street festival

In pictures: Early celebrations of Poila Baisakh at ‘Borshoboron Utsab’, a cultural festival near Lake Market

Twenty-three stalls witnessed a footfall of more than 1,000 people across three days

By Sonalika Goswami | Published 05.04.24, 01:44 PM

Janak Road, stretching through Lake Pally Club, near Kolkata’s Lake Market, was lit up in yellow between March 29 and 31, as the club, in association with Kalakaar Project, warmed up for Poila Baisakh through ‘Borshoboron Utsab’, two weeks ahead of the Bengali New Year. The long Easter weekend proved to be the perfect time for Kolkatans to explore the 23 stalls set up at the festival, which sold everything from garments to handcrafted bags, from jewellery to food

Photos: Amit Pramanik

‘We always have to be prepared to welcome the new. Letting go of the old and welcoming the new is a part of our lives. When spring comes along, the old leaves fall off and new leaves begin to grow… Similarly, this cultural festival stands for ushering in the new,’ said Debasish Kumar, MLA and chief guest for the event

‘During this time, people want to give gifts to each other. Our festival allows people to do that while also giving small businesses a chance to enhance themselves and reach out to a wider audience,’ said Ashmita Banerjee, the founder of Kalakaar Project

An associate partner for the event was the India Autism Center (IAC), a daycare centre based out of Kolkata for people with various stages of autism across age groups. ‘Not everybody knows what autism is. One of the reasons to be a part of this festival was to educate people and make them aware of it…We set up a stall for parents whose children are suffering from autism to give them a better idea about training and therapy for their kids,’ explained Nabanita Acharya, one of the IAC representatives at the event

The first day witnessed six dance performances, four of which were staged by Nrityam Kalashram Dance School. Songs were also performed in a group by three women. The rest of the evening featured an open mic, involving music as well as poetry

On the second day, artists from Chaitown Community took centre stage. There was a footfall of around 1,000 people across all three days

Another distinctive feature of the event was a stall put up by Annapurna Food Foundation and its founder Radhika Singhi, which platformed handmade bags crafted by women whose work had not been featured on a large scale before

Tags: street festival Bengali New Year lake market Poila Baisakh Kolkata