Nobanno

About Nobanno

For most of Bangladesh's history the rice harvest decided whether a household would eat well in the year ahead. Aman, the paddy grown through the monsoon and cut in late autumn, has long been the main crop, and its arrival in Kartik and Agrahayan was celebrated as Nobanno, the festival of new rice. The name joins nobo (new) and onno (food or rice). In old Bengal, Agrahayan was even counted as the first month of the year because the granaries filled then.

Nobanno is a seasonal and cultural celebration shared by farming communities of every faith, though some Hindu households also make offerings of the new rice before eating it. Under the Bangla calendar revised by Bangla Academy, 1 Agrahayan falls on 16 November, and that date is now kept as the national Nobanno festival with cultural programmes in Dhaka and elsewhere. In villages the celebration is less tied to one day: it follows the harvest itself, which runs over several weeks from November into December.

How it is celebrated

When the new paddy is threshed and husked, families cook it first into sweet dishes. Payesh made with new rice, milk and date-palm jaggery is the centre of the meal, alongside muri, chira, khoi and the first pitha of the cold season. Married daughters are often invited home, relatives share food, and in some areas village fairs, boat races or folk songs mark the end of the harvest.

In cities Nobanno is kept through cultural events. The national Nobanno festival committee holds a programme at the Charukola grounds of Dhaka University on 1 Agrahayan, and Shilpakala Academy and other venues host folk music, dance and food stalls. It is not a public holiday, so most people take part in the morning or evening.

What people buy

1. New-season rice

   Aromatic varieties such as kalijira and chinigura are bought for payesh and polao. Many people order straight from growers' districts once the new crop arrives.

2. Date-palm jaggery

   Khejur gur, especially the soft nolen gur, appears just as Nobanno arrives. It is what gives payesh and pitha their winter flavour.

3. Rice flour and puffed rice

   Fresh chaler gura, muri, chira and khoi are the base of most harvest snacks and sweets.

4. Clay pots and cookware

   Earthen handi and pitha moulds are bought by families who still cook the traditional way over a wood or gas fire.

5. Light shawls and wraps

   Agrahayan mornings are the first cool ones of the year, so a cotton or light wool shawl is a common early-winter purchase.

Gift ideas

1. A basket of harvest foods

   Fine rice, gur and a pack of chira or muri make a simple, generous gift for relatives in the city.

2. Nakshi kantha

   A hand-stitched quilt carries the rural spirit of the harvest and is useful as the nights grow cooler.

3. Earthenware

   A set of clay bowls for serving payesh is a practical gift with a village feel.

4. A shawl

   A soft shawl suits the season and is welcome for older family members.

Shopping tips

Food items such as gur and new rice reach the market gradually through November, so read the listing for the harvest date or ask the seller when the batch was made. Jaggery and fresh rice flour keep only a short time, so order close to the day you plan to cook, and let perishable parcels travel the shortest distance possible.

On Midmart every shop sells and delivers on its own, and delivery is charged per shop. Buying rice from one seller and gur from another means two parcels and two delivery charges, so check whether a single seller stocks everything you need. Midmart never takes payment or handles delivery: each seller agrees payment and shipping with you directly, so ask how they will pack fragile clay or perishable food before you confirm.

Shop for Nobanno

• aromatic rice
• date palm jaggery
• rice flour
• clay pot
• shawl
• nakshi kantha

Nobanno dates

Dates marked “expected” depend on the moon sighting or the official calendar and are confirmed close to the day.

Questions about Nobanno

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