Members of the Bangladeshi Community in Donegal hosted a festive New Year event at the Regional Cultural Centre in Letterkenny last week.
“Pohela Boishakh” is the first day of the Bengali calendar and falls in April on the Gregorian calendar observed in Ireland.
Bangla Year 1426 has been assigned the theme of “Let me hold my head high in this limitless sky”, which is a line from a poem by the highly acclaimed Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore.
In Bangladesh, the first day of the year is marked with joyous processions, singing, plays, special foods, and family time.
People wear traditional red-and-white coloured outfits and women deck their hair with flowers to celebrate.
The Letterkenny event began with the singing of the Bengali national anthem, followed by a short discussion on the history and significance of the day by Dr. Mohammed Rafiq Ullah, President of the Bangladeshi Community of Donegal, and Muhib Azad, Vice President.
“Our children are our main priority,” Dr. Rafiq Ullah said. “Living in Donegal, they miss our traditional cultural programs.
“But with this kind of event, our children can learn our traditional Bangla songs, poetry, plays, and dances, and share their experiences of these with children from other communities.
“Children love this festival.”
Delicious traditional foods were served during a lunch break which was followed by cultural performances featuring artists from the Bengali and Indian communities in Donegal.
MCs for the programme were Bangladeshi Community of Donegal members Mina Khan and Obaydur Ruhel, who is also a member of the Donegal Intercultural Platform Steering Committee.
Organisers paid thanks to event supporters, including Sharmila Kamat, Chairperson of the Donegal Indian Community, and the Building Intercultural Communities (BIC) Project, which is run by Donegal Travellers Project in conjunction with Donegal Intercultural Platform.
