Ruins of Pagla Pul: 5 miles from the city, 1875

Photograph of the ruined bridge at Paglarpul taken in the 1870s by an unknown photographer. This famous bridge was built in the 17th century when Dhaka was a seat of Mughal Government. The area has a hot, damp tropical climate and is flooded periodically by waters from the Bay of Bengal as well as from the yearly moonsoon. By the 19th century many of the once-elegant buildings in the city were ruined by the action of both the climate and the resultant wildly luxuriant overgrowth of trees and vegetation which lent them a picturesque look and made them popular subjects for artists and photographers.

----British Library Online Gallery

Leave a comment