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Magura, Khulna

Magura

A farming district on the Nabaganga and the Madhumati, home to the ruins of Raja Sitaram Ray’s capital at Mohammadpur and birthplace of the poet Farrukh Ahmad.

Local food to try

  • Khejur gur and pithas

    Magura

    Date-palm molasses and winter pithas from December to February.

  • River fish

    Magura

    Fish from the Nabaganga and the Madhumati, cooked as curry or fried.

  • Roshogolla and doi

    Magura

    From the sweet shops of Magura town.

Where to eat

  • Magura town centre

    Magura town

    Restaurants serving rice, fish and meat, and sweet shops.

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  • Highway restaurants

    Dhaka–Jashore highway

    Roadside restaurants where long-distance buses stop.

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Where to stay

Culture

  • Magura shares greater Jashore’s winter tradition of date-palm molasses.
  • The poet Farrukh Ahmad (1918–1974), known for Sat Sagarer Majhi, was born in Sreepur upazila.
  • The story of Raja Sitaram Ray is told in Bankim Chandra’s novel Sitaram and in local legend around Mohammadpur.
  • Cricket runs deep here: Shakib Al Hasan grew up in Magura town.

History

Magura lies on the old Dhaka–Khulna road where the Nabaganga meets the countryside of greater Jashore, with the Madhumati forming its eastern edge. A subdivision since the 19th century, it became a district in 1984.

Its most dramatic story belongs to Raja Sitaram Ray, a zamindar who built a capital at Mohammadpur around the turn of the 18th century, with forts, temples and great tanks, and then defied the Nawab’s government in Murshidabad. He was defeated and executed, but his name lives on — Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay made him the hero of the novel Sitaram.

Magura is also the birthplace of the poet Farrukh Ahmad, author of Sat Sagarer Majhi, and of the cricketer Shakib Al Hasan. For travellers it is a quiet stop between Dhaka and Jashore, best for those curious about rural Bengal and its forgotten history.

Plan your visit

Best time to visit

October to February, when the weather is dry and cool

How to get there

  • By bus from Dhaka: about 4–5 hours, via the Padma Bridge or the Paturia–Daulatdia ferry; Magura is on the main Dhaka–Jashore–Khulna highway, so most buses to Jashore and Khulna pass through.
  • By bus from Khulna: about 2.5–3 hours via Jashore.
  • From Jashore: about 1–1.5 hours by bus.
  • There is no airport; the nearest is Jashore.

Getting around

  • In Magura town, rickshaws and battery auto-rickshaws are everywhere.
  • Local buses and CNGs run to Mohammadpur, Sreepur and Shalikha.
  • Hiring a CNG for the day is the easiest way to see Sitaram’s ruins.

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