Bangladesh is set to celebrate Pohela Boishakh, the first day of the Bangla New Year 1430 on Friday, upholding the rich cultural values and rituals of the Bangalees.
'The Bangla Nabobarsho festival' is also going to be celebrated at its traditional venue Ramna Batamul in Dhaka.
This year, the first day of the Bangla calendar will be celebrated following its all rituals at the venue along with bringing out the traditional Mongol Shobhajatra (procession) organized by the Fine Arts Faculty of Dhaka University. But, due to the ongoing holy month of Ramadan, it will be celebrated on a limited scale.
People are expected to join the ‘Nabo Barsho' festivities across the country, particularly in the capital.
Pohela Boishakh is one of the most colourful festivals through which the Bangalees bid farewell to the old year and welcome the New Year.
The day is a public holiday.
Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka TribuneOn this occasion, people from all walks of life clothe themselves in traditional Bengali attire.
Young women wear white sarees with red borders and adorn themselves with bangles, flowers, and teep, while men are in white pajamas and panjabi or kurta.
The government has drawn up an elaborate program. Mongol Shobhajatra will be brought out at divisional, district and upazila levels to have the traditional program reach the grassroots as it has earned international recognition.
On the day, 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 M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday issued separate messages greeting the nation on the occasion of Pohela Boishakh, reported BSS.
Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka TribunePresident Abdul Hamid, in his message, wished all Bangladeshis living in the country and abroad a happy Bangla New Year.
In her message, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said Pohela Boishakh is the day of harmony and the great reunion of Bengalis.
The premier called upon all, irrespective of religion and caste, to awake to a new day with new joy, forgetting the sorrows and failures of the past year.
Bangladesh Television, Bangladesh Betar and the private television channels will telecast the day's programs live.
City dwellers usually start the day with the traditional breakfast of 'panta bhat' (soaked rice), green chili, onions and fried fish at Ramna Park,
The law enforcement agencies have taken extensive security measures across the country so that people can celebrate the day.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Khandkar Golam Faruq has said three-tier security measures have been taken on the occasion of the Pohela Boishakh.
“We have taken adequate security measures throughout Dhaka ahead of Pohela Boishakh celebrations – the Bangla new year,” he told journalists after inspecting the security arrangements at Ramna Batamul Thursday, reported BSS.
In Rajshahi, people from all walks of life have taken preparation to welcome the Bangla New Year. Potters from distant areas of the division have made decorative jars and household items expecting a brisk business across malls and streets today.
Different universities have chalked out elaborate programs to welcome the day.
Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka TribuneIn Mymensingh, all sorts of preparations have already been completed to celebrate Pohela Boishakh, in the district today. District administration, different socio-cultural organizations and political parties have organized elaborate programs to mark the day in the district.
Mymensingh district administration will begin the day with a colourful procession and Mongol Shobhajatra, which will start from Mukul Niketan High School premises and end at Boishakhi Manch in Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin Park in the morning. Mymensingh district administration will organize a drawing and essay competition for children on the occasion.
The Tangail district administration told Dhaka Tribune that it will bring out a procession at around 10am to welcome the new year. Also, Boishakhi Mela or traditional new year fairs will be organized at different places in the district where cultural programs will also be held.
This year Mongol Shobhajatra will feature a horse cart and a locally made vehicle known as ‘Tomtom'.
The administration has said that it has taken all necessary measures to avert any untoward incident during the New Year celebration.
Meanwhile, last-minute preparations are going on in the Department of Fine Arts of Jahangirnagar University to mark the first day of the Bangla New Year.
Students of the department spent a busy time drawing and crafting small and big masks in the shape of animals like owls, tigers, elephants, horses and others Thursday. They made colourful shapes of artefacts and crafts by tickling the paintbrush on ordinary papers and potteries.
The slogan for this year's Mongol Shobhajatra is 'Borish-Dhora Majhe Shantir Bari,' which means 'let the water of peace fall on the earth', an effigy of giant Payra (pigeon) as a symbol of peace will lead the joyous procession. Besides, two motifs of Tepa Putul, traditional terracotta toy dolls of this land, will also be there.
Our correspondents Ariful Islam Sabbir from Savar, Abdullah Al Numan from Tangail and Dulal Abdullah from Rajshahi contributed to the story
