Festive Poush Mela ends in Thakurgaon

Amidst huge festivity, the two-day third Poush Mela and tenth Lokayan Pitha Utsab concluded yesterday at Lokayan Museum premises in Akcha village under Sadar upazila.  

Every day, the presence of large numbers of people, including government officials, teachers and students, journalists and cultural activists, lent additional fervour to the festival.

The festival included painting competition for children, a vibrant cultural programme featuring renditions of songs, recitation, dances and staging of dhamer gaan, a very popular traditional theatre form of the area, which captivated the audience.    

Deputy Commissioner Dr KM Kamruzzaman Selim inaugurated the event on Saturday as chief guest while Superintendent of Police Md Moniruzzaman was the guest of honour and Chairman of Lokayan Livelihood Museum, also Executive Director of ESDO, Dr Mohammad Shahid Uz Zaman, was in the chair.

The inauguration was followed by a discussion where the speakers appreciated the organisers for taking such an initiative to help promote our heritage and culture to the younger generation. 

The discussants were also of the view that the people of Bangladesh observe different festivals in different seasons together without considering religion. They organise such vibrant festivals to celebrate the six seasons, aiming to promote our age-old culture among youngsters and build unity.  

Our Bangalee festivals like nobanno utsab, pitha utsab, barsha mangol utsab and Boishakhi utsab teach us about non-communalism, said Dr Mohammad Shahid Uz Zaman while talking to this correspondent.  

“We teachers have brought our students here to observe the festival. Young people can refrain from all sorts of anti-social acts like militancy and drug abuse through practicing our traditional culture as it helps to flourish thinking,” said Masuma Begum, assistant teacher at CM Ayub Girls' High School,.

The discussion was followed by a vibrant cultural programme where local artistes performed songs and dances.

In the concluding session yesterday, a local theatre group performed dhamer gaan. Several stalls were set up at the museum premises to showcase the culinary delights, including bhapa, dudh-chitoi, pakon, pantua, andosha, bhajapuli, prem puli, shemoy pitha and others. Enthusiastic visitors thronged the festival to get a taste of different varieties of pithas, an integral part of our winter, with the rhythm of dance, folk and baul songs

Prizes and gifts were handed to the winners and participants at the pitha utshab.

Lokayan Livelihood Museum organised the festival with the help of Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation.