There was a time when Dhaka was called a city of “Bahanno Bazar ar Teppano goli” (52 markets and 53 alleys).
Of course, with the passage of time the number of roads and bazars has increased exponentially, so unearthing the history of these areas was intriguing and challenging.
According to the publications of historians, behind the names of streets and establishments are countless stories of secrets, conquests and possessions by the Mughals, French, British and Nawabs of Bengal.
Dhaka, a city 400 years old, has several myths on the origin of its name. In the history books used in school, I was taught that in 1610, the Mughal custodian Islam Khan came to Dhaka to remove the powerful kings and zaminders of Bengal. He decided to establish the capital in Dhaka.
He ordered his court drummer to beat his “Dhak.” The area of Dhaka was demarcated as the distance one could hear the beating of the drums. This is how Dhaka became one of the three capitals of Mughal era. Islam Khan named it Jahangirnagar, after Emperor Jahangir.
Alur Bazar
Literally, it means “potato market.” But contrary to what most people assume, the origin of the name has nothing to do with potatoes.
During the era of Emperor Aurangzeb, Zafar Khan came to live in Dhaka. He lived in the Lalbagh fort area, and used to own the area today known as Alur Bazaar.
His son’s name was Allayaar Khan. It was during Allayaar’s time that the bazar was running in full swing. According to Mughal Emperor Azimushhan, originally the bazar was named as “Allayaar Khaner Bazar” which, with the passage of time, became shorter and people started calling it Alur bazaar.
Eskaton
Eskaton is a distorted version of the word Scotland. During the period of British East India Company, a church was established there by some Scottish preachers. It was from there that this name originated.
Kakrail
During the last decade of the 19th century, the British commissioner for Dhaka was named Mr Cockerell. Historian Professor Muntassir Mamun surmises that, since it used to be a trend to name streets of Dhaka after diplomats, there was probably a road named after him, and later the whole area became known by that name. People eventually started to pronounce Cockrell as Kakrail.
Chawkbazar
The place where we buy scrumptious kebabs and iftar items during Ramadan used to be a place to buy and sale slaves.
In 1809, Charles Dale described Chawkbazar in these words: “Chawk is known by the name ‘nakhas.’ It is a square area of 200ft. During sunset the place gets crowded.” In Arabic, “nakhas” mean slave-sellers.
During the Mughal period, the area was a hub of the slave trade, as well as a place to chat and hang out. Today’s gluttonous inclinations in the area can be traced back to the Mughal period. It is merely the continuation of bustling food and entertainments that were present here during their time.
Reminiscing about Chawkbazar, Abu Zoha Nur Mohammad wrote during the 1930s: “On the first day of Ramadan, despite having a range of items cooked at home, people used to rush towards Chawkbazar. On Ashura in Muharram, the wrestlers would perform sword fights. They used to come from villages and engage in manifold games the whole night. Where are those valorous games now?”
Dhanmondi
An Eidgah was present here during the Mughal era, as well as the Shat Gambuj Mosque, so it can be assumed that there were a few residences in this area then too. A huge “haat” used to take place here, where rice and all other kinds of grain were sold. The name Dhanmondi (literally “rice bazar”) originated from there.
Becharam Deuri
Becharam’s name was listed in data from 1790. However, it could not be known what he used to do. There is speculation that he may have been an influential trader or a top brass employee who used to live in the area, which was then named after him.
Begumbazar
The popular belief behind naming of this area is that during 1939-40, Sarfaraz Khan was the Nayeb-i-Nazim of Dhaka. His daughter’s name was Ladli Begum.
According to many, the name Begumbazar originated from her name. She was the owner of a fish market constructed nearby the Begumbazar Mosque as well. The market was gutted in fire in 1777.
The government then took over the market from Ladli Begum’s daughters Punni Begum and Haji Begum in exchange for some increased allowance.
Elephant Road
Once upon a time, elephants were abundant in Dhaka. There was no specific place for bathing or grazing the elephants. Azimusshan writes, in 1864, before the formation of the town-council, the Lieutenant Governor came to visit Dhaka when the elephants created “serious nuisance” in the city, according to a complaint made by the members of Dhaka Committee.
The Ramna area was allocated for grazing the elephants. Some canals around Ramna were used for bathing the elephants. The road which was used to walk the elephants from Pilkhana to Ramna became known as Elephant Road over time.
