A winter's tale
As the new day dawned over the Dhanmondi Amphitheatre at Rabindra Sorobar, Ramendu Majumdar inaugurated the Poush festival by lighting up an aila, an earthen pot used by rural people for making fire to keep them warm during winter. Date juice, a winter delicacy, was served to the young and old, that created a rural flavour. Many renowned cultural personalities including magician Jewel Aich, General Secretary of Sammilito Shangskritik Jote Golam Kuddus, dramatist Mannan Hira and Mahmud Selim were present at the ceremony. Wahidul Haque presided over the programme. The cultural show started off with two Nazrul compositions rendered by eminent artiste Shaheen Samad, followed by Jewel Aich who entertained the audience with his magical skill.
In the first part of the festival, an art exhibition as well as a poetry recitation contest for the children were held. After an hour's break, the crowd was entertained by many more poetry recitations, group dances and songs which were performed by various groups like Udichi, Prateeti, Kranti, Muktadhara and others.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Winter is undoubtedly the season of joy and gaiety in the rural areas of our country. The women are busy making and preparing a wide variety of pithas, the winter cakes. In villages the women thresh paddy in the dekhi separating the rice from the husk. The aroma of newly harvested paddy is overwhelming . Among the numerous varieties of pithas prepared in the winter the most common ones are Bhapa, Dudhkuni, Chhach pitha, Shaj pitha and many more. Chitoi pitha immersed in date juice and grated coconut is loved by young and old alike. Drishty, a cultural group, organised a Pitha making contest sponsored by The Oriental Bank at the Pitha Utsav nearby, drawing a large number of spectators, where a wide variety of pithas were exhibited. To everyone's delight, Bansh Pitha got the award for the most exquisite and unique delicacy among the many.