The nation celebrated Pahela Baishakh, the first day of Bangla year 1431, across Bangladesh on Sunday with festivity, upholding the rich cultural values and rituals.
A huge number of people joined the Naba Barsha festivities across the country, particularly in Dhaka.
People鈥檚 movement on the day was, however, lower compared with other years in the capital due to the heat wave and long Eid holidays along with Pahela Baishakh鈥檚 public holiday.
On this occasion, people from all walks of life wear traditional Bengali dresses. Young women wear white saris with red borders and adorn themselves with bangles, flowers and 鈥榯ips鈥� while men wear white pyjamas and panjabi or kurta.
Different cultural organisations and educational institutions in the capital organised various programmes, including traditional music performances, recitations, colourful procession, dance recitals to mark the Bengali New Year.
Chhayanaut, Faculty of Fine Arts at Dhaka University, Wrishiz Shilpi Gosthi, Khelaghar Dhaka Mahanagar, Bangla Academy, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Ritu Udjapan Parishad in association with Geetanjali Lalitkala Academy, Amader Pathshala, Dania Sangskritik Jote and other institutions and organisations arranged diverse events at different venues in the capital to mark the day.
The welcoming ceremony of Bangla new year in Dhaka began at Ramna Batamul with the first rays of Sunday鈥檚 morning sun by Chhayanaut, a leading cultural organisation of the country.
The programme started with an instrumental performance of Ahir Bhairab raga by flautist Murtaza Kabir Murad.
Chhayanaut鈥檚 two-hour programme with the slogan 鈥楧ur Koro Attokendrikota, Apni Jalo Ei To Alo鈥� featured solo and group songs, recitations along with speeches.
Dhaka University fine arts faculty brought out traditional Mangal Shobhajatra, a colourful procession, with the slogan 鈥楢mra To Timirbinashi鈥�.
This year鈥檚 procession featured five structures depicting a child, a pangolin, a decorative elephant, a decorative wheel and a bird.
The procession was cordoned by heavy security of the law enforcement agencies.
A large number of participants of the procession held handheld colourful masks depicting tiger, owl, elephant, fish and others.
The procession began from the fine arts faculty premises and moved towards Shahbag intersection. It took a U-turn beside the Dhaka Club and ended in front of the Teacher-Student Centre of Dhaka University.
Mangal Shobhajatra was also brought out at divisional, district and upazila levels to reach the traditional programme to the grassroots as it has earned the international recognition. Mangal Shobhajatra was inscribed on UNESCO鈥檚 Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016.
Wrishiz Shilpi Gosthi welcomed the day by organising a programme in front of Shishu Park in Shahbag area at about 7:30am. The programme featured songs, recitations, dance recitals, discussions and others.
Thespian Mamunur Rashid was present as the chief guest in the programme.
Wrishiz Shilpi Gosthi president Suraiya Alamgir presided over the event, which was moderated by the organisation鈥檚 vice-president Fakir Siraj.
They, along with Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra artiste Rathindranath Roy, inaugurated the programme by releasing balloons.
Khelaghar Dhaka Mahanagar organised a cultural programme comprising songs, recitations, dance recitals at the Swoparjita Swadhinata Chatwar on DU premises.
Bangla Academy organised a discussion and cultural programme at its Rabindra Chatwar while Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy organised a cultural programme at its National Music And Dance Centre Auditorium.
Ritu Udjapan Parishad in association with Geetanjali Lalitkala Academy organised a day-long cultural programme at the Bangabandhu Mukta Mancha in Uttara.
Students of Amader Pathshala brought out a colourful procession on its premises in Mirpur and organised a cultural show in the school.
Dania Sangskritik Jote with the support of Dania College brought out a colourful procession on the college premises and organised a cultural programme comprising folk and traditional songs, among others, to mark the day.
