Pahela Falgun observed in festivities

The city’s youngsters attired in sarees, panjabis and fatuas in vibrant shades of yellow, red and orange yesterday came out onto the street to welcome the advent of the spring which is termed as Basanta Ritu in Bengali.
The celebrations began with a daylong spring festival at 7:00am under ‘Bakul Tala’ at the Institute of Fine Arts of Dhaka University. Bakultala was crammed till at least 8:00pm, with kids getting their cherubic face painted gaily by the fine arts students, vocal artists rendering Bengali patriotic and seasonal songs.
Different organisations observed the first day of the spring, the queen of the seasons by rendering songs and reciting poetry at the celebrated Battala of Dhaka University (DU), Ekushey Book Fair at Bangla Academy, Fine Arts Institute premises, Dhanmondi lake and elsewhere in the city.
From the morning, students, couples, young boys and girls from different areas of Dhaka wearing colourful dresses started flocking to the Dhaka University campus to greet the spring, a traditional cultural festival to herald the advent of the Bangla month of Falgun.
The celebrators roamed around the university campus with their near and dear ones, while men carried flowers in their hands and women on their bun to hail the day.
The campus areas turned like a garden of bloomed flowers as all the spots on the campus were filled up by young women and girls in yellow sarees with red border and hair dotted with flowers and men and boys in traditional pajama and panjabi carrying bouquet of flowers.
Pahela Falgun, the first day of spring in the Bangla seasonal chain, received warm welcome with colour, songs and dance. It begins with colour and festivities in the minds of people, lighting up the spring on hearts of all, irrespective of age, life and living, who embraced the carefree environment spraying the spring colours and fragrances.
Girls in orange and yellow sarees and boys in panjabi added more colour to the programmes. Many including the children got their faces painted gaily by the fine arts students. It draws the picture of the colourful season’s transition from dry, dull and drab winter.
Seasonal songs ‘Orey bhai fagun legechhey bon-e bon-e,’ ‘Dokhin haowa,’ ‘Tumi nabo nabo roop-e esho praney’ and ‘Bashonto elo elo rey’ were on the air of DU campus including its Bakultala of the Fine Arts Institute, Battala of the Arts Building, Business Studies Faculty.
Falgun and Choitra from Basanti Ritu or spring season which has had been celebrated and adorned since olden days in Bengal. Bengali poets compose plethora of lyrics adorning the season.
A celebrator in DU campus Tanzima Hossain Ovi, BBA student of the East West University said, “This year’s crowd is huge but I am quite freely and safely moving here as there’s no possibility of any bomb blast.”
The celebrators were in a jubilant and festive mood as the change in the season seemed to have brought about a change in their moods.

Courtesy of The New Nation