Dhaka (AsiaNews) - Although upset by continuous strikes and violence of the Islamist party, Bangladesh has not given up the nation's largest and most colorful festival: the Pahela Baishakh, the Bengali New Year, which falls as usual on April 14. "Eradicating the Razakars" (the anti-liberation forces, ed) was the slogan of almost all the celebrations organized yesterday. The population, composed largely of university students, poured into the streets to participate in the traditional procession of the feast, the Mongol Shobhajatra (procession of well-being).
During the day, exhibitions,
theater performances and concerts were held country-wide, in which men and
women participated with their traditional costumes. The most important event
was held at Ramna Batamul, where Rabindranath Tagore's anthem "Esho he Baishakh", was sung before the beginning
of all festivities. For the procession this
year, the students of the Institute of Fine Arts of Dhaka University prepared a dragon
15.5 meters long that symbolized the war criminals.
The Pahela Baishakh
was born thanks Mughal emperor Jalaluddin Muhammad
Akbar, who introduced the Bengali
calendar to celebrate the closing of the annual taxation. According to tradition, the day traders and shopkeepers open the halkhata,
the new register of accounts, and serve sweets
to customers. Over time, this festival has become an integral part of Bengali culture and is now celebrated
by people of every religion, social class and ethnicity. According to the Bengali calendar, we have just begun the year
1420.