Change is the law of nature, culture and tradition are not: Shekhar Dey

Mail News Service

Jamshedpur, April 14: “Change is the law of nature. Seasons change, climate changes, trees shed old leaves and replenish themselves with new ones and the process is perennial. Similarly, moments, hours, days, months and years change yielding place to new. And thus we have New Year that is celebrated in different forms on different dates. Whether it is Bihu or Poila Boishakh, the time and date may differ but the spirit is the same and looking up to the year ahead as a new beginning is tradition and celebration. May be, things have changed through the ages but one factor that has remained in place is the spirit of celebration,” observed Shekhar Dey, Director of Sreeleathers on the eve of the Bengali New Year – Poila Boishakh.

According to Shekhar Dey, the modes of celebrations may differ culturally but the feeling of celebration cannot. New Year celebrations are not a formality but a day of rejoicing. It is a special day that calls for joy and optimism. He said, “Poila Boishakh or Nabo Barsho, like new years of other communities, is a day for making new resolves. We look forward to the Nabo Barsho commencing with prayers and wishes for peace and prosperity among our near and dear ones.”

The Sreeleathers Director emphasized, “This is our culture. No matter how much we have attained or achieved, a Bengali does not give up on culture or tradition. Be it art or science, literature or theater and dedication or sacrifice, we Bengalis have never lagged behind in any stream of pursuit. The discovery of Jagdish Chandra Basu, the literature of writers like Rabindranath Tagore, Saratchandra Chattopadhyay, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Tara Shankar Bandyopadhyay, Bibhuti Bhushan Bandyopadhyay speak of life and their works have the essence of the soil. Socially and culturally, Bengalis have left their mark on world forums. Their music, their poetry and literary creativities are the edifices of a culture that has traversed through time.”

The Bengali community has produced revolutionaries in political and social fields and gained love and respect internationally.

“Stalwarts like Raja Rammohan Roy and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar were instrumental in introducing widow-remarriage, women’s education and abolition of Sati. How can the country forget the sacrifices that led to the hanging of Khudiram Bose? The Bengali’s revolutionary spirit was up and about in the daring essays of Binoy, Badal and Dinesh. The list is long and is a matter of pride not only for the Bengali community but the entire Indian family,” remarked Shekhar Dey. Shekhar Dey who is also a social worker described the essence of Bengali trait when he defined, “Our nature is gentle but we are not cowardly. We have contributed in social changes too.. If the abolition of Sati, and the emphasis on widow-remarriage was the resolve of Raja Rammohan Roy, then women’s education was the determined social gift by educationist who lived by the adage of simple living and high thinking, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. In fact he laid the foundation for the move to provide women equal rights as their counterparts had.”

Shekhar Dey’s observation at the end of the rendezvous on Bengali Nabo Barsho was rather philosophical when he observed, “Years have changed, times have changed and circumstances have changed too. In this sequence of changes, we have to heed the fact that we must change, but culture and practices should not because these are the two facets that distinguish us from others.”

Shekhar Dey said in parting, “Once again a very Happy New Year to all of you. This is our wish to God that the New Year brings the gift of achievements and happiness in your lives.”