poila baisakh - at home

sadhuji

The middle of April has at least two important festivals clubbed together – these are the Baishakhi of the Punjabis, and the Poila Baisakh (or New Year) of the Bengalis. Once in a while, the Easters get added as in this year. The mid-April period is literally the middle of summer, schools have their examinations and those in the higher classes have to stay glued to notes and suggestions to cope with the various competitive examinations. In spite of these handicaps, the celebrations go on.

In our youth – Poila Baisakh was a day of rejoicing by all those who worshipped Lord Ganesha, the deity of prosperity to seek his blessings. It was known as the puja of the haal-khata or the book of accounts. It was usually done by shopkeepers and small and large traders. In those days, there used to be an invisible bond between the customer and the shopkeepers. Poila Baisakh was the day when each of them reaffirmed their loyalty to each other. The customers, who were the regulars, would visit the shops and pay some token monetary contribution to the common kitty and be treated to a glass of cold drink like nimbu-pani or sherbet or lassi and a sweet. Nothing hi-fi but it was a simple method of spreading happiness. The gift of a wall calendar was always there for the taking. Alas, that bond is missing today. In today’s world, this is just another day meant for eating out. Most hotels arrange totally Bengali style of food and, in exchange for a few hundred rupees, the family can taste exotic preparations for which the Bengalis are famous for. After lunch, they can move out to spend the remaining part day on the Ganges, in one of the steamers of the Tourism Department. Or – make a beeline to one of the multiplexes to spend some time in air-conditioned comfort and take in one of the movies.

If it’s Baisakh, the food’s Bengali - - All year round, NRIs taste the delicacies but come new year and the babu prefers his own cuisine - Mochar Ghonto, Potoler Dolma, Enchorer Dalna, Tel Koi, Kosha Mangsho… Bengali cuisine has travelled from home and the neighbourhood eateries to the star addresses. But it’s only in this week of the year that it tickles every taste bud. ….. “For the past seven or eight years, Poila Baisakh, like New Year or any other festival, has become an occasion of social celebration, and Bengali cuisine has moved over to big restaurants at a fast pace. The whole year through, it is the NRIs and non-Bengalis who generally opt for Bengali delicacies, but on Poila Baisakh, Bengalis like going back to their cuisine, thronging eateries to celebrate the day over traditional food,” says Sujan Mukherjee, executive chef, Taj Bengal. …. (read more)

http://telegraphindia.com/1060413/as...ry_6090672.asp

Poila Baisakh : The first month of the Bengali calendar, Baishakh, marks the beginning of the crop cycle in Bengal. A lot of Bengali weddings are held in this month, and new businesses started. The first day of this month is called Poila Baisakh is celebrated as the Bengali new year. Chances are, if you step into a shop in Calcutta on this day, you'll be offered sweets and maybe the odd gift or two. Traders start the new year by inaugurating new accounting books…… (read more)

http://www.indian-tourism.us/kolkata...ta-tourism.htm

Shubho Naba Barsha on Poila Baishakh!

The first day of the Bengali new year falls on the 13th or 14th of April every year. Called "Poila Baishakh," it's a state holiday in the eastern state of West Bengal and a national holiday in Bangladesh. To welcome the new year or "Naba Barsha", people clean and decorate their houses and invoke Goddess Lakshmi, the bestower of wealth and prosperity. All new enterprises begin on this auspicious day, as businessmen open their fresh ledgers with "Haal Khata"— a ceremomy in which Lord Ganesha is summoned and customers are invited to settle all their old dues and offered free refreshments. The people of Bengal spend the day feasting and participating in cultural activities.

http://hinduism.about.com/library/weekly/aa041002b.htm

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