Bara Katra
Bara Katra
Bara Katra is a historical and architectural monument located in the city of Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is a palatial building dating to the reign of the Mughal dynasty in the Bengal region. It is situated to the south of Chowk Bazaar close to the north bank of the river Buriganga.
Bara Katra is one of Dhaka's oldest buildings, built in 1644 by Mir Abdul Qasem. It was originally an enclosed quadrangle on the Buri Ganga, with a marvellous entrance/gate with four wings and 22 rooms. The remains include the entrance and the tower. In a sad an delapidated state, one needs to use one's imagination to visualize the grandeur that this place must have held.
Back side of the edifice:
Bara Katra
A tall alcove rising to the second storey reduces the mass of this projection. The wall surface is relieved with panels that are square as well as rectangular and that contain a variety of decorations of four-centred, cusped, horseshoe and flat arches. Above the apex of the alcove open the windows of the third storey.
Bara Katra an architectural relic of Dhaka city.
Under the alcove is the main arched entrance which leads to the guardroom. Furthermore, as one passes through two successive archways, one comes across an octagonal domed hall, the ceiling of which is plastered and bears various net-patterns and foliaged designs. The double storeyed structure resolves on both sides of the central entrance into a row of five vaulted rooms in the ground floor and living rooms with a continuous corridor on the upper one.
Likewise, the upper floors of the entrance are furnished with rooms. The three storyed corner towers are hollow and can be approached from the subsidiary structures.
Following the traditional pattern of the caravan-sarai of Central Asia, the Bara Katra was highly fortified and was embellished with all the features of the imperial Mughal style.
The Bara Katra contains two inscriptions in Persian: one records that it was built in 1053 AH (1643-44 AD) and the other contains the date 1055 AH (1645-46 AD) and confirms that shah shuja gave the building to Mir Abul Qasim to be used as a Katra on the condition that the officials in charge of the endowments (waqf) should not take any rent from any deserving person alighting therein.
It should be noted here that more than half of the Katra building has already been destroyed and the building as a whole is in a dilapidated condition. It could not be taken over by the Department of Archaeology owing to the resistance of its owners. The owners have made several alterations to the original character of the building and have also started construction of a new multi-storeyed building in the area. Nevertheless, the surviving ruins stand as one of the most important monuments of Bengal. It is perhaps the most magnificent Mughal edifice of Bangladesh which has a monumental central archway.
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