Last Friday was another day of the short tour. Along with my two colleagues, I traveled to Panam Nagar and Bangladesh Folk Art and Craft Foundation.
We started around 7:30 am from Baroipara, Ashulia as we wanted to avoid any traffic. It was a chilly morning. Luckily we got a night coach coming from North Bengal. Within an hour we reached Gabtoli where we met our other colleague. In the meantime, I had my breakfast. From there, we took a CNG auto-rickshaw to Gulistan.
Because of the winter morning and public holiday, the roads were free. We reached Gulistan in no time. In front of Mawlana Bhashani Hockey Stadium, we found several ticket counters for buses going to Sonargaon. We bought three tickets and got in. There were many people going to Sonargaon.
Within 40 minutes we reached Sonargaon. We took an auto-rickshaw and reached Panam Nagar. There was 15 taka entry fee for local visitors. I was very excited as I always find historical places fascinating. As I entered the old city, I felt the vibe of people who once used this place for trading and administration.
I found this place a well-structured building block for trading purposes of businessmen though most of the buildings are in very bad condition. I hope authority will take proper measure to save this history book. There are not many places like this in Bangladesh. The two and three storied buildings on the two sides of the road shows the Mughal architecture.
The road is over 500 meters. I expected it little longer than this. After sightseeing, we engaged ourselves in shooting some photographs.
After spending sometimes at Panam Nagar, we headed to Bangladesh Folk Art and Craft Foundation. We bought tickets for 30 Taka each.
This is a nice and clean place compared to the Panam Nagar. There is also a festival going on. There is a museum named after Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin.
We rented a boat for 200 Taka for 30 minutes. It was a very pleasing ride.
At last, we came near the main gate. There is most decorated building in the area. I was pleased to see that it is well taken care of, unlike Panam Nagar. It is a spectacle.
How to go Panam Nagar and Bangladesh Folk Art and Craft Foundation
If you are in Dhaka city, you have to go to Gulistan. At Gulistan, you will get both AC and Non-AC bus service to go Sonargaon. You have to get down at Mograpara bus stand at Sonargaon. Then you have to take auto-rickshaw to go Panam Nagar or Bangladesh Folk Art and Craft Foundation. It will cost around 15 Taka.