There is a saying in Bangla that Bengalis celebrate ‘Baro Mashe Tero Parbon,’ which means thirteen festivals in twelve months. This indicates the abundance of festivity in Bangla. These festivals commence with Pohela Boishakh.
Pohela Boishakh, the first day of the Bengali calendar, is celebrated in a festive manner in Bangladesh, West Bengal, Tripura, Jharkhand and Assam (Barak Valley) as well by Bengalis regardless of religious faith.
This festival usually celebrated on 14 April in Bangladesh, brings fresh hopes, a sense of love and celebration in the thoughts of Bengali with it. It is a mass folk festival of Bengali people.
On this day, the New Year is welcomed keeping with the age-old traditions called ‘Borsho Boron Utsab’ in a joyful atmosphere. Forgetting the sorrow of past mistakes and failures, New Year is celebrated with the wish of happiness, peace and prosperity.
History of Pohela Boishakh
During the reign of Mughal Emperor Akbar in the 16th century, a new calendar was introduced to the subcontinent, known as the Bangla calendar. The calendar was based on the solar year and designed to align with the crop-harvesting season of the region. Since then, Mughals used to observe Pohela Boishakh till the abolition of the zamindari system.
This festival has become an integral part of Bengali culture and is an occasion for people to come together and celebrate their cultural heritage and traditions.
Evolution of Pohela Boishakh
Pohela Boishakh was initially celebrated as a harvest festival, with farmers offering gratitude for a bountiful crop. Over time, the festival evolved to become a symbol of cultural unity and national identity.
During British rule in India, Pohela Boishakh became an occasion for Bengalis to celebrate their culture and traditions in the face of colonial oppression.
After the partition of India in 1947, Bangladesh became part of Pakistan. However, the people of Bangladesh continued to celebrate Pohela Boishakh as a symbol of their distinct cultural identity.
Later, to repress Bengali culture, the Pakistani government prohibited poems by well-known poet Rabindranath Tagore. This led to a quiet uprising of sorts. Chayanat, one of the nation’s top cultural institutions, protested this action in 1965 by singing Tagore songs to start the New Year celebrations in Ramna Park and that year Pohela Boishakh was officially recognized as a public holiday in Bangladesh alias East Pakistan. In what was then East Pakistan, this came to represent Bengali culture. This was used as a symbol of Bangladesh’s nationalist struggle following its independence.
Today, it forms a crucial component of Bangladesh’s cultural legacy.
Pohela Boishakh is celebrated with great enthusiasm and is a major cultural festival in Bangladesh and West Bengal. It is a time for people to come together, dress in traditional attire, and participate in parades, cultural programs, and fairs. It is a celebration of the Bengali culture and heritage, and a time for people to look forward to the New Year with hope and optimism.
How Bangali Celebrate Pohela Boishakh
Pohela Boishakh is celebrated with a festive spirit throughout the country. People dress up in traditional Bengali attire mostly in red and white and participate in various cultural programs and events.
Red is considered a symbol of passion, love and energy in Bengali culture. It is also associated with the sun, which represents the source of all life. People wear red clothes and decorate their houses and streets with red flowers to welcome the New Year and to celebrate the upcoming season.
White, on the other hand, represents purity and innocence. It is associated with the white sarees worn by Bengali women during cultural and religious events. Together, the colors red and white represent the essence of Pohela Boishakh, which is to celebrate the New Year with joy, enthusiasm, and hope for a better future.
In Bangladesh Noboborsho festival is started at its traditional venue Ramna Batamul in Dhaka. Music and dance performances are an integral part of these celebrations. People gather in public places to enjoy traditional music and dance performances.
Traditional Bengali music, including Baul, Rabindra Sangeet, and Nazrul Geeti, is played throughout the day. The streets are filled with the sound of dhak (a traditional Bengali drum) and the melodious tunes of the flute, harmonium, and other instruments.
People participate in various cultural programs and dance performances, including Jatra Pala, and Gombhira. Boishakhi mela and exhibitions are organized in different parts of the country. These fairs showcase traditional handicrafts, clothes, and food items. On this day people eat a variety of food including Panta bhaat, Shorshe Ilish, Aloo bhorta, Begun bhaja, Dal, Luchi, Alur Dom, Muri ghonto etc.
Different kinds of pithas are also eaten on this day.
Mangal Shobhajatra and the specialty of this festival
On this day, Bangladesh people take part in Mangal Shobhajatra which is a grand procession, organized by the Fine Arts Faculty of Dhaka University. The procession takes place in Dhaka to celebrate Pohela Boishakh. It is a colorful and lively procession featuring traditional masks, banners and floats.
The day’s events typically start in the capital at daybreak with a musical soiree put on by Chhayanat at Ramna Batamul.
Bangladesh Television, Bangladesh Betar and private television channels live broadcasts the programs. Graffiti that represents the nation’s heritage, arts, and culture is also painted on the walls.
How traders and organisations celebrate this festival
Through this festival Bangalees bid farewell to the old year and welcome the New Year. Business communities, especially in the rural areas, are ready to open their traditional Halkhata, new account books.
On the day traders also offer sweets to customers. Different government and non-government organizations, socio-cultural platforms, including Shilpakala Academy, Shishu Academy, Bangla Academy, Department of Public Libraries, the National Museum, Kabi Nazrul Institute, Copyright Office, National Book Centre, Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC), the Department of Archives and Library and all public universities organize various programs on this day.
How Bengali of West Bengal celebrate this festival
In West Bengal of India it is called Poila Baishakh. Cultural programs are organized in different parts of this state. People dress up in traditional Bengali attire and participate in music, dance, and other cultural events.
People take out Prabhat Pheri where people gather in groups and sing traditional songs as they walk through the streets. People eat different traditional foods such as luchi, aloor dom, cholar daal, sweets like Rasgulla and Sandesh.
People decorate their homes with Alpona to welcome the New Year. Alpona is a traditional Bengali art form where intricate patterns are drawn on the floor using rice powder or chalk.
Fairs and exhibitions are organized in different areas. These fairs showcase traditional handicrafts, clothes, and food items.
Overall, Pohela Boishakh is a time for people in Bangladesh and West Bengal to come together, celebrate their culture and traditions, and welcome the New Year with hope and joy.
In the early 20th century, the celebration of Pohela Boishakh took on a new significance as a symbol of Bengali cultural identity. It was during this time that Rabindranath Tagore, a prominent Bengali poet and writer, introduced the tradition of “Rabindra Mela,” where people would gather to celebrate the occasion with music, dance, and poetry. During the 1950s and 60s, Pohela Boishakh was also celebrated as a political event, with Bengali nationalist groups organizing rallies and processions to demand greater autonomy and recognition of Bengali culture.
In recent times, Pohela Boishakh has become a national holiday in Bangladesh and is celebrated by people from all walks of life, irrespective of their religion or ethnic background. The festivities have become more elaborate, with large-scale cultural programs and processions taking place in major cities like Dhaka and Kolkata.
In summary, the celebration of Pohela Boishakh has evolved over time, from a rural harvest festival to becoming a symbol of Bengali cultural identity and a national holiday in Bangladesh. Despite these changes, the essence of the festival remains the same, which is to celebrate the beginning of a new year with joy, hope, and enthusiasm.
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