By birth, I am a city girl. Growing up in a populated city like Dhaka, the 400-year-old capital of Bangladesh, is something quite interesting. The 17th-century old city was the Mughal capital of Bengal. The morning hustle, the jam-packed roads, the rickshaws, and CNG-powered auto-rickshaws—everything is a part of our daily life. Dhaka is a city of mosques. Dhaka is a city of crowds. Dhaka is a city of rickshaws. But to me, Dhaka is a city of heritage and culture with a symphony of religious harmony and delightful Dhakaiya cuisine. I happily relished the time I spent in the old part of the city, Puran Dhaka. As a student of Jagannath University, I got to spend six vibrant years of my youth in this part of the city. Also, as my mom’s family is from Puran (old) Dhaka, the maternal influence compelled me to inherit some culture from the Puran Dhakaiya heritage, especially the food choices.
Mornings in Puran Dhaka
Morning starts differently in the old part of the city, which we call Puran Dhaka. Puran Dhakaiyas start their day with milk tea and bakarkhani, a traditional snack that, quite like a biscuit in texture, melts in your mouth with a kiss of sweetness. You can have a regular salty Bakarkhani, a sweet one, or the one that comes with a cottage cheese filling. I prefer my salty bakarkhani with beef stew. Well, this is not the only combo available for breakfast. And I am someone who can live on nehari, a stew-like dish made by cooking beef or mutton bone and bone marrow with meat for a very long time with fragrant spices. It goes perfectly well with oven-fresh tandoori roti. Paratha with chickpea stew with mutton or beef liver, chicken korma, semolina porridge cooked in deshi ghee, or mixed vegetable curry—all these things are the special breakfast delicacies of Puran Dhaka.
Well, my morning does not always look like this, as I have to rush to catch my classes on time. But I can not deprive myself of a cup of lemon tea from a nearby shop located behind the judicial court. A cup of lemon tea, with extreme flavours of mint, ginger, and nigella seeds, and, of course, in the company of my friends, really gives a powerful kick to accommodate my mind during the boring classes of linguistics. Sometimes, a honey bun from the local bakery becomes the breakfast of choice when we have to rush for another lecture. But if we have a bit of time, we have a tradition to feast over the daal-luchi combo. Now daal is a chickpea stew, thick in consistency, tampered with red chillies, onion, and other spices. It goes well with the deep-fried flatbreads that we call luchi.
A student’s culinary journey
When you are a university student, you ought to miss lunch at your home. And I have gone through the same several times. But it has never been an irritating idea for me to have lunch outside, as my campus is at the heart of Puran Dhaka. Puran Dhaka is famous for their rice-based dishes like biriyani, khichuri, tehari, Morog polao, kacchi biryani, and whatnot. After our long and boring lectures on theories of language acquisition or conservation analysis, we used to rush to the local biryani shops for our lunch. Kacchi biryani is something I relish the most. Traditional kacchi biryani consists of big chunks of mutton and flavourful basmati rice. And nothing can beat the taste of the Kacchi biryani from this small shop, Kolkata Kacchi Ghar. Often, Hajir Biryani used to be a lunch destiny for us whenever we used to crave tehari, another rice dish cooked in mustard oil with small chunks of meat, flavourful rice, and fewer spices, served in jackfruit leaves. Haji Nanna’s biryani, Jhunu’s morog polao, Hanif Biryani, or just a lunch at Star Kabab Restaurant was something we always looked forward to. We used to end our mid-day meal with a delightful dessert, falooda from the famous shop, Beauty Lacchi and Falooda.
Although I am not a lover of vegetarian dishes, when I am talking about the food culture in Puran Dhaka, it is absolutely important to talk about the Jagannath Vojonaloy, situated in the Tatibazar area. In the summer days, when the scorching sun used to make the heavy and spicy meals unpalatable to us, we often paid a visit to this place. Run by a Hindu owner, this small hotel serves pure vegetarian dishes. I am a big fan of their “Kashmiri Paneer,” a thick gravy-based curry cooked with big pieces of cottage cheese.
Evening delights: Kebabs and all
Evenings are always highlighted in the area of Puran Dhaka. The streets start to smell like kebabs and naans as there are numerous kebab shops here and there, especially in the Nazirabazar and the Bangshal areas. Chichen tikka, grilled chicken, beef shik kebab, Haleem, and samosa, are the most common items here. Drooling over a bowl of hot and spicy haleem, another thick meat and lentil stew, with piping hot naan rotis is something I always dream about. Jilapi, a fried snack soaked in sugar syrup, is a perfect dessert to complete the evening food fiesta.
Whispers of history
As I have mentioned earlier, Puran Dhaka is a place of religious harmony. The shabby alleys of Shankhai Bazar are filled with the oriental aroma of the agarbattis and the sound of bells from the Hindu temples, whereas anyone will be amazed by the architectural style of the Binat Bibi masjid on Narinda Road.
Well, it is not only food that draws me toward old Dhaka. I am truly fascinated by the age-old architecture, history, and cultural heritage of this part of the city. It feels like every random building, the broken window sills, covered with dust and rust of time and history, has a different story to tell.
The Bahadur Shah Park, previously known as Victoria Park, just beside my university campus, bears the history of the Indian mutiny of 1857. The Northbrook Hall auditorium, the Armenian church bears the witness of Armenian settlers in Dhaka. I love to spend my lazy afternoons looking at the Buriganga River from the open terrace of Ahsan Manzil, once the residency of the Nawabs of Dhaka. It is just three minutes’ walking distance from my campus. Constructed between 1859 and 1872, this palace is a beautiful example of Indo-Saracenic architecture. The Rangmahal on the east and the Andarmahal on the west make up the two halves of the palace. The dome, a drawing room, a card room, a library, a stateroom, and two guest rooms are all elements of the Rangmahal. A few residential rooms, a dining hall, a music room, an assembly room, a storage, and a ballroom are all located within the Andarmahal. The music room has an artificial vaulted ceiling, as does the drawing room. Ceramic tiles in shades of white, green, and yellow adorn the dining and assembly areas. It was turned into a museum in 1985 by the government of Bangladesh.
I can still remember the first time I visited this palace. A complete pink palace standing by the side of the river was announcing the glory and history of the Nawabs of Dhaka. I walked around the palace with so much excitement and curiosity. My fondness for this palace compelled me to call it “My Pink Palace.”. It always fills me with a sense of calmness and peace whenever I’m sitting on the front staircase of this pink palace and watching the boats and launches on the Buriganga River. Reminiscing about my old days, and enjoying the emotion that comes with nostalgia and melancholy is more like a treat to my soul.
Puran Dhaka in my heart
Puran Dhaka is the part of Dhaka city full of shabby alleys and old buildings. The alleys are filled with the aroma of spices and the sound of hustle and bustle. The allies of Wari, Tikatuli, and Sutrapur are always chaotic with the mischievous monkeys. The English Road, Malitola, and Johnson Road are jam-packed with horse-drawn carriages and other motor cars. The Sadarghat Launch terminal, the courts, and the double-deckers of Jagannath University always keep the area crowded and noisy. Life is busy there, as well as a bit complicated, but my heart always aches for a glance at Puran Dhaka.