A day of colour and verve

Pahela Baishakh, the first day of Bangla new year, marks a renewal of our bonding to our cultural heritage. It provides a powerful impetus to seek a new dawn collectively as a nation. Symbolically, the observance of the day signifies living with the nature, be alive to seasonal variations and, above all, greet the new with hopes for a better future.
The tradition of Pahela Baishakh is rooted in the Mughal era when emperor Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar introduced it to smoothen agriculture tax collection. So, there is a link to productivity. In business terms, it coincides with the opening of Halkhata, the new book of accounts drawing a balance sheet of the year gone by.
 Celebrations and festivities comprising distribution of sweets, organising of fairs to showcase the best of crafts and staging of musical soirees are parts of the day's spectacular eventful observance.
Our Bengaliness finds a heart warming expression through a cultural bonding and pristine love and attachment to our way of life. It is truly an occasion to which all people, irrespective of religion, caste creed and societal strata can relate to and be imbued with its inherent spirit.
The day also opens up a groundswell of creative energy with the result that many new products and fashions crop up doing brisk business in the process. It is good for the economy as it is also soul-soothing to our mundane existence.
Shuvo Nababarsho to all.