M. Mizanur Rahman :
We, Bangali people in Bangladesh enjoy the first day of the Bengali New Year accelerating our rejuvenation towards a great aspiration and hope for the new and fresh life ahead. From today onward we should take the new course of life rebuilding the nation with complete national integrity in peace and tranquility. Henceforth all types of wrangles and animosities among the political parties of our country should be done away with for the wellbeing of the entire nation itself, so that we can be proud as the great nation on the map of the globe showing our spirit of tolerance and unselfishness rather holding aloft the image of the nation above everything else.
Whenever Pohela Boishakh comes at our door we remember our national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam who brings back us to a song at our front door with his sweet voice-
“E ki oporup rupe ma tomay herinu palli jononi
ule o fosole kada mati jole jholomolo kore laboni
Roudro topto boishakhe tumi chatoker sathe chaho jol
am kanthaler modhur gondhe joisthe matao torutol….”
This is a wonderful patriotic song which has its national image along with 12 Bengali months right from Boisakh depict natural panoramic phenomena of Bangladesh. Let us enjoy this song commencing ‘Pohela Boishakh’ henceforth evaluating national image and identity in all cultural affinities-
What a wonderment of beauty that you appear to be
Oh! My country-mother!
Flowers and crops on the soil drenched-mud with water
look amazingly dazzling hues here!
You are in sun-tanned hot Boishakh
asking for water with the skylark.
Whereas during the month of Joistha
honey-fragrance of mangoes and jackfruits is filled
the air under plants!
And you, sometimes, play
with the thunderstorm on the vast fields!
You continue wreathing series of flowers
like Screw pines-Kodom-Jasmine
seasoning the rain.
And like the restless girls you continue sprinkling water
while the tank is filled in with a large pool of water
appear dancing creamy dark green!
The Shorot (Autumn) is dewy but bedecked in
a flower-vase with full of Lilies wearing Sheuly-coloured Sari
started singing of the new comers in the spree.
The fragrance of Amon -paddy in the Ogrohayon
made the earth amour.
And during the winter, Mom, you appear
along with the Baul (bohemian) songster!
While you hear Bhatiali that boatmen are singing,
and enjoy the night by Kirton-hearing!
You have coloured the whole of earth
with the flowers of the (Falgoon) Spring!
(Nazrul’s patriotic song
Translation by M. Mizanur Rahman)
We often forget the past. Since British imperialist and colonialist administration set its foot in India, its own way of English calendar was introduced in such conventional form that we are yet to come out of it. Though we are liberated in 1971 from the slavery of foreign domination, we are yet to introduce our own original Bengali Calendar on our day to day life in which our government administration is to be included. However a cultural advent in the veins of our nation is apt to overwhelm us on the very occasion of Pohela Boishakh (the first day of the Bengali year). We assume that our day has dawned on time whatever artificial it might have been looked.
Pohela Boishakh has become a jubilant festival by and large for Bangalees in the sovereign state of Bangladesh. It is traditionally the most ebullient festival in the life of Bangalee people who gets together irrespective of its caste or creed and turn out happily with colourful dresses with festive outlook to enjoy the day. The summer season starts from this day and weather is overcast cloudy dark sky with a symbol of a ferocious storm called ‘Kal-Boshekhy Jhor ‘. The Bengali people waive it with courage.
The beginning of Pohela Boishakh gives us a focal point of pleasant enthusiasm of festivity of an auspicious time to carry ensuing days, months for a year anew irrespective of social, economic, and political diversities of our people until the next Pohela Boishakh arrives at our door. Before we conceive our enormous dreams of creative works on different programmes to be materialised in course of time, we breathe forth with our hopes and aspirations. We are not disheartened or disappointed towards hoping for the better future. This is what our struggle for existence. To achieve rights to live we pledge always a serene and auspicious time to come to enlighten our life.
Basically, for ages immemorial our people are lovers of nature. We tilt on the waves of air where rhythmically poetic verses move us forward.
Our age-old customs and traditions vary time to time naturally on the toe of modernity.Ritually some customs and traditions of different religious communities differ among each other. But we find communal harmony in our common festivities. As it appears in our sentiment and emotion we are the sons and daughters of nature itself. Nature takes us as if on its lap and brings us up on its swinging cradle like the mother herself. That is what the reason why the people usually call our land where we live as motherland. There as no distinction between the different religious communities about such calling.
Bangalees, like many other nations of the world, had to live on cultivation. The land of Banglasesh is alluvial but fertile. Naturally the people of Bengal used to live on cultivating their land sowing seeds of foodstuff and reaping them during the harvesting season. These soft- hearted people co-exist with the aliens who were allowed to trade on their soil and bartered their harvested fruits whatsoever long before the urbanisation and industrial revolution took place like other nations who boost mostly on agro-economy. Beside their foodgrains like rice, wheat, barley etc., Bangalees used to cultivate vegetables, spices and engaged themselves in developing fishery and livestock in support of agriculture. Earlier tools and appliances were not as developed as now a day. Farmers had to earn their living on farming by strenuous hard labour. Yet after the scientific development of farming the farmers have to adopt planning objectives and best possible techniques and scientific knowledge about cultivation of corps, pattern of cropping, and economic use of land, fertiliser, seeds and pesticides.
No, there were no such developments earlier but natural bounties were abundant. In those days the people had their fisheries, poultry and livestock in plenty. There were no dearths of clothes also. They used to weave clothes in their homemade handloom. The land of Bengal used to give forth enormous agricultural products. Naturally Bangalees were so affluent that they could export surplus agricultural products to far-flung countries like Southeast Asia, Middle- eastern and African countries beyond Indian peninsula meeting out all local demands. The French traveler Francois Bernier had given the vivid accounts of it in details in his book ‘Travels in Mogul Empire’.
Most probably Bangalees fixed Pohela Boishakh as the first day of Bengali New Year on account of its harvesting season of the year. Historically there is no confirmed evidence that emperor Akbar (1542-1605) of Mogul empire fixed that day for counting the Bengali year. According to Ayeen-e-Akbary (a thesis on Akbar’s Regulations for the government of Hindustan) while extending his suzerainty over Bengal he simply ordered his General Todarmal to exact taxes or revenue from Bangalees in cash or kind during the Bengali harvesting period on very soft terms and conditions so that his subjects would have the easy time to pay revenues. After Todarmal won Gujrat in 1574, emperor Akbar appointed him as his Revenue Secretary. Later Todarmal won the battle of Bengal in 1576 and was made the Subedar of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa by the emperor. During this period the emperor ordered to survey the entire area under his suzerainty and introduced a new system of earning revenue that remained in force for some considerable period of his reign. This is the Bangalee people who are apt to take advantage of all auspicious moments to celebrate the time of their choice with joys at heart. Some historians talk of ‘Punyah’ in this context. This cannot, however, adjust the event of ‘Punyah’ of the so-called zamindars of those days of British Raj and that could not signify such joyous moments, because the collection of revenues in the name of ‘Punyah’ by the zamindars were mostly extortion exerting their muscle power over the teeming farmers under their heels during British domination. That could hardly be termed as the celebration of Pohela Boishakh by the people in joyous mood.
However a brief history of the New Year’s Day can be traced here for favour of general information. His Majesty’s (Akbar’s) reign, the fixation is made as “Tarikh-e-Ilahee” (for the mighty era). Akbar made uniformity in counting days, months and years in accordance with his ‘Tarikh-e-Ilahee’ cancelling the ambiguous ones prevailing in those days throughout his empire.
The New Year’s festivals have since been celebrated everywhere in the world having distinctions among nations. The Jews used to celebrate their New Year’s Day ‘Rose Hasana’ according to Gregorian Almanac on the basis of solar year between September and October. The Persian people make festival of Nao Rose (New Year) also following the Gregorian almanac. From the very ancient period the Chinese used to celebrate New Year’s Day on the first day of the lunar year. Later on they used Gregorian system in government business since 1912.
The Arabian New Year is celebrated from the first day of Muharram. According to Gregorian system it was 16th July since 622 AD. Though the Muslim Lunar Year was fixed by 364 days a year but for the Gregorian it were 365 one fourth days and a few minutes a year yet it were not known when the first Bengali New Year’s Day of Pohela Boishakh had been introduced.
However, on Pohela Boishakh, with an auspicious outlook, closing their business accounts of the previous year for opening a new red-ledger called ‘Khero Khata’, the Bangalee businessmen start afresh the ongoing and current business transaction. A few days before Pohela Boishakh, concerned businessmen would send colourful cards inviting their customers with sweet words to attend their business place. The customers also used to repay their dues, if any, on that day to keep mutual relations with trust and respectful reciprocity. This is what maintenance of good relation between the businessman and the customer since early times. Maintaining good-will and confidence is always a pre-requisite for every good business. On the auspicious day of Pohela Boishakh we all realise this in attending business places being entertained with sweetmeats and sweet words of the host businessmen.
This has become an age-old Bangalee custom and tradition. It’s really commendable. Throughout Bangladesh and also in West Bengal, Assam, Tripura of India including all of its surrounding villages this sort of celebration of Pohela Boishakh is in vogue among the Bengali people till now. So this legendary festival gives a pleasant look among the people with a pledge of composite communal harmony. In spite of the hottest summer season intermingled with sudden change of sky being overwhelmed with cloudy dusts and grayish colour wrapping the shining sun by the cyclonic storm that thrusts all over the horizon, the people remain undaunted and face the challenge with fortitude. They have been enjoying this hard time with a high morale since long unknown period. Even those Bangalees migrated abroad and living around the world celebrate Pohela Boishakh also with similar customary ebullience and enthusiasm.
The urban Bangalee people, specially in Dhaka, commemorate ‘Bangaliana’ by taking Panta Bhat(watered rice) with pieces of fried hilsa fish and slices of aubergine at Ramna Botomul( root of the banyan tree), Dhaka, in the big fair of Pohela Boishakh. Most of the cultural organisations like Nazrul Academy, Chayanot, Bangla Academy, Sisu Academy, and others use to present Tagore’s and Nazrul’s seasonal songs in Bengali and stage dance drama on this occasion. Tradesmen of different colourful toys, flutes, balloons and handicrafts crowd here and sell their items to the fascinated children. The people of almost all classes throng here to enjoy the occasion with festive mood. The Botomul, as it were, resounds welcoming this great festival, we sing of Tagore:
“Esho hey Boishakh, esho, esho, Taposho Nishasho Baye…(Come O Boishakh! Come and breathe out of devotee’s fragrant air…).”
The young girls having dressed with red-bordered yellow sari and red or white flowers set in bun within the tuft of their coiled hairs seem to have always been the additional attraction of the fair. And young boys wear colourful long boutique Punjabi and pajama that give no less attraction adding to festival’s seemingly graceful but enthralling ambience. All festivities bear pleasures at heart.
So our Pohela Boishakh festival overcoming such hottest summer brings to us blissful pleasures of our heart no matter what agonies lay ahead. Let our great Bangladesh with its enduring and ardent people live in heavenly bliss from the first day of Boishakh eternally. Let us recollect a few lines of our National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam on this sacred occasion
“Let us sing of them/who brought forth on earth /the fruits of their toil…
Their hardiest labour that contributed/basket-full of fruits and flowers/ as offerings for earth…Let’s sings of them”…
Let us enjoy also that poetic deliberation in which we can invigorate the spirit of our life where poet says –
“When a year ends,
as it were, a new span of life
expands touching another year.
But it does not mean that the old one is left aside.
You cannot throw away anything that is old
but attach those who are always good and useful
unlike precious gold.
That means you are embracing the old
anew from the beginning of another year….”
Let’s have the heavenly year anew to make our life and business invigorated with new hopes and aspirations. Let our honesty and integrity prevail both nationally and internationally to make our nation affluent and happy with pride of our good performance and achievement .
We, Bangali people in Bangladesh enjoy the first day of the Bengali New Year accelerating our rejuvenation towards a great aspiration and hope for the new and fresh life ahead. From today onward we should take the new course of life rebuilding the nation with complete national integrity in peace and tranquility. Henceforth all types of wrangles and animosities among the political parties of our country should be done away with for the wellbeing of the entire nation itself, so that we can be proud as the great nation on the map of the globe showing our spirit of tolerance and unselfishness rather holding aloft the image of the nation above everything else.
Whenever Pohela Boishakh comes at our door we remember our national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam who brings back us to a song at our front door with his sweet voice-
“E ki oporup rupe ma tomay herinu palli jononi
ule o fosole kada mati jole jholomolo kore laboni
Roudro topto boishakhe tumi chatoker sathe chaho jol
am kanthaler modhur gondhe joisthe matao torutol….”
This is a wonderful patriotic song which has its national image along with 12 Bengali months right from Boisakh depict natural panoramic phenomena of Bangladesh. Let us enjoy this song commencing ‘Pohela Boishakh’ henceforth evaluating national image and identity in all cultural affinities-
What a wonderment of beauty that you appear to be
Oh! My country-mother!
Flowers and crops on the soil drenched-mud with water
look amazingly dazzling hues here!
You are in sun-tanned hot Boishakh
asking for water with the skylark.
Whereas during the month of Joistha
honey-fragrance of mangoes and jackfruits is filled
the air under plants!
And you, sometimes, play
with the thunderstorm on the vast fields!
You continue wreathing series of flowers
like Screw pines-Kodom-Jasmine
seasoning the rain.
And like the restless girls you continue sprinkling water
while the tank is filled in with a large pool of water
appear dancing creamy dark green!
The Shorot (Autumn) is dewy but bedecked in
a flower-vase with full of Lilies wearing Sheuly-coloured Sari
started singing of the new comers in the spree.
The fragrance of Amon -paddy in the Ogrohayon
made the earth amour.
And during the winter, Mom, you appear
along with the Baul (bohemian) songster!
While you hear Bhatiali that boatmen are singing,
and enjoy the night by Kirton-hearing!
You have coloured the whole of earth
with the flowers of the (Falgoon) Spring!
(Nazrul’s patriotic song
Translation by M. Mizanur Rahman)
We often forget the past. Since British imperialist and colonialist administration set its foot in India, its own way of English calendar was introduced in such conventional form that we are yet to come out of it. Though we are liberated in 1971 from the slavery of foreign domination, we are yet to introduce our own original Bengali Calendar on our day to day life in which our government administration is to be included. However a cultural advent in the veins of our nation is apt to overwhelm us on the very occasion of Pohela Boishakh (the first day of the Bengali year). We assume that our day has dawned on time whatever artificial it might have been looked.
Pohela Boishakh has become a jubilant festival by and large for Bangalees in the sovereign state of Bangladesh. It is traditionally the most ebullient festival in the life of Bangalee people who gets together irrespective of its caste or creed and turn out happily with colourful dresses with festive outlook to enjoy the day. The summer season starts from this day and weather is overcast cloudy dark sky with a symbol of a ferocious storm called ‘Kal-Boshekhy Jhor ‘. The Bengali people waive it with courage.
The beginning of Pohela Boishakh gives us a focal point of pleasant enthusiasm of festivity of an auspicious time to carry ensuing days, months for a year anew irrespective of social, economic, and political diversities of our people until the next Pohela Boishakh arrives at our door. Before we conceive our enormous dreams of creative works on different programmes to be materialised in course of time, we breathe forth with our hopes and aspirations. We are not disheartened or disappointed towards hoping for the better future. This is what our struggle for existence. To achieve rights to live we pledge always a serene and auspicious time to come to enlighten our life.
Basically, for ages immemorial our people are lovers of nature. We tilt on the waves of air where rhythmically poetic verses move us forward.
Our age-old customs and traditions vary time to time naturally on the toe of modernity.Ritually some customs and traditions of different religious communities differ among each other. But we find communal harmony in our common festivities. As it appears in our sentiment and emotion we are the sons and daughters of nature itself. Nature takes us as if on its lap and brings us up on its swinging cradle like the mother herself. That is what the reason why the people usually call our land where we live as motherland. There as no distinction between the different religious communities about such calling.
Bangalees, like many other nations of the world, had to live on cultivation. The land of Banglasesh is alluvial but fertile. Naturally the people of Bengal used to live on cultivating their land sowing seeds of foodstuff and reaping them during the harvesting season. These soft- hearted people co-exist with the aliens who were allowed to trade on their soil and bartered their harvested fruits whatsoever long before the urbanisation and industrial revolution took place like other nations who boost mostly on agro-economy. Beside their foodgrains like rice, wheat, barley etc., Bangalees used to cultivate vegetables, spices and engaged themselves in developing fishery and livestock in support of agriculture. Earlier tools and appliances were not as developed as now a day. Farmers had to earn their living on farming by strenuous hard labour. Yet after the scientific development of farming the farmers have to adopt planning objectives and best possible techniques and scientific knowledge about cultivation of corps, pattern of cropping, and economic use of land, fertiliser, seeds and pesticides.
No, there were no such developments earlier but natural bounties were abundant. In those days the people had their fisheries, poultry and livestock in plenty. There were no dearths of clothes also. They used to weave clothes in their homemade handloom. The land of Bengal used to give forth enormous agricultural products. Naturally Bangalees were so affluent that they could export surplus agricultural products to far-flung countries like Southeast Asia, Middle- eastern and African countries beyond Indian peninsula meeting out all local demands. The French traveler Francois Bernier had given the vivid accounts of it in details in his book ‘Travels in Mogul Empire’.
Most probably Bangalees fixed Pohela Boishakh as the first day of Bengali New Year on account of its harvesting season of the year. Historically there is no confirmed evidence that emperor Akbar (1542-1605) of Mogul empire fixed that day for counting the Bengali year. According to Ayeen-e-Akbary (a thesis on Akbar’s Regulations for the government of Hindustan) while extending his suzerainty over Bengal he simply ordered his General Todarmal to exact taxes or revenue from Bangalees in cash or kind during the Bengali harvesting period on very soft terms and conditions so that his subjects would have the easy time to pay revenues. After Todarmal won Gujrat in 1574, emperor Akbar appointed him as his Revenue Secretary. Later Todarmal won the battle of Bengal in 1576 and was made the Subedar of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa by the emperor. During this period the emperor ordered to survey the entire area under his suzerainty and introduced a new system of earning revenue that remained in force for some considerable period of his reign. This is the Bangalee people who are apt to take advantage of all auspicious moments to celebrate the time of their choice with joys at heart. Some historians talk of ‘Punyah’ in this context. This cannot, however, adjust the event of ‘Punyah’ of the so-called zamindars of those days of British Raj and that could not signify such joyous moments, because the collection of revenues in the name of ‘Punyah’ by the zamindars were mostly extortion exerting their muscle power over the teeming farmers under their heels during British domination. That could hardly be termed as the celebration of Pohela Boishakh by the people in joyous mood.
However a brief history of the New Year’s Day can be traced here for favour of general information. His Majesty’s (Akbar’s) reign, the fixation is made as “Tarikh-e-Ilahee” (for the mighty era). Akbar made uniformity in counting days, months and years in accordance with his ‘Tarikh-e-Ilahee’ cancelling the ambiguous ones prevailing in those days throughout his empire.
The New Year’s festivals have since been celebrated everywhere in the world having distinctions among nations. The Jews used to celebrate their New Year’s Day ‘Rose Hasana’ according to Gregorian Almanac on the basis of solar year between September and October. The Persian people make festival of Nao Rose (New Year) also following the Gregorian almanac. From the very ancient period the Chinese used to celebrate New Year’s Day on the first day of the lunar year. Later on they used Gregorian system in government business since 1912.
The Arabian New Year is celebrated from the first day of Muharram. According to Gregorian system it was 16th July since 622 AD. Though the Muslim Lunar Year was fixed by 364 days a year but for the Gregorian it were 365 one fourth days and a few minutes a year yet it were not known when the first Bengali New Year’s Day of Pohela Boishakh had been introduced.
However, on Pohela Boishakh, with an auspicious outlook, closing their business accounts of the previous year for opening a new red-ledger called ‘Khero Khata’, the Bangalee businessmen start afresh the ongoing and current business transaction. A few days before Pohela Boishakh, concerned businessmen would send colourful cards inviting their customers with sweet words to attend their business place. The customers also used to repay their dues, if any, on that day to keep mutual relations with trust and respectful reciprocity. This is what maintenance of good relation between the businessman and the customer since early times. Maintaining good-will and confidence is always a pre-requisite for every good business. On the auspicious day of Pohela Boishakh we all realise this in attending business places being entertained with sweetmeats and sweet words of the host businessmen.
This has become an age-old Bangalee custom and tradition. It’s really commendable. Throughout Bangladesh and also in West Bengal, Assam, Tripura of India including all of its surrounding villages this sort of celebration of Pohela Boishakh is in vogue among the Bengali people till now. So this legendary festival gives a pleasant look among the people with a pledge of composite communal harmony. In spite of the hottest summer season intermingled with sudden change of sky being overwhelmed with cloudy dusts and grayish colour wrapping the shining sun by the cyclonic storm that thrusts all over the horizon, the people remain undaunted and face the challenge with fortitude. They have been enjoying this hard time with a high morale since long unknown period. Even those Bangalees migrated abroad and living around the world celebrate Pohela Boishakh also with similar customary ebullience and enthusiasm.
The urban Bangalee people, specially in Dhaka, commemorate ‘Bangaliana’ by taking Panta Bhat(watered rice) with pieces of fried hilsa fish and slices of aubergine at Ramna Botomul( root of the banyan tree), Dhaka, in the big fair of Pohela Boishakh. Most of the cultural organisations like Nazrul Academy, Chayanot, Bangla Academy, Sisu Academy, and others use to present Tagore’s and Nazrul’s seasonal songs in Bengali and stage dance drama on this occasion. Tradesmen of different colourful toys, flutes, balloons and handicrafts crowd here and sell their items to the fascinated children. The people of almost all classes throng here to enjoy the occasion with festive mood. The Botomul, as it were, resounds welcoming this great festival, we sing of Tagore:
“Esho hey Boishakh, esho, esho, Taposho Nishasho Baye…(Come O Boishakh! Come and breathe out of devotee’s fragrant air…).”
The young girls having dressed with red-bordered yellow sari and red or white flowers set in bun within the tuft of their coiled hairs seem to have always been the additional attraction of the fair. And young boys wear colourful long boutique Punjabi and pajama that give no less attraction adding to festival’s seemingly graceful but enthralling ambience. All festivities bear pleasures at heart.
So our Pohela Boishakh festival overcoming such hottest summer brings to us blissful pleasures of our heart no matter what agonies lay ahead. Let our great Bangladesh with its enduring and ardent people live in heavenly bliss from the first day of Boishakh eternally. Let us recollect a few lines of our National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam on this sacred occasion
“Let us sing of them/who brought forth on earth /the fruits of their toil…
Their hardiest labour that contributed/basket-full of fruits and flowers/ as offerings for earth…Let’s sings of them”…
Let us enjoy also that poetic deliberation in which we can invigorate the spirit of our life where poet says –
“When a year ends,
as it were, a new span of life
expands touching another year.
But it does not mean that the old one is left aside.
You cannot throw away anything that is old
but attach those who are always good and useful
unlike precious gold.
That means you are embracing the old
anew from the beginning of another year….”
Let’s have the heavenly year anew to make our life and business invigorated with new hopes and aspirations. Let our honesty and integrity prevail both nationally and internationally to make our nation affluent and happy with pride of our good performance and achievement .
