Bengali New Year or ‘Poila Baishakh’ is the first day of the Bengali calendar. On that day, people wear new clothes and meet their friends and relatives. Prayers are offered by people for the well-being of their families throughout the year. Various cultural programmes and special feasts are held to welcome the ‘Nabo Barsho’ or new year. West Bengal Information and Cultural Centre also organizes several programmes in Baishakh. It has a special significance in the lives of Bengalis as the birth anniversary of poet-laureate Rabindranath Tagore is also celebrated in this month.
