Kawran Bazar, also known as Karwan Bazar, is a business and commercial hub of Dhaka city. It is also one of the biggest commodity marketplaces in the capital city. The above two names describe the same place. But nobody seems to care about the accurate or correct spelling of the place. Most of the people spell it as Kawran Bazar, while others spell it as Karwan Bazar. 'Kawran' refers to a gang of Negro slaves who were driven to the market. Then, 'Karwan' means a row of camels, or a horde of horses united for mutual protection of a journey, a large company of travellers or pilgrims, caravan, a group of merchants. The word caravan comes from the Persian karwan word meaning group of desert travellers. A caravan can be a large group of people travelling together in one long line.
In 2018, the government of Bangladesh changed the English spellings of two divisions and three districts to make them sound similar to the Bangla pronunciation. The new spellings are Chattogram (for Chittagong), Barishal (for Barisal), Cumilla (for Comilla), Jashore (for Jessore) and Bogura (for Bogra). In a similar manner the authorities concerned can clarify and determine the exact spelling of the place as Kawran or Karwan Bazar with a strict instruction for using the official name.
Dr. Md. Saiful Islam,
EXIM Bank, Gulshan, Dhaka,
saiful@eximbankbd.com