Pahela Boishakh -- Bangla New Year

It was a treat to have a day off from work in the middle of the week on April 14 for a national holiday, the Bangla New Year called Pahela Boishakh. It is a celebratory day when people put on festive clothes and attend fairs in public parks that include cultural entertainment, food vendors and booths with crafts and toys for sale. We went for a walk in the park and enjoyed seeing the beautiful red and white saris worn by the women and girls. Often the women and girls in a family had matching saris in colorful prints, and several young women appeared to have persuaded their male companions to wear a shirt or Punjabi (long shirt over pants) that coordinated with their sari!

This New Year day is based on a calendar that was started in the 1500s to match up with the agricultural and fiscal practices of the time, according to our book of Bangladesh Fairs and Festivals published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Mughals were ruling in those days and landlords collected agricultural taxes from their farmers at the end of the growing season. The day started with the closing out of the old account books and opening of the new ones. Once all the dues were cleared up, the landlords would entertain their tenants with sweets and the occasion eventually developed to be a day of celebration with fairs and festivals. Like Thanksgiving in the United States this is a holiday that crosses ethnic, religious and political boundary lines - a national holiday with its own identity.

After our walk in the park in the late morning when we saw all the festive dress noted above we were inspired to go shopping to get into the spirit. We each found an outfit that was comfortable and wore it that evening to a Pahela Boishakh celebration hosted by the American Recreation Association. We had noticed earlier in the week that a festival tent was under construction. Party attendees were greeted by a magical scene of the huge tent made with bamboo supports, white holiday lights strung all around, and a ceiling of beautifully designed fabric complete with hanging fans for the warm weather. Before sitting down, we browsed through a book and art display where we visited with some of the artists. Then we were offered a party favor bag, a paper fan and a coconut with the top cut off and a straw in place for sipping. Before going through the dinner buffet of traditional local fare, we were entertained by two different dance troupes, one performing rural folk dances and the other experimenting with more modern choreography. It was fun the next day at work to visit with our Bangladeshi coworkers and compare notes on what we all did for the special holiday, Pahela Boishakh!