As the sun pierced through the mists of dawn, the choir under the yellow flower laden Bokul tree at the compound of the Fine Arts Institute of the Dhaka University greeted the first day of the Falgun, the Spring, yesterday. Hundreds in yellow and crimson raiment gathered to bid adieu to the winter.
Though the morning chill of the fading winter was still tendering with a pleasant cool air blowing, dissipating the fragrance of the flowers around, down from the marigolds to the mango trees in bloom, the singers sang along with cuckoos, the Tagore’s song of the spring, ‘oh how many flowers around as Falgun (spring) comes’.
It indeed was with the young women in yellow saris with red borders and rings of marigolds crowning their hair welcoming the season of regeneration and merry.
People of all ages, even children, had a toast of the spring in the cool crispy air adorning flowers in their heads or in hands, singing and dancing in a spring parade that moved up and down the entire avenue from Shahbagh to TSC of the DU.
The Jatiyo Basant Udjapan Parishad, which arranged the celebration at the Bokultala of the Fine Arts Institute, also held similar function at the Rabindra Sarobar (Dhamondi Lake) in the afternoon.
Similar celebration was also held at the Bahadur Shah Park for the people of old Dhaka.
The florists at Shahbagh and in front of the Curzon Hall of the Dhaka University Science Faculty had the best of their time. All of their stocks for the day were snapped up, no sooner they opened for business in anticipation of the rush.
Everything was in demand, marigolds to roses, tuberoses and zarberas.
But the florists had more in reserve in preparation for the Valentines Day tomorrow (Friday), especially the red roses and zarberas for the young souls who would like to buy them for their dear ones.
As the revellers celebrated the arrival of the spring, which regenerates life, replacing the fallen leaves in trees and blooming the flowers, their merry went sour with huge traffic tailbacks that made it difficult for many to go home.
The traffic gridlock going late into the evening tossed the city centre in total disarray, particularly for the office goers in rush hour.
A bus passengers going home at Mirpur at the end of his days work from Motijheel was ruing why he did not board the bus early. It had taken nearly an hour for the commuter to travel to Shahbagh from Gulistan at 5-30 pm.
For another taking the bus from Press Club it had taken almost the same time.
The tailback had reverberated in all the city roads tossing traffic into total mess as the revellers were still there on the streets going back home in whatever transport they could avail, or simply walking.
The rickshaw peddlers and auto-rickshaw drivers reaped a bonanza out of the revellers pocket, charging higher than normal fares they could squeeze out of the passengers.
For those who came with children there was no choice but to submit to the whims of these cutthroats who robbed of their fun.
Courtesy of The Independent
