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Comilla, officially spelled Cumilla, is a city on the banks of the Gumti River in eastern Bangladesh, on the old Grand Trunk Road between Dhaka and Chittagong and close to the border with the Indian state of Tripura. It was once part of the domain of the kings of Tripura, and the district was known as Tripura until it was renamed Comilla in 1960.
Just west of the city rise the low Mainamati and Lalmai hills, dotted with more than 50 Buddhist settlements from the 8th to the 12th centuries, when the region belonged to the ancient kingdom of Samatata. Excavated monasteries such as Shalban Vihara make this one of the most important Buddhist archaeological areas in Bangladesh.
Visitors explore the ruins and the Mainamati Museum, pause at the Commonwealth war cemetery from the Second World War, and in town stroll around the 15th century Dharmasagar tank, remembered for the poet Kazi Nazrul Islam's stay in Comilla.
Shalban Vihara lies in the Lalmai hills about eight kilometers west of Comilla and is the centerpiece of the Mainamati ruins. Founded by the Deva dynasty king Bhava Deva, this square Buddhist monastery has 115 monks' cells around a wide courtyard with a cruciform temple at its center.
Rupban Mura is one of the excavated Buddhist sites of the Mainamati hills at Kotbari near Comilla, dug in the 1990s. Digging exposed the ruins of a monastery about 34 by 25 metres and a temple about 29 metres square, and a large sandstone Buddha of the 7th to 12th centuries was found there.
Itakhola Mura stands on three levels of a hillside at Kotbari, about 8 kilometres west of Comilla and opposite Rupban Mura. Excavation exposed a large solid stupa with a small shrine on its east front and a Buddhist monastery 42 metres to the north, and the site went through five building periods.
The Mainamati Museum stands next to Shalban Vihara near Comilla and displays finds from the Buddhist sites of the Mainamati and Lalmai hills. Its collection runs from the Neolithic period to later Hindu and Buddhist times, with stone sculptures, terracotta plaques, ancient coins and weapons.
The Lalmai Hills form the southern part of the low Mainamati-Lalmai range west of Comilla, a ridge dotted with more than 50 ancient Buddhist settlements from the 8th to 12th centuries. The wooded hills, rare in this flat delta country, are a pleasant place to walk between the excavated mounds.
New Shalban Vihara, or Nobo Shalban Bihar, is a modern Buddhist temple complex near the ancient Shalban Vihara outside Comilla. Built with support from Thailand, it has striking golden statues and jade sculptures, and visitors remove their shoes and walk barefoot around the peaceful grounds.
Mainamati War Cemetery, also called the Comilla War Cemetery, lies in the Comilla Cantonment area and holds 736 Commonwealth burials from the Second World War. Maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, its beautifully kept lawns and rows of headstones make a quiet place for reflection.
The Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development in Comilla was founded in 1959 led by Akhtar Hameed Khan to train, research and test ideas for village development. It became famous at home and abroad for the Comilla Model of rural development and won the Independence Day Award in 1986.
Comilla Jagannath Temple, also called Sateroratna Mandir or seventeen-jewel temple, stands two kilometers southeast of Comilla town and is one of the tallest temples in Bangladesh. Begun by the Tripura king Ratna Manikya II and completed in 1761, it is built in the typical Bengal brick style.
Dharmasagar is a large man-made tank in the center of Comilla, dug in 1458 by the Tripura king Dharma Manikya I to supply the town with fresh water. The musician S. D. Burman and the poet Kazi Nazrul Islam spent time here, and a park along its banks is a favorite place for a stroll.
Comilla Victoria College was founded in 1899 by Rai Bahadur Ananda Chandra Roy and named after Queen Victoria, and it is one of the oldest colleges in the Chittagong Division. At least 334 of its students fought in the Liberation War of 1971, and a memorial on campus honors those who died.
Comilla Zilla School in the center of Comilla is one of the oldest schools in Bangladesh, founded on 20 July 1837 by the Englishman Henry George Leicester, when it was the only school in the town. Its campus of about 5.7 acres has a large playing field, a library and a Shaheed Minar memorial.
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