Rajbari

About Rajbari

Rajbari lies on the south-west bank of the Padma, just below the point where the Jamuna joins it, facing Manikganj across the water. Its five upazilas are Rajbari Sadar, Goalanda, Pangsha, Baliakandi and Kalukhali. The 2022 census counted about 1.19 million people, and the district remains strongly rural.

The Padma and its offshoots, the Gorai, Chandana, Harai and Kumar, have laid down fertile soil across the district, and wide chars rise from the river every dry season. In the monsoon, low beels such as Lakshmandia in Baliakandi fill with water and fish.

For generations most travellers from Dhaka to Kushtia, Jessore, Khulna and the south-west crossed the Padma by ferry between Paturia and Daulatdia, so the ghats of Goalanda upazila are among the best-known places in the country, even for people who have never stopped there.

History

The name Rajbari, meaning palace, is usually linked to the many zamindar families of the area, among them the Nawabs of Padamdi, who received land under the Mughals, and the Chowdhuries of Banibaha; one popular story connects it with Raja Surya Kumar, after whom the railway station is said to be named. Under the British the area was part of Jessore and then Faridpur district, and Goalanda became a subdivision with its headquarters at Rajbari.

In the late 19th century the railway from Calcutta ended at Goalundo Ghat, where passengers changed to river steamers bound for Dhaka, Narayanganj, Chandpur and Assam. The busy steamer service gave its name to a famous dish, Goalondo steamer chicken curry. Mir Mosharraf Hossain, author of the classic Bishad Sindhu, lived his last years at Padamdi and is buried there. The subdivision became Rajbari district in 1984.

Economy and livelihoods

Rajbari is among the top three onion-producing districts in Bangladesh, especially in Baliakandi, Pangsha and Kalukhali, where both murikata and hali onions are grown. Jute, sugarcane, betel leaf, wheat, lentils and oilseeds are other major crops, and the Padma supplies hilsa and other fish landed at Daulatdia and Goalundo. The ferry and transport trade at Daulatdia employs thousands of people, and small industries include rice and jute mills and boatbuilding.

Food, culture and festivals

Folk music runs deep here, with murshidi, marfati, kabigan, jari and sari songs, and boat races on the Padma and Chandana after the monsoon. The literary memory of Mir Mosharraf Hossain is kept alive at Padamdi, where a memorial complex stands beside his tomb.

The kitchen is shaped by the Padma: hilsa in many forms, river shrimp, and the steamer-style chicken curry that travellers once ate on the boats from Goalundo.

Places to visit in Rajbari

1. Daulatdia and Goalundo ghats

   The ferry ghats on the Padma where vehicles and passengers cross to Paturia. Watching the ferries, cargo boats and fishing boats here gives a sense of the scale of the river.

2. Tomb of Mir Mosharraf Hossain, Padamdi

   The resting place of the author of Bishad Sindhu in Baliakandi upazila, with a memorial complex and library that draw literature lovers.

3. Godar Bazar riverbank

   A stretch of Padma riverbank near Rajbari town where locals come in the evening for river views, boat rides and snacks.

4. Kallyan Dighi

   A large old pond in Islampur union of Baliakandi, surrounded by village scenery and popular for picnics.

What Rajbari is famous for

• Rajbari onion
• Jute and jute crafts
• Padma hilsa
• Betel leaf

How to get to Rajbari

From Dhaka, buses leave from Gabtoli and cross the Padma by ferry from Paturia to Daulatdia; the journey to Rajbari town takes roughly four to five hours, depending on the ferry queue. Since the Padma Bridge opened, many buses instead cross the bridge and travel via Bhanga and Faridpur, which can be faster. Rajbari is also a railway junction, with trains from Dhaka (some now routed over the Padma Bridge) and from Khulna and Rajshahi.

Markets and haats

Mashalia Haat, Baliakandi

One of the largest wholesale onion markets in the district, where traders buy from farmers after the spring harvest.

Sonapur Haat, Baliakandi

Another important onion and jute market, busy on haat days during the harvest seasons.

Daulatdia fish ghat

The fish landing at Daulatdia, where Padma hilsa and other river fish are sold fresh off the boats.

Rajbari at a glance

Shops from Rajbari on Midmart

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Questions about Rajbari

More districts in Dhaka Division

• Dhaka The capital on the Buriganga: Mughal forts, muslin memories and a city that never pauses
• Faridpur Jute country on the Padma, and home of the poet of rural Bengal
• Gazipur Sal forests, jackfruit orchards and the factory belt north of Dhaka
• Gopalganj Beel country on the Madhumati, with floating gardens and Tungipara
• Kishoreganj Gateway to the haors, home of Sholakia and the poet Chandrabati
• Madaripur Arial Khan river town of date-palm gur, Shah Madar and Shakuni Lake
• Manikganj Where the Jamuna meets the Padma: zamindar palaces and hajari gur
• Munshiganj Ancient Bikrampur: potatoes, patkhir and the north end of the Padma Bridge
• Narayanganj Old Sonargaon, jamdani looms and the knitwear port on the Shitalakshya
• Narsingdi Looms of Madhabdi, lotkon orchards and the ancient city of Wari-Bateshwar
• Shariatpur Where the Padma meets the Meghna: Zajira, Kirtinasha and bibikhana pitha
• Tangail Tangail saree, Porabari chamcham and the sal forests of Madhupur