People of all ages, youths in particular, greeted Pahela Falgun, the first day of the spring, with festivity and joy on Tuesday.
Dressed in yellow and adorned with colourful flowers like shimul, polash and marigold, women along with men and children thronged different spots in the city such as Bangla Academy book-fair venue, Dhaka University camps, Hatirjil and Dhanmondi lake to celebrate the advent of season of life and joy.
Flower shops in the city did a brisk business as flowers were in high demand on the occasion.
Mominur Islam, a student of history of Dhaka University, told the FE: "I have celebrated the day amid festivity."
"The festival should not be limited to only wearing colorful attires. Rather, we should also focus on cultivating social values as the season inspires us to be calm and peaceful," he added.
"The season 'spring' is the time of cultural celebrations. But the inner meaning of the celebration is to create social harmony and equilibrium," he said.
Jerin Abedin, a student of political science department of DU, said, "I celebrate the Pahela Falgun amid joy and cheer, wearing colourful dresses every year. But I also feel that only wearing dresses cannot fulfill the objectives of the celebration."
The ceremony should also include events to raise social awareness, she added.
Spring is one of the pleasant seasons in the Bangla calendar. The Pahela Falgun was first celebrated in 1991 by students of the Faculty of Fine Arts, DU, which is known as a cultural hub of the city.
The first day of Falgun usually falls on February 13 of the Gregorian calendar. This celebration is also known as Basanta Utsab (Spring Festival).
Jatiya Boshonto Utshab Udjapan Parishad arranged the main programmes of the day, including songs and recitation of poems.
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