March 2012
In the middle of old Dhaka, sits the abandoned Mughal Fort of Lal Bagh. Dhaka in its day was the capital of the rich, princely state of Bengal.
The term Lalbagh refers to reddish and pinkish architecture from the Mughal period. The original fort was called Fort Aurangabad. Its construction was started by Prince Muhammad Azam Shah, who was the son of Emperor Aurangzeb and a future Mughal emperor himself. After the prince was recalled by his father, the fort's construction was overseen by Shaista Khan. The death of Shaista Khan's daughter Pari Bibi (Fairy Lady) resulted in a halt to the construction process, apparently due to Shaista Khan's superstition that the fort brought bad omen. Pari Bibi was buried inside the fort.
(Wikipedia)
Fort Aurangabad used to sit on the Buri Ganga River (which itself used to be the main channel of the Ganges headed toward the delta. As riverine pathways shift over time, especially nearing the sea, so the Buri Ganga silted up and now the port of Dhaka is no longer on the main branch of the river AND Lag Bagh (ex Fort Aurangabad) now sits quite far from the water. Like the nearby Ahsan Monzil [see: Ahsan Monzil], Lal Bagh is a tiny open space in an incredibly chaotic and claustrophobic old part of the city. The visit at least provided some respite from the crush of humanity outside of its gates.
The complex was poorly maintained. The gardens were all dried up and there was no water in the ponds and fountains. The buildings were not falling apart, but the setting was far from the beauty of the place portrayed in photos. Perhaps my visit at the end of the dry season had something to do with it, but I suspected not. After having visited the Red Forts of both Agra and Delhi [see: Istanbul to Kushinagar] upon which Fort Aurangabad was based, I was totally unimpressed. Experiencing the overwhelming masses of people that make up Old Dhaka was far more interesting than this "also ran" Red Fort on the fringes of the former Mughal Empire.
Nonetheless, AH's tour of Dhaka city would not have been complete without a visit to Dhaka's own mini "Red Fort" (which was actually pink). I visited - just didn't get the t-shirt.