Shailkupa Mosque 

 Shailkupa Mosque  a six domed mosque of the independent Sultanate period of Bengal. Situated at Shailkupa upazila sadar under Jhenaidaha district, it is one of the most beautiful architectural edifices of medieval Bengal. The mosque was built in c 1520 AD during the reign of Nasiruddin nusrat shah, son of Sultan Alauddin husain shah. There is no inscription indicating the date of the construction of the mosque. The mosque, built of small red brick, was originally without plaster, but now the mosque has been plastered.

 Externally the mosque measures 13.41m x 10.06m and internally 10.06m x 6.71m. The walls of the mosque are about 1.52m thick. Oblong in plan the mosque has circular towers in all four corners. all the towers are recessed into the corner of the mosque gradually tapering towards the top. Being raised above the cornice they were given the shape of minarets

 The entire tower, from the base to the apex, is decorated with nine moulding bands. Cupolas with kalasa finials crown the towers. At the eastern façade there are three archways, the central one being flanked by two side ones. There are four more archways, two each on the northern and southern sides. All the archways are of two pointed styles.

The cornice of the mosque is 5.49m high from the ground. Horizontal moulded bands, starting just bellow the cornice, decorate the outer walls. The roof of the mosque is slightly curved. Starting from the middle of the curved roof the cornice slopes and eventually mixes with the towers. Bellow the cornice the entire outer wall of the mosque and the upper portion of the archways at the sidewalls were decorated with terracotta plaques.

There are three recessed mihrabs at the western wall. The mihrabs were effected carving two pointed arch niches in the wall. The central mihrab is slightly extended outwards from the wall. Attached to the rectangular frame the mihrabs are internally decorated by floral and geometric designs and there are flower tubs and lotus ornamentation above the frame.

The prayer room is divided into two aisles and three bays. The room is roofed over by domes supported by arches springing from two black stone pillars. The pillars are 0.46m thick and 1.83m high and have no extra pedestal. Two-pointed arches for the domes spring from the apex of the crucified capital of the pillars. Each of the pillars creates four arches, three of which are connected to the three pilasters at the three sidewalls and the fourth one is attached to another pillar. These pillars and arches create six quadrangles that are transformed into circular bases to set up the six domes by creating pendentives in every corner. Constructed in corbel form all the pendentives are decorated with brick ornamentation in pure Bengali style. The ceiling of the dome is 6.40m high from the ground. Though the domes look quite high from within, but they are hardly visible from outside. There are also no finials over the domes to make them attractive. Northwestern side of the mosque has slightly depressed down.

There is a tank with masonry platform at the northern side of the mosque for ablution. There are epitaphs of Darwish Maulana Muhammad Arab and Wazir Shah Ali in a surrounded courtyard, 36.58m east of the mosque. This architectural edifice was about to be lost for lack of proper care and attention. The local people have renovated it in the 1940s

 

 

Golam Mostafa

 Mostafa, Golam (1897-1964) poet and writer, was born in the village of Manoharpur in shailkupa thana, jessore (now jhenaidaha), son of Golam Rabbani and grandson of Kazi Golam Sarwar, both folk poets.

 Golam Mostafa passed BA from Ripon College in 1918 and BT from David Hare Training College in 1922. In the mean time he started teaching at Barakpore Government School in 1920. He retired as headmaster of Faridpur Zila School in 1949. He was the secretary of the East Bengal Government's Language Reform Committee, formed in 1949. He believed in the ideals of Pakistan and, during the language movement in 1952, supported Urdu as the state language of pakistan.

Though known mostly as a poet, Golam Mostafa was a skilled writer of both prose and poetry. His poetic works include Raktarag (1924), Khoshroj (1929), Kavya-Kahini (1932), Sahara (1936), Hasnahena (1938), Bulbulistan (1949), Tarana-i-Pakistan (1956), Baniadam (1958), Gitisanchalan (1968), etc. He also translated the writings of the Urdu poets Hali and Iqbal: Musaddas-i-Hali (1941), Kalame Iqbal (1957), Shikwa O Jawab-i-Shikwa (1960). In 1958 he translated the holy quran. His prose works include Islam O Jehad (1947), Islam O Communism (1946), Amar Chintadhara (1952), Pakistaner Rastrabhasa etc. His Bishwanabi (1942) is a popular book about the life of Prophet muhammad (Sm) and is often read aloud at milads.

Golam Mostafa's poems are characterised by their simple and artistic expression and lyrical quality. He also wrote some textbooks, which were used in undivided Bengal. Some of his poems are prescribed reading at school. He also composed and sang songs, many of them Islamic and patriotic, inspired by the Pakistan movement. He recorded a number of his songs, including some duets with abbasuddin ahmed. In recognition of his literary and cultural contribution, he was conferred the title 'Kavya-Sudhakar' (1952) by the Jessore Sangha and 'Sitara-i-Imtiaz' (1960) by the Pakistan Government.

 

 

Mostafa Monawar

 

Bangladesh's "Puppet Man"

 

 

 

Puppet shows are part of Bangladeshi folklore, but one man is trying to use the medium to spread social messages in a country that has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world.

 

Mustafa Monwar, known as the "puppet man", puts on shows using puppets made of wood, clay and cloth and also has a weekly children's television programme.

 

The literacy rate in Bangladesh is 65 percent and most people do not have access to television, books or newspapers, but Monwar said puppets can play a role in education, especially of children. "I adapt the old village tradition of delivering social messages through puppet shows," like preventing AIDS, he said, adding that for generations puppets have been used as entertainment.

 

One of his puppet stories "Trapped Game" shows how people can live in harmony with nature, while others focus on tolerance and peace or health, development and child education. "In live puppet shows the participation of children in the villages and in the cities are almost the same," he said.

 

Monwar, 65, credits his father the late Golam Mustafa, a poet, for his interest in puppetry as he often invited troopes to perform at their home in remote Monohurpur village in the western Jhenidah district. But it was not until he was a student that he took it up seriously. "In 1958 when I was studying art in Calcutta, a puppet show came to town from Rajasthan and the quality of their sculpture and simplicity drove me to implement my childhood ideas."

 

During Bangladesh's 1971 war of independence from Pakistan, he travelled to refugee camps in India to boost the morale of people who had fled the conflict. Despite difficult times the puppets gave them joy as well as messages of patience and eventual victory, war veterans said.

 

The soft-spoken artist said it takes him about a month to make a puppet, including conceptualizing the character, at his studio in Dhaka. Monwar's fame has spread outside the country and he is the Bangladesh representative of the Denmark-based International Puppet Development Centre. He has received national and international awards, including one for graphic design in an All India Fine Arts competition in 1957. He received the Joinul Abedin Gold Medal for "his outstanding contribution to painting".

 

His weekly slot on state-run Bangladesh Television has been running since 1965 and is among the channel's most popular programmes. But he does not limit himself to puppetry, also making films and encouraging new talent. "Bangladesh has a very rich literary heritage and when I like a story I think of turning it into a film," he said. This "is sharing a good story with many others as reading habits are falling away every day," he added.

 

His teleplays include the Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare and Raktokorobi by Rabindranath Tagore. The noted Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray lauded Monwar for his crafty use of stage design and the atmospheric aspect of his television productions.