Narail

About Narail

Narail lies in the east of Khulna division, between Jashore to the west and the Madhumati river, which separates it from Faridpur and Gopalganj to the east. Magura is to the north and Khulna to the south. The Chitra flows right past Narail town, and the Nabaganga, Bhairab and Madhumati frame a landscape of low fields, beels and riverside villages.

It is one of the smallest districts in the country, with three upazilas — Narail Sadar, Lohagara and Kalia. For a long time it felt remote despite being close to Dhaka, because every route meant a ferry. That changed with the Padma Bridge, the six-lane Madhumati Bridge at Kalna opened in 2022, and the Padma Bridge rail link, which brought trains to Narail and Lohagara in December 2024.

Narail’s fame comes from its people and its river. The painter S M Sultan spent most of his life beside the Chitra, and Narail has produced several national cricketers, most famously the former Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza.

History

In the nineteenth century Narail was the seat of a wealthy zamindar family who founded schools, a girls’ school that was rare for its time, and the market at Rupganj. Narail became a subdivision of Jashore in the 1860s; its collegiate school dates from 1858 and Victoria College from 1886. The Goal Bathan Mosque, dated by its inscription to the mid-seventeenth century, shows the area’s older Mughal past, and the musician brothers Uday Shankar and Ravi Shankar trace their family roots to Kalia.

In March 1971 young people in Narail seized the town armoury, and on 2 April freedom fighters raided the Pakistani camp at Rupganj. Bir Sreshtho Nur Mohammad Sheikh, one of the seven highest-decorated heroes of the war, was born in the district, as was the folk poet Bijoy Sarkar. Narail became a district in 1984.

Economy and livelihoods

Farming and fishing support most families. Rice, jute, wheat, pulses, oilseeds and vegetables grow on the floodplain, while beels and rivers produce freshwater fish, and golda prawn farming has spread in Kalia and Lohagara. Date palms are tapped in winter for juice and gur. There is little heavy industry, but the new bridges and railway have made it easier to send fish, vegetables and other produce to Dhaka and Khulna, and small businesses and remittances add to household income.

Food, culture and festivals

Narail’s best-known celebration is the Sultan Mela, held in the painter’s memory with art exhibitions, folk music and, on the Chitra, the famous boat races in which village teams race long narrow boats while crowds line the banks. Kobigaan and Bijoy Sarkar’s songs remain popular.

Narail sweet shops are known for rasmalai and a light pero sandesh made from fresh chhana, and river fish curries are an everyday staple.

Places to visit in Narail

1. S M Sultan Memorial Museum and Shishu Swarga

   On the bank of the Chitra at Kurigram on the edge of Narail town, the museum holds original works by the painter, with his grave nearby. Shishu Swarga, the children’s art school he started, and the boat he built for his pupils are part of the site.

2. Chitra riverfront

   The quiet Chitra flows past the town ghats and the old zamindar quarter. Late afternoon boat rides and the bathing ghats give a good feel for river life.

3. Madhumati Bridge, Kalna

   The six-lane road bridge across the Madhumati in Lohagara, opened in 2022, which links Narail directly with Dhaka via the Padma Bridge. The riverbank nearby has become a viewpoint.

4. Goal Bathan Mosque

   A small single-domed brick mosque from the Mughal period, one of the oldest surviving buildings in the district.

5. Narail Government Victoria College

   Founded in 1886 by the local zamindars, its long arcaded building is a landmark of the town’s educational history.

What Narail is famous for

• Narail rasmalai
• Date palm molasses (khejur gur)
• Golda prawn

How to get to Narail

Trains on the Padma Bridge rail link, such as the Jahanabad Express and Rupashi Bangla Express, reach Narail and Lohagara stations from Dhaka in roughly two to three hours. Buses from Dhaka cross the Padma and Madhumati bridges and take about three to four hours. Jashore airport is about an hour by road from Narail town.

Markets and haats

Rupganj Bazar, Narail town

The best-known market in the district town, founded by the old zamindars and now a busy place for clothes, groceries, fish and sweets.

Lohagara Bazar

The main market of Lohagara upazila on the Nabaganga, trading rice, jute, vegetables and river fish from the surrounding villages.

Narail at a glance

Shops from Narail on Midmart

No shop from Narail is selling on Midmart yet.

Questions about Narail

More districts in Khulna Division

• Bagerhat Khan Jahan’s mosque city on the edge of the Sundarbans
• Chuadanga Border farmland of date molasses, betel leaf and the Darshana sugar mill
• Jashore The flower capital, home of date molasses and the Benapole gateway
• Jhenaidah Sultanate mosques, Naldanga temples and the giant banyan of Kaliganj
• Khulna River city of shrimp and the gateway to the Sundarbans
• Kushtia Land of Lalon and Tagore, tiler khaja and Kumarkhali handlooms
• Magura Raja Sitaram’s country of jute fields, pera sandesh and Khamarpara doi
• Meherpur Mujibnagar, where Bangladesh’s first government took its oath
• Satkhira Early mangoes, soft-shell crabs and the western Sundarbans