Page 150 - Art and Crafts of Bangladesh

SCULPTURE 147

Amlan (Unfading Memories) of Rajshahi, Shadinata Smritishoudha (Memorial to
Liberation) of Comilla Victoria College.
The National Memorial is at Nabinagar of Savar adjacent to Aricha Road, 33
kilometers north-west from Dhaka. Syed Moinul Hossain is its architect; the main
structure of it combines seven triangular towers (fins) the peaks of which grow
progressively slimmer as they climb upwards. These seven fins signify seven phases
of the Liberation Movement of Bangladesh, which are the Language Movement of
1952, mass uprisal of 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1969 and finally the Liberation War of
1971. The outer most fin is 21ft. high and progressively the inner fins are respectively
42, 63, 84, 105, 126 and 147ft. high. The base of the monument is 6ft. high. Excepting
the first and the last fins, each of the other fins have two entrance passages which are
architecturally termed ‘punch’. The fins are at 7.5 feet distance from one another and
open to the sky. As a sculpture, it is free and complete. It is also termed a moving
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column (pls. 2.37, 2.38). 117
During the nine months of the War of Liberation, the Pakistani occupying forces and
their collaborators took many people, especially intellectuals, to Rayerbazar in Dhaka
and killed them there. The Rayerbazaar Baddhabhumi Smritishoudha (Rayerbazar
Killing Ground Memorial) was built at Rayerbazaar killing ground in 1999(fig. 2.53).
The main part of the monument is a curved wall which is 380 feet long and 36 feet
high. The upper part of the wall is broken on both sides to deliberately create an
environment of sadness. There is a square hollow of 20 × 20 sq.ft. in the middle of the
wall. The nature and sky behind the wall of the monument can be viewed in different
colors within this visual frame. There is an artificial water reservoir of 16,600 sq. ft.
in front of the curved wall. A 33 ft. black pillar has risen out of the water body which
takes the hearts of visitors back to the days of 1971. Originally there was a banyan tree
at this spot in Rayerbazaar. Imitating that, another banyan tree was planted on the east-
west axis of the main monument. In its totality this monument will uphold the history
of self-sacrifice for the liberation of the motherland to the future generations.
Rajarbagh Shaheed Smritishoudha erected at the Rajarbagh Police Line in Dhaka is a
noteworthy architectural work on the War of Liberation. The names of 751 members
of the police force martyred in the War of Liberation are inscribed on it. The 110 ft.
high monument was designed by police officer Monsur-ul-Aziz. This high column or
minar is the combination of 3 angular walls. The national flower, water lily is at the
top of the minar. The three walls stand for the active participation of people from all
walks of life in the War of Liberation. The height of the tower stands for the success
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of the Liberation War that won the water lily which is placed at top the of the column.
On the top of the minar, there is a round roof which represents the form of the
independence and also symbolizes national security.
Two more monuments in Dhaka are Shaheed Buddhijibi Smritishoudha (Martyred
Intellectuals Memorial) designed by architect Harun Quddus, and architect Rabiul
Hussain’s BDR Smritishoudha (BDR Memorial) built inside the Pilkhana. The BDR
Smritishoudha is comprised of four columns which represent the four national