Winter is looked forward to in our country. It is a season that arrives towards the beginning of December and lasts till the third week of February. It also assumes special importance because of the various festivals and significant occasions that dot its landscape.
This winter, like every year, has handed down to us a procession of events- of national and cultural importance. It will be a holistic experience that is expected to bring happiness to the urban as well as the rural citizens of this country. Their inter-active engagement has been an important factor.
As usual, December has been initiated with the observance of the ‘Victory Day’ on 16th December. This event is particularly remembered and observed with national pride. After that we will have the national Parliamentary elections on 7 January. It will denote the active inter-engagement of nearly 110 million citizens throughout the country.
After that will come the regular convening of the Dhaka International Trade Fair. It is likely to be held in January with great enthusiasm and will present to the nation the advances made by our manufacturing sector in different directions. Visitors will stream into the fairground to savor progress and diversification in terms of choice. Stalls set up by foreign institutions will not only open up new dimensions for the consumer but will also further the prospect of bilateral trade.
This will be followed by the month of February- with its several dimensions. As usual and as looked forward to by the people of Dhaka, it will hopefully start with the Ekushey Boi Mela (Book Festival) from the first of this month.
Towards the middle of this month, Falgun/ Basonto (Spring) will arrive with all its splendor. Yellow, red, orange and amber- dominant colors will permeate the scene as Valentine’s Day takes over the horizon. Flowers of all description will add to the ambiance. Around the same time the Hindu community will add sparkle to the festive atmosphere through their devotion and observance of their Saraswati Puja. Tolerance, culture and love will dominate the urban life and its media coverage.
After that we will have the commemoration of Ekushey February and the International Mother Language Day when both young and old will recall the sacrifice made on this day in 1952 and how it helped to evolve the Bangalee identity. We will recall its contribution towards the awakening of our dream that eventually led to our independence as a sovereign country.
As the Boi Mela comes to a close at the end of the month of February, we will prepare ourselves to observe our Independence Day on 26th of March. The days leading up to this important national occasion will be filled with numerous workshops and seminars. As soon as this is over, comes April and with it Baishakh and the Bangla New Year. Cultural events- in the form of music, drama and poetry will dominate the scene.
Winter would by then have left the scene, but certain common elements will remain within the cultural paradigm- flowers, handicrafts, music, dramatic presentations and books.
All these factors associated with the dynamics of celebrations have today become pivotal in our rural economy and also in certain tertiary sectors like handicrafts and publishing as well as in arranging multimedia presentations, workshops and seminars by the entertainment industry.
No celebration during the aforementioned period is however considered as complete without the presence of color as represented through the freshness, fragrance and glow of colors as present in flowers. This year, as already indicated in the print and electronic media will not be any different. Florists in Godkhali in Jessore will again heave a sigh of relief and will look forward to stability for their profits. Last year, the days ahead of Pohela Falgun and Valentine’s Day celebrations saw sales of flowers associated with these two events jumping to nearly Taka 120 million.
Shahbagh in central Dhaka and Khamarbari in Tejgaon have emerged as a major hub of flower trading- both wholesale as well as retail- because of its proximity to the Dhaka University campus and the Central Shaheed Minar. We produce flowers throughout the year but entrepreneurs always target special days like Victory Day, December 31, Valentine’s Day, national days and religious festivals. Lily, Cosmos, Zinnia, Daisy, Shimul, Roses, Polash, Gladioli, Marigold and Krishnachura find preference among the consumers as they symbolize youth, vigor and love.
Financial analysts have pointed out that this time round the Bangladesh Flower Society is expecting the annual turnover of the flower industry to be over Taka 550 crore. It has also been revealed that flower cultivation, because of the economic opportunities that it provides, has now been extended also to Birulia of Savar, in Kushtia, in Jhenidah, in the Chittagong Hill Districts and also in Cox’s Bazar. The florists are now planning to extend their presence to 20 Districts.
Those associated with the flower trade have however pointed out two existing difficulties- lack of adequate refrigerated transport and cold storages required for storage of the items. One would think that Public-Private Partnership could resolve these difficulties easily.
Bangladeshi handicrafts producers who are mostly disadvantaged rural women are also active participants within this matrix. Their handloom fabrics and toys which generally find their way to Japan, Denmark, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom also make their presence felt during this time in different festivals in the urban areas. This is helping to boost rural employment and reduce poverty among thousands of rural families.
Tempting use of discounts are also being used to further holiday travel packages to the rural areas in Sylhet and Cox’s Bazar and also provide special offers to take the family and friends to restaurants. The principle of sharing the cultural horizon is expanding the scope of economic activity and also its fallout for the rural economy.
We need to diversify and to share our happiness through our cultural and intellectual aspirations. This will then enable the rural sector of our economy to move upwards.
(Muhammad Zamir, a former Ambassador, is an analyst specialized in foreign affairs, right to information and good governance, can be reached at <[email protected]>)