Bangla New Year

A potent display of unity amid diversity

This year’s Pahela Baishakh celebrations held special meaning
15 April 2025, 16:28 PM

What does the Bangla New Year mean to me?

On the first day of the Bangla New Year, every nook and corner of Bangladesh is brightened.
14 April 2025, 03:40 AM

Ushering Baishakh with mishty

Most Dhakaites have a sweet tooth. We just cannot do without a sweet end to our meals, be it licking your fingers on Kashmiri mango achar, tomato chutney, or slurping up the daal (lentil soup) mixed with sweet, jujube and tamarind pickle.
12 April 2024, 13:54 PM

Is there a Bangalee way to celebrate Pahela Baishakh?

The “Bangalee way” in the sense of a single, linear way is a myth at best, and nationalist propaganda at worst.
13 April 2023, 18:00 PM

Ramna Batamul case in limbo

It has been almost 20 years since the dreadful Ramna Batamul carnage during a Chhayanaut event, which saw the death of 10 people.
15 April 2019, 18:00 PM

Bhutan PM enjoys the Bangla New Year

The spirit of our cultural festivity filled the air as the rays of the early morning sun of the Bangla New Year 1426, beamed with the
15 April 2019, 18:00 PM

The secular spirit of Pahela Baishakh

Let us think about the origin of the Bangla Naboborsho, how it evolved through the years and what the current status of this Naboborsho is.
13 April 2019, 18:00 PM

Ramna Batamul Carnage: Justice tangled up in High Court

The death references and appeals of the 2001 sensational Ramna Batamul carnage case have been pending with the High Court for nearly five years due to legal tangles.
13 April 2019, 18:00 PM

Pahela Baishakh: Look back at roots of the festival

Taxation systems must have gone through many reforms over the past 400 years. But perhaps nothing was so phenomenal than the one reform that took place in 1585.
13 April 2019, 18:00 PM

The Panta magic

Pahela Baishakh celebrations seem incomplete without plates of Panta Bhaat, served with Bhorta or fish. For decades, Bangalees, on their New Year, have been treating themselves to the traditional delicacies.
13 April 2019, 18:00 PM

Pohela Boishakh preparations at JKKNIU

The Fine Arts Department of Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University (JKKNIU) is preparing in full swing for the upcoming Pohela Boishakh celebrations.
11 April 2019, 18:00 PM

7 Shibir activists held in Chapainawabganj

Detectives claim to have arrested seven activists of Chhatra Shibir, the student body of Jamaat-e-Islami, from Chapainawabganj for allegedly planning to carry out an attack to Mongol Shobhajatra in the district town.
14 April 2018, 14:29 PM

Pahela Baishakh: NBR to organise Halkhata Day

National Board of Revenue (NBR) is going to organise Halkhata Day for the second time marking Pahela Baishakh, the first day of Bangla New Year.
10 April 2018, 07:26 AM

Sweets for tax payers on Chaitra Sankranti: NBR

For the very first time in its history, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) is going to offer sweets to the tax payers marking Chaitra Sankranti – the end of the last month of the Bangla Year. In line with Bangla tradition, NBR will also celebrate Halkhata on Pahela Baishakh, the first day of Bangla New Year.
5 April 2017, 05:22 AM

Fifty fall sick after having Baishakh feast

At least 50 people became sick after having food at a Pahela Baishakh programme in Kachua upazila town on Thursday.
15 April 2016, 18:00 PM

In colour, in festivity

The nation in a most colourful way celebrated Pahela Baishakh on Thursday, despite security concerns and a ban on outdoor
15 April 2016, 18:00 PM

No-hilsa campaign worked well

The sale of hilsa dropped significantly at retail markets the day before Pahela Baishakh, thanks to social media campaigns and calls to
15 April 2016, 18:00 PM

50 fall sick after having Panta-Ilish in Bagerhat

At least fifty people including women and children fall sick after having Panta-Ilish at a Bangla New Year celebration programme organised by the Kachua Upazila Parishad in Bagerhat.
15 April 2016, 11:32 AM

Pahela Baishakh, Halkhata, and memories

Are the Bangla New Year and Halkhata celebrations today similar to the way they were back in the ‘50's or ‘60’s? How did Bangalis welcome the New Year in those days?
14 April 2016, 06:16 AM

Pahela Baishakh celebrated

Pahela Baishakh, the first day of Bangla calendar, was celebrated amid traditional festivities and enthusiasm despite various restrictions prompted by last year’s women assault on Dhaka University campus.
14 April 2016, 05:21 AM