Louis Isadore Kahn was an Estonian-born American architect based in Philadelphia. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935. While continuing his private practice, he served as a design critic and professor of architecture at Yale School of Architecture from 1947 to 1957. From 1957 until his death, he was a professor of architecture at the School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania.
Dhaka, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city in the world with a population of 8.9 million residents as of 2011, and a population of over 21.7 million residents in the Greater Dhaka Area. According to a Demographia survey, Dhaka has the most densely populated built-up urban area in the world, and is popularly described as such in the news media. Dhaka is one of the major cities of South Asia and a major global Muslim-majority city. As part of the Bengal delta, the city is bounded by the Buriganga River, Turag River, Dhaleshwari River and Shitalakshya River.
Kazi Nazrul Islam was an Indian and later Bangladeshi poet, writer, musician, and is the national poet of Bangladesh. Nazrul is regarded as one of the greatest poets in Bengali literature. Popularly known as Nazrul, he produced a large body of poetry, music, messages, novels, stories, etc. with themes that included equality, justice, anti-imperialism, humanity, rebellion against oppression and religious devotion. Nazrul's activism for political and social justice as well as writing a poem titled as "Bidrohī", meaning "the rebel" in Bengali, earned him the title of "Bidrohī Kôbi". His compositions form the avant-garde music genre of Nazrul Gīti.
Charles Mark Correa was an Indian architect and urban planner. Credited with the creation of modern architecture in post-Independent India, he was celebrated for his sensitivity to the needs of the urban poor and for his use of traditional methods and materials.
Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban or National Parliament House, is the house of the Parliament of Bangladesh, located at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka. Designed while the country was still part of Pakistan by architect Louis Kahn, the complex is one of the largest legislative complexes in the world, covering 200 acres (810,000 m2).
Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi OAL is an Indian architect. He is considered to be an important figure of Indian architecture and noted for his contributions to the evolution of architectural discourse in India. Having worked under Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn, he is a pioneer of modernist and brutalist architecture in India.
The architecture of Bengal, which comprises the modern country of Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam's Barak Valley, has a long and rich history, blending indigenous elements from the Indian subcontinent, with influences from different parts of the world. Bengali architecture includes ancient urban architecture, religious architecture, rural vernacular architecture, colonial townhouses and country houses and modern urban styles. The bungalow style is a notable architectural export of Bengal. The corner towers of Bengali religious buildings were replicated in medieval Southeast Asia. Bengali curved roofs, suitable for the very heavy rains, were adopted into a distinct local style of Indo-Islamic architecture, and used decoratively elsewhere in north India in Mughal architecture.
The Faculty of Fine Arts (FFA) was established in 1948 as the Dhaka Art School. It was the first art school in the region and became the main centre of art and cultural practice. Since 1956 it has been situated in Shahbag, Dhaka, close to the Bangladesh National Museum. Architect Muzharul Islam designed the building. In 2008, the institute took its current name when it became one of the faculties of the University of Dhaka.
Unmad, the Sanskrit word for mad or insane, has been used as the name of a monthly satire magazine in Bangladesh. The magazine was founded by Ishtiaq Hossain and Kazi Khaleed Ashraf in 1978 and tries to ape MAD Magazine. Bangladeshi cartoonist Ahsan Habib is its present chief editor.
Sir J. J. College of Architecture is an architecture school located in downtown Mumbai (Bombay), affiliated to University of Mumbai in the state of Maharashtra, India. Sharing its premises with Sir J. J. School of Art and Sir J.J. School of Applied Art, it is now rented from Government of Maharashtra as per the deed of Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy. The college occupies two buildings, housing the teaching and non teaching departments along with a small workshop area and canteen space. The Old Building is one of the heritage buildings in the campus.
The culture of Bengal defines the cultural heritage of the Bengali people native to eastern regions of the Indian subcontinent, mainly what is today Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal and Tripura, where the Bengali language is the official and primary language. Bengal has a recorded history of 1,400 years. The Bengali people are its dominant ethnolinguistic group. The region has been a historical melting point, blending indigenous traditions with cosmopolitan influences from pan-Indian subcontinental empires. Bengal was considered to be the richest part of Islamic medieval India and during the era of the Bengal Sultanate it was described to be a major trading nation in the world, while during Mughal times, having triggered the proto-industrialization, its economy was worth 12% of global GDP. However, significant socio-economic inequalities existed during this period. As a part of the Bengal Presidency, it also hosted the region's most advanced political and cultural centers during British rule. Historically Feudalism has been widespread in the entire eastern Indian region. The feudal system flourished to a large extent under the British administration, which served as a means to exploit the Indian peasants by the British colonizers. This created a class of rich landlords in Bengal and a large population of poor peasants. It is noteworthy that a major portion of the Bengali intellectual community during the British era emerged from this wealthy class of landlords, as primarily they belonged to well educated families and got the economic opportunities to receive English education, often from abroad. The lower social classes remained in abject poverty and illiteracy. Thus, although the contribution of the Bengali intellectual community has been immense towards literature, science, politics and the Indian freedom movement, but still as it flourished under an exploitative imperial government, it mostly constituted of individuals belonging to the wealthy landlord families.
Muzharul Islam was a Bangladeshi architect, urban planner, educator and activist. He is considered as the Grand Master of regional modernism in South Asia. Islam is the pioneer of modern architecture in Bangladesh and the father of Bengali modernism. Islam's style and influence dominated the architectural scene in the country during the 1960s and 70s, along with major US architects he brought to work in Dhaka.
Zohra Begum Kazi was the first Bengali Muslim female physician. She was awarded Tamgha-e-Pakistan (1964), Begum Rokeya Padak (2002) and Ekushey Padak (2008).
Khondakar Ashraf Hossain was a leading postmodernist poet, essayist, translator, and editor from Bangladesh. He wrote more than eighteen titles.
Bashirul Haq was a Bangladeshi architect, planner and educator. He is regarded as one of the most influential architects in South Asia.
Enamul Karim Nirjhar is a Bangladeshi architect and filmmaker.
Sri Sri Radha Parthasarathi Mandir, generally known as the ISKCON Delhi temple, is a well known Vaishnav temple of Lord Krishna and goddess Radha in the form of Radha Parthasarathi. The Temple was inaugurated on 5 April, 1998 by the then former Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the presence of former Chief Minister of Delhi Sahib Singh Verma and Sushma Swaraj. It is located at Hare Krishna Hills, in the East of Kailash area of New Delhi, India.
The Institute of Architects Bangladesh (IAB) is a professional organization for architects in Bangladesh. Architect Muzharul Islam was its founder president. The IAB works with different government organization & offers education, government advocacy to improve the quality of architecture profession in Bangladesh.
Saif Ul Haque is an architect and educator based in Dhaka. He received Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2017-2019 cycle.
Narendra Dengle is an architect, academician, and author based in Pune. His architectural designs have been a part of VISTARA in Paris as part of the Festival of India exhibition in 1986, and State of Architecture Exhibition in Mumbai in 2017-18. He has partnered and worked on various academic and architectural projects with Achyut Kanvinde, Vasanth Kamath, Romi Khosla, M.N. Ashish Ganju, and Kamu Iyer.
