Pohela Boishakh

Pohela Boishakh () is the Bengali New Year celebrated by the Bengali people worldwide and as a holiday on 14 April in Bangladesh and 15 April or 14 April (leap year) in the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, Jharkhand and Assam (Goalpara and Barak Valley). It is a festival based on the spring harvest—which marks the first day of the new year in the Bengali calendar.

Pohela Boishakh celebrations started during the rule of Mughal empire, representing the proclamation of tax collection reforms under Akbar. Its celebration is rooted in the traditions of the Bengali Muslim Mahifarash community of Old Dhaka. Presently, it is largely a secular holiday for most celebrants and enjoyed by people of several different faiths and backgrounds.

The festival is celebrated with processions, fairs and family time. The traditional greeting for Bengalis in the new year is (Shubho Noboborsho) which is literally "Happy New Year". The festive Mangal Shobhajatra is organised in Bangladesh. In 2016, UNESCO recognised this festivity organised by the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Dhaka, as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

thumb|Boishakhi celebrations by [[Bengali Americans at Dallas, Texas, USA (2024)]]

History and origin

Nomenclature

In Bengali, the word Pohela (or Pahela ), alternatively Poila (), means 'first' and Boishakh (or Baishak ) is the first month of the Bengali calendar ( Pohela Boishakh, Pahela Boishakh, Pahale Baishak or Poila Boishakh).

Bengali New Year is referred to in Bengali as Nobo Borsho (), where 'Nobo' means new and 'Borsho' means year.

alt=|thumb|Mughal Emperor [[Akbar began the celebration of Bengali New Year and officialised the Bengali calendar to ease the tax collection process.]]

Traditional roots

Mughal origin theory

During Mughal rule, land taxes were collected from Bengali people according to the Islamic Hijri calendar. This calendar was a lunar calendar, and its new year did not coincide with the solar agricultural cycles. According to some sources, the festival was a tradition introduced in Bengal during the rule of Mughal Emperor Akbar to time the tax year to the harvest, and the Bangla year was therewith called Bangabda. Akbar asked the royal astronomer Fathullah Shirazi to create a new calendar by combining the lunar Islamic calendar and solar Hindu calendar already in use, and this was known as Fasholi shan (harvest calendar). According to some historians, this started the Bengali calendar. According to Shamsuzzaman Khan, it could be Nawab Murshid Quli Khan, a Mughal governor, who first used the tradition of Punyaho as "a day for ceremonial land tax collection", and used Akbar's fiscal policy to start the Bangla calendar.

According to Shamsuzzaman Khan, and Nitish Sengupta, the origin of the Bengali calendar is unclear. According to Shamsuzzaman, it is called Bangla shon or shaal, which are Arabic (سن) and Persian (سال) words respectively, suggests that it was introduced by a Muslim king or sultan." It is also unclear, whether it was adopted by Alauddin Husain Shah or Akbar. The tradition to use the Bengali calendar may have been started by Husain Shah before Akbar.

The festive celebrations of the Bengali New Year can be traced back to the Bengali Muslim fishmonger community of Mahifarash in Old Dhaka. During the Mughal period, the Mahifarash were known for organising feasts and banquets at their Azimpur grounds to mark the beginning of the cultivation harvest season. This day-long feast served as a precursor to what would later be evolved into the traditional Pohela Boishakh celebration.

Vikramaditya origin theory

Some historians attribute the Bengali calendar to the 7th-century Gauda king Shashanka.

In rural Bengali communities of India, the Bengali calendar is credited to "Bikromaditto", like many other parts of India and Nepal. However, unlike these regions where it starts in 57 BCE, the Bengali calendar starts from 593 CE suggesting that the starting reference year was adjusted at some point.

Contemporary usage

In Bangladesh however, the old Bengali calendar was modified in 1966 by a committee headed by Muhammad Shahidullah, making the first five months 31 days long, rest 30 days each, with the month of Falgun adjusted to 31 days in every leap year. This was officially adopted by Bangladesh in 1987. Since then, the national calendar starts with and the new year festival always falls on 14 April in Bangladesh.

Haal Khata

thumb|[[Haal Khata in a shop in Old Dhaka]]

thumb|A priest performs a ritual during Bengali New Year

Haal Khata is a festival celebrated on the occasion of Pohela Boishakh in order to complete all the account reckonings of the last year and open a new ledger. It is observed by the Bengali businessmen, shopkeepers and traders. It signifies that every year starts with a new beginning. It ignores all the due debts of customers and shopkeepers alike, and instead opens a new page for a new year of shopkeeping.

Red-white attire

On this occasion, males are seen wearing red or white Kurta with traditional designs on them, imprinted or embroidered. Women and young ladies wear red and white saree with blouses and put on flower crowns on their heads. Girls also dress in salwar kameez. They are seen wearing traditional ornaments and accessories along with their dresses. It is thought that it is because the traditional ledgers used in Haal Khata had a red cover with white pages.

Baishakhi meal

In recent times, claiming it to be traditional, Bengalis eat Panta Bhat or poitabhat, which is a rice-based dish prepared by soaking rice, generally leftovers, in water overnight. It is popularly eaten with Hilsa Fish and other curries. But many argue that it is not an age-old tradition and merely a trend. To stop overfishing and to repopulate the dwindling Hilsa population, around this time, fishing is banned.

Mangal shobhajatra

Mangal Shobhajatra (Bengali: মঙ্গল শোভাযাত্রা) or Barshabaran Ananda Shobhajatra (Bengali: বর্ষবরণ আনন্দ শোভাযাত্রা) is a mass procession that takes place at dawn on the first day of the Bengali New Year in Bangladesh. The procession is organised by the teachers and students of the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Dhaka. The festival is considered an expression of the secular identity of the Bangladeshi people and as a way to promote unity. It was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2016, categorised on the representative list as a heritage of humanity.

Baishakhi Rural Fair

It is a fair held by the locals of that area where many different things ranging from books to special dishes are sold. Traditionally, the fair was held under huge Banyan trees and traders from far across the areas would gather with their goods and toys in the fair. Some rides such as Nagordola (wooden Ferris wheel), are set for kids. Different types of traditional foods are sold out in the stalls such as Jilipi, Sandesh, Soan papdi, Batasha (a candy made of sugar or jaggery), Khoi (popped rice), Kadma (a candy made of sugar), and so forth. 'Bioscope', a form of the old movie projector, was also a part of the attraction for the younglings back in the days.

Religious customs

Hinduism

Locality

Bangladesh

thumb|Students of Charukala (Fine Arts) Institute, [[Dhaka University preparing masks for Pohela Boishakh]]

The Bengali New Year is observed as a public holiday in Bangladesh. It is celebrated across religious boundaries by its Muslim majority and Hindu minority. According to Willem van Schendel and Henk Schulte Nordholt, the festival became a popular means of expressing cultural pride and heritage among the Bangladeshi as they resisted Pakistani rule in the 1950s and 1960s.

The day is marked with singing, processions, and fairs. Traditionally, businesses start this day with a new ledger, clearing out the old which often involves inviting loyal customers and offering sweetmeats to them. This festival is called Haal Khata. Singers perform traditional songs welcoming the new year. People enjoy classical Jatra plays. People wear festive dress with women desking their hair with flowers. White-red color combinations are particularly popular.

In Dhaka

thumb|Mangal Shobhajatra at Pohela Boishakh in Bangladesh. [[UNESCO recognises Mangal Shobhajatra as cultural heritage.]]

thumb|Colorful celebration of Pohela Boishakh in Dhaka

The celebrations start in Dhaka at dawn with a rendition of Rabindranath Tagore's song "Esho he Boishakh" by Chhayanaut under the banyan tree at Ramna (the Ramna Batamul). An integral part of the festivities is the Mangal Shobhajatra, a traditional colourful procession organised by the students of the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka (Charukala). According to the history, the rudimentary step of Mangal Shobhjatra was started in Jessore by Charupith, a community organisation, in 1985. Later in 1989 the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka arranged this Mangal Shobhajatra with different motifs and themes. Now, the Mangal Shobhajatra is celebrated by different organisation in all over the country.

The Dhaka University Mangal Shobhajatra tradition started in 1989 when students used the procession to overcome their frustration with the military rule. They organised the festival to create masks and floats with at least three theme, one highlighting evil, another courage, and a third about peace.

In Chittagong

Pohela Boishakh celebrations in Chittagong involves similar traditions of that in Dhaka. The students of the fine arts institute of Chittagong University brings the Mangal Shobhajatra procession in the city, followed by daylong cultural activities.

India

thumb|Pohela Boishakh Festive Meal

Bengalis of India have historically celebrated Pohela Boishakh, and it is an official regional holiday in its states of West Bengal and Tripura. The day is also called Nabo Barsho.

West Bengal

Pohela Boisakh has been the traditional New Year festival in the state, with the new year referred to as the Noboborsho.

Notable events of West Bengal include the early morning cultural processions called Prabhat Pheri. These processions see dance troupes and children dressed up with floats, displaying their performance arts to songs of Rabindranath Tagore.

Tripura and Northeast India

Pohela Boishakh is a state holiday in Tripura. People wear new clothes and start the day by praying at the temples for a prosperous year. The day marks the traditional accounting new year for merchants. Festive foods such as confectionery and sweets are purchased and distributed as gifts to friends and family members.

Celebration in other countries

Bangladesh Heritage and Ethnic Society of Alberta in Canada celebrates its Heritage Festival (Bengali New Year) in a colourful manner along with other organisations. Bengali people in Calgary celebrate the day with traditional food, dress, and with Bengali culture. The Bangabandhu Council of Australia also hosts a Pohela Boishakh event at the Sydney Olympic Park.

Gallery

File:Bangladeshi girls celebrating Pohela Boishakh (17152686985).jpg|Children in Bangladesh carrying placards in Pohela Boishakh's rally

File:Bangladeshi children with Pohela Boishakh placard at Pohela Boishakh celebration (02).jpg|Children in Bangladesh carrying colourful placards in Pohela Boishakh's rally

File:Bangladeshi girls wearing traditional sari with flower crown at Pohela Boishakh celebration 2016 (01).jpg|Girls in Bangladesh wearing traditional saris and flower crowns at Pohela Boishakh celebration in Chittagong

File:Art competition at Pohela Boishakh celebration 2016 (04).jpg|Art competition at Pohela Boishakh celebration in Chittagong

File:ঐতিহ্যবাহী বৈশাখী মেলার একটি স্টল.jpg|Colorful show pieces in a Boishakhi fair stall

File:Bangladesh Women Association, Abudhabi.jpg|Pohela Boishakh Celebration by the Women Association, Abudhabi, UAE

File:Bengali New Year 1422 07.jpg|A motif of sun at Mangal Shobhajatra procession in Pohela Boishakh celebration at Dhaka

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Notes

References

External links

Pohela Boishakh 1425
Modern Times in Bangladesh, H.W. van Schendel (2001)
Pahela Baishakh Pahela Baishakh Utsab
Shehab Uddin Pohela Boishakh photographs, State Library of Queensland. Photographs of Pohela Boishakh celebrations in Brisbane 28 May 2022.