Streets in Dhaka and other big cities have taken a festive look with youths clad in red and yellow attires have started joining the celebrations of Pahela Falgun, the first day of Spring, and the Valentine’s Day.

Pahela Falgun usually falls on February but this year it coincided with Valentine’s Day as Bangla Academy has revised Bangla Calendar to match it with the Gregorian calendar.

Falgun is the eleventh month in the Bengali calendar and the first month of the season, Spring, the king of all the six seasons that brings backwarm sunshine, budding flowers and dancing of birds.

Keeping pace with the rest of the world, Bangladeshis also celebrate the Valentine’s Day with their beloved ones.

However, florists are not happy with the move of Bangla Academy as celebrations  of Valentine’s Day and Pahela Falgun on the same day is cutting their profits.

Clad in red and yellow attires  and flowers in hands, hundreds of young boys and girls are thronging Bakultola of Fine Arts Faculty  of Dhaka University , the centre of celebration of Bashanta Utshob, to welcome through singing, reciting poems and dance.

The youngsters are also gathering at Teacher-Student Centre (TSC), Arts Faculty, Curzon Hall, University Mall (Mall Chattar) wearing dazzling dresses to express love to each other exchanging flowers and gifts.   

There are various arrangements in the capital to welcome the spring. Different socio-cultural organisations will hold various programmes, including music festivals, on the Dhaka University campus throughout the day.

Marking the Valentine’s Day, various restaurants in big cities of the country have arranged special offers. Different giftshops are also trying to boost their businesses on the occasion with varied range of gift items.

Both shopping malls and online business pages offered special gifts or matching clothes for their loved ones, while flower markets are busy stocking redroses for the day.

Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is an ancient Roman tradition which has been celebrated in European countries for ages.

These days it is widely celebrated in Asia, including Bangladesh,thanks to its fast globalization.

People are set to witness a more colourful and joyous day on Friday as this year both Pahela Falgun, the first day of Spring, and the Valentine’s Day will be celebrated on the weekend.

The festival-loving Bangladeshi people are ready to welcome and celebrate the day with great joy and love in a colourful manner.

Falgun is the eleventh month in the Bengali calendar and the first month of the season, Spring, the king of all the six seasons that brings back warm sunshine, budding flowers and dancing of birds.

Keeping pace with the rest of the world, Bangladeshis also celebrate the Valentine’s Day with their beloved ones.

Valentine’s Day is a much-sought day for young couples. It is an occasion for them to go on long hangout wearing dazzling dresses to express love to each other exchanging flowers and gifts.

There is little doubt that the city is going to wear a different look on Friday with young revellers roaming around the city.

There are various arrangements in the capital to welcome the spring. Different socio-cultural organisations will hold various programmes, including music festivals, on the Dhaka University campus throughout the day. 

Marking the Valentine’s Day, various restaurants in big cities of the country have arranged special offers. Different gift shops are also trying to boost their businesses on the occasion with varied range of gift items.

Both shopping malls and online business pages offered special gifts or matching clothes for their loved ones, while flower markets are busy stocking red roses for the day.

Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is an ancient Roman tradition which has been celebrated in European countries for ages.

These days it is widely celebrated in Asia, including Bangladesh, thanks to its fast globalization.

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:

1. CHINA VIRUS TOTALS SPIKE China reports 254 new daily deaths and an increase in new daily virus cases of 15,152 after new methodology was applied in the hardest-hit province of Hubei as to how cases are categorized.

2. CANDIDATES SET SIGHTS ON SUPER TUESDAY Nevada votes next, then South Carolina, but Democrats vying for their party's presidential nomination are already looking ahead to the biggest prize on the primary calendar.

3. 'I WAS SHOCKED THE FIRST TIME I SAW THE BABY' Environmental reports obtained by the AP detail accounts of "alarming" birth defects, miscarriages and other health problems among residents living in South Sudan's oil regions.

4. PRO-TRUMP EFFORT RAISES TENS OF MILLIONS IN A MONTH AP learns that groups backing the president raised more than $60 million in January and have more than $200 million on hand for November's election, shattering fundraising records.

5. POMPEO, ESPER FACE PIVOTAL TRIP With tensions between the U.S. and Europe running high over numerous issues, the secretary of state and defense secretary are heading to Germany for an annual security forum.

6. WHO REACHED A DEAL WITH USS COLE FAMILIES Sudan says it's reached a settlement with relatives of the victims of the attack on USS Cole in Yemen which killed 17 sailors, part of an effort by Khartoum to have the country taken off the U.S. terrorism list.

7. BUFFETT'S DRUG WAR Howard Buffett, the eldest son of the billionaire investor, is spending $200 million to help Colombia kick its cocaine curse.

8. MEDIA SEEK OPEN HEARING ON SAINTS, CHURCH EMAILS News outlets in New Orleans want access to a hearing on the confidentiality of emails between Roman Catholic officials and the city's NFL franchise concerning clergy sex-abuse scandals.

9. SNOOP DOGG SAYS HE'S SORRY After days of blistering criticism, the rapper apologizes to CBS' Gayle King for attacking her over her interview with former basketball star Lisa Leslie about the late Kobe Bryant.

10. ROENICK OUT AT NBC SPORTS The NHL analyst won't return to the network after he was suspended for making sexually suggestive comments about his co-workers during a podcast.

German cultural institution the Goethe-Institut Bangladesh unveiled the locker-mural titled Übernatural: Unlocked on Tuesday at the Goethe-Institut in Dhanmondi.

The mural project features 12 supernatural characters from German and Bengali traditions illustrated by 13 artists. A musical performance by Alex and the Monsters was followed by a story-telling session and a scavenger hunt during which visitors won Goethe-Institut goodies and HerStory Foundation’s books.

The initiative is a project by Goethe-Institut Bangladesh, facilitated by HerStory Foundation.

“Back in January, Goethe-Institut commissioned HerStory Foundation to beautify the bag lockers that are used by visitors of the Institute. The result is a mural by 13 artists illustrating 12 supernatural female characters from Bengali and German folk traditions”, Goethe’s Information Officer Sharmin Shoma told UNB.

She further explained that the beautification of the storage facilities unlocks the many powerful female-driven narratives of the two cultures.

The stories and the artists are- Mader Gaan by Aabir Khalid, Patal Konya Monimala by Ahmed Fahim, Tanyabi Firti by Antora Mehrukh Azad, Rapunzel by Fj Mony, Frau Prechta by Farah Khandaker, Sultana’s Dream by Inshra Sakhawat Russell, Brunhild by Kabir Ava, Übernatural: Unlocked - typography by Kazi Istela, Frau Holle by Rafiuzzaman Rhythom, Chadburi by Sayeef Mahmud, Lorelei by Shourov Khan, Behula and Manasha by Venessa Kaiser and Bon Bibi by Wasi Ahmed.

With the participation of 400 drama groups across 64 districts, the first ever National Drama Festival 2020 will begin at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) on Wednesday.

Bangladesh Group Theatre Federation is organising the stage-drama extravaganza from February 12 to February 29 in collaboration with the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the 18-day-long festival at 11.30 am on Wednesday through video conferencing from Prime Minister’s official residence Ganabhaban.  BSA’s divisional offices in Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Rangpur and Sylhet will join the inauguration. Besides, the programme will also aired from the DC offices at the same time.

A press conference was held at the National Theatre Hall’s seminar room on Tuesday. BSA Director General and Bangladesh Group Theatre Association’s President Liaquat Ali Lucky briefed the journalists about the details of the festival.

The mega festival will be joined by 30,000 drama activists from 400 drama groups of Bangladesh Group Theatre Federation.

A total of 302 dramas are scheduled to be staged in all the venues of BSA in those divisions and districts. Several plays will also be staged as street-drama.

Bangladesh Group Theatre Federation’s General Secretary Kamal  Bayezid, BSA Secretary Badrul  Anam Bhuiyan and other officials were present at the press briefing.