It is yet another Bengali New year – we call it Poila Baisakh. It’s not just the first day of the year according to the Bengali calendar, but it is an emotion. Perhaps a day of craziness for Bongs. The ‘amej’ what you call as the mood starts setting with the onset of ‘Chaitra’ – the last month of Bengali calendar. As you walk down the lanes and bylanes of any Bengali housing or colony, a feeling that comes to us – a new start is beckoning. For most families, this day in April is the fresh start Bongs always secretly wait for.
This is the only day when you can actually see a true Bengali with all those traditional ‘punjabi’, and ‘athpoure saree’. It’s already Poila Baisakh and you have not got your new pair of saree – trust me, you will have some eyes rolling on you. From moms to aunts – all have that biggest query in life -‘poila baisakh is here, what will you wear?’ Yes Poila Boishakh is associated with notun jama that is new dress. Though the excitement for new clothes goes down as we grow up, it never really stops making us happy. Parents insist that no matter how old you are, one must wear something new.
Poila Baisakh is the haalkhata time – the auspicious day to open the ledger. From visiting a saree shop to a jewellery store, Bengalis hardly give a miss to collect those boxes of sweets and eat too-many glasses of sherbet in this onset of summer months.
We don’t shop for new dresses on chaitra sale anymore, we buy latest brands from the online stores. Still we are happy but perhaps in a new way. Shubho Nabobarsho!
Here are a few picks from our store to your home:
