About 9 centuries ago King Ballal Sen, from Sen Dynasty, arrived in the bank of the river Buriganga. It’s a time when there were trees! A green framed river. After wondering in the forest King Ballal found an idol of Durga. It felt like abounded to him. So the king decided to make a temple for the goddess. He ordered his men to build a proper temple and the order was obeyed to its best. But still it was a forest, a place where the temple was covered from the eyes of the villagers; with which derived the name ‘Dhaka Ishwari’, meaning “Covered Goddess.” Soon thereafter the temple got its name ‘Dhakeshwari’ temple; a place with thousands of devotees today and the national hindu temple of Bangladesh, and that’s where the name Dhaka adorned the Capital.
But the Capital is said to have picked its name from multiple sources, and that was only one. Islam kha Chisti, Commander of Emperor Jahangir (4th Mughal Emperor), was the first appointed Subedar or governor of Dhaka. When Islam Kha first arrived in Dhaka he asked for ‘Dhakis’ to play ‘Dhak’. ‘Dhak’ is a membranophone instrument, which is a barrel like drum hung from the neck, played with two sticks. In Dhaka there were many Dhakis available at that time. Islam kha asked a group of Dhakis to play Dhak in the point where he was standing and told four of his squires to walk to four different ways as far as they could hear the sound of Dhak. When they will no longer be able to hear the sound they will stop, and that would be the area of the Capital city. It is said that the name Dhaka came from that incident.
Some say the area was packed with Dhak trees (Butea monosperma). So Dhak became Dhaka. Some other say there was a port here called ‘Dhakka’. That became Dhaka. Like these there are many stories that can tell us the ways the City got its name. But one thing is clear, there was a huge community who lived by the river Buriganga and it was affluent. A very old name of the City is 52 Bazars 53 Lanes. It indicates there were many lanes in this region and in almost every lane there was a market. Trade and commerce flourished within this region and communication was maintained through the river.
Dhaka was governed by many great dynasties. Palas and Senas, known for their great architectural mastery and educational expansion, reigned here. Then Muslim rulers came in Dhaka and built magnificent castles and palaces with massive gardens. Many of the places still carry ‘Bag’ ‘Bagicha’ ‘ganj’ after their names. ‘Lalbag Kella’ built by Subedar Azam Shah is a famous tourist attraction. From seventeenth century Mughal governors, known as Subedars, ruled this City for over a century until the East India Company took charge. After Subedars there were ‘Nayeb Najims’ or locally known as ‘Nawabs’ who were in power of the government, though the Company was in charge of the policy in all its ways. ‘Ahsan Manzil’ was the residence of the Nawabs of Dhaka. Jamindars & Merchants were the upper class people, leaving most of the working group in lower class. The class system was a dominant aspect in the city.
Dhaka was a hub for international traders. Not just Middle Eastern, South Indian or oriental, many European nations were drawn to the affluence of the City. Not just British East India Company, Portuguese, Dutch, French, Armenian, Greek traders came to this City and some of them even mixed with the locals. They constructed beautiful churches, monuments, schools, business cottages and residence. ‘Armenitola’, a place that still reminds us of Armenians.
In 1936 two rickshaws were brought to Dhaka from Chandan Nagar, this day West Bengal. That was the start of the widely used vehicle in the City. We can’t imagine Dhaka without rickshaws. Before those two were brought down here, horse carts were used for transport. Pushcarts for transporting goods, introduced by an Armenian in 1856. Elephants were roaming around the city with a mahout on their necks. Then the rail started honking from 1885. The first telephone that rang in Dhaka was in 1882 and in the first year of the twentieth century, Dhaka switched the first electric bulb.
Among the most crowded cities in the world, Dhaka is widely-known, but its past is not. A few worked on this subject and that’s why people know little about it. Today it may seem different in different people, depending on their points of view, but one thing is sure that if they learn more about the past of their existence then they may learn to respect every aspect of it. That can be a push towards the enhancement. Because knowledge of and from the past can help creating a better future.
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