Students and professors from Dhaka University's Fine Arts Faculty (Charukola) are diligently preparing for the Mangal Shobhajatra procession scheduled for Sunday morning, marking the arrival of Bengali New Year 1431.
Over the past weeks, volunteers have been tirelessly engaged within the faculty premises, day and night, crafting intricate motifs, masks, and assorted embellishments to be showcased during the parade.
Recognized by Unesco on November 30, 2016, the Mangal Shobhajatra was acknowledged as an intangible cultural heritage for its unparalleled significance.
While touring the Fine Arts Faculty on Saturday, observers witnessed volunteers adding final touches to sizable depictions of Asian white elephants and the customary Tepa Putul (hand-molded clay dolls) on the lower level.
Certain individuals were fashioning masks from paper, while others were engrossed in repainting the structures once more. Their objective is to enhance the procession's allure, rendering it more captivating and aesthetically pleasing than previous occasions.
Various visitors of diverse age groups flocked to the premises to inspect the arrangements. A piece of street art seized the attention of two foreign visitors who were observed capturing images in front of the mural.
Aside from students and faculty from DU, participants in the Mangal Shobhajatra will encompass individuals from assorted cultural groups and representatives from diverse backgrounds.
Annually, procession attendees bear the motifs as a symbolic demonstration against prevalent societal and national concerns.
How it started
In 1989, students from DU's fine arts department commenced organizing the annual procession on a grand scale. It wasn't until 1996 that it was formally dubbed "Mangal Shobhajatra."
Nevertheless, the inception of Mangal Shobhajatra traces back to 1985 in Jessore, where former DU fine arts students, such as Mahbub Jamal Shamim and Hironmoy Chandra, established a cultural group named Charupith.
They inaugurated the inaugural procession to greet the new year in 1985.
Subsequently, Charupith expanded its scope, collaborating with all cultural organizations in the district the following year, initiating the procession on the first day of Boishakh.
Gradually, cultural groups in various districts began commemorating the day with vibrant processions.
In 1994, Mangal Shobhajatra parades were organized in Bangaon and Santiniketan in West Bengal, India.
