Ulan Daspara: Remnants of a fishing village in Dhaka

A narrow alley runs right over the footpath of the main road. A signboard above the alley reads, 'Ulan Daspara'.

Sanjit Chandra Das has lived here for generations. "Only this Daspara is our ancestral property. All the other lands with deeds have been sold off. One of my uncles sold his part to a Muslim family," he said. 

He has no doubt that among all of Rampura, Ulan Daspara is the oldest settlement.

Ulan is the name of a mouza (land administrative unit), and there are two places named Ulan here. Daspara is the main Ulan Road, stretching from Molla Tower to Rampura Bazar.

Sanjit was born in Daspara in 1983. He studied up to class nine at the nearby Ekramunnesa School. After his father passed away, he could not continue his education.

Now, driven by the regret of not being able to finish his own studies, he is making sure his son gets an education. His son is currently in the second year of honours.

Sanjit owns a small grocery shop. Right behind the shop, attached to the back wall, is the room where he lives, along with his elderly mother, his wife, his son, his unmarried younger sister, and his two brothers with their wives and children.

Including the kitchen, there are five rooms in total. His mother and sister sleep in one room, and Sanjit and his brothers stay in the remaining three.

When the family used to be smaller, there were only two rooms. Sanjit's grandfather, Sunil Chandra Das, had a brother — both families used to live together under one roof. Now, as the family is growing, the rooms are being separated too. From simple tin-roofed huts, they have managed to build a concrete structure. 

Sanjit does not know much about what came before. He only knows that his family has been here for six or seven generations. His ancestors were all in the fish business.

The customers at Sanjit's shop are mostly people from the neighbourhood.

We met Pabanchandra Das, who had come to buy chips for his daughter. He works as a freelance cinematographer and holds a bachelor's degree. Like Sanjit, his family has also lived in this neighbourhood for generations. His father, too, was in the fish business.

Now, there are about 50 to 55 houses on roughly 4 to 5 bighas of land. The population is estimated to be at about 350 people. As families grew, some built separate houses. Many fled during the Liberation War, and around 2008–09, several houses were demolished due to road construction in Hatirjheel.

Some land was taken over for the main road and the TV centre, while some residents sold their land and moved away. In total, over 10 bighas of land have been lost, making the area much smaller than before.

Originally, it was entirely home to the Hindu Das community. Now, some Muslim families also rent here. But all the original residents are still from the Das community.

Paban said, "We don't even know exactly when this place became known as Daspara. We only know about the last 150 to 200 years. Our homes used to be near the Tejgaon industrial area. Every family here originally lived in Kunipara, near where Aarong is now. When a development project started there, everyone moved here."

There is another area named Ulan here. When confusion began to arise between the two Ulans, the area was divided. That's how this place came to be known as Ulan Daspara."

In the past, the areas around Rampura, including Banasree, Aftabnagar, the TV Center, and Bondhonibash were all just paddy fields.

Paban's family alone had four bighas of land where East West University now stands, another four bighas in Banasree, and two bighas near the Rampura TV Centre.

"We used up some of it ourselves, and the rest, people grabbed with fake documents," Paban said.

Once this neighbourhood was known as a fishing village. From Rampura in Dhaka all the way to Meradia and Demra, many people earned their living by fishing.

During the Pakistan era, the locals used to fish in the nearby Naraai River. During the rainy season, they would fish in the river, and in other seasons, they worked in fields and farms. This was the main source of livelihood for the people in the area.

Now, hardly anyone works as a fisherman. Maybe just two or three remain. Once they are gone, this profession will disappear completely.

Towards the late 1980s, Paban himself saw many coming by boat to fish in the Naraai.

Gradually, as more people settled here, the water became polluted and the fish died. As the river died, the way people earned a living changed too. And the Naraai River turned into Hatirjheel.

Instead of fishing, the locals shifted to the fish trade. They started bringing fish from places like Karwan Bazar and Swaree Ghat to sell in nearby markets.

Life in Ulan Daspara

Since it was Monday, Kajolrani and her family were observing a vegetarian day in honour of the Hindu deity Lord Mahadev's passing. The stove was filled with dishes like fried bitter gourd, dal and pumpkin curry. 

As Kajolrani looked at a laminated photo of her husband Chittaranjan Das she told us about how he passed away.

"One day, he was out to sell fish. After eating breakfast in the morning, he set out for Karwan Bazar. Suddenly, inside the market, he felt dizzy and collapsed. He passed away soon after," she recounted.

Kajolrani has five sons and three daughters. She has been a widow for 20 years now. Her eldest son is 60 years old. She does not even remember how old she was when she got married.

Like others in the neighbourhood, her husband and father-in-law were fish traders. Now, her sons run their own businesses: one owns a grocery shop, another works with sofa sets and curtains, and the rest are involved in various jobs. 

Each of her sons have their own house. But on holidays, everyone wakes up and eats together in the morning. On regular days, they eat according to their own schedules before heading out to work. Their morning meals usually include bread, rice, and vegetables.

Kajol said that when she got married, their tin-roofed house had only two rooms. At that time, her brothers-in-law, father-in-law, and mother-in-law all lived together and ate meals as one family. Now, as the family has grown, they live separately.

While her husband was alive, a few weddings were held at home. They set up a big tent in the yard with chairs and tables and arranged the food. Back then, there was just empty open space.

Now, weddings take place in banquet halls or temples. 

Even though most weddings happen within the Das community, family ties have also formed beyond the neighbourhood.

Somparani, for instance, is from Savar. Following her marriage, she has been living here in Daspara for 50 years. Her husband was in the fish business — buying from Karwan Bazar and selling it in Rampura Market.

They have four sons. The eldest is a carpenter, making window frames and doors and polishing furniture. 

"In the morning, I wake up and clean the place, take a bath, and offer my prayers. I tidy up and do all these tasks early. I finish these chores right after waking up."

While sweeping the house, the sons get out of bed. After their bath, they sit together in the middle room. Sompa and her daughters-in-law set the plates in front of the sons. After eating, the sons leave for work.

Then comes the preparation for lunch, which they usually eat around two or three in the afternoon. After that, there's no more eating until late at night when they have rice again.

In the afternoon, after waking from a nap, the men have some paan (betel leaf) and chew tobacco. They step out and sit chatting with neighbours from nearby houses. However, they don't have the habit of drinking tea.

In the evening, the grandchildren sit down to study. The daughters-in-law talk and sew in their own rooms.

When the sons return at night, they eat a bigger meal together. Sometimes the elderly couple go to bed early, and then the sons and their wives eat as they please.

Cooking is mostly done by Sompa. The daughters-in-law help out. When the sons give money, the elderly husband goes to the market; otherwise, they stay home and pass the day.

The last fish traders

Within the same boundary, you can see tin-roofed houses, single-story cement houses, and even five- or six-story buildings. For example, the Anolkantris have built a six-story house here.

Since well-built houses are rare, their orange-coloured home stands out. Below the house, called Manoranjan Villa, is the Sri Kali Temple.

Anol's father, Manoranjan, was a fish trader, and they have continued this business. Their fortune has grown through the fish trade, so Anol and his brothers have not left this business.

Once, this neighbourhood was known as a fishing village. From Rampura in Dhaka all the way to Meradia and Demra, many people earned their living by fishing in the nearby Naraai River. During the rainy season, they would fish in the river, and in other seasons, they worked in fields and farms.

Anol's son is still too young for school, but his nephews and nieces have all completed honours degrees. One nephew has even gone abroad for a master's degree.

Though education levels were low here once, now about 90% of the new generation have degrees. Anol says that young women in the community are also getting jobs according to their education and are standing on their own feet.

Unity amid crises

Although many fled the neighbourhood during the war or went to India, locals say that after the war, despite various riots and unrest elsewhere — even during the July Uprising — nothing of the sort happened here.

Sanjit says, "The locals helped each other. When the temples were attacked at times, the nearby Muslim residents stood guard to protect them."

Besides this Daspara, there are some Das families in Pashchimpara, Merul, Bhatara's Hundred Feet Road, and Razarbagh. They are all original residents too.

Among the original families, the Ray clan is also present in these areas, though now reduced to just two or three families. The Ulan Road and Mahanagar areas used to belong to the Ray family. A few families from that lineage still live there.

Before the TV Centre, East West University and roads were built, this area was uncultivated land. The families farmed the land themselves. Now, each family owns about half to one katha of land. 

The Das families here believe that living happily in a smaller house of 700 square feet — or even less — is better than living in a larger 1,700 square feet house outside.

Maybe life would be somewhat more comfortable outside, but because their roots have grown deep here through generations, they do not even want to think about leaving this place.

Disclaimer: Many of the interviewees prefer to remain anonymous, so pseudonyms have been used where necessary. The entire article is based on oral history.