It was known as Bhola Gram—a village encompassing green croplands and dense plantations and inhabited by farmers who migrated from the coastal district of Bhola. They used to catch fish in the lakes and canals and lead a life of tranquillity in the village, which was also known as Bhola Samair.
In 1961, the then head of the Dhaka Improvement Trust (DIT), GA Madani, chose this area to implement the Gulshan Model Town—a project to build an upscale residential area replicating the one with the same name (Gulshan means garden) in Pakistan’s Karachi.
During the development work, Gulshan became a union and later turned into a municipality, while a police station was established in 1972.
In 1978, Dhaka Municipality was awarded the status of corporation, but it was superseded by the promulgation of martial law in March 1982. Gulshan Municipality was merged with Dhaka Municipality the same year. In 1990, Dhaka Municipal Corporation was renamed Dhaka City Corporation and was divided into 10 zones.
With time, street lamps, heavily guarded checkposts, high-rise residential buildings, multiple kitchen markets, shopping malls, brand shops, banks, clubs, gymnasiums, and hotels started to grow in great numbers. The embassies and diplomatic residences have also been extended to Baridhara on the east side of Gulshan. Moreover, the areas encircling Gulshan also became important.
The development spree reached a peak within the next 10 years, prompting the government to officially allow commercial establishments in some parts of Gulshan in 2004. Hence, the number of commercial buildings and shops and the prices of land and flats started to skyrocket.
One of the two signs of the Bhola Gram that still exists is the Gulshan Jame Mosque, which was previously the Bhola Jame Mosque, established approximately in 1875. The signboard hung outside the mosque complex on Gulshan Avenue bears the old name.
Recounting old days
Historian Muntassir Mamoon writes that there were open fields and many jackfruit trees when the model town was being developed. Before that, it was a low-lying area crisscrossed by canals. Later, those lands were heightened to make room for people affected by floods.
In his book "Smriti Bismritir Nagari", Muntassir Mamoon quotes Mozammel Huq Bir Pratik, who recollected his childhood memories by saying: "[Some 50 years ago] Gulshan was known as Bholar-Tengor. Its name was Bhola while Tengor refers to a highland full of forests. Gulshan was their villa.
"During the monsoon, people from our area (Bhatara) went to that area for farming for three months. Usually, people in the riverside Char areas make room for storing paddy. Moreover, they also took shelter along with their cattle and belongings in that area when the nearby areas were flooded."
Another establishment, Bhola Government Primary School, was shifted to Dakkhin Badda. It was established in 1925, according to writer Mizanur Rahman’s book "Dhaka Puran".
"Around 1964, small tigers or fishing cats were seen in the thick forests of Gulshan. In the early 1960s, in Gulshan, birds chirped, and the whole area became dark at night. The area where the Niketan residential area extends today was an island. People from around Dhaka used to come here to graze cows. Gulshan had about 1,300 plots at the beginning. About 10% of the old inhabitants were Bengalis," he writes.
"At least ten houses on Road No. 80 in Gulshan-2 still retain the heritage of two-story old houses, with a front open lawn or garden or big trees inside the house."
