Spring festival of Bangladesh
Published: October 21, 2020
Updated: October 4, 2022
Pohela Falgun (Bengali: পহেলা ফাল্গুন Pôhela Falgun or পয়লা ফাল্গুন Pôela Falgun), first day of Spring (of Bengali month Falgun), of the Bengali calendar, celebrated in Bangladesh and West Bengal and in the other Indian states, including Assam, Tripura, Jharkhand and Orrisa. The first of Falgun usually falls on the 13th of February of the Gregorian Calendar. This day is marked with colorful celebration and traditionally, women wear yellow and red saris to celebrate this day.
On this day people celebrate this festival to invite the new year and to make wishes of prosperity and joy. It is, on the other hand, a great occasion for portrait photography as people come to the occasion with very colorful attire that deliver not just the festivity of the season, but such ostentatious display brings forth the cutest of expressions from everybody and specially from the children.
The arrival of Spring is marked with the blossoming of flowers and coming of the fresh new leaves in the trees. In nature, it is considered that the “Krishnachura” (royal poinciana) flower brings the message of the advent of Spring. This season has been depicted as the king of all seasons in poetry for its extraordinary beauty. A famous excerpt by Subhash Mukhopadhyay stating “Phul phutuk na phutuk, aaj Boshonto” (Whether flowers bloom or not, today’s Spring) beautifully depicts the advent of the Boshonto Utshob (i.e., Spring Festival). After the dryness of winter, new leaves and colorful flowers such as Shimul, Polash and Marigold would mark the coming of this season.
These colorful flowers, the melody of birds and the mild touch of sunshine – everything would remind you of the springtime. Saying goodbye to winter and welcoming Spring in typical Bangladeshi style and manner would be a unique experience for you to be in Bangladesh. Be amazed to see how life happens here with such colors and festivities on the arrival of Spring.
Although it was not as colorful and bright in every part of the country it’s still observed with enthusiasm and vigor by many people. The blazing red and yellow are the representative colors of Spring. Bengali People embellish themselves with these two colors primarily. The Slogan of this day is “Esho Mili Praner Utshobe” (Come mingle in the festival of Life). The festival starts with traditional music and dance shows performed by the artists of Chayanat and Shishu Academy.
Colorful painting is also part of this festival as many people would paint their faces with Bengali Alpana. On this day people wear yellow dresses which are very bright and vibrant in colors. This festival takes place on 13th of February each year which is on the eve of global Valentine’s Day. In the morning, people gather around and sing and dance to inaugurate the occasion with colorful dresses and floral ornaments and play with colorful pigments later throughout the day.
Like another colorful event namely Holi Festival, this is also a great occasion when joy and amusement run wild in the air. The garment that most women ware is called Sari. This particular garment is actually not as common in the West as it is the East. Interestingly though, women look tremendously gorgeous in this garment, and it gives them a great excuse to beautify their youth. The yellow color is a signature of this festival as almost everyone wears yellow on this day whether they are young or old.
