A taste of Poush in Gulshan
A day-long Poush Festival at Gulshan Lake Park brought folk music, crafts and winter flavours into Dhaka’s urban heart
Stepping into Gulshan Lake Park often offers a brief relief from the city's chaos. Walking past the park gate on Saturday, the escape felt even better as the air carried the harmonious strains of live music, drawing visitors towards the lake. Under the shade of a sprawling banyan tree, folk dancers swayed in rhythm, and the audience looked visibly mesmerised.
The scene unfolded at the Poush Festival, a day-long celebration of Bangladesh's folk heritage jointly organised by the Gulshan Society and the Fashion Design Council of Bangladesh (FDCB).
Held at Gulshan Lake Park from 11am till 8pm, the festival brought the spirit of rural winter festivities into one of Dhaka's most urban neighbourhoods.
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Mutual Trust Bank served as the title sponsor, with support from Radhuni, Berger Paints and Bata Bangladesh.
Poush marks the harvest season, traditionally celebrated with new rice, communal gatherings and an abundance of pitha.
While such festivities are usually associated with villages, the organisers were intentional about relocating that atmosphere to the city.
The aim, they said, was to remind urban audiences that heritage can be lived, not merely remembered.
The formal programme began with an inaugural dance, setting the tone for the day. Addressing the audience shortly afterwards, Mahin Khan, president of the Fashion Design Council of Bangladesh, spoke of the importance of preserving tradition while allowing it to evolve. Culture, she noted, survives not by staying static but by finding relevance across generations.
By mid-afternoon, attention shifted to what many considered the festival's main attraction: the fashion show celebrating indigenous weaving traditions. Held in two segments at 2:30pm and 4:00pm, the fashion show drew large crowds.
Designers presented Tangail taant, jamdani and silk that balanced contemporary sensibilities with deep-rooted craftsmanship.
Clean cuts, restrained embellishments and thoughtful layering highlighted how traditional textiles continue to adapt without losing their essence. Applause followed each sequence.
Away from the stage, the festival grounds buzzed with stalls displaying folk crafts from across the country. One that drew particular attention was a conch shell stall run by artisan AnupNag.
With nearly four decades of experience, much of it spent working in Dhaka's historic Shankhari Bazar, Nag now lives in Sutrapur but remains deeply connected to his craft.
"Shankha is an extremely delicate art," he said, explaining that raw shells are imported from Sri Lanka and that prices depend on both quality and design.
"Making a single pair of bangles can take up to a week." His stall featured bangles priced from Tk600 to Tk12,000, alongside ornaments, carved shells and shankhapowder. More intricate shankha pieces were priced at Tk3,000, Tk5,000, Tk8,000 and above.
Jayanta Chatterjee, who oversaw public relations for the event, told The Business Standard that curiosity was precisely the point.
"Many people here have never seen shankha work up close. We wanted to present our heritage in a way that feels accessible. With Poush approaching, this felt like the right opportunity," he said.
Nearby stalls offered jamdani sarees, clay dolls, hand fans, Rajshahi kantha, shital pati mats, brassware, shola flowers and traditional earthen pots.
Scroll paintings by patua Nazir Hossain stood out for their narrative richness. A recurring motif in his work is the Royal Bengal Tiger, yet each piece tells a different story, some drawn from the Liberation War, others from the Sundarbans or the everyday rhythms of urban Dhaka. Certain brushstrokes, he pointed out, intentionally mimic kanthastitches.
Food stalls, unsurprisingly, remained crowded throughout the day. The sweet smell of pitha—pakan, narkel puli, dudh puli, nakshi pitha and muri-murki—hung in the air which evoked memories of childhood winters and village kitchens.
As dusk settled over the lake, the cultural programme resumed with "Shiter Haway Laglo Nachon," followed by Rabindra dance. The festival drew to a close with a soulful Lalon song.
Summing up the day, Mahin Khan said, "Poush is our harvest season, a celebration centred on new rice. Even amid the city's relentless pace, we must not forget our roots. This festival is our way of keeping that connection alive."
