Dawn of the New Year
Hey nutan,
Dekha dik aar baar janmer pratham shubhakhan.
[Hey ‘new’,
Showcase, yet again, the purity of the first light of dawn as we envisioned when we opened our eyes to this world.]
This is how Rabindranath Tagore, the great doyen of Bengali literature, had so aptly described the new dawn that heralds Poila Baisakh or Naba Barsho.
The Bengali calendar is based on the Hindu Vedic solar calendar, known as the Surya Siddhanta. As with many variants of the Hindu solar calendar, the Bengali calendar commences mid-April of the Gregorian calendar.
Referred to as Poila (first) Baisakh, it is celebrated with finger-licking cuisine and cultural performances. It is also called Naba Barsho; naba means ‘new’ and barsho means ‘year’. On the day, everybody wears new clothes and considers it a day to meet family and friends and share sweets and good wishes.
A month before Naba Borsho, in Kolkata, all retail outlets offer huge sales on clothes and other household items, much like the Easter sale in New Zealand. Shopping for the best bargain is a hobby that Bengalis back in India revel at.
The morning is usually spent offering pujas at Kali temples. By late afternoon, people congregate to touch feet of elders and seek their blessings. In recent times, exchange of handmade greeting cards has also become part of the ritual.
This is followed by a sumptuous late lunch of many delectables, which include a fare of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. Mutton curry and mishit doi (sweetened yogurt) are a must-have on this day.
By evening, the elders settle down in comfortable chairs to enjoy an evening of songs and dance performances by the younger generations, in their bid to welcome the New Year.
People often decorate the thresholds of their houses with alpana, a traditional art form made from rice paste. They welcome the guests with ‘Shubho Naba Barsho’ (Happy New Year).
Among the Bengali Muslims across the border, this day is known as ‘Pahela (first) Baisakh’. In Bangaldesh, this day is celebrated as a national holiday and all offices and schools remain closed. In Kolkata too it is a state holiday for all establishments.
The business community of Bengal consider this day auspicious to begin new projects. As such, business families start their new accounts books known as ‘haal-khata’ on Naba Barsho.
This year, Naba Barsho is on April 14. If you want to partake in the celebrations in Auckland, Ajadz Indian Restaurant, in Ellerslie, has organised for an authentic Bengali buffet lunch on April 19, 2015.
On that Sunday stuff yourself up with steamed rice, luchi (Bengali puri), cholar dal, aloo bhaja, goat curry, shukto, macher bhapa, chatni, papad and end it on a sweet note with roshomalai. The buffet-style lunch will be served from 12:30 to 2:30 pm and will cost $15 for an adult and $12 for a child. ?Visit them at:
Ajadz Indian Cuisine
8C Robert Street, Ellerslie, Auckland, New Zealand 1051
09-580 1555
Email: contact@ajadz.com
Reader-speak
What does the day Naba Barsho mean to you and what do you plan to do this year?
Arijit Chakraborty
It means nothing to me and I am doing nothing. But since my wife has come over from Kolkata for a visit, we will be organising for a Bengali dinner at home on Naba Barsho. Our friends will visit us and we look forward to a lazy evening with them, sharing some lovely food.
Durga Ray
I come from a business family in Bangal and Naba Barsho means Haal-khata for me. A thick exercise book bound in red cloth with the Swastik sign on top. Early morning, the men in the household would visit the Dakshina Kali temple. Then, there will be puja at our shop. We would wear new clothjes and the day would end with sweets being distributed among friends and family and whoever visited us on the day.
We have just returned from India last night and so I still haven’t planned for Naba Barsho this year.
Suryatapa Chakravarty
Naba Barsho is a day that signifies the old gone-by and a new beginning. It comes full of hope and I look forward to keep walking into the future. This year, on Naba Barsho, I will be in India to attend a wedding. We will be going after two years and so I am very excited. Can’t wait to have all those sweets in Kolkata!
Sayan Banerjee
To us, it is Poila Baisakh and not Naba Barsho. Don’t know why that name tuck with us during our growing up years. As kids, I remember we would go to a programme in Salt lake every year and spend our entre morning there. Poila Baisakh is all about new clothes, good food and cultural celebrations. Several shops in the neighbourhood would invite us to attend their pujas and gift us a packet of sweets and a Bengali calendar. By evening, we would be discussing with friends who managed to get the maximum number of sweets packets. Now it is all on Facebook – we wish our friends and family online. This year, we will go to Ajadz for lunch and meet our Aucklander friends there.
Hey nutan, Dekha dik aar baar janmer pratham shubhakhan.
[Hey ‘new’, Showcase, yet again, the purity of the first light of dawn as we envisioned when we opened our eyes to this world.]
This is how Rabindranath Tagore, the great doyen of Bengali literature, had so aptly described the new dawn...
Hey nutan,
Dekha dik aar baar janmer pratham shubhakhan.
[Hey ‘new’,
Showcase, yet again, the purity of the first light of dawn as we envisioned when we opened our eyes to this world.]
This is how Rabindranath Tagore, the great doyen of Bengali literature, had so aptly described the new dawn that heralds Poila Baisakh or Naba Barsho.
The Bengali calendar is based on the Hindu Vedic solar calendar, known as the Surya Siddhanta. As with many variants of the Hindu solar calendar, the Bengali calendar commences mid-April of the Gregorian calendar.
Referred to as Poila (first) Baisakh, it is celebrated with finger-licking cuisine and cultural performances. It is also called Naba Barsho; naba means ‘new’ and barsho means ‘year’. On the day, everybody wears new clothes and considers it a day to meet family and friends and share sweets and good wishes.
A month before Naba Borsho, in Kolkata, all retail outlets offer huge sales on clothes and other household items, much like the Easter sale in New Zealand. Shopping for the best bargain is a hobby that Bengalis back in India revel at.
The morning is usually spent offering pujas at Kali temples. By late afternoon, people congregate to touch feet of elders and seek their blessings. In recent times, exchange of handmade greeting cards has also become part of the ritual.
This is followed by a sumptuous late lunch of many delectables, which include a fare of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. Mutton curry and mishit doi (sweetened yogurt) are a must-have on this day.
By evening, the elders settle down in comfortable chairs to enjoy an evening of songs and dance performances by the younger generations, in their bid to welcome the New Year.
People often decorate the thresholds of their houses with alpana, a traditional art form made from rice paste. They welcome the guests with ‘Shubho Naba Barsho’ (Happy New Year).
Among the Bengali Muslims across the border, this day is known as ‘Pahela (first) Baisakh’. In Bangaldesh, this day is celebrated as a national holiday and all offices and schools remain closed. In Kolkata too it is a state holiday for all establishments.
The business community of Bengal consider this day auspicious to begin new projects. As such, business families start their new accounts books known as ‘haal-khata’ on Naba Barsho.
This year, Naba Barsho is on April 14. If you want to partake in the celebrations in Auckland, Ajadz Indian Restaurant, in Ellerslie, has organised for an authentic Bengali buffet lunch on April 19, 2015.
On that Sunday stuff yourself up with steamed rice, luchi (Bengali puri), cholar dal, aloo bhaja, goat curry, shukto, macher bhapa, chatni, papad and end it on a sweet note with roshomalai. The buffet-style lunch will be served from 12:30 to 2:30 pm and will cost $15 for an adult and $12 for a child. ?Visit them at:
Ajadz Indian Cuisine
8C Robert Street, Ellerslie, Auckland, New Zealand 1051
09-580 1555
Email: contact@ajadz.com
Reader-speak
What does the day Naba Barsho mean to you and what do you plan to do this year?
Arijit Chakraborty
It means nothing to me and I am doing nothing. But since my wife has come over from Kolkata for a visit, we will be organising for a Bengali dinner at home on Naba Barsho. Our friends will visit us and we look forward to a lazy evening with them, sharing some lovely food.
Durga Ray
I come from a business family in Bangal and Naba Barsho means Haal-khata for me. A thick exercise book bound in red cloth with the Swastik sign on top. Early morning, the men in the household would visit the Dakshina Kali temple. Then, there will be puja at our shop. We would wear new clothjes and the day would end with sweets being distributed among friends and family and whoever visited us on the day.
We have just returned from India last night and so I still haven’t planned for Naba Barsho this year.
Suryatapa Chakravarty
Naba Barsho is a day that signifies the old gone-by and a new beginning. It comes full of hope and I look forward to keep walking into the future. This year, on Naba Barsho, I will be in India to attend a wedding. We will be going after two years and so I am very excited. Can’t wait to have all those sweets in Kolkata!
Sayan Banerjee
To us, it is Poila Baisakh and not Naba Barsho. Don’t know why that name tuck with us during our growing up years. As kids, I remember we would go to a programme in Salt lake every year and spend our entre morning there. Poila Baisakh is all about new clothes, good food and cultural celebrations. Several shops in the neighbourhood would invite us to attend their pujas and gift us a packet of sweets and a Bengali calendar. By evening, we would be discussing with friends who managed to get the maximum number of sweets packets. Now it is all on Facebook – we wish our friends and family online. This year, we will go to Ajadz for lunch and meet our Aucklander friends there.
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