Auspicious beginnings

With colourful clothes and props, the Bengali community celebrated the Pahela Baisakh or the first day of the Bengali New Year at the cultural evening organised by the High Commissioner of Bangladesh, Sayed Mauazzem Ali and Tuhfa Zaman Ali in the city. The occasion also saw a long list of artists from Bangladesh who showcased their skills in the form of folk and tribal song and dance performances.

However, the Mangal Shobhajatra that has been declared an intangible cultural heritage of humanity by UNESCO stole the show. The Mangal Shobhajatra is a reflection of the secular spirit of Bangladesh that has been much contested over the decades. “‘Mangal Shobhajatra’ stands for an ‘auspicious and beautiful procession’. It was the students of faculty of fine arts of Dhaka University who revived this old cultural tradition to celebrate the Bangla Nobo Borsho. Earlier, people would go around with their kitchen utensils and slowly it started getting attention in the urban spaces. So now they have it in the cities as well. It starts every year from the Dhaka University and people gather spontaneously. People on the streets join as well,” says Tuhfa.

A fusion dance performance by the artists.

She says the Mangal Shobhajatra has changed over the years. “It was rural and now it has been urbanised. What we saw at in Delhi was what a fusion of both rural and urban forms. People wear saris differently in these spaces. The props were actually more urbanised than they were before. It is unstructured and spontaneous. Each year it is different and it is very difficult to say how it will evolve but it definitely has a secular spirit,” she says adding that people from different religious groups come together on this occasion.

“They get into the procession and it doesn’t matter if you are a Muslim, Hindu, Christian, Buddhist or Tribal. Everybody just gets into the line and enjoys it,” she shares.

A folk presentation

Talking about the dance and music performances, she added, “Earlier we had brought in singers like Saba Rehman and Farida Parveen who are popular in India. This time we wanted to show the people in Delhi what our culture is like. This is Bengali heritage and it is above religion.”

Talking about future plans, she hopes to bring some Baul singers from Bangladesh to India. “Their mystic and Sufi tradition is much loved in India. The art of Bangladesh is also quiet close to India but very different. The paintings and artwork is another thing that I wish to bring here in the near future. And of course, I would like to also showcase the Jamdani saris that happen to be very close to my heart,” she smiles.