The New Nation - Internet Edition

Sheikh Arif Bulbon

It is a big shaded enclosure where traders are squabbling with buyers in rows of grocery shops, godowns of onions, dried chillies, turmeric, garlic, ginger, betel leaves and other spices. This is the present day portrait of what was once an imposing edifice, Ruplal House in Farashganj-one of the few prominent colonial structures left in Dhaka city.

Ruplal House, overlooking a riverfront promenade, is a grand 19th century building in old Dhaka. It was built by two Hindu merchant brothers, Ruplal Das and Raghunath Das, on the northern bank of River Buriganga. They purchased an old building from Aratun, an Armenian tycoon, in 1840 and had it pulled down.

Ruplal House was built on the site at a huge cost according to the design of an architect of the Martin Company in Kolkata. Divided into two unequal blocks in slightly different styles, it is a two-storied structure.

At present, the Ruplal House is occupied by local spice and vegetable traders and a colony of unauthorised squatters. It has recently been included in the 'protected' list of buildings by the Department of Archaeology.

When this correspondent visited the compound of the 150-year old palatial residence of the well-known merchants, the Das Babus, the whole area was buzzing with wholesalers and retailers turning the entire complex into a grimy and chaotic trading hub. People, pushcart, wheelbarrows, pickup vans and coolies rushing in and out of the place with loads of supplies apparently unaware of the historical value of the house.

There are around 50 rooms in the house including a central hall in the upper floor of the west-wing of the building. The ceiling of the hall contains elegantly floral motif and the dance floor laid with teak wood, which was pilfered over the years, said a local resident.

The architecture of the two-storey Ruplal House is unique. It is divided into two unequal blocks built in slightly different styles. The building contains over 50 rooms of various sizes, including a number of spacious halls. In 1888, when Lord Duffrin, the Viceroy of India visited Dhaka, a ball was arranged in his honour in the dance hall of this mansion.

The central hall, an elegantly decorated dance hall with a wooden floor, is situated on the upper floor of the more impressive west-wing. On the north and south two broad verandas run the entire length of the block and are supported on either round or semi-Corinthian columns or rectangular brick pillars with segmented or trefoil arches above.

Ruplal House first came into limelight in 1886 when one of the brothers, Ruplal Das, threw a ball in the honour of Lord Duffrin when Ahsan Manzil was the dominating contemporary edifice. A massive cross-migration of Hindus and Muslims took place after the partition of the Sub-Continent in 1947. At that time the families of Das brothers left for Kolkata. Through a formal deed of exchange in 1962, one Siddiq Jamal became the owner of the place.

Tawhid Amanullah, a conservation expert, said, "The floral motif on the columns is the characteristics of classical Corinthian fluted column. On the northern and southern sides there are elongated verandas with grills made of cast iron. The motif on the grill is called art-deco, which is found in the contemporary buildings like the ones in Panam Nagar, Tajhat Rajbari in Rangpur and Puthia Rajbari in Rajshahi."

To turn the place into a tourist spot, Amanullah suggested setting up of a museum, library and a cultural centre in the house to attract local and foreign tourists.