Celebrating Poila Baisakh-Your Own Way

"SUBHO NOBOBORSHO"

(Happy Bengali New Year)

Poila Baisakh is generally celebrated on 13th or 14th April. 2019 celebrated Poila Baisakh on 15th of April. This occassion is celebrated on the first day of Bengali New Year which is based on the Bengali Calendar. It is argued that Bengali Calendar was introduced by Emperor AKbar by merging the Hindu Calendar and the Lunar Islamic Calendar.The day is celebrated not only in other parts of India but also outside the continent.It is known as Bihu in Assam, Vishnu in Kerala and Puthandu in Tamil Nadu.

The celebration was started at the onset of harvesting season.It holds importance for the Bengali financial communities where they worship Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi at their shops.People buy new clothes,jewelleries or accessories which are considered to be auspicious.

Since childhood, it was manadatory for us to buy new clothes before Poila Baisakh. Houses were cleaned beforehand.On that particular day-we used to get up, take bath,wear new clothes and greet everyone.Relatives used to visit us.In the afternoon, we all used to spent quality time over various traditional delicacies and sweets.In the evening, we usually used to go out,visit mela which was followed by dinner at a restaurant.

This year,we (Wandering Girls) went out together to celebrate Poila Baisakh.Though the weather was sultry, we ventured out and managed everything.(Phew!!) Kolkata traffic can take a toll in this hot,humid weather so to cut down the time, we took our favourite mode of transport- train from Brace Bridge to reach Lake Gardens and then an auto from Lake Gardens more to reach Bijoygarh (Golf Green area). For the love of momos, we checked into Denzong Kitchen. The place is quite spacious. Although not very clean, the place offers you with affordable, good quality food with their hot sales being- chicken steam momos and chicken shyapta (for non-veg lovers) and cripsy chilli babycorn and crispy chilli potato (for veg lovers). The hakka noodle is also frequently ordered.

After a heartful lunch, we took 223 bus ( 223 and 234/1 buses are available just from the opposite of Denzong Kitchen. Also one can get auto from there till Ranikhuti and Jadavpur 8B bus stand) and went for shopping.Busy with our schedule,taking out time for shopping was little tough for us.As sales were available on this festive day, how could we resist!. We got down from the bus at Golpark and after a 5 minutes walk reached Gariahat-one of the popular shopping hubs for people in Kolkata.While walking,we indulged in the refreshing jaljeera nimbu pani (worth rupees 10/- each) to quench our thirst.

The place was filled with people shopping,lights, flowers and what a better way to start the Bengalis' new year.Yes, we were offered a packet of sweets from one of the shops for buying stuffs which was a sweet gesture and it showed the warm spirit of people. We ended the day on a sweet note (Kuch meetha banta hai....) with Kwality Chocolate Feast.

Hope you liked our way of celebrating and do let us know how you celebrated your Poila Baisakh. If you like this post, do follow us and share it with your friends and family.