Star Mosque and Mughal Eidgah
Most of the historic buildings in Dhaka are not lucky enough to benefit from conservation. Generally, conservation maintains a building in, or restores it to, its original state. Here I point out two cases where the conservation altered the appearance of the structure - one about which I have mixed feelings, the other which I like.
Probably the most well known of Dhaka's historic mosques is the Tara Masjid (Star Mosque) in the old town. This mosque was built by one Mirza Golam Pir, a local zamindar (see also post 55 of this thread). Pir died in 1860, so the mosque was likely built in the first half of the 19th century. However, this was a rather unremarkable three domed structure, not unlike many other examples of this mosque type found around Bangladesh. Then around 1930 or so, a local businessman named Ali Jan Bepari began decorating the mosque with china clay tiles of Japanese and English origin. The use of such decorative tiles was popular in both secular and religeous structures at the time, and many other examples can be found in Bangladesh, but the Tara Masjid remains the most famous. Bepari also added an arcade of five arches to the front of this mosque. Only after these changes, did the Tara Masjid become well known. The first pic below is how the mosque looked then (sorry but I didn't find a clearer pic online). Around 1990, a restoration of the mosque was undertaken, at which time the size of the mosque was also almost doubled. In the plan seen in the second pic below, you can see the original section on the left, and the extension (areas shaded dark) to the right.
Below left, is how the mosque appears today. Below right, a detail of the mosaic:
The three domes to the left are the original ones - one larger dome with two smaller ones on each side. One large and one small dome has been added to the right. The incresed size of the mosque has given it a grander appearance. The aspect I dislike, is that now a small dome, instead of a large one, occupies the central axis of the structure. This creates an aesthetically inharmonious effect. It would made more sense from an aesthetic standpoint, to add one larger dome to each end. I think there are some graves to the left the building, and that is probably why this was not done. Of course, they could have just left the building the way it was. I suspect that this was a compromise to adding a modern extension to the mosque, as has been done in many other instances. Of course, I'm just guessing - another explanation may be that such aesthetics were not an important consideration. Finally, another feature changed by the restoration was the elegant old fountain was replaced by a rather garish, star shaped one (although the picture quality is poor, you can see the old foundtain in the first picture - there was some elgant tilework which is not found in its replacement). This was an unnecessary loss. For anyone who is interested, there are more pictures of this beautiful building in the Dhaka Landmarks thread. If you happen to be in Old Dhaka, another exquisite example of such tilework can be found at the Koshaituli Mosque (built in 1919, just the time when such decorations were at the height of their popularity). Unfortunately the front of the original building is obscured by a modern extension, but the rear and and interior are still unchanged.
Another restoration, also circa 1990, which altered the appearance of the surviving structure was that of the Old Idgah in Dhanmondi. This is the oldest surviving Mughal structure in Dhaka, built in 1640 (a couple of pre-Mughal mosques also survive). Unlike many other cities, Dhaka did not have a big central "Jami Masjid." Rather, on important occasions, large congregations would gather at the Idgah. Here is how the front and back of the surving section of the Idgah, including the mehrab, looked before restoration:
Here is how it looks today (photos from Ershad Ahmed's blog). The structure has been replastered in Mughal style, and arcades added around the rectangular field. The last pic is of some old inscriptions.
The difference between this alteration, and that of the Tara Masjid, was that it was actually an effort to restore the appearance of the Idgah to what it looked like originally. It enhances the the surviving part without changing its appearance. Needless to say, I like this result better than the other one.
সোনার গাড়ির কথা কেউ কখনও শুনেছেন? সোনার গারির বাস্তব গল্পই শোনাব আপনাদের। সৌদির আরবের প্রিন্স ব্রিটেনে সোনার গাড়ি নিয়ে ঘুরছেন।
