DOWEL BISWAS

As dawn broke over Ramna Batamul yesterday, Chhayanaut’s chorus of 200 performers lifted “Jago alok‑logone” into the morning air, opening the celebration of Pahela Baishakh 1433.

The morning programme unfolded in deliberate rhythm -- with Tagore’s devotional “E ki sugandha‑hillol bohilo” giving way to Nazrul’s sharper invocation, “Arunkanti ke go yogi bhikhari”, then Lalon’s strain of endurance, “Boro shonkote poriya doyal”, and finally Dwijendralal’s luminous “Aji gao mahageet.”

Chhayanaut’s repertoire moved between resistance, remembrance, and renewal, rehearsing cultural memory as much as celebration.

In closing remarks, Chhayanaut President Sarwar Ali pointed to a climate where cultural expression remains vulnerable, recalling recent pressures on cultural spaces and the lingering memory of the 2001 Ramna Batamul bombing. His message was clear: in a society, singing, speaking, and assembling should never demand courage.

From Ramna, thousands then streamed toward Shahbagh. Streets closed to traffic became temporary markets of toys, windmills, and folk instruments. Families wandered slowly as children stopped at will.

The Baishakhi Shobhajatra steadily advanced under the slogan “Noboborsher Oikyatan: Gonotontrer Punorutthan” -- a call from the procession for the revival of democratic values and practices.

A rooster figure led the procession, heralding the break of a new dawn, while a tiger, a lion, and a fox followed alongside a black elephant with red wings and a white dove of peace, visualising tension and balance.

Farmers carried tools of labour and indigenous groups joined in traditional dress. Children marked their faces with the numerals of the new year and spun paper pinwheels that caught brief winds. Under rain trees, groups of women in red and white saris formed rotating patterns, their movement tightening into a rhythm.

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