Narail, Khulna

Narail

A quiet district on the Chitra river, home of the painter S. M. Sultan, whose riverside house is now a museum, and of the boat races and village life he painted.

Local food to try

River fish
Narail
Fish from the Chitra, the Madhumati and the beels, cooked as curry or fried.
Khejur gur and pithas
Narail
Date-palm molasses and the winter pithas made with it, from December to February.
Sweets and doi
Narail
Roshogolla, chomchom and doi from the town’s sweet shops.

Where to eat

Narail town centre
Narail town
Simple restaurants serving rice, fish and meat, and sweet shops.
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Chitra riverside
Narail town
Tea stalls along the river, pleasant in the late afternoon.
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Where to stay

Narail town
Narail
A few simple hotels and government guest houses; book ahead around the Sultan Mela.
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Jashore town
Jashore
More choice of hotels, about an hour away; Narail is an easy day trip from there.
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Culture

S. M. Sultan drew his subjects from Narail’s fields and rivers; his house on the Chitra is now a memorial museum, and a Sultan Mela is held around his birthday in August.
Boat races on the Chitra are a long tradition, often held alongside the Sultan Mela — dates vary, so check locally.
The family of the dancer Uday Shankar and the sitarist Ravi Shankar traced its roots to Kalia in Narail.
Like the rest of greater Jashore, Narail makes date-palm molasses in winter.

History

Narail lies between the Chitra, the Nabaganga and the Madhumati, a low, green country of rivers, beels and villages. Once a subdivision of Jessore, it became a district in 1984. In the colonial era the region was known for its zamindar families and, like Jashore, for the indigo planters and the peasant resistance against them.

The district’s best-known son is the painter S. M. Sultan (1923–1994), whose powerful, muscular farmers celebrated the strength of rural Bengal. Narail is also the home district of Bir Sreshtho Nur Mohammad Sheikh, one of the seven highest-honoured heroes of the Liberation War, and of the cricketer Mashrafe Bin Mortaza.

With the Padma Bridge and the bridge over the Madhumati at Kalna, Narail is now much closer to Dhaka than it used to be, yet the town keeps its slow riverside pace.

Plan your visit

Best time to visit

October to February; August for the Sultan Mela and the boat races on the Chitra (check locally)

How to get there

By bus from Dhaka: about 3–4 hours via the Padma Bridge and the Kalna bridge over the Madhumati.
By bus from Khulna: about 2 hours, usually via Jashore.
From Jashore: about an hour by bus.
By train: the Padma Bridge rail line between Dhaka and Jashore passes through Narail district; check current schedules and stations.
The nearest airport is Jashore.

Getting around

Narail town is small: rickshaws and battery auto-rickshaws cover it easily.
The S. M. Sultan museum is a short ride from the centre.
For Lohagara, Kalia and the villages, use local buses or hire a CNG.
Boats can sometimes be hired on the Chitra — ask at the ghats.

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