Bengali New Year begins amid a mix of hope and pandemic gloom

A pall of gloom has spread over the celebrations of Pahela Baishakh or the first day of Bengali New Year due to the pandemic. Nevertheless, people in Bangladesh and the Bengali diaspora in the rest of the world look to the future with cautious optimism.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 14 April 2021, 06:05 AM
Updated : 14 April 2021, 06:06 AM

Chhayanaut, a leading cultural organisation, held a flagship event online for the second year on Wednesday to welcome the Bangla New Year, instead of traditional celebrations at the Ramna Park in Dhaka.

The event came alive with songs and recitations to rejuvenate the spirit of people combating the pandemic, encouraging them to become “fearless” in the midst of mounting virus cases and deaths.

"We hope there will be light coming from the source of the darkness itself. The New Year will bring blessings to everyone. The light will definitely be there," Chhayanaut President Sanjida Khatun said on Wednesday.

The digital cultural programme also included patriotic songs marking the golden jubilee of the nation’s independence.

Organisers also cancelled the traditional Mangal Shobhajatra parade on the Dhaka University campus. The university said masks, festoons and other pieces of art made for the procession will be shown in the electronic media.

Pahela Baishakh is the first of a weeklong lockdown with a blanket ban on public movement to fight the new record-breaking wave of infections.

With the deterioration in the pandemic situation, the Ministry of Cultural Affairs urged the people to avoid any congregation and celebrate the Bengali New Year virtually, leading Chhayanaut to arrange a digital programme for the second consecutive time. It could not hold the event at Ramna Batamool in 2020 as well.

Bangladesh Television broadcast the programme at 7 am on Wednesday.

The Bengali New Year was introduced by the Mughals as a harvest calendar. With time, it turned into one of the biggest festivals upholding secularism and creating a sense of belonging among all Bengalis. It also inspired the Bengalis to fight for their rights, while they nurtured it as a cultural heritage.

Chhayanaut began to celebrate Pahela Baishakh at the Ramna Park since its inception in1967 which gradually became the global centre of Bengali New Year celebrations.

The celebration was halted once only during the liberation war in 1971. After that, Chhayanaut never ceased to hold the event at Ramna despite attacks and threats.