Price increase damper on new year festivities

KOLKATA: The first day of the Bengali New Year was a mixed bag. There were plenty of new clothes display on the streets; traditional meals were the order of the day; musical soirees were organised at different venues. But Tuesday also saw prices of foodstuff, including eggs, fruits and raw vegetables, shoot up thanks to the all India truck strike.
Poila Boisakh began with a series of programmes on All India Radio welcoming the new year with songs, poems and short plays.During the day a series of programmes were held in the city. A torchlight procession by students from Belur Math began at 6.45 am made its way to Gol Park while another came via Baishnabghata arrived at Mahajati Sadan.
The torch was lit by Ramakrishna Mission and Math secretary Swami Smaranananda and received by inspector-general of police Prasun Mukherjee.
The heritage tram, Banalata, carried invitees across the city as artistes performed inside the tram to the delight of passersby. The Sri Aurobindo Institute of Culture organised a special cultural programme at their auditorium where a solo Rabindra Sangeet recital by singer Rajashree Bhattacharjee kept the audience enthralled.
Around 20 members from All India Marwari Mahila Samity celebrated Poila Boisakh but in a different way — spending time with orphans at Dakshin Kolkata Sevashram. Shoes and socks were distributed among the children along with one week’s foodgrains for the ashram, including 100 kg of rice and 30 kg of pulses.
At Swabhumi, a Bengali food festival was held to celebrate the true fervour of bangaliyana. A Bengali musical extravaganza, ‘Aamaar Gaan, Tomaar Gaan, Bangla Gaan’, with performances by Nachiketa, Suman, Lopamudra and Bhoomi was organised in the evening.
The state information and cultural affairs department kicked off a week-long Sangeet Mela on Tuesday at the Rabindra Sadan Nandan complex. The Calcutta Club, in association with the Multiple Group, organised a dance recital, ‘Bichitro’, featuring filmstar Debosree Roy and her troupe.