Hemnagar Zamindar Bari (Porir Dalan)

Zamindar Hemchandra Chowdhury built this two-storey palace in 1890 at Shimlapara mouza, the area now known as Hemnagar, when the Jamuna swallowed his earlier riverside seat at Subarnakhali. Craftsmen from Delhi and Kolkata covered the walls, pillars and gates with flowers, stars and creepers worked in coloured glass, cowrie shells and stone, and two fairy sculptures on the facade gave it the local name Porir Dalan. The estate once had wells, a zoo, an elephant stable, a two-storey theatre hall and a big tank with brick-paved ghats. Much of that is gone and the building is worn, but the facade still makes the trip worthwhile.

How to get there

From Tangail take a bus to Gopalpur, then a CNG or easy-bike to Hemnagar.

Good to know

Parts of the old building are fragile; don't climb on broken stairs or walls. Morning light is best on the facade.

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