Dhaka’s festival of ‘kites and lights’ promotes harmony

Young people release a paper lantern during the traditional Shakrain festival in old Dhaka on Jan. 14, 2020.  The festival is hailed for its secular character. (Photo by Piyas Biswas)

As the feeble winter sun starts setting, thousands of residents of the old part of Dhaka, on the banks of the Buriganga, clamber to their rooftops — to sing and dance, and to fly kites of various colors and shapes.

As dusk descends, the boisterous crowd start releasing hundreds of paper lanterns and firework. Some flamboyant groups arrange for daylong programs including music concerts, parties and fire-breathing by brave young men.

Men, women and children from all faiths—Muslims, Hindus and Christians — greet each other and offer sweets and traditional pithas (homemade cakes).

The narrow streets of Old Dhaka get overcrowded as residents and visitors rush to celebrate the feast in whatever way they can.

This unique feast is Shakrain, which marks the start of the sun’s northward journey at the end of Poush, the ninth month of the local calendar. It also marks the end of the winter solstice and the start of longer days.

This year, Shakrain fell on Jan. 14-15.

A journey to the other half of myself

Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata

I’ve just been to India for the first time in my life, traveling round the Indian state of West Bengal for a couple of days. So it was just a short trip but it was very significant to me.

My destination was Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, the largest predominantly Bengali state in India and once the capital of all India during British colonial rule.

I’m an ethnic Bengali, a member of the largest ethnic group in South Asia, numbering more than 250 million. Sadly, Bengal is not a nation.

In 1947 the sub-continent was divided into India and Pakistan, based on religious grounds, and united Bengal was cut into two pieces: West Bengal with its Hindu majority was allocated to India, while East Bengal with its majority of Muslims was given to Pakistan and became East Pakistan.

This was a historic blunder of course. But more than that, many people deem it a political conspiracy, aimed at blocking the advancement of the largest and most progressive nation in India.

Suddenly the Bengali people, with their universal language, heritage and history, were divided. They now required visas simply to visit their loved and dear ones on the other side of the barbed wire fence. And that visa process is a tough and bitter experience, I can tell you.

So for me, this was a journey to the self, a journey to half of the soul of Bengali ethnicity, culture and nationalism.

Decades have passed since the division took place and but the solidarity of the Bengalis has never waned. Maybe one day will not need to go through such hassles to meet each other and our wish to be re-united in a single state us will be realized.

But I’m not sure how far away that day is.

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