Spirit of Pahela Baishakh
Needless to mention that Pahela Baishakh is the part and parcel of our culture and heritage. On this day both urban and village people celebrate it in keeping with their age-old tradition. I feel proud to be part of this rich culture. Indeed, Baishakh is no longer a culture of Bangladeshis, rather it is the embodiment of more than 250 million Bengalis across the world. In one sense this day is a bit different from other days. For instance, it has broken the boundary of religions, races, clans and political belief as well. All the people celebrate it with a unique identity-- “Bengali”. But the pleasures turn into a great regret when we come to see that this spirit and solemnity of Baishakh has been transformed into capitalistic pursuit and simply a daylong formal occasion.
See, most of the Chinese restaurants, fast food shops and shopping malls adorn themselves in Bengali style. They offer pantha-hilsa to the customers not for their love of this culture, rather to have business. Well, people may have different views. If they are really dedicated to upholding the solemnity of Baishakh and Bengali culture, let's practise certain things round the year.
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