Mymensingh
The graceful zamindar palace of the Muktagachha maharajas in the heart of Mymensingh town, with its garden and marble fountain statue.
Shashi Lodge was built by Maharaja Surya Kanta Acharya Chowdhury of Muktagachha, one of the great zamindars of Mymensingh, and named after his adopted son Shashi Kanta. The first building was badly damaged in the earthquake of 1897, and the palace that stands today was rebuilt in the early twentieth century.
The two-storey building, with its long front, tall windows and columns, sits in a large garden. In front of it is the famous fountain with a marble statue of a bathing woman, often called the Venus of Shashi Lodge.
After 1947 the palace was used for decades as a women’s teacher training college. It is now a protected building under the Department of Archaeology, which has been turning it into a museum.
Walk around the palace and its garden and see the fountain.
A short rickshaw ride to the riverside museum of the painter’s work.
Walk along the river park and have tea by the water.
Eat in the town centre and pick up a box of monda.
October to March, in the morning or late afternoon
In the town centre, a short rickshaw ride from the railway station or the riverside.
