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Pakulla Mosque situated in village Palpara (Pakulla)
under delduar
Upazila of tangail
district. It stands by the side of the Dhaka-Tangail road, north of mirzapur,
and to the west of Pakulla Bazar.
The rectangular mosque with three domes measures externally
14.77m ´
5.8m. Its walls are 1.25m in thickness. The interior of the mosque
is divided into three unequal bays by two lateral cusped arches, which
spring up from piers embedded in the east and west walls. This type of
lateral cusped arches were inspired by imperial Mughal architecture, for
example by Aurangzeb's Moti Masjid (c 1662 AD, Delhi), and again in Bengal
by the tomb of Khwaja Anwar Shahid (c 1698 AD, Burdwan) and the mosque
of Haji Khwaja Shahbaj (c 1679 AD, Dhaka). All the bays are covered with
domes on octagonal drums and the central one is bigger than the flanking
ones.
On both sides of the rectangular mosque there are two do-chala
hut type of structures in brick and plaster. The purpose of these
rooms are not clear; perhaps these were used as classrooms or
as a residence of the Imam of the mosque.
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Pakulla Jami Mosque, Tangail |
Both rooms had doorways from within and each could be
entered from the eastern side. The facade of this rectangular three-domed
mosque has three arched entrances, each set within a rectangular frame.
There are four octagonal towers on the exterior angles rising high above
the horizontal parapets these are topped over with kiosks and cupolas
which terminate in kalasa finials. The corner towers and the flanking
turrets have kalasa bases.
The western wall in the inside is recessed with three
arched mihrabs. The arch of the central mihrab is of the multi-cusped
variety, but those of the side ones are of the plain four centred type.
The central mihrab is bigger than the side ones and is traditionally projected
on the outside. It has flanking ornamental double columns and a single
column is attached on both sides of the two subsidiary mihrabs. There
is a three stepped mimbar to the north of the central mihrab.
The bulbous domes are crowned with lotus and kalasa finials. The parapet of the mosque and the drums below the domes
have a frieze of merlons. The walls are embellished with panellings. The spandrels of all the doorways and the mihrab arches are elegantly decorated with stucco ornamentation of merlons, rosettes, rope motifs, leaves, geometric designs and other floral decorations.
The mosque is not dated by inscription. But on the basis
of stylistic similarities with some dated medieval buildings, such as
the tomb of Khwaja Anwar Shahid (c 1698 AD), Dargah of Manik Pir (1697
AD) and kartalab
khan's mosque (1704 AD), the Pakulla Mosque may conveniently
be dated to late 17th or early 18th century. The mosque is now in a dilapidated
condition and cracks have developed on walls and domes. [Ayesha Begum] |
