Bangladesh in Italy: Boishakhi Mela 1416 in Rome - Begali New Year 2009 in Rome

7/29/2009

Boishakhi Mela 1416 in Rome - Begali New Year 2009 in Rome

Like in BANGLADESH, bengali community in Italy celebrate the Boishakhi Mela.

Bengali New Year (Bengali: Nôbobôrsho) or Pohela Boishakh (Pôhela Boishakh or Pôela Boishakh or Poila Boishakh) is the first day of the Bengali calendar, celebrated in both Bangladesh and West Bengal, and in Bengali communities in Assam and Tripura.

In Bangladesh, it is celebrated on April 14th according to the official amended calendar designed by the Bangla Academy.

In Bangladesh, Pohela Boishakh is a national holiday.

On 2009, celebrations in Rome are in Villa Gordiani Park, from the 23th till 31st May 2009.

A Boishakhi fair is arranged in Rome. Various traditional handicrafts, toys, as well as various kinds of food and sweets are sold at this fair.

The fair also provides entertainment, with singers and dancers.

They present folk songs.

People wear traditional Bengali attire:

young women wear white saris with red borders, and adorn themselves with churi bangles, ful flowers, and tip (bindis).

In Rome men are dressed in an occidental style, but in Dhaka still nowadays people prefer to wear white paejama (pants) or lungi(dhoti/dhuti) (long skirt) and kurta (tunic).

People can eat the traditional Panta Ilish - a tradtional platter of leftover rice soaked in water with fried Hilsa, supplemented with dried fish (Shutki), pickles (Achar), lentils (dal), green chillies and onion - a popular dish for the Pohela Boishakh festival. But, also, jahal muri, the traditional kebab and the jalapi pancakes.

The celebration of Boishakhi Mela in Rome it's an opportunity to maintain a tradition of Bangladesh and to make now to youngers how a New Year's Day is celebrated in Dhaka.

It'a also an opportunity to discuss about racism in Italy, the second and the next generation and the new concept of nationality.

Rony Akther, BCII President and Founder, had the pleasure to shake hands with great Muhammad Yunus. Muhammad Yunus - Bangladeshi, 2006 Peace Nobel Price, creator of the "microcredit system" and founder of the "Grameen Bank" (The Bank of the Village, in Bengali language) - and Rony Akther met in Rome in 2009. Yunus congratulated BCII President on the important idea to create a Bangladesh Cutural Institute in Italy and on the BCII activity. Furthermore, he wished BCII activity during 2008 and a reach future for the Institute, after to enquire about BCII next activities and projects. For Rony Akther it was a very great honour to receive such an appreciation by a renowned celebrity like Muhammad Yunus!

Bangladesh Cultural Institute of Italy (B.C.I.I.) is an ONLUS ( a non-profit-making organization) whose purpose is to promote the Bangladeshi culture and language in Italy. B.C.I.I. aims to be a point of reference for the “Second Generation”, children of Bangladeshi immigrants in Italy, in order to let them to benefit from the cultural heritage of their ancestors, even if they were born, they grow up and they live in Italy. In fact to go into the Bangladeshi cultural heritage thoroughly is very difficult when people live far from the one’s place of origin. B.C.I.I. originated from a Rony Akther’s project. Rony and many other representatives of the Bangladeshi intelligentsia in Italy want to support a new Italian identity, so that it can be more and more intercultural. Established on the 1rst September 2007, in Rome, B.C.I.I. started his activity in occasion of the Boishakhi Mela 1415, the Bangladeshi New Year’s Day festival, who took place on April 2008 in Rome. To promote Bangladeshi language and culture, B.C.I.I. organizes all year round countless events and manifestations, as literary meetings to spare the knowledge of important Bangladeshi personalities, writers, intellectuals. Then, B.C.I.I. aims to support too the work of Bangladeshi artists as musicians, dancers. The purpose of B.C.I.I. is to make known the musical tradition of Bangladesh and the use of traditional musical instruments, as tablā, harmonium e and sitar. Furthermore, B.C.I.I. aspires to be a guide for the discovery of the surprising Bangladeshi cookery, with tasting of traditional flavours and dishes, as byriani rice, paesh sweet or gilapi pancakes. Finally, B.C.I.I. is involved too in the promotion of the local Bangladeshi handicrafts, as the sumptuous silk used to make shari typical dresses or ruby jewels. Rony Akther, BCII President and Founder, is a Probad Purush (presenter and speaker on the stage), of the Bangladeshi Culture. He lives in Italy frome almost 15 years. He has a very great love for the stage, but also for the philosophy. Graduate in Political Science, he started going everywhere, in Italy and also abroad, to spread the Bangladeshi Culture and Language. The creation of the BCII in 2007, in Itay, is the last but not the least project he achieved.