Nation celebrating Pahela Baishakh

The nation is celebrating Pahela Baishakh, the first day of Bengali New Year-1430, on Friday, upholding the rich cultural values and rituals of the Bangalees.

The Bangla Nabobarsho festival is being celebrated at its traditional venue Ramna Batamul in the capital Dhaka.

This year’s first day of the Bangla calendar will be celebrated following due rituals at the venue in bringing out the traditional ‘Mangal Shovajatra’ (procession) organised by the Fine Arts Faculty of Dhaka University.

The day will be celebrated on a limited scale due to the ongoing Islamic month of the holy Ramadan.

Pahela Baishakh is one of the most colourful festivals through which the Bangalees bid farewell to the old year and welcome the New Year.

On this occasion, people from all walks of life wear traditional Bengali dresses.

Young women wear white sarees with red borders and adorn themselves with bangles, flowers, and tips, while men wear white pyjamas and panjabi or kurta.

The government has drawn up an elaborate programme. The Mongol Shovajatra will be brought out at divisional, district and upazila levels to reach the traditional programme to the grassroots as it has earned the international recognition.

However, 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.

President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina issued separate messages greeting the countrymen on the eve of the Pahela Baishakh.

All secondary schools and colleges of the country are asked to celebrate Pahela Baishakh.

The day is a public holiday.

Different national dailies published colourful supplements while Bangladesh Television, Bangladesh Betar and other private TV and radio channels are airing special programmes highlighting the significance of Pahela Baishakh.