Bangladesh missions in Delhi, Thailand and Singapore have celebrated the first day of the Bengali New Year with traditional fervour.
Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi on Friday celebrated the Pahela Baishakh with various cultural programmes.
Welcoming the Bengali New year, Bangladesh High Commissioner in New Delhi Syed Muazzem Ali said Pahela Baishakh comes with a message of “hope and optimism” for a better yesterday.
“For centuries this has been a day of rejuvenation both for the people and the landscape of Bengal,” he said.
Many Indian friends of Bangladesh, members of the Bengali community and officials of the High Commission and their families were gathered at Maitree Hall to welcome the New year, according to a Bangladesh High Commission release received here yesterday night.
Bangla poetry recitation and array of Tagore, Nazrul, Lalon and folk songs were presented by officials of the High Commission and a group of popular artists.
The programme was rounded off with a Bangla dinner of khichri, ruhi maach bhaja, begun bhaja and murighonto. Following deference advice of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, hilsa was not served in the festival.
Ambassador Saida Muna Tasneem in Bangkok and High Commissioner Mustafizur Rahman in Singapore called upon the Bangladeshi expatriates in the two countries to uphold the secular identity and heritage of the country during their celebrations on Friday.
At home in Bangladesh, a host of cultural organisations, educational institutions, government and non-government offices organised events to celebrate the Bangla New Year .
Dhaka University’s Faculty of Fine Arts organised the ‘Mangal Shobhajatra’, the main procession celebrating the Bangla New Year, with a renewed call for a rejection of communalism across the country.
UNESCO last year recognised the procession as one of the ‘Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity’.
The Bangladesh embassy in Bangkok said the embassy premises had been decorated with all the iconic symbols of Bangla New Year celebrations, including a replica of the ‘Ramna batamul’, for the colorful musical soiree.
