C T Online Desk: On the occasion of Baisabi, the hill community in Chittagong has demanded a holiday for the last two days of Chaitra.
The festival was celebrated on Friday morning in Kalurghat area of Chandgaon under the theme “Baisabi to strengthen the sense of unity, solidarity, harmony and brotherhood to uphold national culture and heritage”.
The hill community living in Chittagong celebrated Baisabi festival through a procession and discussion meeting.
Addressing as the chief guest at the festival, Engineer Pintu Chakma thanked the Baisabi celebration committee for bringing out the culture of the hills and urged them to preserve and nurture the social culture of the hills.
He said: “No matter where we hill community live, we must forget all disputes and strengthen the sense of unity and brotherhood. We all have to work together to uphold our own culture and heritage.”
Baisabi Udjabjan Committee Convenor Sanchay Chakma, on behalf of all the hill community, demanded a public holiday on Baisabi, their biggest social festival.
The festival is about bidding farewell to the past year and welcoming the new, with a variety of colourful programs.
The festival has different names among the tribes. The Chakma people call it “Biju”, Tanchangya call it “Bishu”, Tripura call it “Boisu”, and Marma call it “Sangrai”.
The word “Baisabi” is a combination of the Bangla acronyms for various indigenous festivals, like “Boishuk” of the Tripura community, “Sangrai” of the Marma community, and “Biju” of the Chakma community.
