Eye in the Sky: A Mausoleum of 3 Heroes & a Mosque at the Suhrawardy Udyan (Dhaka)

There was one place in Dhaka where I took the time to sit back, relax and soak in the peaceful atmosphere around me – the Mausoleum of 3 Heroes (Tin Netar Mazar) at the Suhrawardy Udyan which is a national monument in Dhaka. The sprawling compound used to be a British military club, but at the end of the colonial rule, transformed into the Ramna Race Course.

I did ask Mafuz, my guide, the significance of the place. He told me it was where 3 of their national heroes were laid to rest. He didn’t elaborate, but I actually wanted to know what made them larger-than-life heroes. The undulating shell-like architecture of the mausoleum is such a feast on the eyes.

Tin Netar Mazar - Mausoleum of 3 Heroes

HEROES

I walked around the whole structure before checking out the individual tombs which looked similar. Who were these heroes- A.K. Fazlul Huq, Khwaja Nazimuddin and Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy.

A.K. Fazlul Huq was a popular Bengali statesman in the first half of the 20^th century. He was often referred to as “Sher-e-Bangla” (Tiger of Bengal) and held several positions (including the 1^st muslim mayor of Calcutta). With the partition of Pakistan from India, Pakistan was further divided into West and the East (aka Bangladesh) where Huq was Advocate General.

Khwaja Nazimuddin is a Dacca-born Bengali who was educated in Cambridge (and even knighted in England). Upon his return to his country, he rose into the ranks that ultimately “crowned” him the 2^nd Prime Minister of Pakistan, prior to the independence of Bangladesh.

Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy was a Bengal politician prior to the division of India. When Pakistan was born, like the khwaja, he rose into the ranks and became the 5^th Prime Minister of Pakistan. He would also found the political organization that would eventually become the Awami League.

Dacca-born local heroes: A.K. Fazlul Huq, Khwaja Nazimuddin and Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy

A PRINCE’S MOSQUE AND DARGA SHARIF

A stone’s throw from the mausoleum is an earth-colored structure with lovely domes. It was a mosque. Its eye-catching architecture competes with the mausoleum’s radical curves. After sitting down the marble steps to catch my breath, I headed towards the mosque. Its name is Hazrat Haji Khwaji Shahbaz Mosque and Darga Sharif.

I stepped closer from the side where I saw some men lying down the platform outside. I saw an inscription that says this “darga sharif” (tomb) and “mosque” was built by a merchant prince of Dhaka in 1679, during the viceroyalty of Prince Muhammad Azam. His name was Khwaja Shahbaz. I recalled some photos during my readings showing the mosque bearing a laundry line, and that someone seemed to reside in the mosque, which is a disappointing fact. How are you going to preserve something that existed 331 years ago if you’re gonna reside in it? But then, it isn’t my country; so who am I to say?

This is the Eye in the Sky.