Bonhomie is the essence of Poila Baisakh

There is a general atmosphere of bonhomie and merry making among Bengalis during the time. Though the traditional methods of merry-making have given way to more modern and quicker ones, the essence has remained. People don new clothes, the younger generation touches the feet of the elders and seek their blessings. Pleasantries and gifts are exchanged among friends, family members and acquaintances. The New Year is ushered in with Rabindra Sangeet or Tagore’s musical invocation, ‘Esho Hey Baisakh Esho Esho’ and ‘Aaj Ranashaje Bajiye Bishan Esheche Es heche Baisakh’.

Kitchens exude the aroma of freshly prepared Bengali delicacies, especially sweet dishes, as it’s thought to be a good omen to start the year with Mishtanna, or traditional sweets such as ‘Rosogollas’, ‘Payesh’, ‘Sandesh’, ‘Kalakand’ and ‘Mishti Doi’. The special cuisine for lunch contains various preparations of fish, meat and rice like maccher jhol, maccher kalia, luchis, begun bhaja, shukto, shorshe ilish (fish curry with mustard), prawns malai curry and chochchori (mixed vegetables). 

For Bengali traders and shop owners, Poila Baisakh is Haal Khata time - an auspicious day to ‘open’ the ledger. ‘Poila Boishakh’ is celebrated with a lot of fervour in Chennai too. Though there are a number of Bengali associations in the city, this time, the festivities have an unusual flavour. The New Year falling on a Friday and the next two days being Saturday and Sunday, a ‘Banga Mela Utsav’ is being organised by the Chennai Banga Sanskriti Sammelan Samity. “We thought of doing something different this time. Since it is a long weekend, the people can enjoy a plethora of programmes, be it food festival, handicraft mela, open air performances and so on. Famous singer Anupam Ray, Sreekumar Chatterjee and theatre artiste Debshankar Haldar are set to perform at the Utsav,” said Vikram Pal Chaudhuri, Vice President, Dakshini Society.