Dhaka Club

The Dhaka Club (formerly spelled as Dacca Club) is the oldest recreation organisation and the largest of elite clubs in Dhaka. Originally it was an all-white association and it now is the premier elite association in Bangladesh.

Description

Dhaka club has been described as "an oasis of calm in a frantic city, a colonial relic with several acres of lawns, tennis courts, reading rooms." It has been noted that "the real old-school Dhaka wealth and political power calls this recreation club home." According to journalist M. J. Akbar, "In times of ferment the city is ruled by Dhaka University; in times of peace the city is controlled by Dhaka Club."

The club is located near Shahbag Intersection. It is surrounded by Dhaka University, Bangladesh National Museum, Hotel Sheraton, BIRDEM Hospital, Ramna Park and the Suhrawardy Udyan.

The club has facilities for meetings and seminars, as well as hall rooms, guest-rooms, kitchens and dining rooms, playing courts and rooms for table tennis, billiards, cards, squash, and lawn tennis, and a swimming pool. The wood-paneled club house is one of the few surviving British Raj era buildings in Dhaka. The Dhaka Club has three clay tennis courts and two squash courts. In former times, indoor and outdoor games were dominant features of the club. At present, it gives considerable attention to cultural activities.

Dhaka

Dhaka (Bengali: ঢাকা, pronounced: [ˈd̪ʱaka]; English /dɑːkə/, /dækə/; formerly spelled as Dacca) is the capital of Bangladesh. It is the principal city of Dhaka District and Dhaka Division. Dhaka is one of world's most populated cities, with a population of about 7 million people. The Greater Dhaka Area covers a population of 17 million people. The historic quarter of Dhaka stands on the east bank of the Buriganga River. It is located in the central part of the Bengal delta. Bengali Muslims make up the majority of the population, followed by Bengali Hindu, Bengali Buddhist, Bengali Christian and Bahai Faith communities.

The city's name was Jahangir Nagar (City of Jahangir) in the 17th century. It was the Mughal capital of Bengal for 75 years; and flourished in trade and culture as a cosmopolitan commercial capital and the hub of the worldwide muslin and silk trade. The city hosted two major caravansaries of the subcontinent: the Bara Katra and Choto Katra, located on the riverfront of the Buriganga. The Mughals decorated the city with well-laid out gardens, tombs, mosques, palaces and forts. Dhaka became known as the City of Mosques in Bengal. It was also described as the Venice of the East. The old city was home to various Eurasian merchant groups. At the height of its medieval glory, Dhaka was regarded as one of the wealthiest and most prosperous cities in the world. It was central to the economy of Mughal Bengal, which generated 50% of Mughal GDP.

Dhaka (disambiguation)

Dhaka is the capital city of Bangladesh.

Dhaka may also refer to:

Places

Bangladesh

Pakistan

India

Other

See also

Dhaka clan

Dhaka is a gotra (clan) of Jats found in Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh states of India.They are mainly found in Hanumangarh , Ganganagar , Barmer, Jodhpur, Sikar, Jhunjhunu, Churu districts of Rajasthan.

Origin

According to Ompal Singh Tugania's book based on the records of Bhats which is a community of bards and genealogists in North India, Dhaka's are one of few Jat clans having origin from Chauhans.According to Dr Naval Viyogi In a period of third century AD many hoards of Taka coins have been recovered from Nagpur region, which were introduced by the Taka Nagas of North-West. Linguists have informed that these Taka people reached and ruled in the region of Dhaka of Bangla Desh, since the word ' Dhaka' is a linguistic (Pali) variation of Taka. In the second act of Sanskrit play mrcchakatika a dialect has been used by author, known as Takki. Taki, Takka or Dhakka is the Prakrit dialect which has been called by Pischal language of East Bengal spoken around Dhaka, but there is another interpretation too, since word 'Ta' has been changed to 'Dha' due to the tendency of change from Sanskrit to Pali or Prakrit as cited above, hence the original word is Taka from which Dhaka has been derived.