Boys and girls of the Rakhine community engage in a water play marking water festival at their village in Cox's Bazar on Wednesday — FE Photo COX'S BAZAR, Apr 18: The Rakhine community has been celebrating their festival for seven days in Cox's Bazar on the occasion of their new year.
Leaders of the Rakhine community have said the festival that started on April 14 will conclude tomorrow.
Children and young and even elderly people dance, sing and sprinkle water on each other's body to celebrate the Jalkeli festival.
Flowers and colourful paper arrangements are lined up in pandals with drums filled with water waiting for Rakhine girls dressed in traditional clothes.
And young people are rushing to one pandal in groups, playing musical instruments, dancing and singing.
On reaching the pandal, young men throw water on the girls of their choice. And young women also responded by throwing water.
The Rakhine people believe that this auspicious water will wash away all the pains, sorrows, inadequacies and inconsistencies of the past year. And the new year will be pure.
According to the Rakhine calendar, the last day of the 1385 Rakhine year is Tuesday (Apr 16). 1386 Rakhine year started from Wednesday (April 17).
The Rakhine community of Cox's Bazar has been celebrating the seven-day 'Sangreng' or New Year's farewell festival for a long time.
The festival started on April 14 according to social rules. It will end on April 20 with a three-day Jalkeli festival.
Mangthela Rakhine, leader of the Rakhine community, said this seven-day festival started by bathing the Buddha with water mixed with sandalwood.
On Monday, the second day of the festival, the Rakhine people gathered on the Bihar premises with a procession.
There they drank cold sherbet and prayed for the wellbeing of all by taking Panchsheel, a religious observance.
The water sport is going on in more than 25 pandals in the Rakhine villages of Cox's Bazar town.
Simultaneously, this festival is going on in Maheshkhali, Choufaldandi, Teknaf and Ramute Rakhine villages of Cox's Bazar.
Superintendent of Police Mahafuzul Islam has said police have taken three ties of security measures so that the Rakhine can celebrate this festival in a peaceful atmosphere.
Police keep vigilance on Rakhine villages during their festival celebration.
Additional security measures have been taken at the festival venue, he says.
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