Bangladesh
Mangal Sobhayatra Foreigners take part in Mangal Sobhayatra, say Subho Noboborsho in Bengali
Dhaka, April 14: On the occasion of Bengali New Year, citizens of different countries came to Dhaka University campus and participated in the Mangal Sobhayatra. The procession started at 9 am from the Fine Arts Faculty of the University. It took a turn at the Shahbagh intersection and ended at the Faculty of Fine Arts.
All the people, regardless of party affiliation, joined the procession. People of all classes and professions took part in the procession. Foreigners were not left behind. They donned traditional Bengali attires and took part in the procession and wished everyone happy new year in Bengali. Participating in the procession, Johnson, a citizen of France, said, "Happy New Year, thank you Bangladesh. I am enjoying a lot. It feels so good."
Earlier, Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Md. Akhtaruzzaman inaugurated the procession. University teachers, students and people from different walks of life spontaneously participated in the procession. The entire area was wrapped in a strict security blanket.
This year's theme of Mangal Sobhayatra was Rabindranath Tagore's song 'Borisho Dhorar Majhe Shantir Bari'. In the procession, the history-tradition of modern Bengal along with the symbolic presentation of recent events took place.
For the past three decades, Mangal Shobhayatra is being taken out every year on the first day of Baisakh by the initiative of art teachers and students. In 2016, this procession was recognized as a cultural heritage by UNESCO. Mangal Shobhayatra is seen as a cultural blow to the abominable image of chauvinism and parochialism through the amalgamation of thousands of years of non-communal Bengali tradition.
