From Panta Bhat to Protest

Photo: Zahedul I Khan

“And now let us believe in a long year that is given  to us, new, untouched, full of things that have
never been.”
– Rainer Maria Rilke

It is widely accepted that the celebration of the Bangla Nababarsha began during the reign of Mughal emperor, Akbar the great.  Having stood the test of time, Bangla Nababarsha has become our largest cultural festival and assumed new dimensions and importance in our national life.  It is celebrated with zeal by Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, the different adivasi communities the rich and the poor of this country.

In this country what was then called Bangadesh, one of the main features of Nababarsha was Amani, a festival of the farmers.  The Krishani (wife of the farmer), on the night before the New Year, would put some rice, water, and a fresh stem of a mango tree in an urn-shaped new pot and leave it in the kitchen overnight. The following morning she would sprinkle the water with the stem on the entire house.  She would even scatter a few drops over her husband before he went to plough the land.    The community used to organise Ha-du-du, Bauchi, Dariabandha (native team sports), cow race, bull fights, cock fights and storytelling. The highlight of the festival was the mela or fair where they would enjoy themselves and buy their yearly supplies of kitchen utensils such as spoons, knives, spatulas etc. The children would buy toys, pottery, flutes, small drums, sweets and snacks.

The Baishakhi Mela is where we rediscover ourselves.

Haalkhata, observed by the business community on Pahela Baishakh (The firsts day of the Bangla month Baishakh) has its origin in the same period of time. Farmers had access to cash only when they sold their crops. They had to buy their daily necessities on credit from the local grocery store throughout the year and the dues were recorded in a book with red covers.   They would try to pay all or some of the dues on Pahela Baishakh. The store owner would decorate his shop with colourful paper, entertain his customers with sweet delicacies and exchange greetings with them.

The Nawabs of Dhaka celebrated the Nababarsha with style and grandeur. Boys would get new sets of punjabi-pajamas and gold ornaments. Girls would fly kites on the rooftop and organise pigeon-fights. In modern times, Tagore's family observed Nababarsha with fervour both at home and in Shantiniketan.

The celebration of Nababarsha takes different shapes and colours in today's Bangladesh.

A final year student in the department of music of Dhaka University, Reza E Rabbi goes to campus around 7am on Nababarsha and meets his friends in front of the Edward Kennedy Banyan tree. They then roam around the university campus and attend various cultural programmes. They eat something special like panta bhat and Hilsa or Khichuri or whatever they are in the mood for. “In the evening, my mom sets the table for supper and calls us by beating a small drum or Doogdoogi,” he says with a smile.

Born in Tangail and now living and working in Dhaka, Sharafat Khan, a noted painter, has fond memories of  Pahela Baishakh in his village, "To me, the main attraction of the fair was Akri, a crispy snack and Shanj (sugar toys). Even the Jilapi, a sweet tasted different because they were made with pure ingredients. A ride on the ferries wheel was on top of the children's to-do list. Bamboo flutes, drums and Ektaras (a one-string instrument) were popular items to be sold. The Ghosh (A surname typical of people whose profession is to make sweets) community used to sell yogurt made especially for this occasion. One of the main features of the fair was Charak puja which used to be performed just before sunset. The mystic illumination of the sunset against a backdrop of cheering by the crowd for a man suspended by a rope from the top of a 20 foot pole was just surreal.”

A fish vendor from Sherpur, Altaf Hossain, now working in Dhaka, misses the Pahela Baishakh in his native village: "I gave the cows and calves a shower, and then I fed them well.  It felt good.  We wore white or yellow clothes; my mother cooked chicken and a vegetable dish with neem leaves, bitter melon and drumstick. We went to the fair and had a lot of fun. The villagers invited the bauls (a group of mystic minstrels) and singers of other genres to sing for them.”

Neingmraching Chowdhury Nony has just finished her BBA in MIS from Dhaka University. She belongs to the Marma community. The Marmas call their celebration of the New Year Bai-sha-bi. The Bai derives from the Baishu celebrated by the Tripuri community, the Sha from Shangai by the Marma and Bi from Biju by the Chakmas. The Biju starts with an offering of flowers in the river the day before the main celebration. On the day of Shangai, they make their homes neat and clean to welcome the New Year.  They participate in the “water game” where boys and girls assemble in separate lines and then throw water at each other with mugs. The boy and the girl engaging in such playful exchange of water will end up being together. They take out a rally wearing colourful costumes and masks symbolising their mythological characters and stage a musical called the Manori which refers to a fallen fairy in the Marma mythology.  A dish called Panchan cooked with 30 different kinds of vegetables is a must-have.

A member of the Garo tribe of Netrokona, Pranati who works as a domestic help in Dhaka and goes only by her first name, goes to church in the morning on Pahela Baishakh. The Garos cook special dishes using local ingredients and sing and dance to celebrate.

Some traditions of the Pahela Baishakh are disappearing while new things are emerging. In many regions of the country, people used to replace their old kitchen utensils with new ones and cook in new clay pots. In some parts of Faridpur, a portion of the first meal cooked on Pahela Baishakh used to be offered to birds, especially crows. Some abstain from eating fish during the entire month of Baishakh, perhaps out of respect for nature. In some village, someone would dress as a joker and tell jokes. Small shares of the crops or other gifts were offered to the laundry man, the boat man, the midwife and the barber. In Maheshpur, Jessore the fishermen community used to perform the Charak Puja. Now some young people go on a picnic to  celebrate Pahela Baishakh.

Says Muntasir Mamun, a noted historian and a professor of history in Dhaka University:  “Time brings out change. We cannot expect people to adhere to the customs they practiced two hundred years ago. Urbanisation is taking place fast. New generations have emerged. Many new features have been added to the celebration of Nababarsha while others have been done away with. Fairs are still there. In addition to book fairs, fairs of various kinds are being organised. The more variety the celebration will have, the more interesting it will be. Who thought Pahela Baishakh would inspire new trends in fashion in Bangladesh? Huge amounts of sweets are consumed on Pahela Baishakh, a lot of clothes are sold, and investment is being made. It is good for a festival to have a strong economic foundation.

“People participate in this festival in their own ways.  Some may not be able to buy new clothes, but they just relax at home or go out and perhaps eat a better meal on this occasion. We see so many ordinary people just walking around at Ramna on Pahela Baishakh under the unforgiving sun. This too is a form of participation.”

Asked if the phenomenon of so many traditions becoming extinct is an act of “creative destruction”, Mamun explains, "I do not think so. There used to be Zamindars who collected revenues from their subjects in a ceremony called Punya. Zamindars are long gone, so is Punya. With time they have become irrelevant.

Masks have been a means to protest in the Nababarsha rally.

“Pahela Baishakh is our largest secular festival. In it lie the seeds of our true identity. It is a joyous occasion. It is also a medium of protest. Throughout history, we have seen the “silent majority” take to the streets on Pahela Baishakh under autocratic rules. We must keep the spirit of the independence war alive at any cost,” he adds.

“In its urban revival, the festival has assumed new features. Interestingly enough, it is going back to its roots in rural Bangladesh,” says Shamsuzzaman Khan, eminent scholar and director general of Bangla Academy.

“We are going through a critical time in our history. Communalism and religious fanaticism are not consistent with our democratic, humane and secular values that are thousands of years old. We have to build a country on the edifice of the spirit of our struggle for freedom, freethinking and a scientific outlook ensuring the participation of people from all walks of life.  Bangladesh has achieved significant success in socio-economic development. Let us not destroy the enormous potential she has”, wishes Khan on the eve of Nababarsha.

Bangla Nababarsha is a most engaging form of cultural integration. A Muslim influence on the introduction of the Bangla Year is a widely accepted fact. In his essay, “An Assessment of the Millennium”,  Amrtya Sen wrote,”…When a Bengali Hindu does his religious ceremonies according to the local calendar, he may not be fully aware that the dates invoked in his Hindu practice is attuned to commemorating Muhammad's flight from Mecca to Medina, albeit in a mixed lunar-solar representation.”

The Bangla Nababarsha begins in two days with new hopes and promises. The nation will wear a festive mood. The lively New Year celebrations all over the country speak of the rising aspirations and commitment of the people for peace, prosperity and happiness. The New Year rally is a manifestation of joy and optimism. A sky-rending cry for social justice may or may not come out from such a rally, but it symbolises the strength and unity of the common men and women. The New Year gives us the unique opportunity to know our cultural identity and rediscover ourselves in the company of friends and family. The joy of the New Year reaffirms that each and every one of us has a right to live a life of dignity, prestige and fulfilment. This august occasion emboldens us to believe that the future belongs to all, not a few. “