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বাংলা
About Cumilla
Cumilla lies in eastern Bangladesh, roughly halfway between Dhaka and Chattogram on the main highway that links them. Brahmanbaria and Narayanganj are to the north, Munshiganj and Chandpur to the west, Noakhali and Feni to the south, and the Indian state of Tripura runs along its eastern edge, with the Indian town of Sonamura just across the border from Cumilla city. With more than six million people counted in 2022 and seventeen upazilas, it is one of the most populous districts in the country.
Most of the district is flat farmland watered by the Gumti, the Meghna on the western edge, the Dakatia and the Little Feni. The exception is the low, red-soiled Lalmai–Mainamati ridge just west of Cumilla city, a strip of hills about 17 kilometres long that once held royal cities and Buddhist monasteries and today shelters the cantonment, the rural development academy at Kotbari and a string of archaeological sites.
History
The name is usually traced to Kamalanka, an old name meaning roughly "lotus pond" or "land of lotuses". The Lalmai–Mainamati area was a seat of power in the ancient Samatata region: copper plates and excavated monasteries show that the Deva and Chandra dynasties ruled here between the eighth and eleventh centuries, and the ridge holds dozens of Buddhist sites. Later the plains were contested between the Bengal sultans and the kings of Tripura; the Tripura king Dharma Manikya dug the large Dharmasagar tank in the town in the fifteenth century.
The East India Company took over in 1765, and in 1790 the British formed Tippera district, which was renamed Comilla in 1960 and lost Chandpur and Brahmanbaria as separate districts in 1984. Cumilla has deep cultural links: the poet Kazi Nazrul Islam spent formative time here and both his wives came from the district, the composer Sachin Dev Burman grew up in the town, and Dhirendranath Datta, who in 1948 first demanded Bangla as a state language in the Pakistan Constituent Assembly, lived here. In the 1960s Akhtar Hameed Khan's rural academy at Kotbari pioneered the "Comilla Model" of cooperatives that shaped rural development across the region.
Economy and livelihoods
Agriculture remains central, with rice, potatoes and above all vegetables; Burichang and the area around the highway supply huge volumes of produce to Dhaka and Chattogram every night. Cottage industries are a strong tradition. Khadi, the hand-spun, handwoven cotton cloth revived during the independence movement of the 1920s, is still woven in villages around Chandina and Debidwar and sold in shops across the country, and the potters of Bijoypur in Sadar Dakshin supply terracotta and glazed clay ware. The Cumilla Export Processing Zone near the old airport employs thousands in garment and other factories, and remittances from workers abroad support many households.
Food, culture and festivals
Cumilla's rasmalai, small soft chhana discs in thick sweetened milk, is the district's calling card, and visitors queue at the old sweet shops around Monohorpur in the city centre to carry boxes home. The city also gave its name to Comilla Victoria College and Comilla Zilla School, among the oldest institutions in the region.
Folk music runs through rural life: palli geeti, jarigan, sarigan and punthi recitation are still heard in villages, and the songs of Sachin Dev Burman keep the town's name alive in the Bengali music of both countries. Khadi kurtas and panjabis remain a local favourite for festivals and are often bought by visitors as gifts.
Places to visit in Cumilla
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Shalban Vihara, Mainamati
The excavated remains of a large seventh-to-eighth-century Buddhist monastery on the Lalmai ridge, with a central temple surrounded by monks' cells. The site museum next door displays terracotta plaques, bronzes and coins found in the area.
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Mainamati War Cemetery
A Commonwealth cemetery near the cantonment holding the graves of soldiers who died on the Burma front in the Second World War. It is peaceful and beautifully kept, with flowering trees and hilly lawns.
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Dharmasagar
A large historic tank in the heart of Cumilla city dug by the Tripura king Dharma Manikya, with a lakeside park popular for evening walks.
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BARD, Kotbari
The Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development, a green hilltop campus founded by Akhtar Hameed Khan, birthplace of the "Comilla Model". The surrounding Kotbari area also has resorts and parks.
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Nawab Faizunnesa's house, Paschimgaon
The home in Laksam of Nawab Faizunnesa, the nineteenth-century zamindar, poet and educationist who founded schools for girls, remembered as a pioneer of women's education.
What Cumilla is famous for
How to get to Cumilla
Cumilla is one of the easiest districts to reach from Dhaka. Buses leave Sayedabad and Jatrabari frequently and take roughly two to three hours over the Meghna and Gumti bridges, depending on traffic on the Dhaka–Chattogram highway. Several intercity trains on the Dhaka–Chattogram line stop at Cumilla or Laksam, taking about two and a half to three and a half hours. Coming from Chattogram, the road journey is around three to four hours.
Markets and haats
- Nimsar bazar, Burichang
- The biggest vegetable wholesale market in the Chattogram division, beside the Dhaka–Chattogram highway. Trading runs through the night, and by dawn trucks are leaving for Dhaka and Chattogram.
- Rajganj and Kandirpar
- The busy heart of Cumilla city, with markets for clothes, khadi, household goods and food, and the city's best-known sweet shops a short walk away.
- Bijoypur pottery villages
- A cluster of potters' villages in Sadar Dakshin upazila where visitors can buy terracotta pots, planters and decorative clay ware directly from the makers.
Cumilla at a glance
Shops from Cumilla on Midmart
Buying from shops in Cumilla
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Sell online from CumillaMore districts in Chattogram Division
- Bandarban Cloud-wrapped hills, the Sangu river and the highest peaks in Bangladesh
- Brahmanbaria The Titas, classical music, chhanamukhi and the gas fields that power the east
- Chandpur The home of hilsa, where the Padma, Meghna and Dakatia meet
- Chattogram Port city, green hills and mezban: the commercial capital of Bangladesh
- Cox's Bazar An unbroken sea beach, the Marine Drive, dried fish and salt fields
- Feni The gateway between Dhaka and Chattogram, home of Khandal's sweets
- Khagrachari Green hills on the Chengi river, Alutila cave and the road to Sajek
- Lakshmipur Soybean fields, coconut and betel nut groves on the Meghna estuary
- Noakhali New land from the Meghna: Hatiya, Nijhum Dwip and a famous dialect
- Rangamati Kaptai Lake, the hanging bridge and Sajek: the lake district of the hills
Sources and photo credits
Figures are from the sources below. Census figures are from the 2022 Population and Housing Census unless stated.
- Banglapedia — Comilla District
- BBS Population and Housing Census 2022 — National Report, Vol. I (enumerated population)
- Wikipedia — Comilla District
- Prothom Alo — Nimsar vegetable market, Cumilla
- Shalban Vihara, Mainamati — Photo: Shahidul Hasan Roman · CC BY-SA 4.0 (source, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Mainamati War Cemetery — Photo: CAPTAIN RAJU · CC BY-SA 4.0 (source, CC BY-SA 4.0)