FESTIVALS

There was a time when we had many festivals. Now we have very few.

    Our life, now-days, is not full of joy and merriment. We have very few occasions to be happy and gay. Our evenings are dull like a desert though our land is green, our land weekends are gloomy, but still we have that enjoy.

     In my boyhood I used to enjoy going to the circus and yatra (pronounced Jatra), our traditional drama, during the Durga Puja of the Hindus, but those days are gone.

   The major festival now-a day is the Nababarsha, the New Year’s Day. It takes place on the 1^st day of Baishak, the 1^st month of the Bangla calendar. It is the only festival enjoyed by all the Bangalis: the Muslims, the Hindus, the Buddhists, and the Chritians.

    Do we sing and dance on this day? No, we do not. Instead we have good food on the day; the shop-keepers invite their customers to their shops and entertain them with sweetmeats. Some cultural shows are arranged by young people in villages. In cities like Dhaka and Chittagong some cultural societies arrange shows usually under some large trees in some parks early in the morning. The singers sing and dancers dance, and we walk around and enjoy ourselves!

   There are five major religious festivals, two of the Muslims and one of the Hindus, one of the Buddhists, and one of the Christians. The Muslims observe Eidul Fiter and Eidul Azha, and the Hindus the Durga Puja. The Muslims eat rich food on Eidul Fiter, and sacrifice cows and goats on Eidul Azha. There is little merriment. The Hindus observe the Durga Puja for ten days, and enjoy it with songs and Christians the Xmas day.