The Rose Garden Palace
If you are a fan of vintage photographs of palaces and often come across wedding photos on different websites and Facebook pages then this splendid white-coloured house is familiar to you. It is the famous Rose Garden Palace situated in Old Dhaka. Built during the time of the British Raj, the Rose Garden palace is a beautiful mansion. Now-a-days, it is used as venues for various events such as wedding ceremonies.
History:
Built in the late 19th century, the Rose Garden is probably one of the few mansions which remain almost unharmed. This magnificent house was built by a Hindu landlord, Hrikesh Das, as a pleasure lodge to arrange musical performances. There is a story behind making this beautiful manor. Hrikesh Das, who belonged to lower caste, was once being insulted by someone in one of the jalsas held at Baldah Garden. After that incident, he made up his mind to create his own garden with a purpose of fading the lustre of that of Baldah. Here he would stage jalsas of his own. Because of his lavish lifestyle, Hrikesh went bankrupt and was forced to sale the property to Khan Bahadur Kazi Abdur Rashid in 1936. Though it was not built as a residence, the following owners did use it as a house. However, it is under private property to date. Its present owner is now Qazi Abdur Raqib, Barrister, who has given this property on lease to the Bengal Motion Picture Studios Limited.
This mansion is also historically significant for another reason. It is considered the birth place of Awami League, the reigning political party of Bangladesh. Awami League was founded in 1949 as the political voice for East Pakistan. As the property is maintained by its owner, there is a risk that it may be broken down and replaced with high rise apartment or other structures.
Architecture:
This white-coloured mansion attracts people for its beautiful architectural design. The first thing that catches the attention of the visitors is its Corinthian columns which were very commonly used in Mughal architecture. The miner at the top of the building, pattern of the window, decoration of the room etc resemble the Mughal architecture. Other things that add up to the beauty of this mansion are fountain in the front yard and several classical marble statues in the garden. It looks like that the statues were made based on Greek mythological characters or people of that country because women in our country did not wear such gowns. The sad thing is that rose garden, the main attraction of the garden for which it was named, does not exist anymore. However, there is a pond just after the front yard. The pond has a concrete ghat where people can seat, gossip and can enjoy the beauty of the regal house.
Location:
Reading this vivid description one may want to go there to visit the place. It is located in old part of Dhaka city. To be exact, it is situated in K.M. Das Lane at Tikatully, which is very close to Motijheel area. However, visitors can enter the premise upon receiving permission from the owner or from the company to whom it was given on lease. It is now mainly used for organizing different types of programs such as, wedding reception. Only rich people with deep pockets can rent this place.
Book about the Rose Garden:
If you want to see more photos of this beautiful mansion then you can take a look at the book titled Rose Garden which is illustrated by Hamiduzzaman Khan, a sculptor and painter. Sketches of this historical property containing in this book are portrayed in pen-and-ink, crayon and watercolour. Kazi Ahmed Sajed has written the text in English in order to spread it across the world.
While surfing on youtube, I have found this video. It is a 3D show projected in the Rose Garden. This 3D projection will make you fear, but in the end you will enjoy it.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7STCow1p8A[/embed]
Sources:
http://www.dhakatribune.com/heritage/2014/aug/30/dhaka-city-palaces
