Boishakh (, , ''Bôishakh'', ''Baishakh'') is the first month in the Bengali calendar and Nepali calendar. This month lies between the second half of April and the first half of May.Between 14th April and 15th May.

Etymology

The name of the month is derived from the position of the

Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...

near the star Bishakha ().

History

The first day of Boishakh is celebrated as the Pôhela Bôishakh or Bengali New Year's Day. The day is observed with cultural programs, festivals and carnivals all around the country. The day of is also the beginning of all business activities in

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

and neighboring Indian state of

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

and

Tripura Tripura () is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a populat ...

. The traders starts new fiscal account book called ''Halkhata''. The accounting in the ''Halkhata'' begins only after this day. It is celebrated with sweets and gifts with customers.

Season

The month of Boishakh also marks the official start of Summer. The month is notorious for the afternoon storms called Kalboishakhi (''Nor'wester''). The storms usually start with strong gusts from the north-western direction at the end of a hot day and cause widespread destruction.

Agriculture

Boishakh is the month when many of the seasonal fruits, especially

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...

watermelon The watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Cucurbitaceae, that has a large, edible fruit. It is a Glossary of botanical terms#scandent, scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, and is plant breeding ...

, and

jackfruit The jackfruit or ''nangka'' (''Artocarpus heterophyllus'') is a species of tree in the Common fig, fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family (Moraceae). The jackfruit is the largest tree fruit, reaching as much as in weight, in length, and in d ...

become available. Green unripe mangoes are a particular delicacy of the month.

Observances marked (per official use in Bangladesh)

* Boishakh 1 - Pohela Baishakh

References

Months of the Bengali calendar Nepali calendar {{Nepal-culture-stub