Poush Shangkranti occurs around the last days of Poush, the ninth month of the Bengali calendar. This falls around the end of January. On the day, Shakrain or Kite festival is held in Old Dhaka.
Every year, I eagerly wait for this month. While reading 'The Kite Runner' by Khaled Hosseini, I was whisked back to my childhood which I had spent in Old Dhaka.
The kite festivals were more colourful and vivacious back then. In those days, there were no tall buildings. The tallest buildings in Dhaka were around three stories. Children used to fly kites especially during the winter when the weather was dry and breezy. If one stood on the streets around the afternoon of any winter day in the 1970s and 1980s, he or she was likely to spot some kites flying in the sky.
So it was natural that the kite festival then saw more colourful kites in various shapes and sizes. While the kites were flown, music was played on the roofs of the Old Dhaka buildings and houses. Children and teenagers, their parents and even grandparents had fun while flying kites. People from all faiths took part in the festival and enjoyed themselves. It was a wonderful time.
Dhaka's citizens can experience some of that exhilarating atmosphere if they go to Old Dhaka during Shakrain this month. I plan to spend Shakrain in old Dhaka so that I can relive my childhood.
Mohammad Sohel Hara
Banasree, Dhaka
sohelhara@hotmail.com
Kite festival in Old Dhaka
FE Team | Published: January 02, 2019 19:47:51
Kite festival in Old Dhaka
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