Bangla Academy welcomed the Bangla New Year 1432 on Monday with a series of programmes at its Nazrul Mancha premises in the capital.
The day’s festivities began at 8 am with a musical performance to welcome the New Year, followed by a commemorative lecture at 8:15 am and a cultural event at 9 am.
Professor Mohammad Azam, director general of Bangla Academy, delivered the welcome speech. The New Year lecture, titled ‘The Test of Faith in the Conjunction of Nationalist Conflicts and the Bangla Year’, was presented by Faruk Wasif, director general of Press Institute Bangladesh (PIB). The event was presided over by Professor Abul Kashem Fazlul Haque, president of Bangla Academy.
In his remarks, Prof Azam said, “We are fortunate as a nation to have our own New Year and calendar. Pahela Baishakh is deeply connected with both the natural seasons and our production system, and we continuously rediscover Baishakh through various dimensions of daily life.”
Faruq Wasif highlighted that festivals survive through the energy of youth, who continually blend the new with the old. “Some may prefer to observe the traditional Chaitra Sankranti or view Pahela Baishakh as a middle-class urban festival — but with changing times, it is no longer possible for everyone to return to villages. Even villages are transforming in the age of connectivity and smartphones,” he said.
“The journey of a unified celebration for all Bangla speakers, led by the middle class, is a positive development. It also helps to resist the dominance of Hindi and English in our culture.”
Prof Fazlul Haque, in his presidential address, said, “The New Year inspires us with renewed hope, calling for the rejection of decayed old paths and fostering positive values in our personal, social, and national lives. May this New Year bring peace, prosperity, and harmony to Bangladesh and the world.”
The cultural segment of the event featured performances by cultural troupe ‘Saanjh Hindol’ under the direction of AKM Shahid Kabir. Notable performers included singers Saidur Rahman Boyati, Pial Hasan, ATM Ashraf Hossain, Ashrafuzzaman, Dr Mahbuba Rahman, Elahi Masud, Nasrin Ferdous Chaman, Monirul Islam, Sakib Suleri, and Abir Bangali.
The event was conducted by Bangla Academy’s Deputy Director Sayera Habib.
Additionally, Bangla Academy has organised a special book fair offering discounts in celebration of Bangla New Year 1432. Books published before 2000 are being sold at a 70% discount, those published between 2001 and 2010 at 50%, and books from 2011 to the present at a 25% discount.