Shubho Noboborsho - Happy (Bangla) New Year. Today is Party Time in Da Desh. As my ever-insightful friend Rahim says, the only holiday which is pure fun. No historical or religious connotations. Just enjoy the day.
So people were out for fun. Kids getting faces painted, playing with balloons and balls. Women wearing white and red saris. Friends walking hand in hand. Mothers, fathers, children - some grandparents. Eating choc-bars and potato chips, listening to singers and bands as they played on various stages in Ramna park and nearby. Some even dancing. Blowing soap-bubbles. More kids getting their faces painted than you can shake a stick at.
Some brought a tiffin carrier, a bedsheet and sat down and had a picnic lunch in the park. Smiling women tied each other's hair into jasmine flowered chignons. College boys showed up wearing the same fashion sunglasses and T shirts.
It was good to see everyone so happy.