Leisure and Entertainment at Dhanmondi Lake

Located in the middle of Dhaka city, within the prosperous Dhanmondi residential area, Dhanmondi Lake is a popular tourist attraction, with lush green vegetation, a lakeside walkway and benches for visitors to sit and relax on. Some residences of Dhanmondi are built on the water’s edge, with one of the most interesting being a house in the shape of a boat. This well-known landmark in the area seems appropriate seeing as Dhanmondi Lake is used extensively for boating. The open-air amphitheater, Rabindra-Sarobar, is also located on the banks of Dhanmondi Lake and is the venue for concerts, dramas, theater performances and a variety of cultural programs, festivals and holiday celebrations.

The Dhanmondi residential area was established in 1956, with the development plan including the area for the lake. Originally a channel of the Karwan Bazar River, which in turn is connected to the Turag River, Dhanmondi Lake is fed by the Begunbari Canal. The residential area was developed specifically for the elite citizens of Dhaka, but over the decades Dhanmondi has become a city within a city as it boasts all the amenities of a modern city, including schools, hospitals, malls, banks, office buildings and even colleges and universities.

Most of the development has taken place in more recent years, with the original two-storied houses giving way to apartment complexes, and shops and restaurants encroaching on what was once a strictly residential area. The economic significance of the area is highlighted by the fact that every bank operating in Bangladesh has a branch in Dhanmondi.

As an important fact in the history of the country, the home of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangladesh, was in Dhanmondi, and it was there that he and most of his family were assassinated in 1975.

From a social point of view, Dhanmondi Lake is extremely popular as an entertainment venue, particularly during festivals such as Independence Day, Eid and Pohela Baishakh – Bengali New Year. At these times, crowds flock to Dhanmondi and the atmosphere is very festive in this vibrant neighborhood of Dhaka City.