Nabanna and a pitha festival has been held with various activities in Dhopa Khola area of Narail town.
The event included dance, music, recitations, fine arts exhibitions, and a colourful display of traditional pithas and sweets.
For the fifth time, the festival was organised by ‘Nandan Kanan,’ a children and youth development and cultural practice centre, with the aim of introducing the traditional Nabanna festival to the new generation.
The event kicked off on Saturday with lighting of a ceremonial lamp and the national anthem.
The venue was filled with traditional pithas in various flavours.
Over 30 types of pithas were displayed, including Dudh Payes, Chitoi, Ros Pitha, Puli, Bhapa, Dudh Puli, Dhupi, Gurer Payes, Ros Pakaan, Phul Pakaan, Bhaja Pitha, Naru, Patisapta, Semai Pitha, and more.
Nilima Bagchi, a schoolteacher and one of the women involved in making the pithas, shared, “Around ten of us made 30 different types of pithas for this festival. Our aim is to reintroduce pithas, a key element of Bengali culture, to everyone and share them with our guests for their enjoyment.”
The event was presided over by Subhas Biswas, president of Nandan Kanan.
Dr Maya Rani Biswas, general secretary of the organisation, Advocate Alomgir Siddique, editor of Daily Ocean, Executive Director of Rupantor and cultural personality Swapon Kumar Guha, Sharif Ashraf Uzzamman, writer and poet Hussain Billah, writer Suranjan Ray, Ardhendu Prasad Banerjee, President of the Cultural Council of Bangladesh, Dr Shyamol Krishno Saha, Dr Sanjit Kumar Saha, Bidyut Kumar Sannyal, Mahbubur Rahman Litu, Shamimul Islam Tulu, and others spoke during the event.
Following the discussions, the guests inaugurated the fine arts exhibition and the pitha festival.
During the discussions, the guests noted that in today’s globalised world, we only encounter Nabanna in textbooks and on social media platforms. Despite Bangladesh being an agriculture-based country with crops and farmers, the celebration of new harvest festivals is diminishing.
They emphasised the importance of organising Nabanna festival every year to preserve and pass on the ancient Bengali traditions to the new generation.
