SL2UK

Baishaki Mela
Brick Lane, Allen Garden & Weaver's Fields
Sunday 13th May 2007

Photos : AV

The Bengali New Year was celebrated in true spirit at the Baishaki Mela, the largest celebration of Bengali culture outside Bangladesh. Bringing together the thriving Bengali community in the capital, the tenth annual Baishaki Mela kicked of with a day long celebration of live music, fashion, food, art and dancing.

The Mela is now the largest outdoor Asian festival in Europe which attracted over 150,000 visitors in 2006 and probably just as much this year. Starting from humble beginnings in the early 80s and 90s with small celebrations around Brick Lane, the first official Baishaki Mela was organised in 1997 attracting 10,000 people. Now the festival is organised at the same level as the Chinese New Year and Notting Hill Carnival with support from the capital’s businesses & resources.

Our journey started on Brick Lane with the narrow lane lined with stalls from local businesses selling Bangladeshi food, textile and ornaments. Earlier on the day a parade from Allen Gardens to Weavers fields featured a giant Bengali tiger, elephant, dancers, rickshaws and traditionally dressed members of the community.

With 300 acts, three large stages, funfair, stalls and a fashion show at the festival, there was plenty of music and live entertainment to go around. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Mela, the organisers invited fashion designers, photographers and artists from the Bengali community in the UK to exhibit their work. Photographers from across the globe who have featured Bangladesh in their work were also invited. As you will see from the pictures captured at the event, there is plenty of commercial talent within the Bangladeshi community, and as the event grows in popularity this will be the place to showcase it.