Nation celebrates Pahela Boishakh 1420

As the sun rose leaving behind the darkness of the night, a new day began, Pahela Boishakh 1420. A new year in the Bengali calendar has taken off.

Bangladesh and other Bengalis across the world are celebrating the new year with colourful events. The sorrows are left behind in the hope that the new year will be all joy and happiness. Great Expectations though!

Pahela Boishakh has been heartily welcomed in Bangladesh, a country desperately looking for peace and joy amidst all the gloom of conflict.

At around 6:15am, Chhayanat began its new year celebration at the Ramna Batamul, as they always do. But there hangs a tale -- the events are not merely to welcome the Pahela Boishakh but also used as a tool of protests and drive home a political message – that Bangladesh will blossom, drawing its sustenance from the hotsprings of Bengali liberalism rather than religion-driven fundamentalism.

Touch of Protest: Chhayanat's Pahel Boisakh celebration in Ramna Batamul

Chhayanat President Sanjida Khatun said a fundamentalist force had been confusing the people. “They are now engaged in hatred and violence. The conscious must resist  this [attempt]. A poet has said that he hated those who keep quiet.”

The celebrated cultural activist also vowed to enlighten the people of the country through creativity.

“We will not let our country be defeated to the dark forces. Good time for Bangladesh will certainly come,” the artist said.

The programme began with a ‘Raag Lalita’ of Almas Ali and Md Moniruzzaman and Asit Biswas’s Behala-Banshi-Eshraj. It was followed by a chorus of Rabindranath Tagore’s song ‘Alo Je Oi Jay Re Dekha Ore Alo’.

Elora Ahmed Shukla sang Rabindranath’s ‘Prothom Alor Charandhani Uthlo Beje Jei’, Sejuti Barua sang his ‘Tor Bhitore Jagiya Ke Je Tare Badhone Rakhibi Bandhi’ and Khairul Anam Shakil sang national poet Nazrul Islam’s ‘Bhorer Hawa Ele Ghum Bhangate Ki’.

Poetry followed the songs.

Syed Shamshul Haq’s ‘Amar Porichoy’, Shamsur Rahman’s ‘Dukhini Barnamala’, Helal Hafiz’s ‘Nishiddha Sampadakiyo’, Sikandar Abu Zafar’s ‘Bangla Chharho’, Nobarun Bhattacharya’s ‘Ei Mrittu-Upottaka Amar Desh Na’, Jibananda Das’s ‘Adbhut Andhar Ek’ were all recited.

Women, mostly in colourful sarees entered the Ramna Uddyan, in droves. Men in equally colourful Panjabis were also seen lining up in queues to enter the park.  They were accompanied by playful, curious, enthusiastic children.

Nobody complained about the security measures which had been beefed up since the gruesome 2001 grenade attacks on the Ramna Batamul. This year, helicopters have also been used for surveillance.

Many were seen rushing to the Dhaka University even before the Chhayanat programme ended to take part in the Mangal Shobhajatra.

The Shobhajatra, a regular programme of the university’s Fine Arts Faculty, is not only joined by the students of the university but also by people from far and near.

Pahela Boishakh celebrations date back to the reign of the third Mughal Emperor Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar.

In order to ease tax collection, Akbar changed the system of agricultural tax collection set on the Hijri calendar and ordered a reform of the calendar to coincide with the harvest season. That would make it easy for the farmers to pay taxes, he reasoned.

The name ‘Boishakh’ was adopted from the star ‘Bishakha’.