Pohela Boishakh, the Bengali New Year, is the biggest festival in Bangladesh. In Bengali, Poila stands for ‘first’ and Boishakh is the first month of the Bengali calendar. It is celebrated on the first day of the Bengali calendar.
Pohela Boishakh is the festival which is rooted in Bengali culture and history. No other festival depicts true tradition and culture of Bangladesh as does the Pohela Boishak. All over the country, people enjoy fairs and festivals. Singers perform traditional songs to welcoming the new year, 'eso he Boishakh' (welcome Boishak) is the most popular song among them. On this day, newspapers publish special supplements, and radio and television broadcast special programmes. On this day, people promise to put their best efforts to develop the country and to make it better than it was in previous years.
Every aspect of Pohela Boishak is enjoyable, but the most enjoyable feature is big social gathering. As a preparation to celebrate this day, people bathe early in the morning and dress in fine clothes. They spend much of the day visiting relatives, friends and neighbours and going to the traditional fair arranged on this day. Various agricultural products, traditional handicrafts, toys, cosmetics, as well as various kinds of food and sweets are sold in this fairs. The fairs also arrange entertainments that include traditional dance, plays and songs. The biggest and most colourful fairs take place in Dhaka.
Like any other festivals, Pohela Boishak has its special foods. On this day, people cook a special kind of food called Panta Ilish. It is prepared by drowning boiled rice into a soup or cool water and served with Hilsha fish (commonly known as Ilish) fried with spice. Traditional desserts, such as sweet balls, sweet curd and cakes, are an integral part this festival.
