Purba Bardhaman (West Bengal) [India], April 15 (ANI): Marking the occasion of Poila Boishakh, devotees in larger numbers gathered at the 500-year-old Rakhal Raja Mandir in Gopaldaspur of Purba Bardhaman district in West Bengal.

Visuals from the temple show devotees arriving with their families, friends, and relatives to offer prayers on the first day of the Bengali New Year, seeking blessings for a new beginning.

One of the devotees, Ram Krishna Goswami, spoke to ANI and shared how people from various parts of West Bengal visited the temple on Poila Boishakh.

'The (Bengali) New Year begins today. This is the oldest temple, about 500-years-old. Everyone from local villages, even Durgapur, Kolkata and Bankura are here,' he said.

A female devotee shared how she had been visiting the temple since her childhood days, making it an annual ritual on the Bengali New Year.

'We have come here for a darshan as it is the new year. We are here to seek God's blessings. This is a really old temple, and I have been coming here since my childhood days,' she said.

Bengali communities in various parts of India and abroad observe Poila Boishakh, which marks the beginning of the Bengali calendar year. The term 'Polia' means first, and 'Boishakh' is the first month of the lunisolar Bengali calendar. Today, the community celebrates the beginning of the year 1432.

According to Bengali Sakabdi, the first day of the year is considered the most auspicious.

'Poila Boishakh' is observed by Bengalis worldwide, irrespective of geographical location, but the occasion has a special significance for Bengali-speaking areas of India, including West Bengal, Tripura, and Assam, and Bengalis in Bangladesh.

In celebration of the 'Noboborsho' (New Year), homes are cleaned and decorated to welcome the Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha. The front door is decorated with 'alpana', a painting made with a mixture of ground rice and flour with water. (ANI)