Dhaka's first planned residential area, Wari

Wari was once the most prestigious residential area of Dhaka. Its residents were mostly university teachers, poets, writers, physicians, engineers and cultural activists. The roads had been wide, lined by one-storey and two-storey houses. The gardens were invariably filled with flowers beds and vegetable patches. This most upscale area in the over 400-year-old Dhaka city, has now lost its past glory. Yet traces of Mughal architecture, rare gardens, and traditional single-storey homes can still be found across Wari.

In 1880, fourteen years after the establishment of the Dhaka Municipality by the British administration, 701 acres of land in Wari were acquired to build housing for government officials. Each plot was originally allotted one bigha of land, although some were as large as two bighas. House number 37 on Rankin Street in Wari stood on one such two-bigha plot. A visit at 10:15 am on 5 May to the site, saw the two-bigha property now divided into two separate holdings, one marked as holding 37 and the other as 37/1.

The senior citizens of the area say that during Pakistan times, the two houses had been one two-storey house, known as 'Nandi Daktar Bari' (Dr Nandi's house). The front portion of the Nandi house has now been demolished and replaced by a multi-storey building, which houses commercial establishments. However, between the two high-rises, the original two-storey section of Dr. Nandi’s house still remains.

Sumon Dhar is currently the caretaker of house 37/1. He said, “During the Pakistan era, this was known as Dr. Nandi’s house. I heard this from the current owner. These two buildings used to be a single house. The brick-built section between the two structures is a remnant of the original house.”

During the Pakistan period, the two-storey house at 37 Rankin Street in Wari was allotted to Bhobesh Chandra Nandi, a member of the Pakistan Constituent Assembly and a Congress leader. In 1953 or 1954, physician Manmath Nath Nandi purchased the house from him. He was a cousin of Bhobesh Nandi. Even before moving into the house, Dr. Manmath Nath Nandi was already widely known in Dhaka as a popular physician and a prominent figure in social and cultural circles.

In the fifties and sixties, doctors in Dhaka used to charge a 20 taka fee, but Dr Manmath Nath Nandi never charged more than 5 taka. And he would see a maximum of 20 patients a day.

There was hardly anyone in Dhaka at the time who didn’t know of Dr Nandi or his house in Wari, said retired government official AR Moazzem Hossain. He has been living at house 22, Larmini Street of Wari since 1955.

Moazzem Hossain said that Dr. Nandi was a man of exceptional moral character. During the famine of 1943 and the communal riots in Dhaka in 1950, this “lion-hearted” physician played a key role in maintaining peace, something still remembered by the people of Dhaka. In the sixties and seventies, Wari was home to cultured and educated residents.

At house number 2 on Hare Street lived artists Quamrul Hassan and Safiuddin Ahmed, along with journalist Zahur Hossain Chowdhury. On Rankin Street lived Dr Manmath Nath Nandi, advocate Sabita Ranjan Pal, politician Shudhangshu Shekhar Halder, and Justice Debesh Bhattacharya, among others. In the 1940s, the family of Amartya Sen also lived on Larmini Street. Dhaka’s first professional sports club, and one that made a mark across the Indian subcontinent -- the Wari Sporting Club -- also had its beginnings here.

Poet and editor Abul Hasnat wrote in his memoirs that in the 1950s, Dr Nandi’s house had become a hub of cultural activity. Rehearsals for dance, music and theatre were regularly held there. Meetings of the Rabindranath Centenary Celebration Committee and rehearsals of its cultural troupe revolved around his two-bigha two-storey home.

In addition, every household in Wari had trees and gardens. Sports and games in the mornings and afternoons, and cultural activities from evening until night, this was the daily scene in every home.
Wari today

Present-day Wari mainly comprises Tipu Sultan Road (northern section), Rankin Street, Larmini Street, Nawab Street, Hare Street, Ware Street, Juginagar Lane and Joykali Mandir Road. The area falls under Ward 41 of the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC).

Compared to other parts of the ward, Wari still retains a somewhat distinct character. The roads remain wide, but during a visit to the area, it becomes evident that many of these broad streets are quite unclean. Various businesses occupy portions of the road, and commercial activity within residential buildings has now become the norm in Wari.

In front of Silverdale Preparatory and Girls’ High School, established in Wari in 1958, pedestrian movement is disrupted by the unchecked presence of battery-powered rickshaws. Every street hosts multi-storey residential and commercial buildings, placed at set intervals from one another. Amidst these, several heritage houses with aesthetic charm still survive on Rankin Street and Larmini Street. On Larmini Street, one also finds massive apartment complexes built in modern architectural style, in keeping with the area's historic character.

House number 38 on Rankin Street is locally known as the Dholla zamindar house. A visit to the Dholla House on 5 May revealed that the building still stands in its original form. Built with red brick, the house combines elements of European and Indo-Saracenic architecture. Though its sheen has faded, the intricately carved verandas and finely crafted iron grilles still survive. The wooden stair railings feature beautiful carvings, though they are now quite worn. The stairs are made of stone.

An elderly local resident speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “Since the Pakistan era, this building has suffered from neglect and misuse in various ways. It’s painful to witness such a historically and aesthetically significant structure gradually vanish before our eyes.”

Rankin Street now throbs with business activities, with many residential plots occupied by multi-storey commercial buildings. On several plots, entire buildings have been developed to house business establishments. On plot number 42 of Rankin Street stands the multi-storey AK Famous Tower, home to well-known retail brands like Aarong and Bishwo Rang.
The adjacent Larmini Street is similarly lined with multi-storey commercial buildings. However, in Larmini, one also finds aesthetically designed apartment complexes that blend modern architecture with heritage elements. A 14-storey building named Max Burj-e-Samir has been constructed on plot number 24,

Sajjad Hossain, the building’s manager, said the apartment complex was built in keeping with Mughal architectural traditions on a plot measuring one bigha and two kathas. Ceramic bricks were used in the masonry of the walls. The architects designed the building in a way that ensures all 52 flats receive ample natural light and ventilation.

The ground floor of the apartment features a flowing water installation, and the surrounding open spaces are adorned with beautiful orchids and flowering plants. As a result, the apartment remains cool even in extreme heat. Max Burj-e-Samir offers all the modern amenities of urban living, including a children's play area, a badminton court, a sky-view swimming pool, a barbecue zone, and a party center. Each floor of the 14-storey apartment building has a garden filled with flowers and orchids, lending a magical charm to every level.

The streets of Larmini Street still remain quite wide. Along the roads, aesthetic single- and double-storey houses from the British and Pakistan periods still stand. One such house is called Muntassha. Retired insurance officer Munir Ahmed has been living in this two-and-a-half-storey residence at 21 Larmini Street since 1986. Standing in the courtyard of the one-bigha home surrounded by mango and jackfruit trees, he said, “Part of this house was built during the British era, and another part during the Pakistan period. Until the 1990s, Wari remained a quiet residential neighborhood. I feel proud that on the street I live, the family of Amartya Sen lived at house number 14 until the 1940s.”

Between 1884 and the next five years, Wari was developed as a planned township. Its streets were named after British officials of that time - Rankin Street, Larmini Street, Ware Street, and Hare Street.
Historian Hashem Sufi said, "I’m certain the name ‘Wari’ did not come from Dhaka’s magistrate named Ware. Even today, you’ll see old house plaques in Wari marked with the name ‘Uari’. This ‘Uari’ may have come from Uari-Bateshwar. Also, ‘Wari’ is a Persian word meaning ‘large tent.’ During the Mughal era, this area served as a military cantonment. The Mughals lived in large tents, so the name could have originated from that as well.”

Wari holds scattered fragments of what was once one of the most significant examples of urban housing in undivided Bengal. Among its many historical landmarks is the oldest Christian cemetery in Dhaka.
Established in 1600, the cemetery contains graves of East India Company employees as well as Dutch and Armenian nationals. There is also a mass grave of British soldiers killed during World War II. In that sense, it could even be called a war cemetery.

A visit to the cemetery on the afternoon of 5 May revealed that some of the graves date back to a time before the European conquest of Bengal. The epitaphs on the tombstones have faded; the inscriptions and dates are no longer legible to the naked eye. Among those buried here are Nicolas Pogose, the zamindar and founder of Pogose School, and Alexander Simpson, superintendent of Mitford Hospital.

This cemetery also bears memories of the Sepoy Mutiny. It contains two memorials dedicated to soldiers who died in the uprising. One of the plaques remains legible, reading: "Henry Smith, 23 November, 1857."
In his book "Narrative of a Journey through the Upper Provinces of India, from Calcutta to Bombay (1824–1825)," Bishop Reginald Heber commented on this cemetery, noting that its origins appear to trace back to the Mughal era. Some of the tombs are built in the shape of square Gothic minarets. Others feature exquisitely ornate domes and eight-windowed designs, stunning examples of Mughal architectural brilliance. Visually, they possess an otherworldly beauty.

Adjacent to the Christian cemetery lies Baldha Garden, rich with memories of Rabindranath Tagore. It was here that Tagore wrote his famous poem "Camellia" from the collection "Sanchayita". During his second visit to Dhaka in 1926, Tagore visited Baldha Garden and stayed for a night at Joy House.

The garden was founded by Narendra Narayan Roy Chowdhury, the zamindar of Baldha in Gazipur. In 1906, he began collecting rare plants for the garden, a process that continued until 1936. Over the years, he sourced rare and beautiful flower and fruit saplings and seeds from 52 countries to create this botanical haven. He named this remarkable plant collection initiative “Psyche.” Later, he purchased additional land to expand the garden to the north of Nawab Street, naming that section “Cybele.” Combined, the Psyche and Cybele sections now span a total area of 3.38 acres.

At 1:30 pm on 5 May, a visit to the Cybele section revealed that not even a trace of the intense outdoor heat had reached the northern part of Baldha Garden. The mystical pond named Shankhanad lay bathed in the deep midday shadows. Surrounding the pond was a rare collection of Amazon lilies, water lilies, aquatic plants, cacti, and orchids. On the eastern bank of Shankhanad stands a sundial, the natural timekeeping device that accurately tells the time using sunlight. Towering trees like Ashoka, Cannonball (Nagalingam), and Golden Shower (Sonalu) draped the entire garden in a magical noonday haze.

Just south of Baldha Garden and next to the Wari Christian Cemetery lies Brajohari Saha Street. Rais Uddin, a long-time resident of the street, runs a mobile recharge shop right across from the cemetery.

He shared, “Our ancestral home is in Bikrampur, in Chandchar village of Baluchhara union. My father came to Wari with the family in his youth for business. I was born on Brajohari Street in 1979. Even in our childhood and adolescence, we experienced Wari’s elegance. The whole neighborhood was full of shade. The mango and jackfruit trees from the single- and double-storey homes cast their shade onto the streets. We would ride our bicycles along these shaded paths to Wari High School. From Brajohari Street to Nawab Street, and from there to Rankin Street. We used to hang out in front of Dholla House, next to Dr Nandi’s residence. Larmini Street, Ware Street, Hare Street, and Joykali Temple. These were our haunts.
The Wari we knew has slowly changed, bit by bit. It’s hard to even recognise the Wari of the nineties today.”