South Shields restaurant sees in Bengali New Year in style

South Shields curry house Zeera hosted a celebration for more than 100 guests, including traditional Bengali food, traditional music and live entertainment.

Bengali New Year, unlike Chinese New Year, is not often marked in the UK and by hosting the event the team at Zeera hope to increase the profile of the holiday in the North East and pave the way for larger celebrations in the future.

The New Year celebration, also known as Polia Boishakh, marks the first day of the Bengali calendar, and is traditionally celebrated with an all-singing, all-dancing procession which begins at dawn.

The kitchen staff say they are often inundated with requests for traditional Bangladeshi food and this event gave them the chance to show off their skills and provide customers with authentic Bangladeshi Thali, a meal made up of various Indian dishes served on one large platter.

Owner of Zeera, and former Bangla Achievement Awards Entrepreneur of the Year, Shahanoor Choudhury, is thrilled to be able to bring this celebration of Bangladeshi culture to his business in South Tyneside.

He said: “This celebration is extremely important to Bengalis and it is such a shame that it isn’t celebrated more in the UK. The event was a fantastic spectacle to witness, on the street in Ocean Road, as well as in Zeera restaurant itself. Our guests had a fantastic evening and the

feedback has been extremely positive. We’ll definitely be recreating it next year.”