Bengali New Year popularly known as Poila Boishakh. This day is marked as an auspicious day for all Bengali. On this occasion, Mamata Banerjee tweets, “On the occasion of Poila Boishakh, I extend my heartfelt greetings to all fellow residents. I wish the dawn of New Year brings an abundance of hope, happiness, & health in your lives.
Today, let’s commit to the inclusive welfare & development of society. Shubho Nobo Borsho!” There’s always a tussle going on between BJP and TMC most of the time but this time Modi too joins Mamata in greeting people on this auspicious day. He tweets, “Shubho Nabo Barsho! May the year ahead bring joy and exceptional health.”Tripura chief minister Manik Saha also extended prayers in the shrine of Mata Tripura Sundari in Udaipur for peace, good health and prosperity of the people.
Poila Boishakh is observed by each and every Bengali irrespective of their geographical
location. To celebrate this holy day, homes are cleaned and decorated with alpona, which is a
painting done with a mixture of rice and flour to welcome Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha.
People wear new clothes and pay their visit to the temples on the New year. Various cultural
programs take place on this day. Relatives and friends greet each other by saying ‘Shubho
Nobo Borsho’.
Traditional foods are prepared at homes, especially in Kolkata. Shopkeepers
start their day with pooja of Lakshmi-Narayan and Ganesha. They start new account books of
the business in the name of God and this account book is popularly known as ‘Hal Khata’.
Priests traditionally ink the Swastika symbol with vermilion on a trader’s account books to bring
fortune to their business.