Appropriate restoration of Gaur palace
In spite of limited
resources we have to ensure the best possible allocation and utilisation so as to safeguard our heritage sites
Built by successive rulers of the Sultanate period, the historically built once magnificent Gaur palace is now laid bare in ruins. However, newly excavated parts of the palace have unearthed a tank within the palace premises, believed to be built in accordance with the geological and climatic condition a unique architectural feat quite unthinkable in the Middle East or Northern India in those times.
Yet, the point is, similar to many poorly preserved historical and archaeological sites in Bangladesh, the palace should have been carefully conserved following a regular series of preservation tasks. Archaeologists, historians and skilled conservation experts will have to be brought in to ensure whatever remnants left of the palace to be regularly taken care of.
In Bangladesh, cultural heritage has often been perceived that of a luxurious event because of the socio-cultural infrastructure continually failing to provide the basic needs of the society. Also, due to the ephemeral nature of our local building materials and lack of technological advancement, the art of appropriate renovation never had chance to flourish.
However, many of the excavation tasks in recent times have proved that despite being less sustainable, our heritage architecture poses unique significant style and technique deeply influenced by deltaic climate, landscape and culture. Against the backdrop of this reality, a new means of preservation method is necessary. Despite the expensive physical preservation and manual documentation, a possible solution may be introduced in digital manner. By means of the up-to-the-minute digital documentation we can create a strong database of all our historical and archaeological sites. With the help of the latest multi-dimensional technologies this database can be used by preservationists to track changes, predict structural problems and prevent fast decay while arrange virtual tours through web portals for wider audiences. We expect the government to initiate more research and experiment based group works inthis regard.
Lastly, in spite of limited resources we have to ensure the best possible allocation and utilisation so as to safeguard our heritage sites from downright obliteration.
Only heritage can incorporate both the tangible and the intangible. It is present in many forms such as landmarks, places, buildings and contents to spaces and views to stories and legacies associated with them. Without heritage a nation may have a present but no past. That said, the Gaur palace is a national pride in need of state-of-the-art conservation.
