Boishakh

Pohela Boishakh celebration in Dhaka

Boishakh (Bengali: বৈশাখ Bôishakh) is the first month in the Bengali Calendar.[1]

The name of the month is derived from the position of the Sun near the star বিশাখা Bishakha.[2] The first day of Boishakh is celebrated as the Pôhela Bôishakh or Bengali New Year's Day.[3] The day is observed with cultural programs, festivals and carnivals all around the country. The day of is also the beginning of all business activities in Bangladesh and neighboring Indian state of West Bengal. The traders starts new fiscal account book called হালখাতা Halkhata.[4][5] The accounting in the Halkhata begins only after this day. It is celebrated with sweets and gifts with customers.[4]

The month of Boishakh also marks the official start of Summer. The month is notorious for the afternoon storms called Kalboishakhi (Nor'wester).[6] The storms usually start with strong gusts from the north-western direction at the end of a hot day and cause widespread destruction.[7][8]

Boishakh is the month when many of the seasonal fruits, especially mango and jackfruit become available.

References

  1. ↑ Boniface Mundu (2013). The Silent Short Stories: A Word of Truth. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 9781492173311.
  2. ↑ "Another New Year,Another Resolution". daily-sun.com. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  3. ↑ Om Gupta (2006). Encyclopaedia of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Gyan Publishing House. p. 1904. ISBN 9788182053892.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 M H Haider (8 April 2014). "HAL KHATA TIME-BOUND, YET TIMELESS". thedailystar.net. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  5. ↑ "Halkatha – An explanation". amaderkotha.com.bd. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  6. ↑ Rajib Shaw, Fuad Mallick, Aminul Islam (2013). Disaster Risk Reduction Approaches in Bangladesh. Springer. p. 98. ISBN 978-4-431-54252-0.
  7. ↑ "Kalboishakhis - Bangladesh's deadly storms". aljazeera.com. 29 April 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  8. ↑ S.M. Imamul Huq, Jalal Uddin Md. Shoaib (2013). The Soils of Bangladesh. Springer. pp. 15–16. ISBN 978-94-007-1128-0.