Thematic writing Prepare a write up on the theme "Bengali New Year". Your write up should include the history, culture, mode as well as the usual festivities of the occasion.

A. Bengali New Year or Pohela Boishakh is the first day of the Bengali calendar, celebrated in both Bangladesh and West Bengal, and in Bengali communities in Assam and Tripura. It coincides with the New Year's Day of numerous other Southern Asian calendars. Usually on Pahela Boishaka, the home is thoroughly scrubbed and cleaned; people bathe early in the morning and dress in fine clothes. They spend much of the day visiting relatives, friends, and neighbors and going to the fair. Fairs are arranged in many parts of the country. Various agricultural products, traditional handicrafts, toys, cosmetics, as well as various kinds of food and sweets are sold at these fairs. The fair also feature with singers, dancers and traditional plays and songs. Horse races, bull races, bull fights, cockfights, flying pigeons, boat racing were once popular. Pahela Boishakh connects all ethnic Bengalis irrespective of religious and regional differences. In India, in West Bengal and Assam it is a public (state) holiday and is publicly celebrated in mid April. In Bangladesh, it is a national holiday celebrated around April 14 according to the official amended calendar designed by the Bangla Academy. The Bengali calendar is closely tied with the Hindu solar calendar. As with many other variants of the Hindu solar calendar, the Bengali calendar commences in mid-April of the Gregorian year. It goes without saying that Pahela Baishakh is an imminent part of a Bangladeshi's life. We have celebrated this day since our childhood and it has always held a significant place in our life. Thus it is our duty to protect our heritage and to ensure safe passage of this tradition to future generations.