Joltorongo – the only cultural club of Jashore University of Science and Technology hosted this year’s Boishakhi Mela on 7th and 8th May. The two day colourful event was filled with cultural music and dance performances performed by the students themselves.
Pohela Boishakh is the Bengali New Year celebrated on 14 April in Bangladesh. It is a festival based on the spring harvest—which marks the first day of the new year in the official calendar of Bangladesh. Boishakhi Mela is an integral part of this cultural event where Bengali culture is celebrated by showcasing the cultural traditions, foods, music, art and fashion of bengalis.
For this year’s grand celebration, the members of the club arranged several musical and cultural performances. Highlights of the first day included the famous Bengali musical play “Mohua” performed by the Bangladesh Udichi Shilpi Gosthi of Jashore and Lathi Kela – a traditional Bengali martial art performed with sticks known as “lathi” which was performed by the Bangladeshi Lathial Bahini hailing from Kushtia. The second day highlights consisted of baul sangeet performances from the local baul singers of Jashore and a stellar drama named “Nawab Sirajud-Daulah” based on the famous Bengali folklore performed by the local theatre club of Jashore. The mela also featured a Bioscope presentation brought by the genius artist Abdul Jalil from Rajshahi and the Nagordola – a ride which is quite popular in the pop culture of Pohela Boishakh. In addition to these highlights, students and members of the club from different departments came together to perform several musical, dance and drama performances. Apart from the performances, the mela became a hotbed of desi delicacies such as fuchka, panta-bhat, fish bhorta, chicken and veg rolls etc. served by the students in numerous decorative stalls designed with the handicrafts and artwork done by the students themselves which showcased the beauty of Bengali art and its impact in our culture.