Zee Bangla celebrated Noboborsho virtually with its beloved viewers
The first day in the Bengali calendar, Poila Boishakh is celebrated every year with pomp and glory. This auspicious day is celebrated not only with the shopping of new clothes or enjoying lavish feasts but also while practising the traditional and unique customs which has been part of our culture for centuries.
Zee Bangla has long been a custodian of the intricacies of Bengal’s heritage whether it is celebrating the many festivals and their traditions or reviving Bengal’s art forms as they get passed down to the next generation. A classic example of the same is bringing back the folk and kirtan forms into its mega-musical reality show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa which so beautifully emphasizes the brand promise – ‘Notun Chonde Likhbo Jibon’.
Bengal has known Zee Bangla to be the harbinger of hopeful communication even in times of dismay. Zee Bangla has always been the flag bearer of celebrating and taking forward the traditions and customs and ensuring that it is celebrated not only in its full glory but also in line with the changing times.
One such tradition is ‘Probhat Pheri’, which translates to ‘early morning procession’. Passed down from generations, the cultural and musical procession is attended by Bengalis from all walks of life. This year, due to the restrictions of the lockdown, Zee Bangla brought ‘Probhat Pheri’ to all its viewer by streaming it Live on Zee Bangla’s official Facebook page on noboborsho.
The age-old and traditional mode of ushering in the Bengali New Year on the 1st day of the month of Boishakh was hosted at a large and prestigious EMC campus in Kolkata with a limited number of guests.
From commencing the procession by blowing the auspicious conch shell or the mongal sankha dhwani, capturing the procession that included 6 clusters representing 6 different cultural forms, to the women dressed in the traditional laal-parh shada saree as they showered petals while holding up ‘Kulos’ as they walked along; this online celebration had it all. The men on the other hand were seen wearing dhuti-punjabi and Bengal’s traditional big and colourful masks. Not only that, but the viewers enjoyed Bengal’s popular art forms such as Santhal Nach, Chau Nach, Ronpa Nach, Uday Shankar’s fusion style and Robindra Nritya highlighting its culture and diversity.
Hosted by Biswanath Basu, who was seen on the main stage, the Probhat Pheri was led and anchored by Siddhartha Sankar Roy & Gitasree Roy. Popular artists like Debolina Datta, Soumili Biswas & Arnab Bandyopadhyay (Darpani Troupe) along with Percunisst Subham Moitra also joined in the festivities and made the day a memorable one.
Commenting on the Bangla New Year celebrations taking the virtual route this year, Biswanath Basu said, “It has been over a year of us fighting against the unseen virus. While everyone’s morale is low, Zee Bangla’s digital Probhat Pheri was planned to lighten everyone’s mood and celebrate this red-letter day in the best way possible. There was singing, dancing, eating, and making merry, but the only difference is that it all happened virtually. The most exciting part about this virtual probhat pheri was that our fans and Bengalis from all over India became a part of this joyous day.”
