Festivity all over

Millions of people in the country are celebrating ‘Pahela Baishakh’ with festivity, gaiety and fervour. Tens of thousands of people greeted Bangla New Year 1421 in the city with traditional festivity. Chhayanat, a leading cultural institution, welcomed the 1st day of the Bangla calendar with traditional programmes at historic Ramna Batamul in the morning, raising hopes of better times ahead. At the 1st light of dawn, the Batamul sprung to life. Thousands dressed in traditional Bangali attire took their place on the grass to enjoy the music. The event opened with Raag Ahir Bhairab by Rajrupa Chowdhury and warmed up with a chorus of Tagore’s “E Ki Shugandha Hillol Bohilo” followed. Songs and poetry focussed on communal harmony, including Nazrul’s “Hindu-Musolman” and Lalon’s “Emon Manob Shomaj”. Mongol Shobhajatra, a procession wishing the nation well, has been held today with the hope of prosperity in days to come. Hundreds of people thronged the Dhaka University (DU) campus to join the procession organised by the university’s Faculty of Fine Arts on Monday. It started around 9.30am from the Faculty of Fine Arts and then passed through DU’s TSC area, Shahbagh, and Ruposhi Bangla Hotel intersection before ending up in front of the faculty. Those who joined the procession were sporting festoons, replicas of animals and other traditional symbols. The procession, organised by the students of the faculty, has become a part of central celebration on the first day of the Bengali New Year. This was the 26th time the Mongol Shobhajatra has been held, according to a news agency.