It’s Bengali new year season too!
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Traditional Bangladeshi fare at the Good Market stall
Visitors browsing through the Good Market on a rather hot Saturday morning last weekend would have chanced upon a stall with some very colourful exhibits. The exhibits were from Bangladesh, and the stall was there to highlight the Bengali New Year.
Not many Sri Lankans would be aware that Bangladesh also celebrates the New Year on April 14 and that the day is accompanied with all the same festive activities, visits to family and friends, traditional sweetmeats etc.
Bangladeshi High Commissioner Riaz Hamidullah and his team from the Embassy were also at the stall welcoming visitors and explaining the foods, including the decorative ricecakes that looked a more fancy form of Lankan kokis. The stall had a variety of food, bamboo crafts and of course, the country’s famous textiles- from handloom sarees to designer t’shirts.
In Bangladesh, the New Year is a National holiday with fairs and festivals commonly held in the big cities. The traditional jatra plays are presented, often with puppet plays and folk singing.
