City dwellers today celebrated ‘Pahela Baishakh’, the first day of Bangla New Year-1432, in an inclusive manner and festivity.
Members belonging to different religious communities including ethnic groups jointly celebrated ‘Pahela Baishakh” for the first time with much enthusiastic and festivities.
The central celebration of “Borshoboron Anondo Shovajatra” began from Dhaka University campus in the morning with the participation of cross section of people including teachers, students, artists, poets and other city dwellers.
People irrespective of ages, caste, creed and religions spontaneously started gathering at Dhaka University in groups wearing colourful costumes and dresses to take part in the “Pahela Baishakh” celebration rally at the Faculty of Fine Arts from the early morning.
Cultural Affairs Adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, who joined the rally, among others, said fascism is not part of politics as they (fascists) are the evil forces of the country.
“Barshobaran Ananda Shubhajatra- is not a political programme. This year we used mask of fascists not because they are part of politics,” he told journalists while inaugurating the “Noboborsho Ananda Shobhajatra-1432” at Dhaka University.
The presence of such symbols in the procession does not portrait of politics, Farooki said adding “It is a cultural expression.”
The adviser said, “Previously, a particular political group used this cultural Shobhajatra at Dhaka University as a tool to defeat their political opponents.”
“However, there are some historical political ingredients in this year’s Noboborsho observation including the traditions of the Akbar era and the traditions of the Sultanate era but there is nothing typical politics here,” Farooki said.
The “Noboborsho Anondo Shovajatra” began at 9:00 am in front of the fine arts faculty, unifying people from top government officials to the root level, including farmers, rickshaw pullers, blacksmiths and ethnic communities with the slogan ‘Noboborsher Slogan, Fascibader Oboshan’.
The Noboborsho celebration procession was arranged maintaining tight security and spontaneity as well.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police has taken extensive security measures in the city so that people could celebrate the day with joyous mode.
Along with ensuring security, they ensured the access of people from all walks of life to event venues without any hindrance. Additionally, the Fire Service and Civil Defence was provided necessary assistance to ensure fire safety.
The procession featured a vibrant array of motifs, including the fascist’s face, a peace pigeon, a watermelon slice, Hilsha fish, a tiger, 36th July, and the water bottle of martyr Meer Mugdho.
The fascist face motif, symbolizing the long-standing fascist rule in Bangladesh, was reconstructed within a day after it was burnt to ashes by a miscreant on Saturday morning.
A convoy of 18 well-equipped police horses led the procession. Following them, people from 28 ethnic communities — including the Mro, Marma, Lusai, Bam, Khyang, Chakma, Tripura, Tanchangya, Pankhoya, Santal, Mahali, Kol, Malpahari, and Hajong — joined in, singing and dancing to the rhythms of their own cultural traditions.
Members of the Bangladesh women’s football team, and common people also took part in the procession afterwards.
The main banner of the Pahela Baishakh celebration was carried by DU Vice-Chancellor Professor Niaz Ahmed Khan, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education) Professor Mamun Ahmed, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Administration) Professor Sayema Haque Bidisha, Proctor Professor Saifuddin Ahmed and Registrar Munshi Shams Uddin Ahmed, along with other teachers, students, officials and employees of the university.
There were horse troupes, band groups, groups portraying farmers of our country and horse carriages followed the main section of the procession.
Talking to BSS, people said this year’s celebration was inimitable, as it represents all kinds of Bangladeshi people and revives the country’s cultural heritages.
Sultan Mahmud, a resident of Mirpur-1, who participated in the procession with his friend, told BSS that he came Dhaka University to witness the programme and enjoy the Pahela Baishakh celebration.
“This year we are observing the new year depicting our own heritages and contributions,” he said, expressing hope for the continuation of such cultural tradition in the future.
Referring to this year’s Eid celebration where people spontaneously joined, he said the celebration of “Pahela Baishakh” is similar to Eid to him.
To mark this first day of the Bangla calendar, the music department of Dhaka University arranged a Bangla classical song exhibition at the historic “Bot Tola” (under Banyan tree) of the university, while the Fine Arts faculty ground has also been decorated accordingly for the “Jatra Pala” show, song, and music performances.
Besides, Chhayanaut, the country’s esteemed cultural organisation, welcomed the “Bangla Noboborsho”, the first day of the Bangla New Year, with its flagship traditional cultural festivity at the Ramna Batamul (Banyan tree at Ramna Park) of the Park this morning.
As dawn broke, Chhayanaut’s artists sang in unison and recited poetry from the stage beneath the Ramna Batamul, welcoming the Bangla New Year.
This year Chhayanaut greeted “Pohela Baishakh” for the first time without Sanjida Khatun, who was a founding member and present president.
Aiming to convey a message of hope, resilience, and renewal, Chhayanaut has chosen ‘Amar Mukti Aloy Aloy’ – ‘My liberation lies in light’ – as the theme for this year’s Bangla Nababarsha celebration.
The festivity began at 6:15 am on a semi-circular stage measuring 72 feet in length and 30 feet in width, stretching from east to west at Ramna Batamul.
People from every part of the capital gathered for the celebration even before dawn, singing and dancing to welcome the new Bengali calendar year heralding good tidings.
Sarwar Ali, Executive president of Chhayanaut, addressed the event.
A total of 12 solo songs, three recitations and nine choruses, featuring themes of light, nature, humanity and patriotism, were performed by esteemed artists.
A minute of silence was observed in memory of the martyrs who were killed in the massacre in Palestine. The event concluded with a group rendition of the national anthem.
Bangladesh Television (BTV) and Bangladesh Betar broadcast the event, and Chhayanaut also streamed the festivity live on its YouTube channel and Facebook page.
Strict security measures were put in place at the venue by the government’s security enforcement unit, the volunteers of the Open Rover Scout and Chhayanaut workers.
Pahela Baishakh is one of the most coveted and long-awaited festivities in Bangladesh. Chhayanaut, founded in 1961, has earned global fame for organizing the traditional, extravagant cultural festivity on the occasion of Pahela Baishakh at Ramna Park every year since 1967.
Source: BSS
