Living in one’s own country is a great pleasure itself. Seeing the
faces of the nearest and dearest, talking face to face to them or even
having a quarrel with them are also sort of rewarding which may not be
precisely realized at home but, they must be well imagined from abroad.
You cannot realize the real worth of people and things unless you miss
them. Nearly same is the case of celebrating one’s own cultural
festivals of food, music, theatre, dance, and the like. To observe
Baishakhi carnival at home must give us great pleasure, but to observe
it abroad or just to see it with the eye of an expatriate being observed
in the faraway homeland also gives a vicarious pleasure. It springs
from the bottom of one’s nationalist feeling ignoring the difference of
time, matter and space.
Pahela Baishakh is the first day of the Bengali calendar celebrated
by the peoples of Bangladesh and West Bengal, and the Bengali
communities of Assam, Tripura, and the rest of the world. The heritage
of this celebration dates back from the Mughal Emperor Akbar’s days (2nd
half of 16th century). It was customary to pay off the dues on the last
day of the last month (Chaitra) of the Bengali calendar. On the
following day, i.e. the first day of the New Year, the landlords used to
entertain their tenants with sweets. The main event of the day was to
open a halkhata (a new account book) which is still prevalent among the
Bangalees. In keeping with this, fairs and festivals used to be held
throughout the year. It is said that on two such occasions, two Mughal
princes stumbled upon their fiancés (Selim met Meherunnisa and Khurram
met Mumtaz ) and fell in love at first sight. Those two women later
became pivots of the dynasty. The Baishakh celebrations subsequently
assumed wider magnitude, and became part of the social and cultural life
of the Bengali folks no matter where they are living.
It is a matter of great pride on the part of the Bangalees that they
have their own complete calendar, and many of their festivals are
associated with its dates and months. Among the few calendars actively
in use in the present world, Bengali calendar is self-asserting.
Although the West was the source of the world’s civic calendars, the
thread cast lines outward to Egypt, Arabia, Mesopotamia, China and
India. The Bangalees (a section of the then Indian people) are one of
the few civilized nations who had made or customized a calendar of their
own in order to use for administrative, commercial, social and
religious purposes.
Celebrating the Baishakh festivals abroad conveys rather a mixed
feeling. It is true that the expatriate minds often hanker to go back to
their homelands on such festive occasions in order to get a first-hand
taste of them. But to miss this also gives some sort of pleasure through
pains. When we watch on satellite channels that our countrymen
regardless of age groups and social classes are celebrating the
occasions with considerable mirth and merriment, we fall back on the
fond memories of our past. All modes of Baishakhi celebrations –
especially the rendering of Tagore songs by Chaianot at Ramna Batamul
and the mouth-watering display of panta-ilish with onion and green chili
are simply unforgettable. The Baishakhi fairs, the jatra,
jari-saree-ghatu and pala gan, the baul, marfati, murshidi- bhawayya and
bhatiali songs, the sensational puppet shows and the thrilling
merry-go-rounds now seem to be mind-blowing experiences. People putting
on traditional Bengali attire — men with pajama-punjabi or dhoti–kurta,
and women with white sari with purple borders wearing bangles around
wrists, flowers around locks and bindis on forehead are the poignant
reminder of the ceremony.
A ‘had I the wings of a dove’ like feeling seizes the overseas
Bangalees, and when it fails, they try to take recourse to Keats’
‘unheard melodies’ which seem sweeter than those heard. The unheard (or
formerly heard) melodies extracted from these sorts of social and
cultural festivals appear to be sweeter to them. It is a unique kind of
feeling! Something like Tagore’s “beholding the beauty of the beloved
against the background of her absence”. This is how, a whole lot of
Bangalees across the globe are trying to get the taste of milk out of
buttermilk in regard to the celebration of Baishakh.
Everyone wants their country to be prosperous. This feeling is
perhaps far more intense to the expatriates than to the natives. The
expatriate Bangladeshis want all native Bangladeshis to remain united on
question of greater national interests. What is frustrating them most
is the current state of affairs besetting our country and people. The
rash and reckless acts of vandalism committed by the Jamaat-Shibir
activists, the prolonged tug of war between the Government and the
Opposition over power assumption, the belligerent attitudes of
Hefajat-e-Islam, the stubborn resistance put up by Gonojagoran Manchya
and other pro-liberation political and cultural groups, and above all
the unspeakable sufferings of the people caused by recurrent strikes,
blockades and demonstrations have made a worrying time for us all.All
this is doing serious harm to the private and public property and having
a corrosive effect on the country’s economy, stability and progress.The
society has been seriously split by considerable disagreement and lack
of mutual respect. The situation has worsened so gravely that even the
undisputed historical facts have been fractured to suit to the narrow
personal or party interests. Numerous inter-party and intra-party splits
have been crippling national integrity years after years. And in this
troubled waters are trying to fish the rabid right wingers and religious
fanatics.
We have had enough of reason to apprehend that Bangladesh is going to
be on the track of Pakistan or Afghanistan—two completely failed
countries, worst affected by religious extremism and militancy. Our
beloved motherland which was earned at the cost of 3 million lives is
being made to move far away from the spirit of the Liberation War. To
realize the dream of the Freedom Fighters — i.e. to make a secular,
democratic, non-communal and progressive Bangladesh and to ensure
maximum civil liberty — is increasingly becoming a far cry from reality.
With every day that passes we are becoming ever more despairing. To our
great shock and horror, we have observed that many of our
pro-liberation forces too are showing more interest in power assumption
than in fighting for establishing the true spirit of the Independence.
This is the real cause for alarm. Any kind of indulgence in the
activities of the militant forces may inspire them to take their aim
much further. Today’s trigger-happy Talibans were yesterday’s angry
activists pampered by indulgent governments and supported by vested
interests. That the religious fundamentalists of Bangladesh have no
dearth of financial support is an acknowledged fact. Now if they can
carry on with their operation pretty indulgently, during the tenure of
the pro-liberation government, they won’t take long time to transform
Bangladesh into ‘Banglastan’ right after the fashion of Pakistan or
Afghanistan — their dreamlands! Despite being born in the alluvial soil
of Bangladesh, and raised in its lush green vegetation, these religious
fanatics dream of Kabul/Kandahar or Peshawar in their wild flights of
fancy. This is their avowed goal too! So, they are thinking this present
situation would be for them a dream come true. The Long March drops a
broad hint of a march towards a Taliban state. There are telltale signs
of this on their 13- point demand list. So, much as they claim that they
are nonpolitical, they are diametrical opposite of that. As a matter of
fact, Hefajat-e-Islam is a cataclysmic regeneration of the endangered
political species Jamaat-e-Islam and the so-called long- marchers are
marchers towards establishing a Taliban state.
What is to be done to stop the process of formation of a Taliban
state? There are ways if there is a strong will. All pro-liberation
people regardless of casts, creeds and religions—age, status and party
affiliations—should come under one umbrella—the secular spirit of
Independence, and keep a round-the-clock vigil so as not to allow the
anti-liberation forces to steal a march on them. Despite all damaging
splits in the country, we still do have room for unification through
cultural interactions. The people of Bangladesh are, both by birth and
by choice, lovers of Baishakhi culture. This could be the vast melting
pot of the wide diversity of our population. The new generations should
try to unify the country from this common platform. This is felt more
intensely from abroad than from home especially on such occasions.
Pahela Baishakh can connect all Ethnic Bangalees throughout the world.
There are, however, some avowed anti-Baishakh people who consider the
cultural festivals as profane activities. They always pose a threat to
the observers to the Baishakhi festivities. The observance of such
secular programmes seems to form blisters on their bodies. The cultural
activities like those of the Baishakhi could ward off these evil spirits
as well.
There is a growing realisation among the expatriate Bangalees that
our nation should be culturally empowered in this age of post-colonial
awakening. The once-colonized countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin
America are bringing about social and cultural revivals. We should join
the rally. We, too, have a deep-rooted cultural heritage which was
frequently being held hostage by the colonial and neo-colonial powers.
The songs of our beloved poet Tagore had been banned. Our Baishakh
celebrations had been threatened with extinction. Now, it is time for us
to resurrect our long-borne tradition, and to celebrate our culture in
our own sweet ways completely free from any hegemonic control or
extremist obstructions. No matter wherever we are! Bangalees are
Bangalees, even though they are sent to the gallows. It is a proven
fact!
Dr. Rashid Askari (currently abroad) writes fiction and columns and teaches English literature at Kushtia Islamic University
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