Boisabi festival begins floating flowers in Kaptai Lake

Boisabi, the traditional New Year festival of different ethnic communities living in the hilly districts of Khagrachhari, Rangamti and Bandarban, began on Friday (April 12) morning, floating flowers in Kaptai Lake in Rangamati.

The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) region is pulsating with life as the indigenous people of Rangamati, Bandarban and Khagrachhari hill districts started their three-day-long ‘Boisabi’ festival today.

Tripura Kalyan Foundation organized the festival with Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Dipankar Talukdar MP attending as the chief guest.

Rangamati Hill District Council Chairman Angsui Pru Chowdhury, District Council Member Bipul Tripura, Tripura Kalyan Foundation President Bidyut Tripura and others were present at the festival.

The word ‘Boisabi’ is a combination of the Bengali acronyms for various indigenous festivals like Boishuk of the Tripura community, Sangrai of Marma and Biju of the Chakma community.

Members of Chakma and Tripura communities in the two districts immersed flowers in the Changi river and different canals on ‘Phul Biju’, the first day of the three-day traditional Biju festival.

Wearing traditional dresses, young women and children immersed the flowers in the river in the morning, seeking blessings from the Mother Ganga and praying for the early end to all frustrations and sorrows of the previous year.

Every year, ethnic communities living in Rangamati celebrate festivals like Biju, Sangrai, Baisuk, Bishu, Bihu, Jol Utsab and Bengali New Year.

On April 13, the second day of the festival known as ‘Mul Biju ‘, ‘Boishu’ or ‘Bishu’, the main attraction is an indigenous delicacy named ‘Pachon’ that is cooked in every household.

On April 14, the day of Bangla New Year celebration, the three-day water-throwing festival named ‘Jolkeli’ of the Marma community will begin.

The ultimate day will officially mark the end of the festival of Boisabi.