sukalyan bhattacharya

Choreographer, Toronto

Every Bengali organisation in the US and Canada celebrates the Bengali New Year. This includes Bangladeshis as well. It is the second biggest occasion for us after Durga puja. Auditoriums are booked to host cultural programmes. New clothes are worn. Americans are also invited over. This is in fact like a cultural calling card for us. I myself am performing in two nava varsha shows in New York and New Jersey this time. People see it as a spring festival and kids are also on vacation now. Some Bangladeshis even set up shops to sell traditional sweets like puli-peethey. January 1, in contrast, is part of a weeklong holiday, when people party or gather for pot luck, irrespective of nationality or community.

Anirban simlai

Director, Food and beverage, The Park

Both are important. New Year?s Day is celebrated all over the world while Poila Baisakh is limited to Bengalis. The former may be the biggest business opportunity for the hotels, but over the past four-five years Poila Baisakh has emerged as a major money-spinner, with revenues increasing 25-30 per cent every year. Footfall during the New Year, in the corresponding period, rocketed by about 50 per cent. The Park has over the years organised a Bengali food festival. This has found takers even in the non-Bengali community

Sriparna ACHARYA

Programme executive, All India Radio, Calcutta

It depends on the channel concerned. For the FM channels, which have youth of all communities as their target, New Year's Day is more important. Poila Baisakh is big on the Calcutta A calendar. The day starts with a special session from 5 am, featuring a two-hour probhati adda, featuring celebrities. Regular programmes, through the day, also take on a nava varsha theme. Mahila Mahal, for instance, will discuss how the day used to be celebrated in old Calcutta. Since Calcutta A is still more important in terms of audience volume and range, perhaps the scale is tilted in favour of Poila Baisakh.