Branding My Birthplace was Never So Satisfying Before: Jashore; at a Glance

We are Bangladeshi by birth and attached to it in blood relations. So, branding this country to the world will uphold our individual prestige—no doubt.

However, I’ve seen only a few communities out there on the web asking for branding one’s native culture and tradition like @BDCommunity.

Yes, that’s how it should be and I salute the community for that.
So, in an attempt to highlight the unique features of my hometown, which is Jashore (Jessore), this piece is born.

And, here we go—

“নানা রঙের ফুলের মেলা খেজুর গুড়ে যশোর জেলা”— that’s how the Govt. wants to brand Jashore district.

In fact, we already have huge publicity covered only for the availability of flowers. You’ll be surprised by the volume of the production, and, the produced flowers meet the demand of flowers in different districts including the capital Dhaka; commercially.

First thing first—

Jessore is the first enemy-free district of the country and gained this prestigious status on 6 December 1971.

Bir Sreshtho Nur Mohammad Sheikh & Bir Sreshtho Hamidur Rahman; both were born in this district and until today, we remember their courage with honor.

Jessore is the 13th largest district in Bangladesh covering an area of 2594.95 sq miles with 7 upazillas. It is 280km away from Dhaka; the capital city. It has a river area of 60 sq miles moving through the entire district.

We all know the name of Kopotakkho river, right? Yes, Michael Madhusudan Dutt’s favorite, is also here in Jashore.

In ancient times, even before the birth of India or Pakistan, the land where Bangladesh is now was divided into several small kingdoms.

In history, these states are known as Bhanga, Pandu, Samatat, Tamralipi Banga etc. At that time, this land named Jashore now, was known as Bhanga kingdom as mentioned by famous scholar Ptolemy. The region is mentioned in the Mahabharata, Puranas, Vedas and Ain-i-Akbari as well adding significance and prestige to the people living here.

At that time, Jashore was 244 km long and 76.8 km in width. According to this, the area was 14570 square kilometers or 5600 square miles; nearly what the whole of Bangladesh is now.

Among the ancient rulers of the independent state of Jashore, there were Maharaja Vikramaditya, Raja Sitaram Roy, and Raja Pratapaditya.

It is believed that the famous saint and preacher of Islam Khan Jahan Ali was Jashore’s independent ruler.

Personally, I’m overwhelmed—don't you too?

With the beginning of British aggression, Jashore, along with other areas of the continent came under British rule.

” When the ever-uncompromising fighters were unable to control Jessore, the British rulers designated Jessore as a territory for the convenience of their administrative work and transformed it into a separate district.” —further highlighting the spirit of Jashorians.

Jashore district, later, was spread over a large area including Khulna, Kushtia, Faridpur.

The region is famous for banana and date molasses. And, also for Comd industries. You’ll find all sorts of fishes here—almost, I’ll say.

Moreover, the fish hatcheries in Jashore meet one-third of the demand for pona fish/fish offspring in the whole country.

Besides, it has a railway station named যশোহর জংশন. It is a bit different from the usual naming, but, I don't know why.

Along with an airport operating local flights, it has the biggest land port in the country. And yes, the cantonment area is notably large covering 20 acres while the largest air force training academy in Bangladesh is situated just beside it.

Culturally, Jashore has unique features including Ball and Dhup dance, Nakshi Kantha, and so forth.

There are many places to visit here and a large number of them are enlisted as tourism assets.

11 Shiva Temple_Avaynagar

There’s so more to search on the web and enlist here, and so, I’ve collected the most interesting information and put it here.

Sources: http://www.jessore.gov.bd/