My Favorite Festival: Pohela Boishakh
My favorite of all the festivals celebrated in Bangladesh is Pohela Boishakh. Festivals are an object of rejoicing and a rainbow of life. The first day of Bengali New Year is called Pohela Boishakh. It happens to be the day of the highest celebration of togetherness in the most popular festival that is held by everybody. It is not just a festival. It is an event of commemoration of our culture and who we are in a more robust and colorful manner.
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Tenderness and gentle caressing of the soil with the rays of the appearing sun mark the dawn of the morning of Pohela Boishakh, and it leads to new hope and happiness. The mood is fresh and dynamic. From every direction you could hear “Esho He Boishakh, Esho Esho,” the song that stirs the celebration spirit of every Bengali. Every Bengali person has the right to feel happy and celebrate the day as they like. People in the white and red dresses are visible everywhere, be it in their respective houses, parks, or open fields. Women look elegant in red-bordered sarees with flowers in their hair while men are in white panjabis with colorful badges saying “Shuvo Noboborsho.”
The magic of new day and Mangal Shobhajatra, the grand parade, is soon after the sunrise. The streets are full of bright color banners, folk art, huge masks of tigers, owls, and fishes — which are all symbol of bravery, awareness, and wealth—the sound of drumming, flutes, and singers of oldies flows around like joy waves. Kids cheer and show their paper fans, and the oldies give them love by their blessings. It seems like the whole country move along one heart.
Delicious traditional dishes are visible everywhere. Each table has soaked rice, hilsha fish, chilies, and onion. The breakfast is memorable due to fried hilsa and sweet-sour tamarind pickles aroma. Other than the food, the villagers also enjoy the Boishakhi mela. Here entertainment is clay toys, bangles, and sweetmeats. The desire to buy is paired with lively folk songs, and the colorful stalls with people create the perfect ambiance for the day.
Pohela Boishakh is much more than a date in the calendar: it is the colorful string that interlaces the core of the Bengali identity. Since the auspicious dawn, the new beginnings, enveloped in the traditional color red and white, through the compulsive thrill of the Mangal Shobhajatra and the soothing smell of the traditional food shared with the relatives, the day is also a deep-rooted heritage of the cultural background. It is the time when the whole nation, irrespective of their origin, gathers together, renewing a strong sense of unity and ushering the new year with cohesion, optimism, and a wave of happiness and color that indeed makes it the most popular and memorable festival in Bangladesh.
🔗 Look at How to Deal with Descriptive WritingDescriptive Essay Analysis: Pohela Boishakh
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Multiple Choice Questions
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What is the primary function of the essay's introductory paragraph?
- To define the traditional dishes eaten during the meal.
- To introduce the topic and establish that the festival commemorates Bengali culture and identity.
- To list the symbols used in the Mangal Shobhajatra parade.
- To provide a step-by-step itinerary of the day's events.
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The descriptions of the dawn, the parade, and the meal primarily structure
the essay based on:
- Chronological order (the sequence of events throughout the day).
- Contrast and comparison between different celebrations.
- Order of importance (ranking the events by excitement level).
- Spatial order (moving from indoors to outdoors).
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Which pair of colors is highlighted as key visual elements in the
traditional celebratory attire?
- Black and White
- Green and Red
- Red and White
- Yellow and Blue
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The phrase 'Tenderness and gentle caressing of the soil with the rays of
the appearing sun' is an example of which literary device?
- Allusion
- Hyperbole
- Personification
- Simile
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Which line most strongly appeals to the reader's sense of
sound?
- Colorful stalls with people create the perfect ambiance.
- Huge masks of tigers, owls, and fishes.
- The sound of drumming, flutes, and singers of oldies flows around like joy waves.
- Women look elegant in red-bordered sarees.
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What makes the morning breakfast 'memorable,' primarily appealing to the
sense of smell?
- The aroma of fried hilsa and sweet-sour tamarind pickles.
- The colorful badges saying 'Shuvo Noboborsho.'
- The sound of 'Esho He Boishakh, Esho Esho.'
- The texture of soaked rice on the table.
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The essay's conclusion emphasizes that Pohela Boishakh is 'the colorful
string that interlaces the core of the Bengali identity,' which reinforces
the essay's core theme of:
- Agricultural harvest and economics.
- Cultural heritage, national unity, and new beginnings.
- Strictly religious observance and spiritual fasting.
- The importance of purchasing clay toys and sweetmeats.