Pahela Baishakh being celebrated

Desk Report: The nation is celebrating the Pahela Baishakh, the first day of Bangla calendar, on Tuesday amid fanfare, festivity and gaiety.

Different socio-cultural organisations and institutions have chalked out various programmes to mark the country's biggest cultural festival at the advent of the New Year.

True to their centuries' old tradition, people from all walks of life gather at different popular and historic spots at dawn in the capital and elsewhere to welcome the Bangla New Year, 1424 with new hopes and aspirations.

Mughal Emperor Akbar started the Bangla calendar year in 1556 and the celebration of Pahela Baishakh began during his rule. Now it has become an integral part of the Bangali's cultural heritage and tradition and turned into a day of merriment.

Men, wearing panjabi-pyjama, women, attired in sari with red borders, and children in colorful dresses all thronged traditional Baishakhi Mela (fair) and other cultural functions in the city and elsewhere in the country.

People took 'Panta Bhat (watery rice)' with fried fish, lentils, green chili and onions at home, restaurants and fairs following the rich tradition of Bangla culture.

The day is a public holiday.

On the occasion, President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina issued separate messages conveying their New Year's greetings to the people of the country and all Bengal-speaking people across the globe.

Traders and shopkeepers across the country open 'Halkhata' (new ledger accounts) and entertain customers and visitors with sweets on the first day of the New Year as part of the tradition and culture.

Thousands of people, especially the youths wearing traditional dresses, thronged traditional venues at different parts of the capital, including Ramna Park, Suhrawardy Udyan, Central Shaheed Minar, Dhaka University, Shahbagh, Dhanmondi Lake and Hatirjheel, and different spots to celebrate the day.


risingbd/Dhaka/Apr 14, 2017/Nasim