Nava Ratna Mandir, Sonabaria, Satkhira, Bangladesh

On the tree shaded fringes of the great Sundarban, the world’s largest mangrove forest stands one of the most magnificent temple ruins in Bangladesh.

The ‘Nine Gems’ has affine history in the South Asian sub continent, as an order of religion and nobility, and this nine domed temple, even in its looted and neglected state seem to contrive to convey the very essence of that nobility.

Terracotta, said to originate from 1767, but with what appear to be more contemporary additions at a higher level, and with ugly concrete pillars propping up its facade it remains in the grandeur league of such as Govinda Temple at Puthia, or even Kanthiji near Dinajpur.

Local youths seem to take some pride in their part in the looting of the temple, including the original Shiva Lingam from a side shrine, but there are still images in the main part of the Temple revealing that it is still loved by adherents.

Before partition, in 1947, this whole area was Hindu, by a wide margin. That may have changed, but this is massive evidence of the onetime strength of the faith in  the area.