Amid much enthusiasm and festivity across the country to greet the first day of Bangla calendar year 1426, foreigners have also joined the celebration.
On Sunday (Apr 14), a group of 26 foreigners were seen celebrating with the locals in Dhaka.
This group comprised of tourists and journalists has been in the city at the invitation of Bangladesh
Tourism Board to witness the local traditions, especially the Bangla New Year celebration.
Citizens from different counties including Japan, Thailand, China, UK, Belgium, South Korea, Lebanon, Netherlands, Italy, and Spain are in this team.
They will stay in Bangladesh till Apr 23 and visits tourists spots across the country including Sundarbans and Cox’s Bazar.
Speaking of the goal of invitation, BTB CEO Bhuboan Chandra Bisshwah said, “These foreigners will share their experiences in their native media outlets that will create interest on Bangladesh (tourism) among others.”
On Sunday morning, they joined the Mangal Shovajatra procession along with thousands of people in the capital’s Shahbagh.
They were seen wearing local dresses. Men wore Panjabi while women dressed in colourful salwar and kamij.
Seeing a bunch of foreigners, people got curious. Some even took selfie with them.
“It’s an awesome experience,’ said Maggie, who is a producer and presenter at Lebanon’s television station.
According to Maggie, she learned about a new Bangladesh through Mangal Shovajatra.
Anderson, who works at Lebanon’s Daily Star, said that he never saw such a colour festival ever. “Wherever you look colour is everywhere,” she said.
Charlotte Nayel of Belgium was fascinated by the local people’s hospitality.
“People have taken us sincerely here,” she said.
The foreigners were also satisfied over security measures.
Alexander of the Netherlands said, “Presence of law enforcement agencies was huge [at the procession], none of us were concerned about security.”
“Such a big arrangement, huge crowd! After all, it’s a remarkable experience,” he added.