Known for
- 1
Lalon's country.
Kushtia is where the Baul poet Lalon Shah lived, taught and was buried, at Chheuria on the edge of the town. His akhra fills with singers and followers twice a year, on the full moon of Dol Purnima and at the October gathering that marks his death in 1890, and on most evenings someone is singing his songs there.
- 2
Tagore on the Padma.
Rabindranath managed the family estates from the Kuthibari at Shilaidaha in the 1890s and wrote much of his best work there; his business office, Tagore Lodge, still stands in the town. Add Mir Mosharraf Hossain's home at Lahinipara and the old Hardinge railway bridge at Bheramara and you have a full literary and British-era weekend.
Best season
GoodFairNov–Feb
- Dol Purnima gathering at Lalon's akhra The Dol full moon, February or March
- Lalon's death anniversary Mid-October, around 17 October (1 Kartik)
November to February is dry and mild, the best time for the Padma bank at Shilaidaha and long days out. Time a visit to Lalon's akhra for Dol Purnima (February or March) or the October death-anniversary gathering if you want the music at its fullest, and book a room early for both. April to June is very hot; the rains bring the Padma and Gorai high.
Getting there
Bus
Dhaka
Over the Padma Bridge or via Paturia; several companies
Train
Dhaka
To Kushtia Court, Poradaha or Bheramara on the western line
Getting around
Kushtia town
Easy-bike to Chheuria; CNG to Shilaidaha and Bheramara
Buses run from Dhaka to Kushtia over the Padma Bridge or via Paturia, most of a day's drive depending on the route. Trains on the western line stop at Poradaha and Bheramara, and there are direct trains from Dhaka to Kushtia Court station. In and around the town, easy-bikes and rickshaws reach Chheuria; Shilaidaha is a short ride north by CNG.
Local food
Tiler khajaMust try
Kushtia's own sesame-coated layered sweet
Kulfi malai
Thick frozen milk sweet sold in the town
Kushtia is known for tiler khaja, a crisp layered sweet coated in sesame, and for kulfi malai sold in the town. Padma and Gorai river fish, especially in the cool months, is the everyday meal.
Places to see
River, lake and haorAnup Sadi · CC BY-SA 4.0Gorai River
The Padma's main distributary in the south-west, leaving the big river just below Kushtia town and running past it: an easy riverside walk at sunset.
Monument and memorialAzim Khan Ronnie · CC BY-SA 4.0Hardinge Bridge and Lalon Shah Bridge
The 1.8 km steel railway bridge over the Padma between Bheramara and Paksey, opened in 1915, with the road bridge named after Lalon Shah running beside it.
Mosque and shrineমোঃ সাকিবুল হাসান · CC BY-SA 4.0Jhaudia Shahi Mosque
An old domed mosque in Jhaudia village, south-west of Kushtia town, protected as an archaeological site and busy with visitors and a small fair every Friday.
Monument and memorialMd. Saiful Aziz Shamseer · CC BY-SA 3.0Lalon Shah Mazar
The shrine and akhra of the Baul poet Lalon Shah at Chheuria, at the edge of Kushtia town: the heart of Baul music in Bangladesh, crowded with singers at Dol Purnima and in October.
Monument and memorialZaheed Sarwer Khan · CC BY 4.0Mir Mosharraf Hossain's Home
The family homestead of Mir Mosharraf Hossain, author of Bishad Sindhu, at Lahinipara in Kumarkhali, with a library and auditorium built beside it.
Fort and palaceArmanaziz · CC BY-SA 3.0Shilaidaha Kuthibari
The Tagore family's estate house by the Padma at Shilaidaha, about 7 km north of Kushtia, where Rabindranath lived and wrote in the 1890s: now a museum in gardens and ponds.
Museum and galleryNazmin Sultana Smrity · CC BY-SA 4.0Tagore Lodge
A small two-storey house in Milpara, Kushtia town, built in 1895 as the office of Rabindranath's trading firm Tagore & Co.; restored and opened as a museum.
Sources 2
Times, fares and opening hours change. Check before you go.
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