Their worry and concern voice one thing very clearly, the need to preserve our heritage is indispensable. This is partly the reason why I am writing this piece. But more important is that I share an interest in it. I happen to be a great granddaughter of Haji Mainuddin. And the Malitola mosque is not merely a site of archaeological interest to me or to our family, it is a part of my family's past, a part of our growing up, since we grew up round this mosque.

The background to the establishment of the mosque is well laid out in a series of articles by the Star correspondent. I would take the liberty to add that when Haji Mainuddin and his father and uncle decided to build this three-domed mosque, it was primarily to cater for their family's needs (and they had a big family, no doubt). The family used to reside on the rear part of the mosque and they shouldered a responsibility to look after the mosque.

Besides being the founder of the mosque, he was a philanthropist who also took initiatives to promote female education in the region and actively contributed in establishing the girls' school beside the mosque early in the century. The school is known as Malitola Girls Primary School. There is also a family graveyard adjacent to the mosque, where Haji Mainuddin and all my grandparents (Haji Mainuddin's three sons and their wives) are laid to rest.

At present, the Malitola portion of the English Road is a commercial area. In recent years, the place has become a bustling centre of trade, particularly famous for being home to a variety of wholesale markets of iron and steel. At prayer times, the merchants and the shopkeepers rush for a mosque and the nearest one is the Haji Mainuddin mosque. Also, the local population has increased manifold and all they want is a place in the mosque at prayer times.

Their demands and the pressure created by the local Panchayet made the family reluctantly agree to renovate it. But none pays heed to the fact that the phenomenal increase in the number of worshippers was not envisaged at the time the mosque was built and the responsibility to accommodate this additional number should not rest alone with the family that takes care of the mosque.

In no way is it fair to demolish an old piece of archaeology because the "Philistine" crowd is not sensible enough to preserve its sophistication or artistic grandeur. This could be avoided if a solution to accommodate the growing number of worshippers in the commercial hub could be arranged by the City Corporation with an alternate site where a spacious mosque could be built on a vacant land. My suggestion is the spot in the intersection of the English Road, North South Road, Nayabazar and Tantibazar, now being used as an unauthorised truck stand.

The conservation of this mosque of antiquity, particularly its 3 magnificent domes, is essential for keeping alive the valuable tradition and the legacy of our rich past for the posterity. Suggestions or advises on how to preserve its distinctive features by keeping the old structure intact is welcome from the experts and erudite readers of The Daily Star alike.