Baishakhi Mela
Encyclopedia
The Baishakhi Mela celebrated in London
, England, takes place across the area of Banglatown in the borough of Tower Hamlets in east London through Brick Lane
to Weavers Fields and Allen Gardens in Bethnal Green
. The event is a celebration of the Bengali New Year, with musical and cultural events held. It is the largest open-air Asian
festival in Europe
and the largest Bengali
festival outside of Bangladesh
. After the Notting Hill Carnival
, it is the second-largest street festival in the UK attracting over 80,000 visitors from around the UK. Although the Bengali new year falls on 14/15 April (1st Boishakh
in the Bengali calendar
), the festival is held in the second weekend of May on a Sunday to avoid the period of higher risk of rain during the month of April. Having started in 1997, the 10th anniversary of the mela was celebrated in 2007.
and celebrations of the Bengali New Year have been celebrated by the Bangladeshi community in England since 1997. The original event based in Bangladesh
and West Bengal
is called the Pohela Boishakh. The festival was created for the purpose of the Bangladeshi diaspora
living in the UK. It was organized by the local people, and is now managed by the Baishakhi Mela Trust Ltd, a non-profit organization.
The Baishakhi Mela is a unique festival, which has been created by a generation of Bangladeshi people who want to celebrate the Bangla New Year. It inspires the British Bangladeshi community
to be more creative
during the arrival of the event, through the production
and the presentation
skills of excellent and innovative ideas through participation in the Baishakhi Mela, including the stage planning, music
and dancing. Other than creating the event for the purposes of celebrations for the community
, it also aims to gain recognition
of the Bengali people in the London, by providing different cultures to some British people, and by encouraging them to participate in the event as well as recognising the Bangladeshi presence in London
. Also providing the people the skills and opportunities for the young aspirations as well as professional artists to perform their music or dances.
Previously Bangla TV
was the main broadcaster of the Baishakhi Mela event, however since 2005, Channel S
has acquired the rights to broadcast the event due to its commitment to the community (the slogan is working for the community), achieving popular support from the main sponsors within the community.
and ends in Weavers Fields. This is known as the Grand Parade, where there are women and children dressed in colourful Bengali
traditional clothes and masks. There will also be musicians or drummers, including dancers and also the leaders from the community
. During the 2008 Mela, a great emperor was leading the parade symbolising the traditional landlord of the Indian subcontinent
, along with a tiger, an elephant on wheels, rickshaws, and many others. Brick Lane
, which is home to many Bangladeshi-owned Indian restaurants, serves curry along the streets for the visitors, with traditional Bengali cuisine
meals, and cooked by prominent chefs from Bangladesh
.
After the parade, it will finally progress into the Music Programme, where there will be famous music artists from Bangladesh
and the UK, dancers and actors performing on stages. The four stages will host Bengali music, theatre including Sylheti drama, and there will also be dance displays throughout the day. The music performed features a wide range of Bengali music, these include traditional
Bengali or folk
songs, as well as modern, contemporary music, and rap music in Bangla or Sylheti. Bhangra and Bollywood
are also sometimes performed by singers.
, Kajol Dewan and Nukul Kumar. Popular among the younger generation was Mumzy, who is a leading British Bengali MC and DJ in the East End of London
. Other guest singers included Lucy Rahman
, Kala Miah and others. The stages were hosted by Adil Ray
, Shawkat Hashmi, Kan-D-Man and many more. The main sponsors of the event were BBC Asian Network
and Channel S.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England, takes place across the area of Banglatown in the borough of Tower Hamlets in east London through Brick Lane
Brick Lane
Brick Lane is a street in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. It runs from Swanfield Street in the northern part of Bethnal Green, crosses Bethnal Green Road, passes through Spitalfields and is linked to Whitechapel High Street to the south by the short stretch of...
to Weavers Fields and Allen Gardens in Bethnal Green
Bethnal Green
Bethnal Green is a district of the East End of London, England and part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, with the far northern parts falling within the London Borough of Hackney. Located northeast of Charing Cross, it was historically an agrarian hamlet in the ancient parish of Stepney,...
. The event is a celebration of the Bengali New Year, with musical and cultural events held. It is the largest open-air Asian
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
festival in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and the largest Bengali
Bengali people
The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...
festival outside of Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
. After the Notting Hill Carnival
Notting Hill Carnival
The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual event which since 1964 has taken place on the streets of Notting Hill, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea , London, UK each August, over two days...
, it is the second-largest street festival in the UK attracting over 80,000 visitors from around the UK. Although the Bengali new year falls on 14/15 April (1st Boishakh
Boishakh
Boishakh is the first month in the Bangla Calendar used in Bangladesh and parts of India.Baisakh is also the first month in the Nepali calendar which uses the Bikram Sambat. It is the 2nd month in Hindu calendars following Shalivahana Shaka.The name of the month is derived from the position of...
in the Bengali calendar
Bengali calendar
The Bengali calendar or Bangla calendar is a solar and sidereal Hindu calendar used by the Bengali people. It is used in the eastern Indian states of West Bengal, Assam and Tripura and in Bangladesh...
), the festival is held in the second weekend of May on a Sunday to avoid the period of higher risk of rain during the month of April. Having started in 1997, the 10th anniversary of the mela was celebrated in 2007.
History
The Baishakhi Mela was launched in Brick LaneBrick Lane
Brick Lane is a street in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. It runs from Swanfield Street in the northern part of Bethnal Green, crosses Bethnal Green Road, passes through Spitalfields and is linked to Whitechapel High Street to the south by the short stretch of...
and celebrations of the Bengali New Year have been celebrated by the Bangladeshi community in England since 1997. The original event based in Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
and West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
is called the Pohela Boishakh. The festival was created for the purpose of the Bangladeshi diaspora
Bangladeshi diaspora
The Bangladeshi diaspora consists of people of Bangladeshi descent who have immigrated to or were born in another country. First generation migrants may have moved abroad from Bangladesh for better living conditions, to escape poverty, or to send money back to families in Bangladesh.The world's...
living in the UK. It was organized by the local people, and is now managed by the Baishakhi Mela Trust Ltd, a non-profit organization.
The Baishakhi Mela is a unique festival, which has been created by a generation of Bangladeshi people who want to celebrate the Bangla New Year. It inspires the British Bangladeshi community
British Bangladeshi
A British Bangladeshi is a person of Bangladeshi origin who resides in the United Kingdom having emigrated to the UK and attained citizenship through naturalisation or whose parents did so; they are also known as British Bengalis...
to be more creative
Creativity
Creativity refers to the phenomenon whereby a person creates something new that has some kind of value. What counts as "new" may be in reference to the individual creator, or to the society or domain within which the novelty occurs...
during the arrival of the event, through the production
Event planning
Event planning is the process of planning a festival, ceremony, competition, party, or convention. Event planning includes budgeting, establishing dates and alternate dates, selecting and reserving the event site, acquiring permits, and coordinating transportation and parking...
and the presentation
Presentation
Presentation is the practice of showing and explaining the content of a topic to an audience or learner. Presentations come in nearly as many forms as there are life situations...
skills of excellent and innovative ideas through participation in the Baishakhi Mela, including the stage planning, music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
and dancing. Other than creating the event for the purposes of celebrations for the community
Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
, it also aims to gain recognition
Recognition (sociology)
Recognition in sociology is public acknowledgement of person's status or merits .When some person is recognized, he or she is accorded some special status, such as a name, title, or classification...
of the Bengali people in the London, by providing different cultures to some British people, and by encouraging them to participate in the event as well as recognising the Bangladeshi presence in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Also providing the people the skills and opportunities for the young aspirations as well as professional artists to perform their music or dances.
Previously Bangla TV
Bangla TV
Bangla TV is a UK-based satellite television channel targeting the Bengali speaking people in the United Kingdom, and in Europe.-History:Launched in 1999, Bangla TV was the first Bengali language television channel in the UK...
was the main broadcaster of the Baishakhi Mela event, however since 2005, Channel S
Channel S
Channel S is a UK-based, free-to-air television channel targeting the British Bangladeshi community. The channel was established on 16 December 2004, by Mahee Ferdous Jalil - a Bangladeshi businessman in London. On Sky it had a timesharing deal with ATN Global, and then in 2005 it started to...
has acquired the rights to broadcast the event due to its commitment to the community (the slogan is working for the community), achieving popular support from the main sponsors within the community.
Procession
The event starts first during the morning from 12am at Allen Gardens, through Brick LaneBrick Lane
Brick Lane is a street in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. It runs from Swanfield Street in the northern part of Bethnal Green, crosses Bethnal Green Road, passes through Spitalfields and is linked to Whitechapel High Street to the south by the short stretch of...
and ends in Weavers Fields. This is known as the Grand Parade, where there are women and children dressed in colourful Bengali
Bengali people
The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...
traditional clothes and masks. There will also be musicians or drummers, including dancers and also the leaders from the community
Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
. During the 2008 Mela, a great emperor was leading the parade symbolising the traditional landlord of the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
, along with a tiger, an elephant on wheels, rickshaws, and many others. Brick Lane
Brick Lane
Brick Lane is a street in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. It runs from Swanfield Street in the northern part of Bethnal Green, crosses Bethnal Green Road, passes through Spitalfields and is linked to Whitechapel High Street to the south by the short stretch of...
, which is home to many Bangladeshi-owned Indian restaurants, serves curry along the streets for the visitors, with traditional Bengali cuisine
Bengali cuisine
Bengali cuisine is a culinary style originating in Bengal, a region in the eastern South Asia which is now divided between the Indian state of West Bengal and the independent country of Bangladesh. Other regions, such as Tripura, and Barak Valley region of Assam also have large native Bengali...
meals, and cooked by prominent chefs from Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
.
After the parade, it will finally progress into the Music Programme, where there will be famous music artists from Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
and the UK, dancers and actors performing on stages. The four stages will host Bengali music, theatre including Sylheti drama, and there will also be dance displays throughout the day. The music performed features a wide range of Bengali music, these include traditional
Traditional music
Traditional music is the term increasingly used for folk music that is not contemporary folk music. More on this is at the terminology section of the World music article...
Bengali or folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
songs, as well as modern, contemporary music, and rap music in Bangla or Sylheti. Bhangra and Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
are also sometimes performed by singers.
2009: Tower Hamlets council
Since 2009, the management and planning of the mela was undertaken by the Tower Hamlets Council for the long-term, who called the event "a Baishakhi Mela in Banglatown Brick Lane". It was held on 10 May 2009, attracting up to 95,000 people which is a record high of the event. There were more than 250 school children, dancers, musicians and community groups which participated in the event alongside a mechanical Bengali Tiger and the Bangla Queen, which is a four metre tall peacock structure. The mela also included with nearly 200 stalls serving Bengali spices, food and drinks. It featured many popular artists from Bangladesh and the UK, such as MomtazMomtaz Begum
Momtaz Begum better known as Momtaz for short, is a Bangladeshi music artist, singer and producer of Bengali folk music and Baul music. She is also known as The Music Queen, popular for her unconventional use of music lyrics...
, Kajol Dewan and Nukul Kumar. Popular among the younger generation was Mumzy, who is a leading British Bengali MC and DJ in the East End of London
East End of London
The East End of London, also known simply as the East End, is the area of London, England, United Kingdom, east of the medieval walled City of London and north of the River Thames. Although not defined by universally accepted formal boundaries, the River Lea can be considered another boundary...
. Other guest singers included Lucy Rahman
Lucy Rahman
Lucy Rahman is a British singer of Bangladeshi origin.-Background and education:Lucy Rahman was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh into a family of famous musicians, artists and poets. From the age of six she was trained in Indian Classical and semi-classical music from her father, Lutfor Rahman, who was a...
, Kala Miah and others. The stages were hosted by Adil Ray
Adil Ray
Adil Ray is a British radio and television presenter, and actor born 26 April 1974 in Birmingham, England.- Background :Adil Ray is of Pakistani and Kenyan origin. He began his career as a radio host on a pirate radio station in Huddersfield while studying at the University of Huddersfield and...
, Shawkat Hashmi, Kan-D-Man and many more. The main sponsors of the event were BBC Asian Network
BBC Asian Network
BBC Asian Network is a British radio station serving those originating from and around the Indian subcontinent. The music and news comes out of the main urban areas where there are significant communities with these backgrounds. The station has production centres in Birmingham, Leicester and London...
and Channel S.