M M Jasim :
The nation celebrated ‘Pahela Baishakh’, the Bengali New Year 1422, on Tuesday amid much enthusiasm, fanfare and traditional gaiety across the country.
The Chhayanat Sangeet Vidyatan, a leading institution of Bengali culture, welcomed the New Year playing Sitar in the city’s Ramna Batamul at 6:30am. This year, the slogan was ‘Peace Humanitarianism and Right to People’.
The function was opened with Rabindranath Tagore’s famous Baishakh welcoming song —Eso Hey Baishakh Eso Eso. Noted artistes also rendered solo and chorus songs in the function that continued till dusk.
Thousands of people, including children, women, young and old joined the “Nabo Barsho” festivities there. Several foreigners were also seen participating in baishakhi programme.
Bangladesh Television, Bangladesh Betar and several other private TV channels telecasted live programme of ‘Chhayanat.’
Mongol Shobhajatra, the main attraction of festival, organized by Faculty of Fine Arts of Dhaka University, drew huge participants from all strata of life. The colourful procession started at 9.30am from DU campus with decorative replicas of animals as well as elements of Bengali culture.
Apart from it, the people from all walks of life wearing traditional dresses thronged at different popular and historic spots in the capital and elsewhere the country to hail the New Year with new hopes and aspirations for a better, peaceful year.
Many were seen at Suhrawardy Udyan, Central Shaheed Minar, Dhaka University, Shahbagh and Dhanmondi Lake areas to welcome the New Year.
Sammilita Sangskritik Jote held a cultural programme at Rabindra Sarobar in Dhanmondi while Bangla Academy, Nazrul Institute, Jatiya Press Club and other institutions held their respective programmes at their own venues.
Bangladesh Awami League, BNP, Jatiya Party and other parties celebrated the day holding different programmes.
Various socio-cultural and government organisations celebrated the event with different programmes including musical soirees, colourful processions and Baishakhi fairs all over the country.
The people started the day with having ‘Panta Bhat (watery rice)’ with fried hilsa, lentils, green chilli and onions at home, restaurants and fairs following the rich tradition of Bangla culture.
Men wearing panjabi-pyjama, women attired in sari with red borders and children in colourful dresses thronged traditional Baishakhi Melas (fairs) and other cultural functions in the city and elsewhere in the country.
To mark the Bengali New Year, improved diet was served in all the jails, hospitals and orphanage centres. All museums were open on the day so that students and disabled children could visit those without tickets. Business communities especially in the rural areas observed their traditional ‘Halkhata’, new account books to welcome the Bengali New year.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police took tight security measures in order to ensure peaceful celebration of Pahela Baishakh.
According to historical records, celebrations of Pahela Baishakh, the first day of the Bangla calendar year, started from Emperor Akbar’s reign when it was customary to clear up all dues on the last day of the Bengali month of Chaitra with businessmen opening ‘halkhata’ or new book of accounts in their shops.
On the next day, or the first day of the New Year, landlords used to entertain their tenants with sweets. Village fairs and related festivities were other visible features of the day.
In course of time, the occasion became part of domestic and social life, and turned into a day of merriment with distribution of homemade special foods among the guests as well as near and dear ones. Various agricultural products, traditional handicrafts, toys, cosmetics, as well as different food and sweet items were sold in the Baishakhi fairs.
Different national dailies published colourful supplements while Bangladesh Television, different private television channels and radios, including the Dhaka FM aired special programmes highlighting the significance of the Bengali New Year and Pahela Baishakh.
A similar mood of jubilation was also present in the West Bengal and other Bangla-speaking parts of India as they also celebrate Pohela Boishakh, but a day later. They celebrated the Bangla New Year on Wednesday [yesterday].
