Bhai Girish Chandra Sen Museum Narsingdi

The house of Bhai Girish Chandra Sen, the first complete Bengali translator of the Holy Quran, is located in Meherpara, adjacent to Dream Holiday Park in Panchdona village of Narsingdi district. As the house had been abandoned for a long time, in 2016 the original structure was restored and opened for visitors with a grant from the Indian Commissioner.

In the renovation of Girish Chandra Sen's house, valuable wood and tiles brought from different parts of the country were used along with lime, lime. And the interior of the house is decorated with British period furniture. Besides, a bust with a brief biography of Girish Chandra Sen has been placed in front. A museum (Bhai Girish Chandra Sen Museum) has been built in the house of Girish Chandra Sen. The museum houses the items used by Girish Chandra Sen, the artefacts discovered in the forest and the books written by him. Girish Chandra Museum is open to the general public on 6 other days every week except Sunday.

Girish Chandra Sen was born in Panch Dona village of Narsingdi district in 1834. In personal life he was a writer, researcher and linguist. He has researched and translated many books of Islam. Despite belonging to a different religion, Girish Chandra Sen was the first person who showed the courage to translate the Holy Qur'an into Bengali. As a preacher of Brahmo Dharma he was awarded the title of Bhai. He was later given the title of Maulvi as the first translator of Arabic, Persian etymology and the Qur'anic Hadith. Girish Chandra Sen died on 15 August 1910.

If you want to go to Girish Chandra Sen's house, you have to come to Panchdona in Narsingdi first. Apart from Meghalaya, several transport buses ply from Gulisthan in Dhaka to Panchdona. From Panchdona you can reach Danga Bazar by CNG or auto and from there you can easily go to Girish Chandra Sen's house. Again from Mahakhali you can go to Girish Chandra Sen's house by taking an auto from Mayar Bari junction through Kuril Biswa Road and crossing Kanchan Bridge.

Narsingdi has private and government accommodation facilities like Ibrahim Cottage, Circuit House, LGED Rest House and Zila Parishad Dak Bungalow.

In Narsingdi you will find several food hotels like Falguni Hotel, Baburchi Alamgir Hotel, Bandhu Hotel and Khokon Hotel. Besides Narsingdi Rasgolla, Lalmohan, Khirmohan Sweets and Shahi Jilapi are very popular.

Other places to visit in Narsingdi include Laxman Sahar Zamindar Bari, Balapur Zamindar Bari and Dream Holiday Park.

Feature Image: Asim Kumar Biswas