Baisakh, the first month of the Bengali calendar, is important for every Bengali. The year starts with Poila Baisakh. The auspicious day is meant for wearing new clothes, starting halkhata (books of accounts maintained by businessmen and shopkeepers) puja, adda, mishtimukh and pet pujo.
To celebrate the Bengali new year, the Rotary Club of Kolkata Urbana hosted a unique event with the right mix of adda, music and food at Urbana Club banquet on May 4.
People tuck into phuchkas to their heart’s content.
The event was interwoven with adda and music so as to bring back the nostalgia of rowak-er adda and to showcase different rural forms of music. And if you are talking of any Bengali event and that too to mark Poila Boishakh, pet pujo (hearty meal) is a must. An array of food stalls were set up to tantalise the tastebuds of those in attendance. Mitra Cafe had on offer mouthwatering savouries like fish fry, mutton kabiraji, vegetable chops and more. Then there was the irresistible famous phuchkas of Vivekananda Park. In between the adda and music, the audience was seen happily savouring food from the stalls.
Gopal Burman mesmerised the audience with his sreekhol.
On one side of the hall, patachitra paintings were also displayed.“We wanted to revive lost culture and heritage here. We wanted an essence of Bangaliana in true spirit and hence, have entwined the event with adda and music and food. The district governor wanted to showcase the folk culture of Bengal as well. Jhumoor gaan, baul gaan, shreekhol recital are all a part of this event,” said Arindam Sil, actor, director and host of the programme.
The adda had a long list of famous personalities from different fields. Starting from Bangaliana to how Bengali language developed, Bangla cinema, culture, football and even IPL came into the adda. Bickram Ghosh established a conversation with his tabla bols. In between the adda, jhumoor song was performed by Bokul Roy. Samaresh Karmakar accompanied her on the madol. Ujjaini Mukherjee mesmerised the audience with her performance. Baul duo Tapasi Das and Shyam Khapa made the audience tap along with their performance. The shreekhol performance by Gopal Burman was enthralling.
The audience watch the adda session and the performances in rapt attention.
Speaking of diverse cultures and heritage of Bengal, Rotary Club district governor Hiralal Yadav said: “In our country, 70 per cent people live in villages on whom urban populace are completely dependent. I really wanted to bring their folk culture. When I shared my thoughts with Arindam Sil, he took the whole initiative.”
Actor Sauraseni Maitra, who was a part of the adda, said: “Poila Baisakh is like a parbon (festival), from new year to Rabindra Jayanti. Somehow Bangaliana is much beyond certain dates and festivals. This initiative to celebrate Bangaliana, the language, the culture has truly touched my heart.”
Different products adorned with patachitra.
Speaking of the transition of winter to summer, Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar said: “In Bengal, we actually can’t feel the spring. From the winter chill, we directly face summer. In Bengali culture, different pujas and brotos are performed at the onset of summer. We have Basanti Puja in the month of Chaitra, then we have Sitala puja, Sasthi, Gajon and then Poila Baisakh.”
On the idea of getting together to get that nostalgic adda culture of the Bengalis back, Rotary Club Urbana president Jayanta Guha said: “This programme is just to revive the slowly dwindling culture and tradition of Bengalis. Secondly, Bengalis are well known for their love of adda, music and food of course.”
Actor Tramila Bhattacharya, also a resident of Urbana and a Rotarian, found the programme unique in its own ways. “We all know that Bengalis are synonymous with adda. And if it’s interspersed with music and lip-smacking food, then bonus points.”
Jhumur artist Bakul Roy is accompanied by Samaresh Karmakar on the madol.