Bengali New Year celebrated in East Toronto
By SUBRATA KUMAR DAS
Bengalis in the Greater Toronto Area and nearby cities came together in East York Bangla Town to celebrate the Bengali New Year 1432 through a Mongol Shovajatra (parade for the wellness of all) recently.
On April 20 at noon, a large crowd gathered at the Metro parking lot on Danforth and Victoria Park avenues, dressed in vibrant traditional attire and carrying numerous placards of traditional Bengali motifs and paraded to the Dawes Road intersection, then back to the parking lot and then to nearby Dentonia Park.
The parade, first organized by Bangladesh Canada Hindu Mandir at 16 Dohme Ave. in 2011, has since welcomed participation from all religious and cultural organizations, according to the community leader Shibu Chowdhur.
The celebration was attended by Dr. Asm Noorullah Tarun, the federal Conservative Party candidate in Scarborough Southwest, Shahidul Islam Mintu, the editor of the weekly BanglaMail, Shyamal Bhattacharjee, the Queen Elizabeth Medal winning teacher and priest, well-known pharmacist and social worker Kanan Barua, poet Delwar Elahi, and social activist Protima Sarker among many others.
The lively presence of enthusiastic Bengalis from Mississauga, Brampton, Ajax, Pickering, Markham, Oshawa and Aurora added to the festive cultural gathering that took place in East Toronto.
