualize how glorious the mansion must have looked, with the canal flowing nearby.

According to Taimur Islam, who manages Urban Study Group, an initiative made for promoting architectural heritage protection in Dhaka, the house once consisted of a ghat, a flight of steps and a platform which provides access to a water body. He mentions that although the seating arrangements on this ghat remained until the 21st century, they were destroyed more recently.

Entrance to Revati Mohan House from S K Das’ extension and service courtyard of the Fire Service Station, which was previously a ghat
Entrance to Revati Mohan House from S K Das’ extension and service courtyard of the Fire Service Station, which was previously a ghat

Currently, the building functions as a space for the fire service department in Dhaka, and is thus maintained by the government. Although the government allocates funds to maintain the building, much of the maintenance is carried out with minimum to zero consideration regarding the building’s historical significance. The concerned authorities are taking no initiatives for restoration of the building, and to make matters worse, much of the important design elements of the buildings are falling to pieces or getting ruined in the maintenance process.

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The project “Hidden Heritage: Homes in Dhaka” forms part of a larger research framework on “Silent Heritage: Buildings in Bangladesh” focusing on homes and other significant buildings, from the rural to the urban, and from the Mughal to the Modern.




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Dhaka, Bangladesh