Bengalis around the globe celebrate New Year with much fanfare
On Saturday, Bengalis all over the world are celebrating the the first day of their New Year. According to some, this was the day when Emperor Akbar introduced a new calendar for collection of agricultural tax.
Along the rural belt of Bengal, farming families observe various rituals, including worshipping the cow, on the first day of the year while in urban areas, most shops and establishments inaugurate their new book of accounts.
Wearing new clothes and feasting are two of the biggest attractions of this day.
The New Year is the time when most restaurants in and around Kolkata craft special menus highlighting typical Bengali food.
On Saturday morning, a carnival-style procession called Mongol Shobhyatra was taken out in downtown Kolkata where Bengal's folk crafts and song were the main attractions.
Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO) has organised a series of cultural programmes in the Eco Park in the eastern part of the city and a special programme on Bengali cinema at the Nazrul Tirtha in Rajarhat.
Neighbouring Bangladesh observed its New Year on Friday.
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