Introduction

Experience the rich heritage of Bengali culture as we celebrate the Bengali New Year together with live music and poetry. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to immerse yourself in the sights, sounds, and flavours of Pohela Boishakh!

We’ll be joined by guest artists Khiyo, alongside vocalist Sohini Alam, poets Saida Chowdhury and Tarek Chowdhury and an ensemble of CBSO musicians, as we celebrate this joyous occasion.

Pohela Boishakh Celebration

By Saida Chowdhury

Listen to the birds as they welcome in the spring.
Embrace the new year as it starts to begin,
I can feel the sun's warmth and the rain clouds now few,
Now it's time to welcome in the promised new.

New horizons and brand new starts,
How we gather together in beautiful parks.
How we parade in unison through flower strewn streets,
Dancing in time to the hand drum beat.

New beginnings, a promised dawn,
From past regrets I am gently torn.
From past mistakes I can now learn,
Now it comes to fruition everything that I yearn.

Pantha bath and pitta,
Chanachur and sweets,
We are truly a wondrous sight,
As we fill the once dull streets.

Pohela Boishak starts with cumulous clouds,
I let myself get lost in the colourful crowds.
I let myself rejoice in the joy of just being,
An explosion of colour is what I am seeing.

Beautiful masks held up at arm's height,
I am overtaken by the beautiful sight.
I am delighted by poems, song and dance,
The joyus celebrations will leave you in a trance.

Look at the colours as vibrant as can be,
As we all gather together under the Banyan tree.
The krishna chura flowers flashing glorious red,
Whilst I'm by the women with white flowers along the procession led.

Reds, greens, white and gold,
The joys that are shared by young and old.
Love, laughter, and a fresh start,
How we crowd around the jackfruit and mango cart,

So Shubo Noborosho, let our culture be the light,
Where our differences can be embraced and together we unite.
Where we value precious customs and welcome in the new Spring,
Let the Boishak celebrations, here now begin.

Delight in the joys, revel in the sights,
Come and witness how Poets and CBSO unite.
With Khiyo, Sohini and Legacy West Midlands too,
We've worked collaboratively together to offer you something new.

So join us in the joys that young and old share,
As Pohela Boishak celebrations now fill the fragrant air.
Let the sights and vivid colours wipe all your worries away,
As together we here celebrate a Happy Bangla New Year today.

Shubo Noboborsho Everyone!

THE REBEL

by Tarek Chowdhury

1.Say hero, say I
Raise my head high
Before me bow down the mighty Himalayas
Say hero, say I
Tear open the sky, I rise
Over the moon, over the sun, planets and stars
I slice through heaven and earth, cosmos and universe
I pierce the throne of the almighty
I rise, the eternal wonder of all creation
The fury of Shiva glowing on my forehead
I am a lighting bolt of victory
Listen to me
Say hero, say I
Raise my head ever high

2. I am arrogant, feckless and cruel
I am Nataraja, the Dance King
Destruction, the whirlwind
I am fear, I curse the earth
I break it into pieces
Nothing can stop me
No law, no discipline, no inhibition
I am a high flying deep dive
Down into the tornado
Cargo ship doom
I am a floating bomb, a torpedo
I am Bhima going into battle
I am a rebel
A rebel yarn of the universe
Say hero, say I
Raise my head ever high

3. I am vortex , I am chaos
Driving all before me
Crushing it out of existence
I am a dance-crazy rhythm
I am the beat of your heart
My own true raga, free as an evening breeze
I am a joker on the road, a fidget spinner
Give me a good three swings
And I can be nimble forever

4. I choose
I embrace my enemy
Lock horns with death
I am batshit crazy
I am the plague
I am the cold grip of terror
The shiver of ice cracking
I am sunlight, I am sparkle
I am warm and loving
Say hero, say I
Raise my head ever high

5. I am endlessly wicked
I am the golden cup of time
Full to the brim with life and love
Bad luck and good wine
I am the smouldering embers of hearth and home
I am Jámadagni, the warrior, guardian of the flame
I am fire, singer and song
Worship and devotion
Betrayal and seduction
Creation and destruction
Everything and nothing
I am the house of the living, I am the ashes of the dead
I am Indrani’s child, moon and sun on my shoulders
And in my hands, her bamboo flute and battle spear
I am blue throated Shiva, drinking poison and pain down to the last drop
The river Ganges, calmed, and filtered through my matted locks
Say hero, say I
Raise my head ever high

6. I am a soldier and a monk
I am a prince in astonishing finery
I am Bedouin, I am Genghis
I bow down to nobody
I am the thunder of broken bones, I am the birth of OM
I am Israfil’s trumpet, sounding at the end of the world
I am Shiva’s damaru, the heartbeat of creation
I am Shiva’s trident, meting out justice
I am the Chakra and the Great Conch
I am the Pranav breath of Brahma-Shiva-Vishnu
I am Dúrbasa the furious
I am the fire that will burn you to ashes
I am your soul-deep, smiling joy and the horror that will crush it
I am the death of the twelve suns
I am turbulent and calm
I am a hot blooded killer and a lover of justice
A son of the wind and the monkey king
Faithful and true, star bright
Dancing in the roar of the ocean tides

7. I am you, sister, in your braided hair
Sixteen, wide awake, full of hope
I am you, mother, alone in your grief
I am the ghost of your lost love
I am hunger staring into your eyes
I am your courage staring back
I am forever homeless
I beg on the street
I am you, scorned, poison burned, heart broken
I am your anger, I am your pride, I am your pain
Forever
I am the dream of a stolen kiss, of a first trembling touch
A secret love, a hidden smile, the glow of lust
I am the music of your wedding bangles
I am forever a child, forever a teen
Forever a shy village maiden
I am the north wind
I am the wind of the warm southern seas
I am the bored east wind
I am the breath of song
I am the blazing sun
I am desert clear
I am shadow green
I am the sudden awakening at the foot of the master
After centuries of study
All channels open
Floodgates down
I am total insanity
I am me

8. I am asleep and awake
I live in the instant, I live in forever
I am a festival of light and thunder
The glory of the world, the triumph of humanity
I am a rider of Borbak, the seven headed horse
I revel in its shrill cry of freedom as we streak across the sky
I burrow down into the volcano and spit out molten lava
I am earthquake, I am hellfire, I am forest flame, I am ocean madness
I am desire, I sink my claws into Vasuki, the snake king, coiled around Shiva’s neck
I seize Gabriel’s fiery wing
I am a child god, a monster
I gnash my teeth and bite into the womb of mother earth

9. I am the flute of Orpheus
I calm the raging sea
I kiss the world to sleep
I am the flute of blue black Shyam’s hand
When I rise up in anger
The seven fire’s recoil in fear and even hell is damned
I am a song sung to the earth and sky
A cry of never-ending revolution

10. I am the mighty flood
I sweep away palace and hut
I bless and I curse the earth
I steal the treasured twins from Vishnu’s breast
I am injustice, I am lightning, I am Saturn
I am the comet’s fiery tail
I am poison’s deadly grip
I am Chandi, the destroyer, the fury of woman
I cut off my head and drink my own blood
I sit in the fires of hell and smile like a flower

11. I am earth, I am clay
I am spirit, I am eternal
I am endless misery
I am a spectre haunting the earth
Feared by human, god and demon
I am truth everlasting, the creator of all
I am mad, crazy mad
I know who I am and nothing can stop me
I am the battle axe of Parashuram
I kill killers
I war against warlords
I am a bringer of peace, a destroyer of caste and class
I am Balaram the strong, my weapon is the plough
I dig up the roots of injustice – and unleash the joy of creation

12. Battle weary, I will know peace
When the cry of the oppressed does not rend the sky
When the tyrant’s sword will strike no more
Battle weary, I will know peace
I am Bhrigu, the rebel sage
I will stamp my footprint on the chest of god
I will shatter his indifference to the pain of the world
I am Bhrigu, the rebel sage
I will stamp my footprint on the chest of god
I will change everything
I am the ever rebellious hero
Alone, I have risen beyond this world
Head held ever high