Al-zakir
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Replica of Taj Mahal draws thousands of viewers daily
BSS, Dhaka
A giant replica of Taj Mahal in suburban Sonargaon opened earlier this week now draws thousands of viewers everyday with its builder saying he constructed the structure out of his respect for legendary Mughal Emperor Shahjahan.
"I took the initiative to pay honour to Emperor Shahjahan and enable the ordinary people of our country including students to have an idea how magnificent the structure is," businessman Ahsanullah Moni, who carried the entire cost of building the life size structure, told BSS.
"I built it as most of our people can't afford to take a trip to Agra to see the heritage despite their dreams to see it."
He said it took several hundred of workers and designers some seven years to build the "Taj Mahal" at a cost of Taka 400 crore, which was opened for all in exchange of entry fees though "it is not built with a commercial purpose".
The replica, located 30 km (18 miles) off Dhaka city, which he called "Banglar Taj Mahal", has been built on over four acres of land while the complex was much bigger in size to accommodate a five-star motel, a huge film studio and an amusement park.
Moni, a filmmaker and hotelier, said the idea of building the structure first stroke his mind when he first visited Agra in 1980 while he made six more trips there to realise his plan to replicate it.
But the initiative simultaneously drew some criticism with several legal experts and architects saying copying of such landmarks keeping the original sizes were contrary to archeological laws.
"It's also not morally acceptable to build such life size structures without permission of the concerned authorities," president of Bangladesh Architects Institute Professor Mobaswar Hossain said.
But Moni rejected the allegation saying despite being huge the "Banglar Taj Mahal" was not exactly the same size of the original while he used different materials including stones for the replica considering their weather suitability.
He said he imported marble and granite from Italy, diamonds from Belgium and used 160 kilogrammes of bronze for the structure built with the help of modern technology.
"Otherwise it would have taken 20 years and 22,000 workers to complete it as the original structure had required," Moni said.
Emperor Shahjahan built Taj mahal in memory of his beloved wife Momtaj Mahal who died during childbirth in 17th century, when Bangladesh was part of the Mughal Empire.
The New Nation - Internet Edition
BSS, Dhaka
A giant replica of Taj Mahal in suburban Sonargaon opened earlier this week now draws thousands of viewers everyday with its builder saying he constructed the structure out of his respect for legendary Mughal Emperor Shahjahan.
"I took the initiative to pay honour to Emperor Shahjahan and enable the ordinary people of our country including students to have an idea how magnificent the structure is," businessman Ahsanullah Moni, who carried the entire cost of building the life size structure, told BSS.
"I built it as most of our people can't afford to take a trip to Agra to see the heritage despite their dreams to see it."
He said it took several hundred of workers and designers some seven years to build the "Taj Mahal" at a cost of Taka 400 crore, which was opened for all in exchange of entry fees though "it is not built with a commercial purpose".
The replica, located 30 km (18 miles) off Dhaka city, which he called "Banglar Taj Mahal", has been built on over four acres of land while the complex was much bigger in size to accommodate a five-star motel, a huge film studio and an amusement park.
Moni, a filmmaker and hotelier, said the idea of building the structure first stroke his mind when he first visited Agra in 1980 while he made six more trips there to realise his plan to replicate it.
But the initiative simultaneously drew some criticism with several legal experts and architects saying copying of such landmarks keeping the original sizes were contrary to archeological laws.
"It's also not morally acceptable to build such life size structures without permission of the concerned authorities," president of Bangladesh Architects Institute Professor Mobaswar Hossain said.
But Moni rejected the allegation saying despite being huge the "Banglar Taj Mahal" was not exactly the same size of the original while he used different materials including stones for the replica considering their weather suitability.
He said he imported marble and granite from Italy, diamonds from Belgium and used 160 kilogrammes of bronze for the structure built with the help of modern technology.
"Otherwise it would have taken 20 years and 22,000 workers to complete it as the original structure had required," Moni said.
Emperor Shahjahan built Taj mahal in memory of his beloved wife Momtaj Mahal who died during childbirth in 17th century, when Bangladesh was part of the Mughal Empire.
The New Nation - Internet Edition
