Traditional Bengali harvest festival Nabanna was celebrated in Manikganj with a week of vibrant rural festivities marking the arrival of new rice in farmers’ homes.
The event, held at the Joynagar Agroecology Learning Centre between Manikganj Sadar and Ghior upazilas, concluded on Friday.
People from more than 10 nearby villages took part in the celebration, organised by local farmers, farmwomen and the agricultural development organisation BARCIK.
The festival showcased age-old farming practices including cutting, threshing, boiling and drying paddy, as well as making rice using the traditional dheki. Several hundred villagers were served rice pudding on banana leaves in the open field, followed by the distribution of traditional sweets and pitha made from freshly harvested rice.
Throughout the seven days, villagers enjoyed folk songs, Gazi’s songs, theatre, farmers’ sports competitions, prize-givings and an exhibition featuring more than 30 varieties of rice and agricultural tools. Discussion sessions and seed-exchange activities were also held.
Veteran farmwoman Konika Rani Biswas said the essence of Nabanna lies in the aroma of fresh Aghrayan-season rice and the taste of homemade sweets.
Farmer Paritosh Sarkar described Nabanna as ‘the soul of the grain-centred village festival’.
Agricultural researcher Al Azad noted that Nabanna remains one of the happiest communal celebrations in rural farming life.
Regional agricultural extension department official Gazi Shahadat Hossain Badol said the golden paddy fields and misty late-autumn mornings make the festivities even more enchanting.
BARCIK official Subir Kumar Sarker added that efforts are underway to expand the scale of the festival in the coming years.
