Katra – Caravanserais of Bangladeah

There were mainly two caravanserais in Dhaka. One is “Bara Katra” means larger caravanserai situated to the south of Chowk Bazaar close to the north bank of the river Buriganga. and another in “Choto Katra” means smaller caravanserai situated on Hakim Habibur Rahman lane also on the bank of the Buriganga River. The term “Katra” may have been derived from Arabic word Katara which meant colonnaded building, or could be a corrupt French word used for a residential quarter. Other synonyms of it are Chuttre (French) and Chatrra (Hindi), both meaning Umbrella, were used for a place that sheltered Pilgrims.

Caravanserai was a roadside inn where travelers (Caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's journey. In Bengal, it is known by the term katra. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information, and people across the network of trade routes covering Asia, North Africa, and southeastern Europe, especially along the Silk Road. Major urban caravanserais were also built along the Grand Trunk Road (The Grand Trunk Road is one of Asia's oldest and longest major roads. For more than two millennia, it has linked South Asia with Central Asia. It runs from Chittagong, Bangladesh up to Kabul in Afghanistan.) in the Indian subcontinent, especially in the region of Mughal Bengal.

Katara is a form of cellular dormitory built around an oblong courtyard; the form originated in Persia, and like many other things Persian and middle-Asian that the Mughals introduced in this subcontinent, this was copied in Northern India, the home of some of the rulers, members of the Royal Court and the nobility. 

According to the department of archaeology,“Bara Katra” was built between 1644 and 1646 CE to be the official residence of Mughal prince Shah Shuja, the second son of emperor Shah Jahan. The prince endowed it to his diwan and the builder of the serai, Abul Qasim. The word Katra may have originated from Arabic word Katara which means colonnaded building. The building's architecture follows the traditional pattern of the Central Asia's caravanserai and is embellished as per Mughal architecture. Bara Katra originally enclosed a quadrangular courtyard with 22 rooms on all of its four sides. The ruins consist of an edifice having a river frontage. The southern wing of the structure was planned on a grand scale and was marked with an elaborate three-storeyed gate containing an octagonal central chamber. The remaining portion was two-storeyed and encased by projected octagonal towers. 

And “Choto Katra” was built in between 1663 and 1671. During the first reign of Shaista Khan, then Subahdar of Bengal and a patron of civic and religious building that gave to the architectural style appropriately named after him. Since the shift of Mughal capital in 1713, the Katra started to lose its importance along with the city, though the Naib Nazim Jissarat Khan briefly stayed here before his palace, or rather a mansion of which nothing much is now left, was built in 1765 in Nimtali in city just overcoming anarchy. There is a tomb of Champa Bibi, but there is no correct history regarding her identity. There was a small mosque within its enclosure which is ruined. The one-dome square Mausoleum of Champa Bibi, a listed building now, was within its enclosure which was raged to ground by Padre Shepherd. It was later reconstructed by the archaeologists, but now lost within mazes of shops at Champatali. From D’oyle’s drawing who mistook the structure as a mosque, it looked like a multi-foil saucer dome with slim corner spandrels. Champa Bibi was either Shaista Khan’s daughter or a local concubine whom he later married. Shaista Khan’s Bengali heirs from Champa Bibi’s lineage used to live in Choto Katra for many years as Shaista Khan owned Katra.

References:

Asher, Catherine B, Inventory of Key Monuments. Art and Archaeology Research Papers: The Islamic Heritage of Bengal (Paris, 1984: UNESCO)

Ahmed, Nazimuddin, Buildings of the British Raj in Bangladesh, Edited by John Sanday, University Press Limited.

Hasan, Syed Mahmudul, Muslim Monuments of Bangladesh (Dhaka, 1980: Islamic Foundation)

Mamun, Muntasir, Dhaka: Smriti Bismritir Nagari, 3rd Edition, Page No: 201-206.

Ahmed, Nazimuddin, Islamic Heritage of Bangladesh (Dhaka, 1980: Ministry of Information and Broadcasting)

Ahmed, Nazimuddin, Islamic Heritage of Bangladesh (Dhaka, 1980: Ministry of Information and Broadcasting)

Waiz, Rasheda; Begum, Ayesha (2012). "Katra". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.