Borsha Utsab 1417 celebrated

‘Borsha’ (rainy season) is one of the important natural elements on our life. It is also important for the fishing community of the country, as the country’s national fish ‘hilsa’ is available in plenty during this season. This is the season for many beautiful flowers like keya, kadam, kamini, jui, gandharaj and other fragrant flowers, as well as fruits like guava, pineapple, and pomelo.
During the rainy season, the southwest monsoon winds bring plenty of rainfall, occasionally lasting for days without any respite. The rainy season (Borsha) traditionally spreads over the month of ‘Ashar’ and ‘Sraban’ and plants half-dead with the summer heat receive a new lease of life under cool rains and the whole of Bangladesh becomes green.
Celebrating ‘Borsha Utsab’ marks a celebration of cultural unity without distinction between class and religious affiliations in the country.
‘Borsha Utsab’ comes without any pre-existing expectations such as specific dress codes or culture of gift-giving. This festival is really about celebrating the simpler, rural roots of Bengal and it brings together all the Bangladeshis.
To welcome the first day of the rainy season, a day-long festival titled “Borsha Utsab 1417,” organised by Satyen Sen Shilpi Sangstha, was held at the Central Public Library premises (Hakim Chattar) at Dhaka University yesterday. The festival was sponsored by country’s one of the leading telecom operator companies, Banglalink.
The day-long event began early in the morning. The festival was inaugurated by Vice Chancellor of Dhaka University AAMS Arefin Siddiqui, Director General of Bangla Academy Samsuzzaman Khan, noted environmentalist and plant expert Dwijen Sharma, President of Satyen Sen Shilpi Sangstha Dr Hayat Mamud and General Secretary of the Sangstha Manzarul Islam Chowdhury Sweet, Secretary General of Bangladesh Group Theatre Federation Jhuna Chowdhury, President of National Patho Natok (Street Play) Parishad Mannan Hira, among others, were also present at the inauguration of the festival.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Udichi Shilpi Gosthi arranged another festival titled ‘Borsha Utsab’ at Lichutala of the Faculty of Fine Arts of Dhaka University to welcome the first day of rainy season.

Courtesy of The New Nation