“Baishakh is more than just panta-ilish”…Sharmin Lucky

Sharmin Lucky

Sharmin Lucky became a star through the popular culinary show “Siddiqua Kabir's Recipe”, and since then, has been a stylish model and a successful a radio jockey. In a conversation with The Daily Star, she expressed her views on how the Baishakh culture is changing. 

“It appears that having panta-ilish and going to Ramna Botomul have become the prerequisite to establish oneself as a Bangalee. But I think Baishakh is much more than that.

Women are obsessed with wearing red and white sari and having their hair puffed-up to get a 50's look. People go to beauty parlours to look the typical 'bangalee' for a day, but I think they lose their natural beauty of being a Bangalee woman in that process.

“For me, Pahela Baishakh will always be bhaat-daal (rice and lentil soup) cooked by my mother, and collecting raw mangoes after the Kalbaishakhi (Nor'Wester storms).

The essence of a Bangalee woman's look should be simplicity; maybe just a simple cotton sari with beli phool worn on the head.

This is what I have seen my mother doing; Baishakh doesn't feel the same anymore. We are adopting culture from elsewhere and losing our sense of the Bangla New Year.

“I celebrate Chaitra Sankranti, the last day of the Bangla calendar, with more gusto. At least it has not changed much.”