Pohela Boishakh

Pohela Boishakh is the Bengali New Year. It is celebrated in Bangladesh and Indian state of West Bengal. Wherever there is a Bengali community Pohela Bishakh is a huge festivity. In Bengali word “pohela” means the first, and Baisakh is the first month in the traditional Bengali calendar. 

Pohela Boishakh is celebrated on the 14th of April. According to the Bengali calendar the current year is 1419. Being clean is very important tradition. People have a bath and the whole house is thoroughly cleaned. People traditionally visit their cousins, friends and neighbours.

No Bengali New Year would be the same without Boshakhi fairs. They offer huge amounts of various food, toys, handicrafts etc. People also visit them to enjoy the traditional music and dance. There is a very famous music festival known as the Bangla Sangit Mela. It is organized in Kolkata by the Government of West Bengal.

Rabindranath Tagore

One the most spectacular Pohela Boishakh fesitivities is in the capital of Bangladesh Dhaka. The centre of local celebration is the Ramna Park. People traditionally gether under the banyan (banian) tree. For the occasion Chhajanat artist performs the song called “Esho, he Boishakh, Esho Esho” (“Come, O Boishakh, Come, Come”). The song was written by the famous Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941). Similar party is held by students at the Institute of Fine Arts.

In Indian city of Kolkata people believe that the Pohela Bishakh is the best time to get married. Shop keepers try to use the occasion so they offer huge discounts on clothes.

Women traditionally wear saris made of white cloth with red border. Bengali men wear kurta and dhuti (dhoti). People often participate in processions held in the early morning hours of the first day of the new year.
Pohela Boishakh procession

Pohela Bishakh is also the start of Bengali business year. There is a special puja that includes the halkhata (accounting book). Mantras are chanted. A priest draws shostik (Hindu swastika) on the halkhata.

Food is an important part of the Bengali New Year. People usually eat panta bhat (rice soaked in water), shutki (dried fish), fried Hilsa fish and achar (pickles).

Source: Pohela Boishakh

Boshonto Boron

This year once again we are going to celebrate the first day of spring Pohela Falgun. Spring or Boshonto consists of two months Falgun and Choitra. We celebrate the first day of Falgun to welcome Boshonto, the season of flowers and all the vibrant colours.

The advent of Falgun wipes away the dry and chilling elements of winter with a subtle touch of warmness. But how much do we know about Pohela Falgun apart from this that the girls roam around the DU campus wrapping themselves up in striking colours and that it is a great day for the love birds?

According to the history of Mughal period Emperor Akbar started the Bengali year in 1585 AD with the intention of collecting revenue by following the solar year. At that time nowroz or the first day of the Bengali year was celebrated with great enthusiasm. Emperor Akbar who was secular in nature abolished all Muslim festivals and introduced fourteen new festivals for the new Bengali year.

The names of the months were not like the present form at that time. It is not known exactly when they became Boiskakh, Jaishthya etc. but all these names were derived from the names of the stars.

The name Falgun came from the star Falguni. The reason behind the naming after starts is that in the Vedic Age (1500 BC) the rishis (ancient Indian scholars) had an obsession with astrology and the stars. Though they use to follow the solar year the mention of Falguni (spring) full moon in Vedic Literature suggests that lunar months were also calculated. Probably the traditional inclination of the rishis to the moon and stars led to the naming of the months after stars.

The significance of Pohela Falgun is very singular in our national life. The way we celebrate Pohela Boishakh and Pohela Falgun in Bangladesh these days started to flourish after the arousal of Bengali Nationalism in 1950s and 1960s.

After the Language Movement people of East Pakistan started to celebrate festivals which were related to the Bengali culture silently defying the anti-Bengali attitude of the then Pakistan Government.

Cultural bodies and general people started celebrating these events with Tagore songs which was banned in 1960s. So celebrating Pohela Falgun was not for having fun only at that time. It was a display of our nationalism.

In the pre-independence period these days worked as a way to flaunt Bengali Nationalism. Unfortunately fundamentalist elements are still in full swing in our country to spoil our national spirit. So it is time again that we start celebrating Pohela Falgun with a renewed enthusiasm with which it was celebrated in the pre-independence period.

The days Pohela Falgun and Boishakh are our two efforts at warding off fundamentalist and anti- nationalistic forces.

These two days are parts of our National Heritage and National History like the Independence Day, the Victory Day and the Language Martyrs Day.

These are meant not for fashion conscious people and love birds only. These days were and are a way to protest fundamentalism, a way to defy racist bans and to protect our national pride and glory.

Source: Pohela Falgun: Welcome Boshonto..

Nobanno Utshob

“Nobanno” means “New Rice” and “Utshob” means “Celebration”. The main new rice comes at the Bengali month of Agrayhan and the festival is held at the last part of the month .Nobanno Utshob is a Bengali harvest celebration which is celebrated with food, dance and music in present Bangladesh and west Bengal. Country’s biggest agricultural festival, Nobanno Utshob, is being celebrated across the country. The Nobanno is celebrated by various kinds of local cakes and sweets which are all made from the new rice they harvested. Each year, a festival is organized to celebrate the harvesting of Aman which is known as the festival of harvest.

The festival is celebrated with mela which are called Nabanna Mela. Its one of the numerous festivals that gave the name “Baro Mase Tero Parban” (thirteen festivals in twelve months) to the land of Bengal. Although the nabanna parban is somewhat different from other ones since it is not connected to a religion such as “Ratha Yatra”. The villagers and locals from both the major religious groups join the festival with equal participation. There are also several fertility rituals which make the festival truly a harvest ritual. The festival gets a lot of support from the creative army of Bengali culture. Several poets, musicians, baul and painters flock to such mass gatherings. There is a famous play written on nabanna by Bijon Bhattacharya which depicts the sad incident of the great Bengal Famine of 1943.People from several villages of Howrah and even from other districts of West Bengal come here.

People not only come to visit the Mela. In addition, they participate in many cultural programmes and competitions like ‘Pithe Making’ (Preparation of different sorts of Bengali Cakes), Seat-and Draw, Senior Citizens’ Walking Competition etc. An “Art-Camp” may attract creative minded people where artists from different states will participate. Some rare items of rural Bengal as “Dhenki” (Old-style Domestic Rice Mill), paddy of different varieties directly from the farmers’ house are to be exhibited in the Exhibition ground. You can taste some delicious Bengali dishes like Pati-sapta, Payesh (the latest addition is ‘Vegetable Payesh’), Jilipipi (not Jilipi) etc. during the festival. Bengal’s time-honoured culture and heritage will be presented to you in forms of Baul song, Chhou-dance, Jatra, Tarja, Kobi-gaan, etc. These artists come from different parts of the state to perform their talent and expertise in front of thousands of appreciative gatherings. Moreover, you can refurbish your collection of folk arts from the ‘exhibition-cum-sale’ stalls of handicrafts made by rural artisans.

In fact this is a traditional festival of Bengalis life and culture but for the effect of urbanization it has been lost its color and beauty. We should conscious about it so that it is not to be lost its flavor and color. Because it is a part of our glorious ancient culture and life.

Source: Nobanno Utshob in Bangladesh