Fairs and festivals have always played a
significant role in the life of the citizens of
this country. They derive from them a great amount
of joy, entertainment and color for life. While
most of the festivals have sprung from religious
rituals, the fairs have their roots in the very
heart of the people, irrespective of religion,
caste or creed.
Pahela Baishakh
The
advent of Bengali New Year is gaily observed
throughout the country. The Day (mid-April) is a
public holiday. Most colorful daylong gatherings
along with arrangement of cultural program and
traditional Panta at Ramna Park, is a special
feature of Pahela Baishakh. Tournaments, boat
races etc. are held in cities and villages amidst
great jubilation. Many fairs are held in Dhaka and
other towns and villages.
Independence
Day
March 26 is the day of
Independence of Bangladesh. It is the biggest
state festival. This day is most befittingly
observed and the capital wears a festive look. It
is a public holiday. The citizens of Dhaka wake up
early in the morning with the booming of guns
heralding the day. Citizens including government
leaders and sociopolitical organizations and
freedom fighters place floral wreaths at the
National Martyrs Monument at Savar. Bangla
Academy, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy and other
socio-cultural organizations hold cultural
functions. At night the main public buildings are
tastefully illuminated to give the capital city a
dazzling look. Similar functions are arranged in
other parts of the country.
21st Feb, the National Mourning
Day and World Mother Language Day
21
February is observed throughout the country to pay
respect and homage to the sacred souls of the
martyrs' of Language Movement of 1952. Blood was
shed on this day at the Central Shahid Minar (near
Dhaka Medical College Hospital) area to establish
Bangla as a state language of the then Pakistan.
All subsequent movements including struggle for
independence owe their origin to the historic
language movement. The Shahid Minar (martyrs
monument) is the symbol of sacrifice for Bangla,
the mother tongue. The day is closed holiday.
Mourning procedure begin in Dhaka at midnight with
the song Amar vaier raktay rangano ekushay
February (21st February, the day stained with my
brothers' blood). Nationals pay homage to the
martyrs by placing flora wreaths at the Shahid
Minar. Very recently the day has been declared
World Mother Language Day by UNESCO.
Eid-e-Miladunnabi
Eid-e-Miladunnabi
is the birth and death day of Prophet Muhammad
(s). He was born and died the same day on 12th
Rabiul Awal (Lunar Month). The day is national
holiday, national flag is flown atop public and
private houses and special food is served in
orphanages, hospitals and jails. At night
important public buildings are illuminated and
milad mahfils are held.
Eid-ul-Fitr
The
biggest Muslim festival observed throughout the
world. This is held on the day following the
Ramadan or the month of fasting. In Dhaka big
congregations are held at the National Eidgah and
many mosques.
Eid-ul-Azha
Second
biggest festival of the Muslims. It is held
marking the Hajj in Mecca on the 10th Zilhaj, the
lunar month. Eid congregations are held throughout
the country. Animals are sacrificed in
reminiscence of Hazrat Ibrahim's (AM) preparedness
for the supreme sacrifice of his beloved son to
Allah. It is a public holiday.
Muharram
Muharram
procession is a ceremonial mournful procession of
Muslim community. A large procession is brought
out from the Hussaini Dalan Imambara on 10th
Muharram in memory of the tragic martyrdom of Imam
Hussain (RA) on this day at Karbala in Iraq. Same
observations are made elsewhere in the
country.
Durga
Puja
Durga
Puja, the biggest
festival of the Hindu community continues for ten
days, the last three days being culmination with
the idol immersed in rivers. In Dhaka the big
celebrations are held at Dhakeswari Temple, where
a fair is also held and at the Ram Krishna
Mission.
Christmas
Christmas,
popularly called "Bara Din (Big Day)", is
celebrated with pomp in Dhaka and elsewhere in the
country. Several day-long large gatherings are
held at St. Mary's Cathedral at Ramna, Portuguese
Church at Tejgaon, Church of Bangladesh
(Protestant) on Johnson Road and Bangladesh
Baptist Sangha at Sadarghat Dhaka. Functions
include illumination of churches, decorating
Christmas tree and other Christian
festivities.
Rabindra & Nazrul
Jayanti
Birth anniversary of the
noble laureate Rabindranath Tagore on 25th
Baishakh (May) and that of the National Poet Kazi
Nazrul Islam on 11th Jaystha (May) are observed
throughout the country. Their death anniversaries
are also marked in the same way. Big gatherings
and song sessions organized by socio-cultural
organizations are salient features of the
observance of the days.
Tagore is the
writer of our national anthem while National Poet
Kazi Nazrul Islam is famous as Rebel
Poet.
Langalbandh
Mela:
At a place near
Sonargaon (about 27 km. from Dhaka) a very
attractive festival observed by the Hindu
Community every year on the last day of Chaittra
(last Bengali month) - mid April, when the
devotees take religious bath in the
river.
There are various other festivals
that are habitually observed by Bangalees all the
year round.
LANGUAGE:
Bangla
is the official language of Bangladesh. It is also spoken in West
Bengal. Bangalees protected Bangla from the clutches of Pakistani
oppressors in 1952 by preventing Urdu from being the state
language of East Pakistan where a vast majority of people spoke in
Bangla. Bangalees had to sacrifice lives for their mother tongue
on 21st February, 1952. 21st February being declared International
Mother Language Day by UNESCO, Bangla reached the peak
of maturity.
Evolution:
Bangla's direct ancestor is a form of Magadhi Prakrit
or Middle Indo-Aryan which descended from Sanskrit or Old
Indo-Aryan. Bangla evolved mainly from Sanskrit. Also Hindi,
Urdu, Farsi, English--all contributed lots of words and terms to
form this language.
The
Origin of Bangla Alphabet:
Bangla
alphabet originated from Brahmi alphabet of the Asokan
inscriptions. The Bangla script in its present printed form took
shape in 1778 when printing types were first cast by Charles
Wilkins. There still remained a few archaic forms and these were
finally replaced in the middle of the nineteenth century.
The
Oldest Records:
For old Bangla the only record is Charjapad discovered from
a palace in Nepal by Haraprasad Shastri. It is a collection of the
oldest verses thought to be the oldest records of Bangla
literature. The language of Charjapad is basically
vernacular, but at the same time it is also something of a
literary language.
Two
Styles: Bangla
at the present day has two literary styles. One is called "Sadhu
Bhasha" and the other "Chalit Bhasa".
The former is the traditional literary style based on Middle
Bangla of the sixteenth century. The later is practically a
creation of the present century, and is based on the cultivated
form of the dialect and day-to-day talks. The difference between
the two literary styles is not very sharp. The vocabulary is
practically the same. The difference lies mainly in the forms of
the pronoun and the verb. The Sadhu Bhasa has the old and heavier
forms while the Chalit Bhasa uses the modern and lighter forms.
The former shows a partiality for lexical words and for compound
words of the Sanskrit type, and the latter prefers colloquial
words, phrases and idioms. The Chalit Bhasa was first seriously
taken up by Pramatha Chawdhury at the instance of Rabindranath
Tagore during the early years of the first World War. Soon after
Tagore practically discarded Sadhu Bhasa, and Chalit Bhasa is now
generally favored by writers who have no particular fascination
for the traditional literary style.
International
Mother Language Day:
The
UNESCO has declared 21st February as The International Mother
Language Day to be observed globally in recognition of the
sacrifices of the Bangla language martyrs who laid their lives for
establishing the rightful place of Bangla. The proclamation came
in the form of a resolution unanimously adopted at the plenary of
the UNESCO at its headquarters in Paris in November 1999. In its
resolution the UNESCO said-' 21st February be proclaimed
International Mother Language Day throughout the world to
commemorate the martyrs who sacrificed their lives on this very
day in 1952’.
It
is a great tribute and glowing homage paid by the international
community to the language martyrs of Bangladesh. The genesis of
the historic Language Movement which ensued since September 1947
with the students in the vanguard backed by intellectuals,
cultural activists and patriotic elements was the first spurt of
Bangalee nationalistic upsurge culminating in the sanguinary
events of February 21, 1952 and finally leading to the war of
Liberation in 1971.
The
UNESCO in its resolution said-the recognition was given bearing in
mind that all moves to promote the dissemination of mother tongues
will serve not only to encourage linguistic diversity and
multilingual education but also to develop fuller awareness about
linguistic and cultural traditions throughout the world and to
inspire solidarity based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue.
Henceforth
UN member countries around the world will observe 21st February as
the International Mother Language Day. The historic 21st February
has, thus, assumed new dimension. The sacrifices of Rafiq, Salam,
Jabbar, Barkat and other martyrs as well as of those tortured and
repressed by the then authoritarian government of Pakistan for
championing the cause of their mother tongue have received now a
glorious and new recognition by the November 1999 resolution of
the UNESCO.
Countries
who gave support to the proposal of Bangladesh Govt. for declaring
the 21st February as The International Mother Language Day are
Malaysia, Banin, Bhahama, Balaroush, Comoros, Chili, Dominic
Republic, Egypt, Gambia, Honduras, Italy, Iran, Micronesia, Oman,
The Philippines, Papua Newgini, Pakistan, Paraguay, Russian
Federation, Sir Lanka, Saudi Arabia, Surinam, Slovakia, Vanuatu,
Indonesia, India, Ivoricost , Lithuania.
Source:
Bangladesh High Commission, Malaysia
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