The modern Bengali calendar is therefore the one introduced by Amir Fatehullah Shirazi. That time it came to be known as Fôsholi Shôn or harvest calendar since it matched with the harvest season of the region. In it, he retained the names of the following Hindu months:
The months of the Bengali Calendar:
No.
Months in Bengali
Month (Start-End)
01.
Boishakh
April–May
02.
Joishtho
May–June
03.
Asharh
June–July
04.
Srabon
July–August
05.
Bhadro
August–September
06.
Ashshin
September–October
07.
Kartik
October–November
08.
Ôgrohaeon
November–December
09.
Poush
December–January
10.
Magh
January–February
11.
Falgun
February–March
12.
Choitro
March–April
The Bengali New Year calendar is very important in determining the dates of religious events, festivals, and other important events like marriage and making the horoscope calculations. Though the Gregorian calendar is used for official, administrative and legislative purposes, the Bengali calendar is still widely used in the Bengali households of West Bengal, Assam, and Tripura and in the neighboring Bangladesh. The Bengali New Year will be celebrated on 14th April in 2012 and it is going to be 1419 year of the Bengali calendar.
The origin of Bengali calendar
The Bengali calendar is a solar-sidereal calendar in which the years are known as Bônggabdo. It is based on the calculation of the solar calendar mentioned in Surya Siddhanta. As per the available historical evidence, the Bengali calendar is said to have begun on April 14, 593 of the proleptic Gregorian calendar. The ancient Bengali calendar is believed to have been introduced by King Shoshangko.
The calendar was later revised during the time of the third Mughal Emperor Akbar to match with the harvest season. This was done to facilitate the administration with tax collection.
During his time his councilor, Fatehullah Shirazi, combined the lunar Hijri and the solar Hindu calendars for better administration.
All the months have 31 or 32 days. The twelve months of the calendar are divided into six seasons namely Grishsho (summer), Bôrsha (rain), Shôrot (early autumn), Hemonto (late autumn), Šit (winter) and Bôshonto (spring).
The names of the months in Bengali calendar were derived from stars or nakshatras mentioned in Hindu astrology:
Baishakh from Bishakha
Jiashthya from Jaishtha
Ashara from Shar
Sraban from Srabani
Bhadra from Bhadrapada
Ashwin from Aswaini
Kartik from Kritika
Agrahayon from Agraihon
Poush from Poushya
Magh from Magha
Falgun from Falguni
Chaitra from Chitra
Boishakh is the first month of the calendar and the Bengali New Year is observed on the first day of the month and so, it is also known as ‘Pohela Boishakh’. Bengalis also call their New Year, ‘noboborsho’, where ‘nobo’ means new and ‘borsho’ stands for year.
Revision in Bengali calendar
The Bengali calendar was revised by the Bangla Academy of Bangladesh, headed by Muhammad Shahidullah, on February 17, 1966 to match with the Gregorian calendar. According to the revision the following recommendations were made for its modernization:
It is decided that the first five months of the calendar will have 31 days each
The remaining months from Ashshin to Choitro will be of 30 days
The leap year of the Gregorian calendar is adjusted by adding a day to the month of Falgun.
This calendar was officially adopted by Bangladesh in 1987. According to the revised form the Bengali New Year is now always observed on 14th April in Bangladesh.
The revised calendar however isn’t followed in West Bengal where the old Bengali lunar-solar calendar is still in use and as a result, the New Year day may be observed on different dates in West Bengal and Bangladesh.
