A colourful mix of traditions

Different communities in the City are geared up to celebrate the new year

It’s time for a fresh start as April 14 and 15 will mark the beginning of a new calendar year for Bengalis, Assamese, Malayalis, and Punjabis. Metrolife finds out how these communities in the City will celebrate the new year.

“The first day of the first month in the Hindu calendar, which is Baisakh, is when our new year is celebrated. It is called Poila Baisakh in Bangla and Bengalis throughout the country celebrate it with much gusto. We celebrate the day by visiting relatives and wear new clothes, but the most important part of the celebration is the feast,” said Abhiroop Ghosh Dastidar, a PR professional.

A typical Bengali feast consists of a combination of rice, pulses, fish and sweets like Payesh, Pithe, Sandesh, Nadu, which are made with grated coconut and jaggery. Rasgulla is an integral part of the meal.

Those who have  businesses often perform a small ceremony to commence the new financial year. It is important to place the new calendar in a Bengali household so as to have a good year ahead. Generally, the various Bengali associations in the City host cultural programmes.

The new year celebrations of Assamese open a window to their culture. “We celebrate Bihu on April 15 and wear our traditional attire.

The girls wear mekhla chador and the boys wear dhoti kurta. The Bihu dance is an essential part of our celebrations and young boys and girls dance together,” informs Pollob Phuken, the vice-president of Assamese Cultural Association.

“In Bangalore, around 8,000 of us assemble and host a cultural festival. We make sweets like Petha, Nadu and other rice-based sweets, we also prepare a dish called Hah which is duck meat,” he adds.  

Vishu, the Malayali new year, is also celebrated on the same day and the Malayalis celebrate it with equal enthusiasm.

“We keep a kani which is generally the first thing we see in the morning. We keep a picture of Lord Krishna along with fruits, food grains, clothes, gold, new clothes etc and also light lamps in front of the God. This is the first thing that we see when we wake up in the morning,” explains Vidya Durgadas, a business accounts executive.

 The food is traditional and is generally a vegetarian platter called Sadya. “We burst fire crackers to welcome the new year, wear new clothes and cook various varieties of Payasam. The elders give children their blessings and pocket money or kaineetam for prosperity. We also go to the temple and seek blessings,” she adds.

Tamilians and Oriyas celebrated their new year on April 13. “We celebrate the new year in a very simple fashion. Generally, it is a holiday and the family is together. There is a small puja at home and Payasam is made,” adds Preetha Balaji, a student.

Baisakhi is one of the main festivals of the Punjabis. As it is the harvest festival, the members of this community thank their gurus for a good harvest.

“There are two ways to celebrate Baisakhi – we visit the gurudwara in the morning where we listen to religious discourses and take part in the kirtans, and in the evening, we have a cultural festival, where we perform traditional dances like bhangra and gidda,” says S Mahendra Pal Singh, the additional chairman of Karnataka Sikh Welfare Society.

“The food is traditional and Sarson ka Saag and Makke ki Roti are prepared at home.  “The Langar or the community kitchen is organised throughout the day and lasts till the evening,” he sums up.