Festival · 2027
Pohela Boishakh (Bengali New Year) 2027 — Thursday, 15 April 2027
Pohela Boishakh, the first day of the month of Boishakh, is the Bengali New Year, welcomed with songs at dawn, new ledgers in the shops and a festive meal at home.
In 2026
Wednesday, 15 April 2026
- Sunrise / sunset
- 5:55 AM / 6:46 PM
- Sankranti moment
- 14 Apr, 9:32 AM
Rule: The first day of the Bengali solar month Boishakh: the day after the Sun enters sidereal Aries when the entry is between midnight and midnight of that civil date (the Bengal midnight rule).
In 2027
Thursday, 15 April 2027
- Sunrise / sunset
- 5:56 AM / 6:46 PM
- Sankranti moment
- 14 Apr, 3:28 PM
Rule: The first day of the Bengali solar month Boishakh: the day after the Sun enters sidereal Aries when the entry is between midnight and midnight of that civil date (the Bengal midnight rule).
Times follow New Delhi’s sunrise and sunset. In other cities the muhurat shifts by some minutes, and occasionally the day by one. Full festival calendar
What is Pohela Boishakh (Bengali New Year)?
Pohela means “first” in Bengali, and Boishakh is the first month of the Bengali year, the Bangabda. Like the Tamil and Kerala calendars, the traditional Bengali calendar is solar: the month of Boishakh begins after the Sun enters sidereal Aries. Pohela Boishakh is therefore a close relative of Baisakhi, Vishu, Puthandu and Bohag Bihu, all kept around the middle of April, though Bengal has its own rule for which day counts as the first of the month.
The origin of the Bengali era is debated. A common account links it to the Mughal emperor Akbar, whose revenue administration adjusted the lunar Islamic calendar to the solar harvest year so that land taxes could be collected after the crop was in. Others trace the era to the seventh-century king Shashanka of Gauda. Whatever its beginning, the calendar grew into a rhythm of rural and commercial life in Bengal, and its new year became a day of settling accounts and starting afresh.
That is still visible in haal khata, “the new ledger”. Traders and shopkeepers close the old year’s accounts and open a fresh red-bound ledger, often after a puja to Ganesha and Lakshmi. Many take the new book to Kalighat, Dakshineswar or another temple to be blessed and marked with a swastika in vermilion. Customers who owe money are invited to settle their dues and are welcomed with sweets, and the day renews the relationship between shop and customer.
The day before is Chaitra Sankranti, the last day of the old year, when the Charak and Gajan festivals of Shiva are held in rural Bengal. On Pohela Boishakh itself people rise early, wear new clothes, often white and red, and join prabhat pheri, processions that sing through the streets at dawn. Rabindranath Tagore’s song “Esho he Boishakh” has become the anthem of the morning. In Dhaka, the dawn concert at Ramna Batamul and the Mangal Shobhajatra procession, listed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage, draw huge crowds, and the day is celebrated by Bengalis of every faith.
How it is observed
- Cleaning and decorating the home, often with alpana drawn in rice paste at the door.
- Rising early, wearing new clothes and joining a prabhat pheri or a dawn programme of songs.
- Haal khata: traders opening a new ledger after a puja to Ganesha and Lakshmi, and welcoming customers with sweets.
- Visiting temples such as Kalighat and Dakshineswar, often with the new ledger to be blessed.
- Greeting one another with “Shubho Noboborsho” and touching the feet of elders.
- Sharing a festive Bengali meal with family, and visiting fairs, the Boishakhi mela, in towns and villages.
How the date is fixed
Pohela Boishakh follows the Sun, by the rule Bengali almanacs use for the start of a solar month. Our calendar finds the moment the Sun enters sidereal Aries (Mesha Sankranti) and counts from the day whose sunrise came before it. If the entry falls between sunrise and midnight, the new year is the next day. If it falls after midnight but before the following sunrise, the new year is the day after that. The date above is worked out this way, for the place you choose. Bangladesh keeps a fixed civil date for Pohela Boishakh under its revised national calendar, so the day there may differ from the one shown.
Where practice differs
In India, Pohela Boishakh is kept in West Bengal, Tripura and the Barak Valley of Assam, and by Bengali communities in Jharkhand, Odisha, Delhi, Mumbai and abroad; West Bengal and Tripura mark it with a public holiday. Indian Bengali almanacs, such as the traditional Kolkata panjikas, use the rule described above, while Bangladesh follows the revised calendar of the Bangla Academy with a fixed civil date, so the two countries sometimes celebrate a day apart. In Assam the same season brings Bohag Bihu, and in Odisha Pana Sankranti, with their own customs. Many Bengali households also mark the day with a visit to a Kali or Lakshmi temple.
Dates and times are computed by our own engine (sunrise, tithi and kalas for New Delhi, Lahiri ayanamsa). In another city, or in an almanac of another tradition, the day can differ by one — follow your family’s tradition.
Questions people ask
What is haal khata?
Haal khata is the opening of a new account book on Pohela Boishakh. Traders close the previous year’s accounts, worship Ganesha and Lakshmi, and invite customers to settle their dues, offering them sweets. It is a way of starting the business year with a clean slate and good relations.
Why is Pohela Boishakh sometimes on different days in India and Bangladesh?
Indian Bengali almanacs fix the day from the moment of the Sun’s entry into Aries, using the Bengal rule. Bangladesh uses a revised calendar with a fixed civil date for the new year, so the two can be a day apart.
Is Pohela Boishakh a religious festival?
It is above all a cultural new year celebrated by Bengalis of every faith, with music, food, fairs and new beginnings. Many Hindu households and traders also include a puja, especially to Ganesha and Lakshmi, and temple visits are common.
What is the greeting for Pohela Boishakh?
The usual greeting is “Shubho Noboborsho”, meaning “happy new year”. People also say it when touching the feet of elders and when visiting shops on haal khata.