Tracing
back the celebration
THE
first day of the Bengali calender-year is
celebrated as the New Year in Bangladesh.
As Enamul Huq has written: "The first
day of the festivities performed to mark
the commencement of the New Year is actually
a specific festival day."
One
such day is the Bengali New Year. Its main
characteristic is that it is not a festival
of the Hindus or the Buddhists alone. It
is universal in nature. In fact, festivals
not related to faith but secular in character
are rare in the world. Enamul Huq visualizes
this universality in the collected prayer
for rain when men and women long for the
clouds during the hot Bengali calender-year
(corrsponding to Mid-April to Mid-May).
He writes-"Praying to the clouds for
water is another popular ritual of he Bengali
New Year."
Another aspect needs special
mention. The majority of the Bangladesh
population is Muslims. But their new year
does not commence from the Ashura and nor
is it sorrowful. In this respect, too, the
celebration of the New Year in Bangladesh
is quite unique.
The history of the Bengali
New Year is not very old.
Most probably the celebration
of the Bengali New Year is connected with
the Bengali year. In Bengal, Emperor Akbar
started the Bengali calender-year on 10
March, 1585, but it became effective from
16 March, 1586 the day of his ascension
to the throne. The basis of the Bengali
year is the Hejiri lunar year (Muslim era
counted from the year of Muhammad's (SM)
going to Medina in 622 AD and the Bengali
solar year. The Bengali year was accepted
even at the grassroot level. A possible
reason for this may be that the basis of
the Bengali year is agriculture and the
beginning of the Bengali year is a time
of collection of taxes from the farmers.
For instance, the farmer does not plough
the field even if it rains in Chaitra (the
last month of the Bengali year and corresponding
to mid-march to Mid-April. The fields are
generally ploughed in the month of Baisakh
(April-May) and the prayer for the rains
is also because of this.
However, the common man
still refers to the Bengali calender of
his day to day activiites and the city-dwellers
to the Juliun calender. In this context,
Shamsuzzaman Khan hasrightly remarked that
Akbar had once started the pan-Indian Islamic
year as well as the Bengali year. "The
introduction of Bengali year had not only
survived but at one time had also given
the unique power of nationalistic feelings
and pride to the separated and divided mainly
joint Bengali socity."
The New Year begins in different
seasons in different countries of the world.
The Bengali New Year is in summer. Summer
is not a pleasant time in Bangladesh. Festivals
and merriments are not as much possible
in summer as during the beginning of winter
or spring.
Many people believe that
the Bengali New Year should have begun in
the month of Agrahayan (the eighth month
of the Bengali year and corresponds to Mid-November
to Mid-December) even considering from the
point of agriculture as Agrahayan is, for
instance, the month of reaping. Yet New
Year is celebrated in Baisakh. Pallab Sengupta
writes: "The New Year is calculated
either from Hemanta or late autumn (between
autumn and winter) or spring, that is from
the time when new crops, flowers and fruits
start growing. This, at least, was the custom
initially. Later, with the passage of time,
it shifted to other seasons due to practical
necessities. The custom of beginning the
year from January 1 or Baisakh 1 is thus
quite foolish."
But that mystery has not
been unravelled. As our country is located
in the Tropics the importance of summer
in this region is natural. Moreover, the
drying up of the canals, rivers and streams
at that time and the acute crisis for water
makes the tremendous changes in season easily
felt. And then comes the Nor'westers like
wild buffaloes throwing everything in complete
disorder. The rains start immediately lowering
the temperature and making the conditions
favourable for ploughing.
In any country the principal
festival has been organised with respect
to the particular season which has gained
importance there. Moreover, the minor seasonal
festivals are also regularly held. Bengal
has a unique position in this regard. It
is clear that its main seasonal festival
was in summer. Just as elsewhere in the
world, the main seasonal festival have been
considered as the New Year festival, the
main summer festival of our country is likewise
considered as the New Year festival. One
feels that the devastating form of nature
and the consequent creativity of nature
and the consequent creativity of nature
that one witnesses in Bangladesh, must have
made summer and the summer festivals so
important in our ancient culture. Otherwise
the New Year celebration and festival of
Bangladesh would have been greatly influenced
by religion. Our country is largely inhabited
by the Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims and Christians
but "no particular influence of these
religions are observed in our New Year celebrations
and festival."
During the last four hundred
years, that is after the introduction of
the Bengali year by Akbar, many festivals
connected probably with agriculture and
seasons have become associated with it.
And the first of Baisakh gradully changed
in this way to become the New Year. To the
special features of the Bengali New Year
that Enamul Huq has mentioned, we can add
here that the Bengali New Year saw the addition
of a new political dimension from the 60's
of the present century. No season in any
other country has such a political aspect.
In Bangladesh many secondary
matters are linked with the New Year. Some
of those have become obsolete while some
still exist in certain special regions only.
However, the practice of
opening fresh account-book is still in practice
specially among the business class, On the
New Year's day the businessmen complete
the accounts of the past year. For this
purpose many use a special type of ledger
book bound in red-cloth called the Khero
Khata. The customers are greeted with sweets
on that day. Moreover many middle-class
people of Dhaka buy sweets and have good
food on the occasion of the New Year.
The most important function
of Baisakh and the first day of Baisakh
is the fair. The New Year fairs of our country
are also nothing but the changed forms of
the oldest 'seasonal festivals' and 'agricultural
festivals' of Bangladesh. This is because
local agricultural products and handicrafts
are sold in these fairs even today. According
to a survey, about two hundred fairs are
organised throughout Bangladesh on the first
day and the first week of Baisakh.
It has already been mentioned
before that in Bangladesh celebration of
the first day of Baisakh began as a part
of the cultural movement and it added a
new dimension to the political movements.
During the regime of Ayub Khan in the late
sixties, when attack was made against Rabindra
Sangeet (Tagore Song) and the Bengali culture,
the Chhayanat group organised a programme
of Rabindrasangeet on the first of Baisakh
under the banyan tree at Ramna to celebrate
the New Year. It was a protest against religious
fundamentalism. This endeavour by Chhayanat
gradually became popular and in the perspective
of the freedom movement the Bengali New
Year was celebrated in a grand way as a
protest against the ideology of the ruling
class. After the independence of Bangladesh,
the Bengali New Year was declared as public
holiday. Thus with the celebration of the
New Year at the grass-root level was added
the endeavour of the urban people.
We
may conclude that the only secular festival
of Bangladesh, in every sense of the term,
is the Bengali New Year. Its speciality
lies in the fact that in spite of being
the festival of a country where the majority
are Muslims, it is not melancholic. Although
the state has been successful in the other
areas it has failed to incorporate the religious
factor in this case. Moreover, the New Year
still adds a new dimension to the movements
against tyranny. Considering all these aspects
we can refer to the Bengali New Year as
a festival of the world which has rare characteristic.
................................................................
Excerpts from the book, The Festivals of
Bangladesh, by Muntasir Mamun.
barsha (monsoon)
Ashar
and Shrabon form the rainy season - the
time of the Monsoons - of Borsha. At this
time, water becomes the language of nature,
parched lands are inundated with incessant
rain, low-lands are flooded and are ruled
by boats, while Kadam flowers drop on the
unsuspecting poet who take to writing sentimental
poetry under the tree.
BOAT
race, a traditional sport, in reverine Bangladesh,
is popularly known as Baich that derives
from the word Baoa meaning rwoing in English.
The boat race is organised by local people
in areas like Norail, Munshiganj, Narayanganj,
Pabna, Serajganj, Sylhet, Brahmanbaria,
Narsingdi and Daudkandi. Boat race is a
festival for the local people. They come
from far flung places to be part of the
festivity. A virtual fair takes place on
the river as vendors float around in boats
to sell goods to the spectators. The boat
race is organised in villages as part of
a tradition. Songs and music played from
the boats arrived to witness the race amplify
the atmosphere with vibration. Spontaneous
particpiation by housewives and young girls
gives the atmosphere a festive look and
a sense of cultural cohesiveness. But unfortunately
because of lack of finances and sponsors,
this tradition and part of our heritage
seems to be in the process of extinction.