Historical Background[edit]
Mughal origins theory[edit]
During the 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.[10][11] 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.[12]
According to Shamsuzzaman Khan,[12] and Nitish Sengupta, the origin of the Bengali calendar is unclear.[13] Some historians attribute it to the 7th century king Shashanka.[12][13] The term Bangabda (Bangla year) is found too in two Shiva temples much older than Akbar era, suggesting that Bengali calendar existed before Akbar's time.[13] It is also unclear, whether it was adopted by Hussain Shah or Akbar. The tradition to use the Bengali calendar may have been started by Hussain Shah before Akbar.[13] Regardless of who adopted the Bengali calendar and the new year, states Sengupta, it helped collect land taxes after the spring harvest based on traditional Bengali calendar, because the Islamic Hijri calendar created administrative difficulties in setting the collection date.[13]
Hindu origins theory[edit]
According to some historians, the Bengali festival of Pahela Baishakh is related to the traditional Hindu New Year festival called Vaisakhi, and other names, in the rest of India on or about the same dates.[3][14][15] Vaishakhi is an ancient harvest festival of India, particularly the Punjab region.[16][17][18] Vaisakhi, also spelled Baisakhi, is observed by both Hindus and Sikhs.[19]
Contemporary usage[edit]
The current Bengali calendar in use in the Indian states is based on the Sanskrit text Surya Siddhanta. It retains the historic Sanskrit names of the months, with the first month as Baishakh.[10] Their calendar remains tied to the Hindu calendar system and is used to set the various Bengali Hindu festivals. For Bengalis of West Bengal and other Indian states, the festival falls either on 14 or 15 April every year.[10]
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.[10] 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.[10]
Bangladesh[edit]
Mangal Shobhajatra at Pohela Baishakh in Bangladesh. UNESCO recognises Mangal Shobhajatra as cultural heritage.[20]
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.[21] 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.[22]
The day is marked with singing, processions, and fairs. Traditionally, businesses start this day with a new ledger, clearing out the old. 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.[23]
Bangladeshi eat festive foods on Pohela Boishakh. These include panta bhat (watered rice), ilish vaja (fried hilsa fish), and various special bharta (pastes).[24][23]
In Dhaka[edit]
Students of Charukala (Fine Arts) Institute, Dhaka University preparing masks for Pahela Baishakh
Colorful celebration of Pahela Baishakh in Dhaka.
The celebrations start in Dhaka at dawn with a rendition of Rabindranath Tagore's song "Esho he Baishakh" by Chhayanat 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 organization, in 1985. Later in 1989 the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka arranged this Mangal Shobhajatra with different motives and themes. Now, the Mangal Shobhajatra is celebrated by different organization in all over the country.[25]
The Dhaka University Mangal Shobhajatra tradition started in 1989 when students used the procession to overcome their frustration with the military rule. They organized the festival to create masks and floats with at least three theme, one highlighting evil, another courage, and a third about peace.[9] It also highlighted the pride of Bangladeshi people for their folk heritage irrespective of religion, creed, caste, gender or age.[9]
In recent years, the procession has a different theme relevant to the country's culture and politics every year. Different cultural organizations and bands also perform on this occasion and fairs celebrating Bengali culture are organized throughout the country. Other traditional events held to celebrate Poila Boishakh include bull racing in Munshiganj, wrestling in Chittagong, boat racing, cockfights, pigeon racing.[26]
In Chittagong[edit]
Pahela Baishakh 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.[27]
At DC hill, a range of cultural programmes are held by different socio-cultural and educational organisations of the city. The Sammilito Pohela Boishakh Udjapon Parishad holds a two-day function at the hill premises to observe the festival, starting with Rabindra Sangeet recitations in the morning. In the late afternoon, through evening, Chaitra Sangkranti programme is held to bid a farewell to the previous year.[27]
At the Chittagong Shilpakala Academy, different folk cultures, music, dances, puppet shows are displayed.[27]
Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pahela_Baishakh#Historical_Background
