Dhakeswari Mandir, the oldest Hindu temple in Dhaka City, was first built, according to legend, by King Ballalsena around eight hundred years ago, during the Sena period in Bengal history. It is also believed that the name Dhaka itself originates with the name of the temple.
According to the caretaker of the temple, Pradeep Kumar Chakraborty (being interviewed below), the temple got its name from two sources. In ancient times there used to be many Dhak trees in the area and Hindus used to use drum beats for religious worships. At a certain time, these two facts got combined to create an identity for the area and subsequently, the temple became known as Dhakesweri and the wider area as Dhaka.
Although Pradeep has been the caretaker since 1981, after his father’s death, the family has been responsible for looking after the complex for seven generations. He has lived at the temple since his birth and together with several priests deliver a range of vital services to the Hindu community. There are religious ceremonies taking place every day. Devotees come to worship and the priests facilitate the process. Major events at the temple include Durga Puja, Kali Puja, Pahela Baisakh, Pata Boli, weddings, etc.
A Hindu wedding ceremony on 14 July 2004 at Dhakaswari Mandir (above)
In terms of Dhaka City itself, Pradeep feels that it is a good place and that progress is being made all the time. He compares the past condition of English Road and feels that it is much cleaner now and the developments along the road are more modern and look better. Pradeep is quite positive about the changes taking place, including the increasing westernisation of Dhaka society, feels that one cannot shut oneself off from the world and that people must share and learn from each other.
Although his favourite food is Bangladeshi cuisine, such as ‘pantha bat’ he also likes western burgers and other outside imports. Concerning Dhaka’s future, Pradeep feels that already there are improvements taking place and if the government took a serious initiative then Dhaka could become world-class.
Pradeep is very keen on promoting understanding between people of different faiths and says that if you come to my place of worship and I come to your place then we will develop better connections and feelings for each other.
