West Bengal rallies for peace on 'Bengali New Year'
Kolkata, April 15 (ANI): The natives of West Bengal indulged in a day-long cultural extravaganza and rallied for peace on the first day of the 'Bengali New Year' or 'Poila Baisakh' on Monday.
Amit Chatterjee, a local here, said that we are preaching for peace this year as we celebrate our new year.
" In the last few days, we have seen a tremendous amount of violence in West Bengal. Unfortunately, this kind of violence has never been seen before. We are, therefore, preaching for peace," he added.
During the procession, the melodious strains of 'Rabindra Sangeet', songs written and composed by Nobel laureate and poet Rabindranath Tagore filled the air as children in colourful costumes walked through the streets of Kolkata singing songs and dancing on its tunes.
The 'Bauls' of Bengal represent the wandering music cult of the region. They were originally nonconformists, who rejected the traditional social norms to upheld music as their religion.
'Baishakh' is the first month of the Bengali Calendar, according to the solar position.
The Bengali calendar starts from April 15 every year. It is on this day that farmers start harvesting their crops.
Special local dishes and delicacies are prepared in most homes and this adds to the aura of the celebrations.
Traditionally, the festival is a day spent rejoicing with family and friends. For traders, it is time to close one set of accounts and open another.
'Poila Baisakh' celebrations are conducted for over a week and a variety of cultural programmes are held to mark this occasion. (ANI)
Amit Chatterjee, a local here, said that we are preaching for peace this year as we celebrate our new year.
" In the last few days, we have seen a tremendous amount of violence in West Bengal. Unfortunately, this kind of violence has never been seen before. We are, therefore, preaching for peace," he added.
During the procession, the melodious strains of 'Rabindra Sangeet', songs written and composed by Nobel laureate and poet Rabindranath Tagore filled the air as children in colourful costumes walked through the streets of Kolkata singing songs and dancing on its tunes.
The 'Bauls' of Bengal represent the wandering music cult of the region. They were originally nonconformists, who rejected the traditional social norms to upheld music as their religion.
'Baishakh' is the first month of the Bengali Calendar, according to the solar position.
The Bengali calendar starts from April 15 every year. It is on this day that farmers start harvesting their crops.
Special local dishes and delicacies are prepared in most homes and this adds to the aura of the celebrations.
Traditionally, the festival is a day spent rejoicing with family and friends. For traders, it is time to close one set of accounts and open another.
'Poila Baisakh' celebrations are conducted for over a week and a variety of cultural programmes are held to mark this occasion. (ANI)
Courtesy: News Tack India
