The Lost City of Panam Nagar: Sonargaon

A "short" distance from Dhaka lies one of Bangladesh’s most impressive historical treasures: the ancient city of Sonargaon. Sonargaon (literal meaning ‘golden village’) was the capital of eastern Bengal under the Shahi Sultan rulers of Bengal during medieval age. It survives as a township, but it looks like a ghost city called Painam Nagar (Panam City).

Painam Nagar is a single line of narrow street made up of 50 once-lavish mansions owned by rich Hindu merchants. In those days, no city at the east Bengal was near as wealthy as Panam. All the buildings in the city were built facing a single road. The whole city is surrounded with artificial canals. These canals were dug to protect the city from any outside attack. After the 1965 war of India-Pakistan, Hindu businessmen started to leave for India to elude imminent death, leaving their mansions to the care of poor tenants.

Decades of political strife throughout Bangladesh hasn’t allowed the merchants to return. These lavish mansions have fallen into decay, their brick walls crumbling along with their rich historical past., and the city was deserted. World monument fund listed Panam city in the World 100 ruined city in 2006.

At the back of every mansion there is a lake or pond. Decrepit it may be, this once grandiose city still manages to convey its past. You can't escape his sensation of awe that embraces you all throughout the visit. And if you listen closely enough you might even hear the sound of forgotten times when Moghul nawabs beckoned temple dancers for lavish court entertainment.