Pohela Boishakh - Bengali New Year

The first day of Bangla year is called Pohela Boishakh. We celebrate the day to welcome the year. We welcome the day by singing the song ‘Eso He Boishakh Esho Esho’. In Bangladesh, it is a national holiday celebrated around 14th April each year. The traditional greeting for Bengali new year is ‘Shubho Noboborsho’.

The Pohela Boishakh celebrations and festivities reflect the life in rural Bengal. On this day everything is washed and cleaned. It has become the intrinsic part of Bengali culture.

The celebrations start in Dhaka at dawn with a rendition of Rabindranath Tagore's song ‘Esho He Boishakh Esho Esho’ by Chhayanaut under the banyan tree at Ramna (the Ramna Batamul). An integral part of the festivities is the Mangal Shobhajatra, a traditional colorful procession organized by the students of the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka (Charukala). According to the history, the rudimentary step of Mangal Shobhjatra was started in Jashore by Charupith, a community organization, in 1985. Later in 1989, the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka arranged this Mangal Shobhajatra with different motives and themes. Now, the Mangal Shobhajatra is celebrated by different organizations all over the country.

Different organizations arrange various cultural programs. on this occasion, various types of fairs and exhibitions are held throughout the country both in villages and towns. On this day, Bangladesh Television telecasts live programs. National dailies bring out special articles. Pohela Boishakh has great significance. It reflects our age-old tradition and culture. It bears the testimony to the fact that we have a culture of our own. Pohela Boishakh is the manifestation of our cultural heritage.

People celebrate this day with a wide variety of traditional foods. These include Panta (watered rice) and Ilish (Hilsha fish). People also prepare various types of Pitha (cakes) and sweetmeats.

People from all spheres wear traditional Bengali dresses. Women wear traditional Saris with their hair bedecked with flowers. Likewise, men wear traditional Panjabis. They enjoy this day by going outside with their family members.

Bengalese live on hope and rely on dreams! Whatever the situation may be, Bengalese always dreams for a better and more prosperous future. Every year Bangla New Year brings new hope and dreams for the people of Bangladesh.