The House of the Father of the Nation of Bangladesh is now the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is recognized as the Liberator of Bangladesh. Once he lived in this house with his family. The museum is run by the Bangabandhu Trust. In Bangla, it is called ‘Bangabandhu Smriti Jadughar’.
I visited Bangabandhu Museum in the month of October 2016. This is the house of great leader Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. I never came here before. So, this was the day of fulfilling my thirsty. I reached early in the morning. For this, I had to wait until 10 AM. By this time, I took some snapshots.
Some rare photographs of Bangabandhu and his family and many reminiscents objects are available here to see. Many important things have been preserved here for visitors. The complex is a good combination of nature and concrete architecture.
Entry Fees
You have to buy a ticket for entering Museum. The cost is very low. It is only 5 taka. But free for those below the age of 3. Moreover, children under 12 will get free admission.
Visiting Time
The museum is open from Thursday to Tuesday. Wednesday is an off day. It opens at 10 AM and closes at 5 PM. The museum may be closed at the arrival of VVIP guests for maintaining safety. Moreover, you can’t visit the museum on the occasion of Eid, Labor Day, Shab-e-Barat, Shab-e-Qadar, and Bijaya Dashami.
Location
Bangabandhu Museum is located in the fantastic place of Dhaka. It is beside the Dhanmondi lake. The museum is situated at road number 32 (old) that has got a new road number (11) of Dhanmondi, Dhaka. The house number is 10.
How to Go
You can go there by bus, taxi, rickshaw, auto-rickshaw, private car to visit the museum. The road beside the Bangabandhu Museum is very much popular because of its fame and historical importance.
History of Bangabandhu Museum
1st October 1961: Bangabandhu came to this house and started living with his family.
26th March 1971: Bangabandhu declared the independence of Bangladesh and was arrested by Pakistan Army at this house.
1972: Bangabandhu started living in this house again instead of the President’s House of Bangladesh.
15th August 1975: Bangabandhu was killed in this house along with his family and relatives by the local Pakistani agents in disguise.
1981: The house was handed over to the daughter Sheikh Hasina of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
1997: The house has been turned into Bangabandhu Memorial Museum.
“Bangabandhu” means Friend of Bangla (Bangladesh)”. He was a true friend of the people of Bangladesh and the Bangalee nation. Later he was recognized as Father of the Nation. He was killed with his family on 15th August 1975. It was one of the big planned political killings in the history of the 20th century.
The whole Bangabandhu museum complex has three parts. These are the Main House, Extension Building, and Outside Part of the House. The extension building is the latest addition to this museum. The ticket counter, souvenir shop, and the monument are included outside of the main house.
The main museum is a three-storeyed building. At first visit the ground floor, then 1st floor and 2nd floor gradually. After that visit the extension building of the museum. It consists of an exhibition hall, discussion room, research center, and library. There are signs available for visiting chronologically. Just follow those signs.
Camere, mobile phone, bag are not allowed inside the museum. So, you cannot take internal snapshots or make videos. You have to keep your things at the ticket counter. Then collect your token keeping those things. After finishing the museum visit, return the token and collect your belongings.
You need at least 1 hour to see everything about Bangabandhu Museum. Spending 2 hours is good and 3 hours is better to know and feel the whole museum complex. Try to look closely at everything in the house. You will be able to see the lifestyle of the Bangabandhu family. You will feel sorry for losing such a great leader.
As I visited on Saturday, it was a busy day for the officials of the museum. Many people of different ages and occupations come to visit on this day. At the entry point, the security personnel will take a photo of you. After that, they will give you an ID card for visiting the museum.
Two daughters Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana were the survivors as they were in another country. They handed over this house to Bangabandhu Trust and It was transformed into the Bangabandhu museum in 1997. At first, you will see all the photos of family members who were killed.
Gorgeous “Bangabhaban” is the president’s palace of Bangladesh. But he loved to lead a simple, neat, and clean life. This is why Sheikh Mujibur Rahman lived here with his family although he was the president of Bangladesh.
The sons and daughters of Bangabandhu are cultural-minded and sports-lover. Even the wives of the sons are the same type of people. If you visit the Bangabandhu Museum, you will get proof.
You will see many bullet marks on the wall. All the things which were used by the Bangabandhu family are decorated in the museum nicely. The killers robbed the house and vandalized many things. Blood-stained dresses are kept to show.
The visitors will get big ideas on the lifecycle of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in the Exhibition Hall of the extension building. Visit the library and research center of Bangabandhu Museum too.
If you are hungry after seeing the museum, then you can have it from some mobile food sellers. Or cross the Dhanmondi lake and have some food from any restaurant. There is a male toilet and a female toilet for visitors. A comment book has been kept for writing comments. After finishing your visit, write a comment on the Bangabandhu museum.
To know more, you can visit this museum’s official website. I also recommend you to visit Bangladesh National Museum.
Contact Information
Phone: +88-02-9116700
Fax: 9101155
Email: bangabandhumuseum@gmail.com