။ Nabobarsho : Celebration of the biggest Bengali carnival

။ 15 April, 2009 :
The traditional New Year platter of panta ilish, fried hilsa fish, lightly fermented rice, lentil and smoked chilli was all the rage at Rabindra Sadan-Bangla Academy premises in Kolkata.

။ Photo : Bhasa O Chetana Samity

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။ 15 April, 2009 :
Devotees wait in a queue to offer prayers during a ritual on the first day of the Bengali New Year in 'Jalpaiguri jogamaya kali temple' (Left) and 'Kochbihar madan mohan temple'.

။ Photo : Arnab Mitra & Timir Ghosh
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Carnival of millions bengali rings all over Bangladesh
Dhaka, 14 April : Millions were ringing in Pahela Baishakh, the Bengali New Year 1416, on Tuesday in the Bangladesh capital Dhaka and across the country with colour and verve.
Men in traditional punjabi and pyjama, women in white and red sari and children dressed in all hues were thronging Ramna Batamul and the traditional Baishakhi Mela from dawn in celebration of the biggest Bengali carnival. Crowds streamed through the city streets making for the leafy shade of Ramna Batamul. The traditional New Year platter of panta ilish, fried hilsa fish, lightly fermented rice, lentil and smoked chilli was all the rage.
။ Colour and culture
Cultural organisation Chhayanaut, which has been organising the day's centerpiece event since 1965, ushered in the first day of the Bangla year with songs and other performances in the cool early hours of the morning. Marchers in masks and traditional dress, mostly students of the Institute of Fine Arts, led Mongol Shobhajatra, a colourful parade seeking well-being of all, through Dhaka University campus at 8am.(BDST)
Several thousand people participated in the parade, ushering in good spirits for the New Year and vowing to defeat all ill-will. At the forefront of the parade were processionists carrying figures of the owl, tortoise, tiger and elephant as well as lakkhir sara (vessels of good fortune). The procession marched through Dhaka University campus and Ramna, with thousands of men, women and children of all ages and professions wearing colourful masks and playing flutes and other instruments.
Participants wore painted masks or carried symbolic figures to protest fundamentalism, communalism and corruption. Passengers on vehicles ranging from motorbikes to buses found themselves stuck in tailbacks to allow the passage of pedestrians along the crowded streets.
Traditional baul or folk songs and other music floated through the air at the Rabindra Sarobar amphitheatre by Dhanmondi lake, organised by Sammilito Sangskritik Jote in Dhanmondi.

။ Photo : Mustafiz Mamun