Narayanganj, Dhaka
The museum of the Bangladesh Folk Arts and Crafts Foundation, set in an old zamindar mansion with lakes and gardens, a short ride from Panam City.
The museum is the best single place near Dhaka to see the range of Bangladeshi folk crafts, and the winter fair brings the living tradition — potters, weavers, kantha makers and folk singers — onto its grounds.
The Bangladesh Folk Arts and Crafts Foundation was set up in 1975 at the urging of the painter Zainul Abedin, who wanted the country’s village crafts preserved in the old capital of Sonargaon.
Its museum occupies the Bara Sardar Bari, a restored early 20th-century mansion with a grand facade, inner courtyards and a pond, set in wide grounds with lakes, trees and a crafts village. Collections cover nakshi kantha, pottery and terracotta, wood carving, cane and bamboo work, metalware, musical instruments and folk costume.
The grounds are also the venue for the Foundation’s folk fair in the winter months, when craftspeople from across the country sell their work and folk singers perform.
Take a Dhaka–Chattogram highway bus early and get off at Mograpara.
Spend the morning in the mansion galleries, the crafts village and the lakeside grounds.
Walk the single street of old merchants’ houses a few minutes away.
See the sultanate-era Goaldi Mosque nearby, then return to the highway for the bus to Dhaka.
November to February, especially during the winter folk fair
At Sonargaon, about 3 km off the Dhaka–Chattogram highway at Mograpara. From Narayanganj city, take a bus or CNG to Mograpara (about 45 minutes, more in traffic), then a CNG or battery auto to the museum gate. Panam City is a few minutes further on.
