Dhaka Off The Beaten Path

On the way to NAtional Memorial at Savar, lies Jahangirnagar University, the only one residential public university in the country. In Pakistan era the then central government wanted to crush the student uprising and growing involvement of students of Dhaka University in national politics made the government think about moving the Dhaka University Campus far from the city centre at the outskirt of Dhaka. However finally it emerged as a separate university in the late 70s. Apart from its luch freen surrounding, in winter this university campus becomes a Mecca for bird-watcers as migratory birds from Siberia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia move here in their thousands in winter months (November-February) to escape severe cold up north.

Comilla is one of the oldest district city of Bangladesh and has indigeneous Bengali Hindus and Buddhists along with Muslim Population. Comilla (Town) stands on the bank of the Gumti river. Several cultural personalities alongwith natioanal poet Kazi Nazrul Islam have made their contribution in this city. Marks of rich ancient civilization have been found in Lalmai Mainamati hills. including Shalvan Vihara. More than 200 years old various Buddhists and Hindu temples found on and around the city of Comilla. Apart from all these Comilla is famous for 'Rash Malai', a very popular milk based dessert/snack sweets. The sweets are best made by 'Matri Bhandar', the ancient maker of this sweet and should be bought directly at their outlet at Manoharpur, inside Comilla city. Comilla is 2 hours drive away from Dhaka on the Dhaka - Chittagong highway.

Bhawal National Park is in Gazipur district 45 km far from Dhaka in the north side. It is a vast (1,600 acres) national recreational forest with Picnic spots; jungles of naturally grown ancient 'Gajari' (teak) trees and a lake inside the forest. You can enjoy boating and horse riding here. Especially in the winter season lots of people gather here in groups to have a day-meal away home. The park lies on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway on your right in Gazipur district.

Before the war (i.e. WWII) Maynamati was a hamlet of a few dozen huts, but during the war a large military camp was established there as the war came as close as Myanmar (Burma). Several ordnance depots and a number of military hospitals, both British and Indian, were in the area, including Nos. 14 and 150 British General Hospitals; and the majority of the burials in Maynamati War Cemetery were from the various hospitals. Graves from isolated places in the surrounding country, and some from as far afield as Burma, were moved into the cemetery by the Army Graves Service and later on by the Commission; and it was found necessary to transfer also graves from small cemeteries at Dhaka, Faridpur, Paksey, Saidpur, Santahar and Sirajganj where they could not be maintained. The cemetery was started by the Army and laid out by the garrison engineer. It is dominated by a small flat-topped hill crowned with indigenous flowering and evergreen trees. Between the entrance and this hill lie the Christian graves, and on the far side of it are the Muslim graves. There is a separate section where lies the graves of unidentified soldiers. On a terrace about half-way up the hill, facing the entrance, stands the Cross of Sacrifice, and on the other side a shelter looks over the Muslim graves to a tree-framed view of the countryside beyond. There are now over 700, 1939-45 war casualties commemorated in this cemetery. Everyday profile of a dead solider is kept open in turns from the registry book at the entrance.

In this cemetery lie the bodies of British, African, Indian, Australian and Japanese. the lands in Bangladesh occupied as Commonwealth War Cemeteries were assured in perpetuity to the Imperial War Graves Commission, under the British Commonwealth and Empire, by the Government of Bangladesh.

The cemetery, a kilometre down the road leading from Comilla to Sylhet and nine kilometres from the railway station, is a short distance past the Comilla Cantonment Military Hospital.

Located at Savar, 35 kilometres from Bangladesh's capital Dhaka. The memorial, designed by architect Moinul Hossain, is dedicated to the sacred memory of the millions of unknown martyrs of the 1971 War of Liberation.

The complex is surrounded by a beautiful landscape and is also well maintained.

Sonargaon (means golden city),27 Km away from Dhaka was the capital of Bengal from the 13th to early 17th century during the Chandra and Deva dynasty. The city of Panam was a flourished city in those days. In 1611, the Sultanat collapsed under the pressure from the Mughal expansion, and the Mughals considered the location too exposed to the Portuguese and the Mogh Pirates and thus established Dhaka as their capital. You can also visit the folklore museum at Sonargaon.