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Bangladesh Blog Your Bangladesh blog 2012-02-01T03:24:15-06:00 DotClear daily 1 2012-02-01T03:24:15-06:00 Bengal Renaissance – An Era of Progress 2012-02-01T03:24:15-06:00 2012-02-01T03:24:15-06:00 http://www.bangladesh.com/blog/bengal-renaissance-an-era-of-progress Editor Features

Referred to as the Bengal Renaissance, the 19th century is considered to have been a time of transition from medieval to modern in a number of fields, including literature, religion, social reform, political leanings and scientific discoveries. During this time Bengal formed part of undivided India under British rule, and the Renaissance is said to have begun with Indian religious, educational and social reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy (22 May 1772-27 September 1833) who pushed the boundaries of traditional Hindu culture and advocated progress for Indian society even though under the rule of the British. Together with Dwarkanath Tagore of the influential Tagore family of Kolkata, as well as other prominent Bengalis, Ram Mohan Roy established the Brahmo Sabha in 1828, which later become the societal aspect of Brahmo religion referred to as Brahmo Samaj. It is generally agreed that the Bengal Renaissance period ended with the death of Rabindranath Tagore in 1941, but it is also acknowledged that many staunch supporters of the Renaissance continued to encourage progress in different fields.

Seen as the pioneer of Bengali modernism and architecture, Bangladeshi architect Muzharul Islam has designed many notable buildings at various locations in Bangladesh. His early works include the Art Institute in Shahbag, the Public Library and National Archives, all located in Dhaka. He designed the housing at Azimpur Estate in Dhaka, and was involved with the design of other landmark buildings in the city including the Headquarters for the Agricultural Development Corporation, the BCSIR Laboratory Buildings, and the World Bank Office Buildings, as well as Chittagong University and the Jahangirnagar University. This talented and innovative Bangladeshi architect collaborated with American architect in the design of polytechnic institutes in the cities of Rangpur, Pabna, Bogra, Sylhet and Barisal.

Located along the Karatoya River, about 28 kilometers from the Sherpur Upazila of the Bogra District in the Rajshahi Division of Bangladesh, Bhabanipur Shaktipeeth is a place of worship dedicated to the Hindu goddess Shakti, also referred to as Durga, Sati or Parvati. As one of the Shakti Peethas, Bhabanipur is historically a pilgrimage destination for adherents to this particular denomination of Hinduism which worships Shakti as their Divine Mother. The numerous temples at the site and the holy Shakha-Pukur pond are visited by devotees from all around Bangladesh and beyond its borders.

Situated in the southwest of Dhaka, in the area of Atish Khana, visitors will discover the Khan Mohammad Mridha Mosque nearby the famous Lalbagh Fort. An inscription dates the mosque back to about 1704 to 1705 CE, during the time when Farrukh Siyar served as Deputy Governor of Dhaka. It is likely that the architect behind the structure was Khan Muhammad Mridha, after whom the mosque was named. Chalan Beel: Vital for Biodiversity 2011-12-07T08:37:53-06:00 2011-12-07T08:37:53-06:00 http://www.bangladesh.com/blog/chalan-beel-vital-for-biodiversity Editor Features

Spreading across eight upazilas of three districts of Bangladesh, Chalan Beel is a series of wetlands connected by channels of water in the lower Altrai basin. During the rainy season, these wetlands become a single body of water with dense aquatic vegetation supporting diverse wildlife. The banks of Chalan Beel are covered in a variety of fauna, which is inhabited by at least twenty-seven species of mammals, and thirty-four species of reptiles, with amphibians including seven species of frogs and toads. Reptiles include turtles, tortoises, lizards and a number of snake species.

With the goal of bringing together Bangladeshi and British authors to share ideas and promote the benefits of reading, the Hay Festival of Literature and Arts recently took place in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The event was held in the grounds of the British Council in Dhaka and was well attended. This is the first time that the festival has taken place in Bangladesh and organizers used every opportunity to promote Bangladeshi literature to the many delegates and visitors in attendance. The Hay Festival originated in Hay-on-Wye, Wales, in 1988 and has since been hosted in a number of venues around the world, including Kerala, Nairobi, Segovia, Xalapa, Beirut and Cartagena.

Viewed as a pioneer of the Bangladeshi modern art movement, Zainul Abedin Sangrahashala (1914-1976) used art to express his views on a range of subjects, focusing primarily on scenes of rural Bengal, as well as the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 and the Bengali famine of 1943, encouraging people to fight against oppression. A collection of his artworks and mementos of his life are displayed in the Zainul Abedin Museum, established in 1975 and situated on the banks of the Old Bramaputra River in the city of his birth, Mymensingh, Bangladesh.

Considered to be one of the leading contemporary architects in Bangladesh, Khan Mohammed Mustapha Khalid Palash is also a talented artist, with his first solo exhibition, Of Conflict and Harmony, taking place at the Gallery of Fine Arts of Asiatic Society in Dhaka. Having been raised in a household where art was important, and with his father being a painter, Palash’s creativity was encouraged from a young age, and this experience is evident in both his artistic and architectural creations.

With India's Assam State as its eastern border, the Upazila of Barlekha is located in the Maulvi Bazar District of the Sylhet Division of Bangladesh. Known for its numerous tea gardens, each with its own tea-processing factory, Barlekha is also famous for its production of incense and attar – perfumed oil extracted from flower petals and agarwood. Many families in Barlekha make a living out of cottage industries such as bamboo and cane work, pottery, ironwork and sitalpati – soft mats woven from reeds.

Award-winning Bangladeshi author, poet and researcher Abdul Mannan Syed was born in 1943 in the village of Jalalpur in what was then the region of West Bengal, now Pakistan. This was a time of famine, unrest and upheaval that forced his family to move to East Bengal and then to East Pakistan, to settle in Dhaka, in the region which is now Bangladesh. This upheaval was very difficult for Abdul Mannan Syed and he reportedly said that he always felt like a refugee. Nevertheless, his contribution to the Bangladeshi literary world is widely acknowledged and he was, and continues to be, viewed as an asset to the country.