Bangalees in their thousands took the street of the capital as dawn broke on Sunday to greet the Pahela Baishakh, the first day of Bengali New Year 1426, and a deep-rooted cultural identity and a common symbol against all odds and communalism.
The new sunrise brought new hopes and aspirations for better days for the Bangalees.
As dawn broke on Sunday, thousands swarmed to the Ramna Batamul festival ground to ring in the New Year.
As sun started to rise in the east, Chhayanaut, a leading cultural organisation in the country, greeted the New Year with a chorus singing the songs of Pahela Baishakh, poetry recitations and traditional songs.
Many more cultural organsiations, including Udichi and Sammilita Sangskritik Jote, have also chalked out several programmes to celebrate the day.
Police have outlined several restrictions on the celebrations, citing security reasons. No outdoor programmes will be allowed to continue after 5pm.
This year, RAB along with other law-enforcing agencies organised heavy security so as to ensure smooth celebrations of the Bangla New Year.
A bomb disposal team, dog squads and medical teams have been kept ready while all the open venues are under CCTV surveillance.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police have also undertaken stringent measures for the New Year celebrations.
True to their centuries’ old tradition, people from all walks of life will gather at different popular and historic spots at dawn in the capital and elsewhere to hail the New Year with new hopes and aspirations for a better, peaceful year.
The celebration of Pahela Baishakh has become an integral part of Bangalis since it began over six centuries back.
The same jubilation mood is also there in West Bengal and other Bangla-speaking parts of India as they also celebrate the Pahela Baishakh, but they do it a day later. They will celebrate the Bangla New Year on Tuesday.
Mughal Emperor Akbar introduced the Bangla calendar in the 1556 of the Gregorian calendar in a bid to streamline the timing of land tax collection in the then ‘Subah Bangla’ region, the much of which falls under Bangladesh.
The day is a public holiday.
On the occasion, President Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina issued separate messages conveying their New Year’s greetings to the people of the country and all Bengali-speaking people across the globe.
President Abdul Hamid, in his message, said Pahela Baishakh is an integral part of Bangali culture. The Bangalis have been celebrating the Pahela Baishakh as a universal and non-communal festival for a long period of time,” he added.
He said the traditional Mangal Shovajatra, a procession brought on the first day of Bengali New Year, got UNESCO recognition in 2016 as world heritage.
He expressed firm belief that this day will bring the strength to the national life to build Bangladesh as dreamt by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
He wished that Bengali New Year 1426 would bring happiness, peace and progress for the country.
In her message, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the nation starts the first day of Bengali New Year with the hope of progress of life forgetting all shortcomings and sorrows.
Business communities, especially in the rural areas, are ready to open their traditional ‘Halkhata’, new account books, while sweets will be distributed among customers to mark the day, she said.
The Awami League government has been working relentlessly for the development of the country being inspired by the spirit of the great liberation war, she said, adding that the incumbent government is completing the unfinished works of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
In the last 10 years, the country has achieved desired progress in every sector of the country, she said, adding that Bangladesh is now the role model in the world for socio-economic development.Traders and shopkeepers across the country will open ‘Halkhata’ (new book of accounts) and entertain customers and visitors with sweets on the first day of the New Year as part of the tradition and culture.
The government has been working following the policy of ‘Zero Tolerance’ for the eradication of militancy, terrorism and drugs, she added.
On every return of Pahela Baishakh, the first day of Bangla year also the country’s biggest cultural festival, people of all walks of life, especially the youths, come out on the roads at daybreak wearing traditional dresses to celebrate the day.
Thousands of people will throng traditional venues at different parts of the capital, including Ramna Park, Suhrawardy Udyan, Central Shaheed Minar, Dhaka University , Shahbagh, and Dhanmondi Lake areas, to welcome the New Year amid pageantry.