Happy New Bengali Year!
Shubho Noboborsho!
1433, Boishakh 1st.
01.
Article: “Shubho Noboborsho! (Bengali ‘Happy New Year’)”
Author: Afroza Jesmine.
From: Bangladesh.
Pohela Boishakh:
The Pulsating Heart of Bengali Identity. Pohela Boishakh, the first day of the Bengali New Year, is more than just a date on a calendar; it is a profound expression of cultural resilience, secularism, and the collective spirit of the Bengali people. Marking the beginning of the month of Boishakh, this festival transcends religious, social, and economic barriers, uniting Bengalis across the globe in a vibrant celebration of their heritage.
The Historical Genesis:
Taxes and Traditions. The origins of the Bengali calendar (Bangabda) are a fascinating blend of agricultural necessity and imperial administration. While there are various theories regarding its inception, the most widely accepted one dates back to the reign of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. Historically, the Mughals collected agricultural taxes based on the Islamic Hijri calendar. However, since the Hijri calendar is lunar, it did not align with the solar harvest cycles of Bengal. This created immense hardship for farmers, who were often forced to pay taxes before their crops were harvested. To solve this, Akbar commissioned the royal astronomer Fathullah Shirazi to create a new calendar that synthesized the Islamic lunar year with the Hindu solar calendar. The new year was designed to begin after the spring harvest, allowing farmers to pay their dues comfortably.
This gave birth to the tradition of Halkhata—the ceremonial opening of new accounting ledgers by merchants and traders, a practice that remains a cornerstone of Boishakh today. Chhayanaut and the Resistance at Ramna Botomul In modern history, Pohela Boishakh evolved from a rural harvest festival into a powerful symbol of political and cultural identity.
During the 1960s, when Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) was under Pakistani rule, the ruling elite attempted to suppress Bengali culture, labeling it as “un-Islamic.” In a defiant act of cultural resistance, the leading cultural organization Chhayanaut organized a musical program under the ancient Banyan tree at Ramna Park in 1967. They began the day with Rabindranath Tagore’s iconic song, “Esho Hey Boishakh” (Come, O Boishakh). Today, the dawn program at Ramna Botomul is the spiritual epicenter of the celebrations, symbolizing the victory of Bengali culture over communalism and oppression. 
Mangal Shobhajatra:
A Canvas of Hope. A UNESCO Intangible Heritage Perhaps the most visually stunning aspect of the New Year is the Mangal Shobhajatra, a vibrant colorful procession organized by the students and teachers of the Faculty of Fine Arts at Dhaka University.
Symbolism:
The parade features massive masks, floats, and replicas of birds, fish, and animals. Each motif represents a struggle against evil or a hope for prosperity.
Unity:
It is a non-religious, inclusive event where people from all walks of life participate to “seek the wellbeing of all.”
Global Recognition:
In 2016, UNESCO recognized Mangal Shobhajatra as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, acknowledging its role in promoting peace and solidarity.
The Sensory Experience:
Food, Fashion, and Festivity Pohela Boishakh is a feast for the senses. The atmosphere is thick with the scent of flowers, the sound of dhols (drums), and the sight of a sea of red and white.
A Plate of History:
Panta Ilish Food is the language of Bengali love. On this day, the elite and the commoner alike sit down to a meal of Panta Ilish.
The Dish:
Leftover rice soaked in water (Panta Bhaat), served with fried Hilsa fish (Ilish), dried fish mash (Shutki Bhorta), green chilies, and onions. The Symbolism: Historically, this was the breakfast of the rural farmer. Eating it today is a conscious choice to reconnect with the roots of the land, stripping away urban pretension.
The Culinary Tradition:
No Boishakh is complete without Panta Ilish—soaked rice served with fried Hilsa fish, dried fish mash (Shutki Bhorta), lentils, and green chilies. While traditionally a humble meal for farmers, it has become a symbolic dish that connects modern urbanites with their rural roots.
Attire:
Women adorn themselves in white sarees with red borders (Laal-Paar Shari), decorated with flowers in their hair. Men typically wear traditional Panjabis or Fatuas featuring folk motifs.
Halkhata:
The Business of New Beginnings For the business community, Pohela Boishakh is “Accounting Day.” Traditionally, shopkeepers and traders close their old ledgers and open new ones, a practice called Halkhata. Customers are invited to shops, not just to clear old debts, but to share sweets and strengthen communal ties. It turns a cold financial transaction into a warm social ritual, emphasizing that prosperity is best when shared.
Boishakhi Mela/ The Village Fair:
Rural and urban fairs spring up everywhere, offering traditional crafts, clay dolls, hand-woven fans, and sweets like Batasha and Moa. Socio-Economic Significance Beyond the festivities, Pohela Boishakh is a massive driver of the Bengali economy. It is the second-largest commercial season after the Eid holidays. The demand for new clothes, specialized food items, and local handicrafts provides a significant boost to small-scale artisans and the textile industry. It serves as a reminder that culture and economy are deeply intertwined, as the “New Year” signifies a fresh start for businesses and individual spirits alike.
The Global Bengali:
A Diaspora Perspective Today, Pohela Boishakh is a global event. From the Boishakhi Mela in Bethnal Green, London, to celebrations in Sydney, the festival acts as a bridge. For the second and third-generation diaspora, it is the primary way to engage with their linguistic roots. It isn’t just about the “New Year”; it is about ensuring that the Bengali language and its values of tolerance and art survive across borders.
Why Pohela Boishakh Matters:
A Vision for the Future Pohela Boishakh is the ultimate testament to the “Bengali Soul.” In an increasingly globalized world, it serves as an anchor, reminding the diaspora and the local youth of their unique identity. It is a day where the past meets the present, and where the values of tolerance, joy, and communal harmony are renewed. As the sun rises on the first of Boishakh, the air resonates with the collective hope that the coming year will wash away the sorrows of the past, as captured in the timeless lyrics of Tagore:
“Esho Hey Boishakh …” (Come, O Boishakh).
(The month of Boishakh has arrived, oh Boishakh has come…)
Community is the goal:
We walk together in the Shobhajatra to wish well for everyone. As the sun sets on the last day of Chaitra and rises on the first of Boishakh, the message is clear; the old sorrows are washed away, and a new chapter of hope begins.
Shubho Noboborsho! (Happy New Year!)
It is not just a celebration of Bengali new year; it is a celebration of life itself.
©® Afroza Jesmine
02.
Poem: “We are humans”
Poet: EVA Petropoulou Lianou.
From: Greece 🇬🇷.
Primelore published Date:Tuesday, 14 April 2026.
We supposed to build relationships with humans not meta humans
Not animals
Not aliens
We supposed to bring peace in the harmonious world we live
But everyday i see
A woman hugging a cat or dog
Feed them
Bath them
While babies are throwing to the centrer
Men talk to their dogs about their problems and prefer to stay with them
Instead to Go out and meet a human being
What is going with this society of screening
We are becoming clones of ourselves
Without emotion
Without feelings
We celebrate and congratulate only our people…. our tribe
What about the others.. people..that THey are doing so much about what we call
Good
We must say silent
We must not celebrate their achievements? Humans need recognition Individuals need assistance in every level due to the COVID test and everything that follows this experiment
But do you think
Having only relationships
with cats and dogs
Is that healthy???
I wonder exactly in what kind of society we are leaving
We don’t even speak to eachother
And when we do
We have hate
We have negative thoughts
We have too much inside our hearts
Too much dark and fear
So i tell you now
Get rid of those toxic feelings
Start reading
Start writing
Start dancing
Start laughing
Life is short
©® EVA Petropoulou Lianou 🇬🇷
03.
Poem: “THE WORLD I WANDER”
Poet: Mustafa Naci ÖZER.
From: Türkiye.
Primelore published Date:Tuesday, 14 April 2026.
It feels like a garden from heaven
roses opening quietly
all around me.
The sound of love
is not loud,
yet it fills everything,
echoing through my moments
like a hidden current.
This dream
it keeps flowing,
like a spring no one can stop.
And somewhere inside it,
I disappear.
In your eyes
there is a vast sea.
It calls me
without a voice.
I drift deeper
where secrets sleep,
where my soul
finds itself surrounded
by what it cannot name.
Memories gather there
like something precious,
something kept
not to be lost.
And that world
the one I wander
keeps reshaping
how I feel.
Sometimes
it is only a trembling note
inside my chest.
Sometimes
a touch
as light as wind
leaves its trace on my skin.
A scent passes,
soft and unseen,
and suddenly
I am no longer just myself.
That world returns again
and quietly
fills me with joy.
A road appears
stretching far beyond what I know.
A face
innocent, distant
becomes light
in the middle of night.
And with every glance,
something in me is taken
not forcefully,
but by a love
that does not belong to time.
My heart
falls
without resistance.
Then
something sacred
enters,
slowly,
without asking.
And all my dreams,
one by one,
begin to unfold there.
That world I wander
does not close its doors.
It receives me.
And somehow,
everything I dream
is built
there.
©® Mustafa Naci ÖZER
04.
Poem: “DANCING IN THE WIND”
Poet: Vo Thi Nhu Mai.
From: Australia
Primelore published Date:Tuesday, 14 April 2026.
what you seek leans toward your identity
toward the perfect morning of your first meet
the rain pouring down shining on your feet
his very deep eyes gather the ocean of love
what you seek leans towards a row
of shady trees dancing in the wind
towards autumn leaves trying to convince
that another season could be prettier
love, purposes or abundance you pursue
is simultaneously pulling you toward it
you learn to trust the natural flow of life
what you seek has already begun to arrive
©® Vo Thi Nhu Mai.
05.
Poem: “I WILL WRITE FOR LOVE”
Poet: Taghrid Bou Merhi .
From: Lebanon – Brazil.
Primelore published Date:Tuesday, 14 April 2026.
I will write for love, I will chant for love,
despite the clamor that has filled the horizons.
Despite the bullets when they pass through our night
like a blind wind howling and raging in the dark.
They may say: She is mad,
planting roses on the edge of the abyss.
Or they may say: She is a dreamer,
watering melodies in the square of the mob.
But my heart
is a child—when this vastness tightens,
it opens a window of light
and goes roaming through the storms.
My heart preserves only the commandments of the sky
and the footsteps of the prophets of hope,
and inscribes upon the path of darkness
a verse of light… on the chest of evening.
I will write for love,
despite oppression when it bites the necks of dreams,
despite war when it raises its black banners.
I will sing
to unsettle this ruin a little,
and to remind my heart
that life
is the last lantern of love
in the face of this annihilation.
©® Taghrid Bou Merhi
06.
Poem: “Blessings from the Dongba Scripture of Auspicious Days”
Poet : Lan Xin (Lanxin Samei)
From: China
Primelore published Date:Tuesday, 14 April 2026.
You come from the ancient Dongba scriptures
You come from the soul of the world’s only living hieroglyphs
You come from the eternal smile of the founding ancestors
You come from the heavenly sound of the Dongba priests’ conch
You carry the auspicious light of primordial chaos
The primal force that divided heaven and earth
The cosmic whispers beyond the sky
The blessings of gods and protection of all ancestors
In the name of UNESCO Memory of the World
I pray for the community with a shared future for mankind
With timeless wisdom and universal love
Bring eternal peace and blessings to the world
With peace as the lotus, with love as the dew
Sow the seeds of harmony on this blue planet
The high heavens shine with stars
Today the starlight is brightest
The earth is covered with green grass
Today the grass is freshest
The sun rises to the left of the Sacred Mountain
Today the sun warms most gently
The moon rises to the right of the Sacred Mountain
Tonight the moon shines most brightly
On this day
when sun is good, moon is good, stars are good
year is good, month is good, day is good
and every hour is blessed
May stars shine bright above, earth grow green below, trees stand tall and full
May all be auspicious, all wishes come true
May the world be peaceful, filled with joy and health
May all people live long lives, blessed with endless grace
©® 2026 Lan Xin (Lanxin Samei)
07.
Poem: “To the Magnolia”
Poet: Bai Gengsheng
From: China
Primelore published Date:Tuesday, 14 April 2026.
You are the magnolia
Standing tall on city streets
Graceful at village ends
Adorning palaces with nobility
Embellishing parks with elegance
Spring stirs in your heart
Hope is rekindled once again
Your spirit soars, unbound
Like cranes dancing light in the air
You are the messenger of spring
Warming thousands of household lights
Shining bright in every corner
Stretching across the Milky Way
Turning the whole sky into paradise
You arrive before the bitter cold
You bloom before the warm wind comes
You do not vie for favor with fruit blossoms
You offer your fragrance to heal and bless the world
You are the spirit of the earth
Unspoiled by dust or darkness
You chase away dark clouds and night
No mountain may belittle your tenderness
You are the conscience of the universe
Pure and upright, you glorify the world
Your spirit spans the rainbow, your heart unyielding
You stay true, unchanged by time or season
You gaze calmly at worldly glamour and noise
You envy not laurel nor peony’s pride
Magnolia, magnolia, you are not alone
You wake plum blossoms, then peach blossoms
You bring forth willow green and cauliflower gold
Magnolia, magnolia, pure beyond compare
Naturally radiant, your grace shines eternal.
Translated by Lan Xin
Bio: Bai Gengsheng is a Vice Chairman of the China Writers Association, Member of the Standing Committee of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Honorary Dean of the China Yulong Wenbi Dongba Culture Academy. World-renowned cultural figure, internationally renowned Chinese writer, poet and translator, winner of multiple international literary awards and outstanding international contribution honors, Ambassador of Great Love and Peace, the only female inheritor of UNESCO Memory of the World Dongba Culture, Dean of Dongba Culture Academy and Lanxin Samei Academy.
©® Bai Gengsheng
08.
Poem: “Sound in Crowd:”
Poet: Til Kumari Sharma
From: Nepal
Primelore published Date:Tuesday, 14 April 2026.
Unheard the sound of justice in crowd.
True speech is banned to hear by people.
My success can not be heard by my parent’s family.
Amazing relation with sister- in- laws.
They can not hear my success.
Egoist women are they who enslave to do household work.
No respect by them in my good doings
Turning side when I show them my awards.
Their children are happy in their mothers’ success.
Not seeing my award with interest and love,
Wonderful relation can be seen in mother’s home.
Then the other and own can be separated clearly by their behavior.
It shows their relation is how far from me?
In my simple discussion, they make video to make me infamous.
This shows that they are not my near and dear.
Seeing like in mirror I experience such loneliness without not my people around me.
So, after sharing truth in art of writing, I know this art is only my history and child.
©® Til Kumari Sharma
09.
Poem: “The Winter’s Final Decree.”
Poet: Juraeva Aziza Rakhmatovna
From: Uzbekistan.
Primelore published Date:Tuesday, 14 April 2026.
Spring has come and hearts are filled with cheer,
Tender grass begins to slowly rise.
Snow is falling — children laugh with joy,
Winter claims the spring before our eyes.
Frost has touched the tender budding flowers,
Winter spreads its rule across the land.
As if spring itself were caught in pain,
Snow now covers earth with silent hand.
©® Juraeva Aziza Rakhmatovna
10.
Poet: Jagoda Sablić
From: Croatia
Poem: “You my love”
Primelore published Date:Tuesday, 14 April 2026.
YOU ARE MY LOVE
Whisper to me one more time,
That you love me.
I will write you the same verse a
hundred times.
I will let the wind carreing it awey,
the sky give to you.
The whisper of your words:
„I love you“.
I have locked it in my heart.
I will not let anyone steal them.
You are the source of my life.
You are my oasis in the middle
of the desert.
You are my cosmish path.
Only with you, I am
safe, becouse I am loved.
Wherever I go, I see only you.
Wherver I look, I see only your face.
Whatever I listen to,
I hear only your voice,becouse
I am you, you are me.
I love you, you my love.
©® Jagoda Sablić
11.
Poem: “THE MEMORIES”
Poet: Shaip Zeqir Zeqiri
From: Albania.
Primelore published Date:Tuesday, 14 April 2026.
We started to express thoughts and wishes,
Just like the selected and clean dishes.
There were nothing to lose
And the readers could chose!
Often we have nothing new to say,
Only for equality can pray:
To stop conflicts and wars everywhere
And to have permanent peace here and there!
Only true love for the nature,
Can bring us safty future!
©® Shaip Zeqir Zeqiri
12.
Poem: “I,like a girl,”
Poet: Fadwa Attia.
From: Egypt.
Primelore published Date:Tuesday, 14 April 2026.
I, like a girl ,
dream—like a butterfly—of beautiful days and sweet moments.
But always I live between my work and my studying; my days go astray and my memories fade,
and inside me remains the little girl who loves chocolate and flowers.
Will my days ever return to how they were when I was a child?
I used to dream of being grown-up. We grew older with the days, and I still haven’t achieved what I want.
Ah—my days. With each passing day I feel bewildered.
O Lord, you are the one who can make them the most beautiful days and the sweetest dreams.
Grant me what I desire—like a butterfly flying through the fields searching for her dream…
©® Fadwa Attia
13.
Poem: “what do we know of darkness?”
Poet: Helen Pletts
From: UK.
Primelore published Date:Tuesday, 14 April 2026.
the house hangs on yellow squares, the silhouette of
the stick legs of a silent dog; a person glows in a frame
of glass. Dark so quiet that the blood in your head is loudest.
Darkness ceases all momentum, one swing of the pendulum,
then it is stuck; waiting for the sun to move it back
©® Helen Pletts
14.
Poem: “UNSTOPABLE BEAT”
Poet: Obaka Okolo
From: Nigeria
Primelore published Date:Tuesday, 14 April 2026.
strike the keys
let the waist bolt into action
the legs two floor
let the hands fly in the air
where is my danshiki
and my hands and neck beads
my ribs are active
the muscles energized
I must not delay
lest I ruin the sun
the kites are much in the sky
wow!!, the sun is smiling
wait ,I can hear drums from afar
echoes of laughter can you?
are these tears on my cheeks?
yeah!! the sun shines amidst rainfall
©® Obaka Okolo
15.
Poem: “MINUET AT MIDNIGHT”
Poet: Milena Pčinjski
From: Republic of Serbia
Primelore published Date:Tuesday, 14 April 2026.
Thou art my minuet at midnight,
a primal ember, softly stirred;
the tender call of the turtledove at dawn
that gently heralds the morn.
Thou art my silence, and my trembling,
which in longing I weave into verse.
Thou art the flame of a restless body,
a fervent yearning that warms within.
Thou art the depth and essence of my soul,
long hidden from unworthy eyes.
A love awaited since days of childhood;
a tender blossom that I tend in rapture.
Woven of the same mystic substance,
in a gleam that sets each atom aflame;
fate hath bestowed us one upon the other,
in a wondrous fire that dreams of the eternal.
©® Milena Pčinjski
16.
Poem: “healing thoughts”
Poet: Mary Garde.
From: Vancouver Island
Primelore published Date:Tuesday, 14 April 2026.
I need to get myself out there I need to spread the word
help others see what I learned become unincumbered
from the ideas imposed by other people
allow you to see It’s
okay just to be take your time decide what is right for your own situation
tension is imposed when you feel the need to follow someone else
trust yourself you got here on your own
don’t jump to hasty conclushions
©® Mary Garde mkap
17.
Poem: “STRINGS OF MEMORY”
Poet: Elli Lagiou.
From: Greece.
Primelore published Date:Tuesday, 14 April 2026.
The strings of my memory tremble,
stirring unrest throughout my being,
for that unfamiliar noise
and where the road might lead
of that sound,
unable to offer it tuning.
And the strings go on
sending memories as riders.
Where did they go?
Where do they wander when they are lost?
Sometimes, faintly, they ache,
then return to their balance again,
shaping sounds of happiness
how they can still compose
the music of my soul, pure and true,
so that it may be heard as joyful
by the universe of surprises.
©® Elli Lagiou.
18.
Poem: “I Will Take Your Word For It”
Poet: Devendra K Mishra
From: India.
Primelore published Date:Tuesday, 14 April 2026.
I will not look for
my laid-back vibes
in the blueness of the sky,
nor feel my breathing
in the breeze
blowing slow and dry.
I will not decipher
my dreams of the birds
flying low and high,
nor smell my sweat in a squeal
sleeping after digging up the past
bit by bit with a sigh.
I will not find my tears
in the dewdrops
shed in the night,
nor follow up
the twinkling fireflies
in the flickering light.
I will not listen
to the songs
in the purling of rivers,
nor feel a nip
in my heart
when a night shivers.
I will be lost
in the blows
of a regretful beat,
but stroll holding up your shadow –
taking your word for it
as a heavenly treat.
Bio: Devendra K Mishra is the author of The Cursed Crow, Whenever I Feel, The Cara Coffee Bar, and The Colour of Forgotten Sounds. He is drawn to the classics and sees living poetry woven through the natural world. Following no creed but a quiet religion of humanity, he feels blessed, contented, and serene. He lives in India.
©® Devendra K Mishra
19.
Poem: “Faint Light”
Poet: Xhuli Spahiu
From: Kosovo 🇽🇰
Primelore published Date:Tuesday, 14 April 2026.
In the silence that falls
like a faint light over the city,
I gather fragments of lost thoughts
like leaves that no longer know where the wind came from.
The streets have become like unread memories,
with footsteps knocking upon the past,
and the windows tired eyes
gaze at a sky that does not answer.
You are somewhere within this scattered reality,
like a word that was never spoken,
yet lives in every breath I take.
And I, leaning on my own shadow,
search for meaning in small things
a forgotten smile,
a touch that never happened,
a dream that refuses to wake.
Life is nothing but a long question,
without a question mark at the end,
but filled with silence in between.
With love from the soul,
and with a love for humanity.
©® Xhuli Spahiu
20.
Poem: “Homo sapiens”
Poet: Selim Boumerdas
From: France.
Man believes himself
comfortably settled in lethargy,
between cruelty and empathy.
He sees himself as predator,
and all others, prey.
He is manipulator and schemer.
Though one might think him foolish,
he feeds his contempt
to better corner his quarry
like a boa coiling.
Among his own kind,
he is always on guard.
Having lied too much for too long,
he finds himself forever on a stage,
playing a part not his own
a script learned and rehearsed,
neither written nor thought through.
Careless of the consequences
of his swaggering toward one and all,
he hides the other face he conceals
even from his loved ones and himself.
Others will never see his true face.
In time, people will say to themselves:
“He is a good soul,
I have found in him the ideal man.”
When in truth he is nothing but a buoy
to cling to before drowning,
or an old rock to keep from drifting.
But in truth, all that pleases in him
is nothing more than subtle signals
and conscious ones
or perhaps
pheromones orchestrating
communication and interaction,
more easily.
You will never truly know someone
at first glance,
nor after years of knowing.
For each plays their part to perfection,
face to face with flora and fauna.
One cannot help but marvel at so many tricks
and deceptions.
He gets caught in his own game
and cannot control the beast
that lives in him and in us.
It lives in symbiosis.
And when it awakens,
no one can strap it in a straitjacket… !
©® Selim Boumerdas
21.
Poem: “Memory of Autumn”
Poet: Muammer Al Sufiani
From: Yemen 🇾🇪
Primelore published Date:Tuesday, 14 April 2026.
Peace is not one who throws himself on the road with a blind heart.
The earth is a riddle, we are an idea, and the sky is texts..
The wind is the prophet of fate, the rose is the prophet of love,
and the mind believes everything from a prophet.
Oh, every homeland scarred by wars, you will rise from the cracks of time..
I saw the night sipping the intoxication of light,
and reveling in every dark place on the paths.
He and I are human, and the difference between us is a lie.
Oh, every tree that fell, conscious of its leaves,
autumn’s memory will return in the rain..
©® Muammer Al Sufiani
22.
Poem: “RAINING NIGHT PIANO CONCERT”
Poet: Bernardete Cavalcanti
From: Brasil.
Primelore published Date:Tuesday, 14 April 2026.
Dark,silent and windy night
It is raining heavy outside
It came to me smoothly a lovely song
Spreading in the air its bright
The heart of me weeps to belong
To someone who is my only guide
Then I hear a wood piano playing
To me, it seemed like a “grand piano”
In the night, a violin cries and cellos moan
This nice sound is hovering in the air
The music spreads very “far lontano”
It looks like it is saying
I am a music of dream, love and home
The changing weather stopped the rain
It takes the notes to heaven so far away
My soul stopped bleeding the pain
Loneliness will give me no more dispair
I’ll never forget this blissful day!
©® Bernardete Cavalcanti
Happy New Bengali Year!
Shubho Noboborsho!
1433, Boishakh 1st.
