Segunbagicha (Bengali: সেগুনবাগিচা, romanized: Shegunbagicha, lit. 'Garden of the Teaks') is an upscale residential, administrative, commercial, and institutional neighbourhood[1][2][3] in south-central Dhaka.[4] The neighbourhood is one of the important areas of Dhaka featuring a large number of government and residential complexes.[5] It acts as a bridge between the major thanas of Ramna, Shahbagh, Dhanmondi, Paltan and Motijheel, and is located at the crossroads of Ramna, Shahbag and Paltan thanas.
During the British Bengal era, two English officers, Captain Graham and Colonel Stecky built a garden in the area. Among all the plants in the garden, there were numerous teak trees, called segun (pronounced as shegun) in Bengali. The neighbourhood got its name for the teak trees it contained. The responsibility of the area was then handed over to the municipality after the officers moved to another part of Dacca. The municipality then decided to cut down the trees.[8]
In the late 1940s, Segunbagicha was a desolate and solitary area, located on the outskirts of the Dacca city. It was sparsely populated, but it hosted mostly Hindu intellects and used to be a residential colony where many educated doctors, lawyers, teachers and other intellects resided. However, Segunbagicha quickly became occupied due to the influx of migrants. The first Chinese restaurant in Dhaka (then Dacca), "Café China", was set up in the neighbourhood.[9][10][11]
According to Bangladeshi writer Qazi Anwar Hossain, there were only a few low-rise buildings in the sparsely populated Segunbagicha in the 1950s. The area also hosted a huge swamp.[12]
When the country's founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was appointed as the first Bengali chairman of the Pakistan Tea Board, he moved to the erstwhile 115 Segunbagicha. After Mujib was arrested, his family moved to the erstwhile 76, Segunbagicha. After he was released, him and his family moved to Dhanmondi.[15]
Segunbagicha is a junction of two Bengali words, Segun (Bengali: সেগুন, romanised: Shegun), meaning teak (Tectona grandis), which is a species of plant native to South and Southeast Asia and Bagicha (Bengali: বাগিচা, romanised: Bagicha), meaning garden. Therefore, the name "Segunbagicha" literally translates to "The Garden of Teak" or "The Garden of Teak Trees". The naming therefore suggests that this location was once a site of teak trees.[8]
During Bangla New Year, Segunbagicha bustles with vibrant stalls, people with cultural attires and accessories and splashes of various cultural symbols of Bengal floats all across the neighbourhood.
Important roads like Topkhana Road, Moulana Bhasani Road, Segun Bagicha Road, Abdul Ghani Road and the National Eidgah Street run through and around the neighbourhood.