Paribag

Paribag the garden-house of the nawabs of Dhaka, was situated on the northern side of shahbag (Shahbag) at Dhaka. The area is still known as Paribag. In 1902 Nawab Khwaja salimullah started building it as an extension of Shahbagh. It is believed that Salimullah had named the garden-house after Peyari Begum, one of his beloved wives. Many believe that it was named after Paribanu, the daughter of Nawab ahsanullah. A portion of Paribag was within the Gobindapur pargana, which was bought by Nawab Ahsanullah. Later on, more than 14 bighas of land was added to it, which was bought by Salimullah from a Hindu Zamindar, Ruail Babu. The low-lying land of Paribag was full of ditches and was not used for anything. Nawab Salimullah dug many ponds here and filled some of the low-lying lands and turned the area into a garden. The water channel from Shahbagh flowed through Paribag and took a left turn to enter Ramna Park. The northern boundary wall of the Shahbagh Garden of the nawabs marked the southern side of Paribag. Boundary walls built on the north, east, and west of Paribag secured the area. Nawab Salimullah constructed many buildings inside Paribag.

A large one-storied building named Paribag House was the most significant palace in the garden. The arcaded verandah around the building presented a beautiful view. A lovely octagonal marble canopy was erected in the middle of the open ground on the southern side of the palace. On the eastern side of the palace, a hammam was located on the bank of a big tank, on the northwestern side of which there was an artificial hill. There were other small buildings and a Hawakhana named Baraduari. Paribag was beautifully decorated with many kinds of flowers and fruit plants. In 1905 Nawab Salimullah constructed a mosque near the western boundary wall of Paribag. Subsequent renovations have changed the character of the mosque. The expenditure of the mosque is now met from the revenue of the Waqf State of the nawabs of Dhaka.

Nawab Salimullah established a dairy farm at Paribag. Syed Abdur Rahim, a saintly person, was the supervisor of the farm. He came to be known as the Shah Shahib of Paribag. After his death in 1961 he was buried inside the khanqah. His tomb, located on the northern boundary wall of Paribag, is venerated by his followers. After the division of the assets of the nawabs of Dhaka, most of the garden-house came under the possession of the successors of Nawabjadi Amina Banu and Nawabjadi Bilkis Banu. In 1952, when the government took over the Zamindary of the nawabs of Dhaka, Nawab Habibullah left ahsan manzil and came to Paribag. Here he built Green House, where he spent the last days of his life. The road beside bangabandhu sheikh mujib medical university has been named 'Nawab Habibullah Road' after him. In the Pakistan period most of the famous members of the nawab family, such as Syed A Salim (Industries Minister and Member of East Pakistan Assembly), Khwaja shahabuddin, Khwaja Hasan Askari, and Syed Shahib-e-Alam used to reside at Paribag rather than Ahsan Manzil. Khwaja nazimuddin and Khwaja Shahbuddin built their dwelling places on the northern side of Paribag. Some of the successors of the nawab family still reside at Paribag. [Mohammad Alamgir]