panta-ilish, mela, and Mongol Shobhajatra we indulge in, there are other South and Southeast Asian nations and even communities within Bangladesh celebrating the same lapse of a harvest season in concert.
Around the same time every year with
Baishakh, takes place
Boisabi, a three-day-long festival of indigenous communities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. The name is an acronym – a fusion of individual celebrations –
Boishu of the Tripuras;
Sangrai of the Marmas,
Sankran of the Mros,
Sangran of the Kyangs,
Sankrai of the Khumis; and
Biju of the Chakmas, and
Bishu of the Tanchangyas.
Photo: ORCHID CHAKMA
Boisabi celebrations vary among ethnicities yet resemble in some ways. The Chakmas begin the first day of celebration,