Every year, when New Year’s Eve approaches, almost everyone in urban Bangladesh starts planning on how to say goodbye to the old year and welcome the new one. Celebrating the start of the Gregorian calendar year is by no means similar to our Bengali new year. Everybody acquires a party mood, they want to dance, they want to sing, and they want a different celebration.
You can’t have this type of celebration inside your homes. One needs to come out, either at a party centre or in a club, or in a restaurant, and join in a New Year’s Eve party. People across the world do that; they gather at a certain place for welcoming the New Year. In some countries, they have state celebrations.
In Bangladesh, however, the scenario is quite different. First of all, we don’t have places to go. Even if we do, those places are very expensive where only a handful of people can afford to go. Then, we have clubs across the country where only members can go. For the rest of the people, the streets are the only places where they can come out and have some fun.
But for the common people, that’s perhaps not possible, as the home ministry has already alerted them not to come out on the streets and celebrate. Poor us. We don’t have access to expensive places, and our last resort of having fun has also been prohibited.
Sometimes, I feel there are so many prohibitions in our country that sometime we feel like a controlled lot. We are told not to have fun when it’s time to have fun.
However, there’s always an alternative. Those who have nowhere to go would obviously arrange something to have fun. The people, especially the young ones, would perhaps gather at a friend’s house and celebrate. Some circles will arrange music on the rooftops and dance.
No matter what, some would look for booze; some would be successful, and some wouldn’t. The government’s view on the 31st celebrations is that “whatever you do, remain confined indoors.” Despite being indoors, we are bound to see a few news reports in the morning of January 1 that law enforcers have raided a few clubs and residences, and arrested a few persons for one night. And the media will invariably publish pictures of a few dressed-up girls getting arrested.
There’s of course another side of the mirror. When it comes to celebrating New Year’s Eve, we really haven’t grown up as a mature lot. We seem to cross the level of decency while making merry. We sort of overdo everything when we are allowed to do anything.
We have ample example to believe we cannot digest when we are given the freedom to celebrate as we want. We all remember what a gang of students did to a lady in the heart of Dhaka University. One such incidence is enough to prove our unpreparedness in celebrating 31st night.
So, on the part of the government, it won’t encourage us to celebrate New Year’s Eve, as we might go crazy, which might give the whole nation a bad name. But on the other hand, we do need to have some fun when the whole world is celebrating.
All work and no play will make us dull people. What the authorities, especially the city corporations, can do is to turn this global celebration as a state level one. The authorities can arrange musical concerts and social gatherings across the towns. The people would bear the costs of the celebrations and the government would only organise the security.
There was a time when we spent New Year’s Eve on our sofas, watching foreign television stations, people in other countries making merry. Those pictures and news items have certainly created an element of aspiration among us; and we also want to celebrate the New Year.
Apart from this fact, society has changed. Several global aspects of life have entered our lifestyle, which we cannot deny and ignore. We notice there’s a dilemma among us, as well as in our government, regarding whether we should really become “international” and at the same time keep our Bengali nationality.
We just want to have some fun on New Year’s Eve. Wondering when our policy-makers would make some room for that.