Homaira and Taimur at it again—this time they’re expanding their tours to include other destinations in Old Dhaka, starting with a walk on 16 December to the historic boro and choto Katras (caravansarai), some of Old Dhaka’s ancient mosques, the Armenian Church, and then the Lalbagh Fort.

Previously, they have featured tours of Shakhari Bazar (also known as Hindu Street) and the Sutrapur/Farashganj areas, where there are a number of old and decaying buildings that still somehow manage to demonstrate the majesty of Dhaka’s former glory.

Contact Taimur and Homaira directly for more info, and to get on their mailing list to be notified of future walks exploring Old Dhaka.

Urban Study Group
Hse 29 (2nd Floor), Road 1
Dhanmondi, Dhaka 1205
tel: 01819 248408
e-mail: usg.dhaka [AT] gmail.com

The Urban Study Group is at it again: this time they’re hosting a one day walk on 7 Oct, what will hopefully be one of the least busy times during Durga Puja, as its normally thronging with thousands of people. What follows is a calendar of events of what will happen over the festival, which has to be the best day of the entire year to visit Old Dhaka.

Straight from Taimur and Homaira:

Eid greetings and Puja greetings to everybody.

We have the largest and most important Hindu festival coming up at Shakhari Bazaar. Here is a brief description of the festival. Durga Puja is celebrated on a mass scale with puja pandals (marquees) built on the street of Shakhari Bazaar. Preparations for the Puja begin long before the actual day arrives. The craftsmen and artisans do brisk business at this time of the year.

The festivities begin from maha shashthi (the sixth day from the day after mahalaya) which is on the 5th of October, when the priest unveils the deity during a puja known as bodhan. On this day the women of the house fast for the well-being of the family. The fast is broken in the evening with fruits and luchis (a kind of bread made of flour), usually eaten with vegetable .It is for the whole family to participate in these rituals, especially when it comes to partaking of the yummy luchis and vegetables. A trip to the local pandal is also a must.

The morning of maha saptami (seventh day) which is on the 6th of October, is taken up with the worship of the deity, followed by anjali when a devotee offers prayers and flowers on an empty stomach, amidst the chanting of mantras to the Goddess. Only then can one make a beeline for the prasad (sweetmeat offered to the deity). Bhog (meal provided to all and sundry after the Goddess has partaken of it) at lunchtime is a welcome break for those who gather in the pandals. But come evening, and the pandal becomes a dazzling array of new clothes, shiny faces of children running helter-skelter and a spectacular display of lights. The rhythmic beat of the dhak (drums) adds to the mood of Bengal’s most popular festival.

The maha ashtami (eighth day) which is on the 7th of October is an especially significant day. The priest breathes life into the idol of Durga as he performs the sandhi puja (worship in the evening) to the chanting of shlokas (religious couplets). The reflection of the idol has to be observed in a bowl of water as this gives an impression of movement. This part of the puja is known as pranpratishtha (breathing life into the idol). Kumari puja (worship of young girls) is an old custom still carried out in certain temples.

All these special ceremonies are interspersed with the usual rounds of anjali, prasad and bhog.
One cannot talk about maha navmi (ninth day) which is on the 8th of October, without laying emphasis on the fact that meat is served in many pandals as part of the bhog, but never in the temples. This being the penultimate day of the Puja, one can feel that it is soon going to be over.

Bijoya dashami, the last day of the Pujas is on the 9th October. Married women bid farewell to the Mother Goddess through various rituals, entreating her to come back every year. The playful ritual called sindoor khela during which women smear each other’s hair, faces and bangles with vermilion powder, breaks the solemnity of the occasion. Later, all the idols are taken to nearby rivers or ponds to be immersed. To an outsider, this might seem like a colossal waste, but don’t forget, this also ensures idol makers never go out of business.

Note: this text is taken from internet and edited for you all.

We are arranging a walk only one day i.e. the 7th of October 2008, specially for the Durga Puja in the morning at 10:00 am, as it is supposed to be less crowded. But as the description of the events are given ask a tour operator or a friend to take you there for the other days. Each day has its charm and the whole street transforms to a grand fair. If you are worrying about the richshaws, let us put your mind to rest , THE STREET BECOMES PEDESTRIAN for those days! It is only the swarming crowd!

Depending on the interest of you all might also visit Shakhari Bazaar in the late evening , at 10:00 p.m.
As we had discussed it with many of you who seemed interested to join this walk , please confirm soon.
It will help us organise the event.

Thanks
Homaira and Taimur

Homaira and Taimur of Dhaka’s Urban Study Group have started offering guided explorations of Old Dhaka, on both the weekends and weekdays, in an effort to see some of the older buildings preserved and restored. Here’s a quote from their recent mailings regarding the preservation work they’re attempting to do:

While our documentation of the other mohallahs of Ward 72 are going on, we have started documenting the Sutrapur and Farashganj area also . At present we are trying to start actual restoration work on few small-scale projects in Shakhari Bazaar and Tati Bazaar which we hope will have a snowball effect; we’ll soon send out detailed information on the projects.

Today’s update is about another heritage building at risk. A grand mansion is being demolished in Farashganj for redevelopment by the owners. USG has already documented the building and trying to negotiate with the owners with conservation proposal with the half that is still standing and is also trying to persuade the goverment officials regarding the possible modification of the current building construction rules to facilitate conservation while protecting the economic interest of the owners/developers.

Want to find out more information? Send an e-mail to friendsofsb [AT] gmail.com.