Ahsan Manzil

Ahsan Manzil

Ahsan Manzil:

Ahsan Manzil is located on the banks of the Buriganga river in the south of Dhaka city. It was the palace of Nawabs of Dhaka. In 1872 Nawab Abdul Ghani named it 'Ahsan Manzil' after his son Khwaja Ahsanullah.

This palace was a major political center of Bengal for about 100 years from the middle of the 19th century. The landmark was converted into a museum (Ahsan Manzil Museum) in 1992 with 23 galleries and opened for visitors.

In 1830, Khwaja Alimullah bought the cottage from the French and made necessary renovations to make it his residence. Based on this residence, Khwaja Abdul Ghani commissioned a European construction and engineering firm called Martin & Company to create a master plan with Ahsan Manzil as the main building. The construction of Ahsan Manzil started in 1859 and was completed in 1872. Abdul Ghani named the building Ahsan Manzil after his son Khwaja Ahsanullah. During that period the newly constructed palace building was known as Rangmahal and the earlier building as Andaramahal. On April 7, 1888, Ahsan Manzil was severely damaged by a strong storm, especially the inner palace was completely destroyed. Nawab Ahsanullah rebuilt the inner palace and repaired the palace. Better quality bricks are brought from Raniganj for this repair work. Engineer Govind Chandra Roy managed the repair work. The present beautiful dome over the Rangmahal was added at this time. In the earthquake of 12 June 1897, Ahsan Manzil was again severely damaged. But later Nawab Ahsanullah got it renovated.
Ahsan Manzil is a significant architectural landmark of the country. The two-storied palatial building is 125.4m x 28.75m and stands on a 1 meter high altar. The height from floor to ceiling is 5 meters on the ground floor and 5.8 meters on the second floor. On both the north and south sides of the palace are single storey high car porches. A large open staircase leads down from the second floor balcony over the south facing car porch to the riverside garden. There was a fountain in the garden in front of the stairs which is not there now. Both the floors of the palace have wide balconies with semi-circular arches on the north and south sides. The floors of the balconies and rooms are decorated with marble stones.

To build the dome of Ahsan Manzil, first the four corners of the ground floor square room were filled with bricks and given a round shape. The room is octagonal near the roof by means of squinches above a similar round room on the second floor. This octagonal room has been turned into a barrel-vault on the roof. Finally, the octagonal pointed heads are gradually tilted towards the center to form the Kumud Kali-shaped dome. The height of the top of the dome from the ground is 27.13 meters.

Internally, the building can be divided into two equal parts on either side of the dome. There is a large drawing room on the east side of the second floor. Library and cardroom to the north and 4 square rooms to the east. On the west side of the two storeys is the large Jalsaghara, to the north of it is the Hindustani room and at the west end are 4 square rooms. The wooden vaulted ceiling in the drawing room and the pool is very nice. The upper covering of the floor of these two rooms is made of wooden planks. On the ground floor in the eastern part are the large dining hall and six square rooms. In the western part is the large Durbar Hall. To its north is the billiard room. The dining and durbar hall floors are decorated with Chinese tiles in white, green, yellow etc. colors. Between the 5 rooms built on the west end on the ground floor is the famous strong room where the important materials of the Nawabs were kept.

The room on the north side of the dome room has an attractive wooden staircase. The iron balusters with vines on the stair railings and the wooden ceiling with geometric designs are very impressive. During the glory days of the Nawabs, this stairwell housed a gold-bound visitor's chest. Dignitaries visiting the palace would write their comments on it.

The walls of the palace rooms are about 0.78 meters thick. The doorways are set through semicircular arches. The doors had colored glass on the inside and wooden shutters on the outside. The roof of the rooms is built on wooden planks.

The height of the two-storied Andaramahal is slightly lower than that of the Rangamahal. But the wide balconies on the south side on both floors and the parapet on the roof give a fitting look to the Rangmahal side. Iron bars have been used in the construction of the roof of this building.Ahsan Manjil is an architecture with which several chapters of the history of Bengal are associated. The Muslims of East Bengal were led from this building for almost a hundred years from the end of the 19th century to the first phase of Pakistan. The Nawabs of Dhaka as Panchayat chiefs used to hold arbitration courts here almost every day. Many anti-Congress meetings were held here at the initiative of Nawab Ahsanullah, who believed in Muslim independence. The viceroys, governors and lieutenants of British India. The governor has come to Dhaka, all of them have arrived here. In 1874, Barallat Northbrook came to Dhaka to lay the foundation of a water mill in Dhaka under the donation of Nawab Abdul Ghani and attended an evening ceremony at this palace. In 1888, Lord Dufferin came to Dhaka and accepted the hospitality of Ahsan Manzil. In 1904, Lord Curzon visited East Bengal and stayed at this palace on 18 and 19 February to garner public support for the plan of partition of Bengal.

Khwaja Salimullah conducted all his political activities from this palace. It was done centrally. Ahsan Manzil is a part of history today as the founder of the Nikhil Bharat Muslim League. As the influence and prestige of the Nawabs of Dhaka decreased, Ahsan Manzil's zeal also started to subside. When the Dhaka Nawab Estate was acquired under the Zamindari Abolition Act in 1952, it became impossible for the heirs of the Nawab to maintain the palace. Soon after acquiring the zamindari, Khwaja Habibullah left the palace and started living in Paribagh Green House. The building went to ruin as the partners rented out rooms in the palace without judging the choice. Over time the illegal encroachers turned the place into a filthy slum.
Realizing the historical and architectural importance of Ahsan Manzil, the Bangladesh government took the initiative to renovate the building and turn it into a museum. In 1985 Ahsan Manzil and adjoining premises were acquired. Its renovation work was completed in 1992 under the responsibility of the Directorate of Public Works and Architecture. From September 20 that year, the palace was brought under the control of the Bangladesh National Museum and a museum was established here.

Ahsan Manzil Schedule:

Ahsan Manzil is open for visitors on these five days from Saturday to Wednesday from 10:30 AM to 5:30 PM. Ahsan Manzil can be visited every Friday from 3 pm to 8 pm. Ahsan Manzil Museum is completely closed on every Thursday and other public holidays.

General visitors have to collect an entry ticket of Tk 20 per person to visit Ahsan Manzil. Minor children below 12 years can enter at Tk 10 per person. Foreigners have to pay Tk 100 per person to enter Ahsan Manzil. No tickets are required at Ahsan Manzil for disabled visitors.

To enter Ahsan Manzil you must register online and purchase your ticket by logging in and before buying ticket you must check children, elderly and disabled to buy tickets. And if you are a foreigner then you have to buy the ticket at the price fixed for foreigners.