Dhaka, Bangladesh - April 15, 2024

Hundreds of thousands of people in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, participated on Sunday in a colorful procession featuring evocative masks, floats and motifs of Bangladeshi culture.

The procession greeted Pohela Boishakh, the first day of the New Year, with renewed hope and good spirits. Celebrants rang in Bengali New Year 1431 with a combination of traditional and modern ritual practices.

People in traditional costumes joined the procession called Mangal Shobhajatra, which kicked off at Dhaka University. It followed a curtain-raising, musical soiree that ended at dawn in Ramna park.

Students of Dhaka University's Institute of Fine Arts coordinated the procession to welcome the Bengali New Year. The soiree was sponsored by Chhayanaut, a leading cultural organization in Bangladesh.

This year's procession featured five motifs, represented by a large-scale replica of a horse alongside other handcrafted clay figurines and traditional artefacts. All of these were made by Dhaka University students and their teachers.

In Bangladesh, Pohela Boishakh is a national holiday.

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the mega colourful procession in Dhaka