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Pahela Baishakh: Embodying Bansla Culture

SHAHID ALAM
*** To reiterate, more people participate, even if just to take in the ambience of the entire festival. It is a day when the irritating daily traffic beats an honourable retreat in the face of the teeming pedestrians strolling along the thoroughfares of the capital city. And that is manna from heaven for a day!
Maybe the day is not far ojf when the ocean of humanity celebrating Pahela Baishakh as one would be a nation one and indivisible, the bonds of culture bridging any political divide and overcoming narrow potSfieGji#rierests. It sityetyiffi not too much to hope for. ***
Pahela Baishakh is a cultural expression of the Bangalis. It is by no means the only embodiment of a people captivated by its cultural heritage, but it is certainly one of the more prominent and colourful ones. Culture, as a scholar has observed, “is an abstraction from behaviour.... Culture is the name given to a class of things and events dependent upon symboling that are considered in a kind of extra-human context." The average Bangali's exuberance of emotion and propensity for engaging in rituals find a perfect outlet in celebrating Pahela Baishakh. Culture is made up of all or any combination of the following elements: beliefs, language, customs, ideas, symbols, institutions, rituals, work of art. ceremonies, and so on. Pahela Baishakh is at once a tradition, symbol, ritual, ceremony, and an institution. But it is more than a sum of all those. It is an occasion for the nation to come together as a unit bound by a shared experience of a very-special occasion exclusive to the Bangalis.
In one scholar's profound assessment, culture is stronger than life: it is also stronger than death. A person's attitudes, values, ideals and beliefs are powerfully- affected by the culture enveloping him/her. It would stand to reason, then, that a unifying ^cultural phenomenon like. Pahela baishakh should, influenced national unity far more than the day of its celebration. That it has not, of course, is not its fault. That responsibility-, or irresponsibility-, lies squarely on powerful disruptive forces that have been let loose by those Bangalis out to, first, gain, and then, consolidate their hold over, political power. If Pahela Baishakh acts as a centripetal force for the nation for that one day, it is submerged by a deluge of centrifugal forces for the ’ greater portion ofthe rest of the year. And that is a tragedy for the nation itself. Maybe the mammoth crowd that transforms the outdoors into a sea of humanity each Pahela Baishakh over the last ten years or so is sending a subliminal message that it would like to carry over the unify ing trend of that day to the rest of the year, without the specter of virulent political partisanship and intolerance acting as Mary's contrary lamb, in an effort to achieve national unity, where agreeing to disagree is the norm, quashing dissenting views is not.
It goes without saying that the disease called political polarization along entrenched fault lines is not solely the outcome of the political leadership. Their followers, meaning many of the same people who throng the streets on the day. and attend the festivities are also culpable, but the leaders, because of their
high position, motivation, and policymaking authority, have to take the lion's share of the blame. The reality of the political process is that the leaders lead, the followers follow. Very- rarely does the counter phenomenon occur: where the masses lead, and the leaders are compelled to follow. Abraham Lincoln's characterization of the democratic process is noble and splendid on principle, but hardly conforms to reality' in application. Representative democracy- is compromised by-big money and media spin in being an instrument by the people, and by narrow political interests of the party-leadership in being an effective platform for the people. But the sobering reality of the functioning of representative democracy should not be an excuse in creating national schism. There is plenty of room to maneuver around in settling political differences in a decent manner. Such diversity of viewpoints is the bedrock of new ideas, ideas that often drive civilization forward, and it is vital for representative democracy to flourish as a polity.
Culture itself is not a stagnant phenomenon per se. Some aspects of it modify over time, others evolve, and a few
die out. That sage on culture, Jacques Barzun, has offered these priceless thoughts on the timelessness as well as the imperative of culture to mutate and evolve: “Are we seeing the breakdown of our civilization? Sooner or later, the sophisticated person who reads or hears such discussions reminds himself that to the living “the times" always seem bad; in most areas many voices cry out against the visible decadence; in every generation — especially the aging — the world has always been going to the dogs.... But sophistication --- and skepticism --- should perhaps go a step further and ask why that same phenomenon recurs; in other words, the historical-minded should look into the meaning and cause of the undying conviction of decadence.... The very notion of change...implies the notion of loss.... Man's civilization is not identical with our civilization, and the building and rebuilding of states and cultures, now or at any time, is more becoming to our nature than longings and lamentations."
But still we long and lament -- fore those days when Pahela Baishakh formed a part of a continuum of remembrances and celebrations, like Ekushey February, Independence Day. Victory Day, et al, where national unity- was not at stake. Sadly, the rot started quite early, in fact, a few short years after Bangladesh became a sovereign, independent nation-state, and it has slowly, but surely, been spreading deeper and wider. Here, it seems to be reflecting Samuel P. Huntington's observation that culture follows power (The Clash of Civilizations and (he RemakingofWorldOrder). And the powers in control of government would make culture follow their ideology and, inevitably, diktat. And, where culture is made the personal preserve of a political party in power, its capacity as a unifying symbol is drastically weakened. And nation-states' behaviour, to go along with Huntington, is shaped as much by cultural preferences, commonalities and differences as by the pursuit of power and wealth. In other words, the state of a nation's well-being is determined in no small measure by the state of its culture. The more vibrant, healthy, and unifying force its ttire is, the nation is that
ich better oft? til leaat'as a unit. And a nation divided is a weak nation.
There is no gainsaying that the state of Bangladesh’s culture, in terms of its various manifestations, is uneven in quality-. We often wallow in abject mediocrity in some of its key sectors, where we make that state as the standard to aspire to. At the risk of sounding elitist, I would still say that catering to the lowest common denominator has brought about an alarming decline in the standard and good taste in some sectors, especially in the audio-visual field. Granted, they require overhauling, but a portion of the blame for that decline has to be borne by that very political schism that has been hurting the nation of Bangladesh in so many ways. We should be striving to improve the state of our culture; not confining it within the restrictions of political expediency and gamesmanship.
This write-up began as a
panegyric to a unifying cultural element, but has turned into a diatribe against a disunifying phenomenon that has been vitiating the cultural field for some now. Nonetheless, Pahela Baishakh, or, more appropriately, its celebration, remains as vibrant as ever, and has added, subtly but indubitably, colourful elements as well as innovations to the proceedings.
To reiterate, more people participate, even if just to take in the ambience of the entire festival. It is a day when the irritating daily traffic beats an honourable retreat in the face of the teeming pedestrians strolling along the thoroughfares of the capital city. And that is manna from heaven for a day! Maybe the day is not far off when the ocean of humanity- celebrating
Pahela Baishakh as one would be a nation one and indivisible, the bonds of culture bridging any political divide and overcoming narrow political interests. It surely is not too much to hope for.
The author is Head, Media and Communication department, Independent University, Bangladesh.