Over the years we have seen many amusement parks open and even close down in Dhaka. The first 3D cinema hall at Wonderland or the biggest arcade booth at Shishu Mela gives us nostalgia. Our conversation about Prince Ashu and Princess Lia never seem to end and the first ever roller coaster at the famous Fantasy Kingdom is still a huge deal for many of us. But in Bangladesh, it all started at the Shishu Park.

With only 11 rides, Dhaka Shishu Park started its journey in 1979 as the first amusement park in the country.  The park was a venture of Bangladesh Parjatan Cooperation as a tourist attraction for a war torn country. During that period, the park used to charge an entry fee tk 2 tk 1 for each ride. "When I came here to work in 1981, the park would always be full of people and the weekends used to be very crowded," say Gafurullah, one of the oldest employees and a maintenance worker at Shishu Park. "People would line up till Dhaka Club and beyond! Back then, the que of people waiting to enter Shishu Park was one of the main reasons for traffic jams in Shahbagh."

The park now consists of 14 rides including an F17 fighter plane which the Bangladesh Air Force donated in 1992. People of all ages are still seen lining up in front of the aircraft, just to see the inside. "Now we see a lot of people riding roller skates on the road, but Shishu Park was the first to introduce this in our country, back in the early 80s," says Gafurullah. The park also includes a merry-go-round, a toy train, an arcade booth, a plane ride and also a swing ride merry-go-round – much to the delight of children! Shishu Park also owns the largest Ferris Wheel in the city.

Though things have not changed since it was established, Shishu Park still generates around 200 million takas annually. It may not attract many children today, but back in the day the park was considered to be one the most attractive places for Dhakaites. Many complain about the park's lack of maintenance, but the sub assistant engineer, Md Zakir Hossain, says that there is nothing to worry about. "We can assure everyone that this is the most well-maintained and safest amusement park in the country." He also adds, "If there are technical difficulties, we deal with them as fast as we can with our engineers."

At the moment, the park consists of 45 staff members, including engineers. According to the information office of Shishu Park, the authorities are planning on bringing more rides in the coming future which will hopefully attract more visitors.

Photos: Kazi Tahsin Agaz Apurbo