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Poila Boishakh in West Bengal
The Bengali new year is kept in a white saree with a red border, a visit to the temple and a new account book for the shop.
What is worn for Poila Boishakh in West Bengal
Poila Boishakh, the first day of the Bengali year, falls on 15 April in West Bengal, a day later than in Bangladesh. People bathe, dress in new clothes and visit the temple, and shopkeepers open a fresh account book in a ceremony called Halkhata, with a puja and sweets for customers. Women wear a white saree with a red border, in cotton or silk, and often add a flower in the hair or a red bindi. Men wear a panjabi with dhoti. Tant and Dhakai weaves, garad silk and cotton in white and red are the safest pairings, because the two colours are those of the day. The day is also marked with a feast of many dishes.
The sarees
Also part of it, and being written: Garad (White silk with a red border for a more formal day.).
Written by the EveryPallu desk with AI assistance. Background: "Pohela Boishakh" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Tant sari: Billjones94, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jamdani: Salim_Khandoker, CC0, source