By Jane Wilkins
With touch of traditional attire, multi coloured roses and autumn in air, we at Halder Bari, did celebrated the arrival of spring and our Bengali new year or Bangla Noboborsho in Southern Hemisphere.
Colourful Camellia For Spring :
Even though, it is autumn in Australia, we are privileged to have colourful camellia. It has bloomed in abundance.
Bengali New Year, is about the first day of Baishaki(spring) which marks the solar new year. It is the New Year’s Day for Hindus and Sikhs in Indian states of Assam, Bengal, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Manipur , Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand and Tamilnadu. And outside of India, the new year is also celebrated in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Burma, Bangladesh, Bali, Cambodia, Iran, Iran, Nepal, Srilanka, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Thailand and Uzbekistan. A population of over 600 million people celebrates Baishaki or beginning of spring and welcomes the new year. March and April is the best time according to ancestral tradition for this spring celebration. In Bengal, India it is known as Bangla Nobobarsha, while in Thailand it is Songkran and in Persia/Iran it is Nowrouz. Best time to indulgence in festive celebrations, food, and fun. It also includes rituals, ceremonies and cultural events. In Australia, we are lucky to celebrate the arrival of spring.
Jalsa & Rosogolla:
We also enjoyed a fashionable evening party with Indian instrumental music by Abhijit Dan and Debayan Bhattacharya. The sound of tabla and sarod ( string instrument) enhanced the Bengali new year celebration to a great extent.
A celebration of multi-sensory feast of the sub-continental was cooked for the celebration. Food was celebrated with perfection which included dishes such as salmon with mustard, roasted chicken with Spanish onion and chive, fragrance Basumati rice, Tiger prawn curry, cauliflower curry, onion bajis , Cheese cake and soft Rosogolla. Hemp gin, Bondi beer and champagne were also served to accompany the food. With sandesh and motichur ladoos created a grand feast for the celebration. It was an evening filled with nostalgic stories of Bengalee new year, stomach full of delicious food and champagne laughter. A perfect setting for our Bengali new year celebration.
