Khulna is one of ten districts located in the Khulna Division of Bangladesh, formerly East Bengal. It is bordered by the Jessore and Narail Districts to the north, the Bagerhat District to the east, and the Satkhira District to the west, as well as by the Bay of Bengal to the south. The region was first settled around 600 years ago by Khan Jahan Ali, who came to the district to preach Islam. His first settlements were located in the Sundarnbans, which Khulna is well known for. The Sundarnbans is a mangrove area in the delta formed by the convergence of the Ganges, Bahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It is the world’s largest mangrove forest and is the home of the Bengal tiger. The district is also historically notable in that Mahatma Gandhi visited Khalishpur of the district to advocate for his Swadeshi Movement, which encouraged boycotts of British products and reliance on Indian-produced goods. Khalishpur is a Upazila, or an administrative region, of the district.
Haimabati Sen was born in the village of Naihati Srirampur in the district of Khulna, East Bengal, and she refers to this as her “paternal home” (3). Sen spends much of the early part of her work describing her family home in Khulna, and writes of it that “Any woman who lost her husband could take shelter in the Ghosh home as if by right and be free from all worry ever after...Where else in the village would these women find such a shelter?” (6). The house was large, and she writes that “Sadananda Ghosh’s estate stretched from near Barisal [a major city in the Barisal District] to the Sundarbans” (5). Sen spends her childhood here until she is married, and connects it with her family.
Sources:
“Khulna District.” Placeandsee.com, placeandsee.com/wiki/khulna-district.
“Khulna District.” Banglapedia, en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Khulna_District.