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Glories of ancient temples

Babu Ahmed's photographs uncover our rich cultural heritage

HARUN UR RASHID
PHOTOGRAPHER Babu Ahmed considers the whole of Bangladesh to be a museum. And he has used the medium of photography to illustrate the country's rich cultural heritage, exemplified by its grand monuments. The focus of his work is to uncover the miserable negligence of these monuments through the years.
Babu's present exhibition at Bengal
Shilpalaya puts up photographs of a hundred temples scattered across the country. All these temples, built between the 16th and early 20th centuries, once had glorious moments, vibrant with religious rituals performed by devout followers. Exquisite terracotta embellishments, inimitable architectural innovations added to that glory.
At present, however, almost all these temples are facing serious threat. Most of them have been discarded long ago. Trees have overgrown on them, causing damage to the plaster, pillars and other parts of these graceful architectural wonders.
The exhibition was inaugurated by the German Ambassador to Bangladesh, Dietrich Andreas. Director and Representative of uNESCO Bangladesh, Wolfgang Vollman, was also present at the event. Vollman said that the uNESCO will publish a book containing 35 photos by Babu Ahmed, which will convey the rich cultural tradition of Bangladesh to other countries of the world.
Babu's exhibition is more of documentary type rather than art photography. It presents the principal kinds of temples found in the country like Ek Chala (one roof), Do-Chala (double roof), Char Chala (Quadruple roof), Ek Bangla (single hut), Jor Bangla (twin hut), Ek Ratna (single minaret, Pancha Ratna (five minarets), Naba Ratna (nine minarets) and one-storeyed and two-storeyed temples. The photographs are accompanied by brief
information about the names of the temples, their builders and the time of their construction.
Among the most ancient temples is the Mathurapur Deul of Madhukhali, Faridpur, built in about the 16th century by Sangram Singh, a Kshatriya General of the Mughals. Intricate terracotta works have given an elegant look to the cone-shaped building with a small entrance on one side.
Built in a comparatively nearer past, in 1810, the Nova-Ratna temple at Sujanagar, Pabna, is in ruins with overgrown shrubs and trees. Now desolate, the temple was built by Zamindar Gurugovinda Chowdhury of Tantibad, Sujanagar.
Jora Siva Temple (built in 1820) of Muktagachha, Mymensingh, is another such temple with trees grown on its cornices and roof. Queen Bimla Devi built this twin temple
dedicated to Hindu God and Goddess Siva and Kali.
Babu Ahmed, a former photographer of the Dainik Prothom Alo and the Dainik Sanbad, has been taking photos of such monuments since 1988. Of the thousands of monuments that bear marks of our cultural heritage, Babu has so far captured 500 through his camera.
Titled Bangladesher Shoto Mandir (One Hundred Temples), this is Babu's 3rd exhibition. His other displays were A Glimpse of Bangladeshi Heritage in 2002 and Mughal Muslim Architecture (Part 1) in 2003.
The young photographer dreams of creating mass awareness about the need to protect the cultural heritage of the country.
The exhibition runs until August 10.