Every year, Poila Baisakh (Bengali New Year) brings with it a fresh flicker of hope for Bengalis across the world. An array of traditional dishes and sweets, new clothes, cultural programmes, haal khata (opening a ledger account), the celebration knows no bounds.

The inexorable mixture of culture and cuisine extends from affluent classes forming a beeline for restaurants to lovers of music, dance and poetry attending soirees or cultural presentations.

Several television and radio channels hold adda sessions, verbalising the essence of Nobo borsho. However, there is much more to Poila Baisakh than new clothes and food that make the day a redolent extravaganza.

Talking to The Statesman, veteran vocalist Srikumar Chattopadhyay (in photo) delved into the celebration through music. “Ramnidhi Gupta was the first person to compose a song on the occasion of Poila Baisakh, with words: Haay ki shukher agomon borosho horosho aanhe. Siraj udDaulah, the then nawab of Bengal, honoured Nidhu Babu at his durbar for his composition, ” said Mr Chattopadhyay.

Becoming familiar with Hindustani tappa of Shori Mian, Ramnidhi Gupta introduced Bengali tappa using soft vibrations on each tone in lieu of the celerity of Shori Mian’s tone to accentuate the poetic beauty of Bengali melodies. Mr Chattopadhyay continued, “In the later years, another personality, Dasharathi Roy came up. He’s mostly popular for composing panchali songs. One of his compositions for nobo borsho goes: puraton holo goto, aashe nobagoto din.”

Dasharathi Roy worked as a clerk at an indigo factory. Having a penchant for poetry, he joined the kaviyal group of Aka Bai (Akshay Katani) and competed against the well-known kaviyal Nidhiram Suri. Taking offence at personal retorts, he left the group in 1836 and started his own akhda (group) to concentrate on writing songs and panchali.

Roy was soon acknowledged by Nabadwip’s intellectual community as a highly skilled panchali poet. His panchali, rising to fame under the name Dashu Royer Panchali, were notable not only for the religious and devotional overtones, but also for the alluring musical appeals that made them enjoyable for all. “Next came Amritalal Basu, a renowned playwright and stage actor. He composed a song which painted a thorough description of how people celebrated Nobo borsho in those days. The song is, Nobo borosho praate mon khushite maate…”, added Mr Chattopadhyay.

Throughout his career, Amritalal wrote, directed and acted in diverse plays. Well known for his farces and satirical dramas, he was popularly named ‘Roshoraj’ or the king of wit. Despite changes in the celebration, Bengalis continue to look forward to Poila Baisakh