Celebrating Pahela Baishakh

The nation is celebrating Pahela Baishakh, the Bangla New Year's Day, today. The eagerly-awaited day begins, as has been the custom, in Dhaka with Chhayanaut's musical session at Ramna Batamool. The Mongol Shobhajatra, a carnival wishing and hoping for a prosperous new year, will add to the day's jubilations. Dhaka has been ceremonially welcoming the Bangla New Year since 1967. In order to avert untoward incidents, law enforcing agencies have enforced strict security measures including festive-time restrictions. These measures have become part of the celebration over the last couple of years. However, despite the security steps people from all strata of life, cutting across socio-economic and religious divisions, are found participating in the festivities. Urban areas of the country present similar spectacles on the day, with villages trying to stick to their centuries-old rites and rituals. The new calendar year called Baishabi is considered the greatest festival among the country's indigenous communities.

The occasion is one of a brief visit to the nation's past heritage. By bringing the fading tradition and scores of cultural practices alive, the nation, in fact, pays tributes to its Bengalee identity. Perhaps this awareness makes it unique and akin to some other New Year celebrations in the Asian region, especially in the south-eastern and greater Central Asia. In the past, the day's observance used to be limited to agriculture and business in rural Bangladesh. Its participatory and pageant-filled urban edition is of recent origin. The day is a general holiday. The government in 2015 has introduced a festival bonus for its employees on the Bangla New Year, also called Noboborsho. A handful of private entities have followed suit later. Since bonuses are a financial incentive allowing people to celebrate festivals adequately, they trigger a spending spree. Like the seasonal markets of Eid and Puja, a Baishakhi market has also emerged centring around the festival. This year was no exception. Dress makers and renowned fashion houses have brought stylishly designed Baishakhi wear to the market. To their delight, the shoppers continue to rise in number.

The market this year has seen the usual crowd thronging the shopping centres in Dhaka and elsewhere. A unique buying boost in the form of mega discounts has added to the vibrancy of the Baishakhi market. Thanks to the initiative of a number of banks to issue special credit and debit cards, allowing their clients to shop on discounts, the Baishakhi shopping rush has spectacularly picked up this year. The discount offers and the use of cash cards are promoting digital banking. The Eid market transactions have already carved a significant place in the national economy. The Baishakhi trade appears to be emerging as another market factor.

The appeal of Bangla New Year is inextricably linked to the nation's cultural ethos. Its force stems from the festival's roots in rural Bangladesh. Its introduction in 1556, Hijri 963, as Fasli Saal (crop year) during the reign of Emperor Akbar, was linked to agricultur enabling the Bengal farmers to pay their taxes at a convenient time. A combination of the prevailing solar calendar and the Hijri lunar one, the 'Bongabdo' removed difficulties facing farmers in paying taxes on time. With the Gregorian calendar widely in practice, the Bangla date-counting has eventually been pushed to rural regions. The national importance it enjoys today comes from its inherent ethno-cultural spirit.