Subho Noboborsho

Happy Bengali New Year

Bengali New Year would coincide or occur right before our annual exam in school started. At that time, I’d be edgy in hardly a mood to celebrate. I had to reproduce crammed matter which I had learnt year-long by revising them from old tattered books that I wanted to part with. That’s why I didn’t get to learn much about the festival then.

The month of Boishak also coincided with kal boishakis or north-westerly storms. These tempests gave us a much-needed respite from the sweltering heat but created great destruction, especially for the poor living in villages.

After our exams were over, I plunged into the swimming pool to relax after having had a gruelling time. I’d go to the lake and swim its depths, something which isn’t safe for me to do anymore at 45 with my ailments. When a storm would approach, suddenly the sky would get cloudy though the water would still be warm and comforting.

My swimming teachers would call me, “Come out of the water at once if you don’t want to be struck by lightning.” I’d swim away from the shore as soon I’d see dark clouds gathering in the northwest of the sky because I wanted to whirl amidst the thunderstorm but I had to swim back.

Boishak was also the month during which I read storybooks and watched the Oscar-winning films of that year on video. Nowadays, Boishak doesn’t come with the terror of exams followed by a soothing time.

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