The Bengali Calendar: Twelve Months and Six Seasons
How the Bengali calendar works, the names of its months, and the six seasons that reflect the climate of Bengal more closely than the usual four.
Bengal's calendar is not just a translation of the Gregorian one. It has its own year count, its own month names, and — unlike the four seasons familiar in many countries — six seasons.
The year count
The Bengali year, বঙ্গাব্দ (Bongabdo), begins in mid-April. It runs about 593 years behind the Gregorian year for most of the year, so the Bengali year 1433 began in April 2026.
Twelve months
- বৈশাখ (Boishakh) — mid-April to mid-May
- জ্যৈষ্ঠ (Joishtho) — mid-May to mid-June
- আষাঢ় (Asharh) — mid-June to mid-July
- শ্রাবণ (Shrabon) — mid-July to mid-August
- ভাদ্র (Bhadro) — mid-August to mid-September
- আশ্বিন (Ashwin) — mid-September to mid-October
- কার্তিক (Kartik) — mid-October to mid-November
- অগ্রহায়ণ (Ogrohayon) — mid-November to mid-December
- পৌষ (Poush) — mid-December to mid-January
- মাঘ (Magh) — mid-January to mid-February
- ফাল্গুন (Falgun) — mid-February to mid-March
- চৈত্র (Choitro) — mid-March to mid-April
Two versions of the calendar
Bangladesh revised its official calendar in 1987 to fix month lengths, so that Pohela Boishakh falls on 14 April every year. West Bengal follows a traditional calendar based on astronomical calculation, so the New Year falls on 14 or 15 April and festival dates follow a different system.
Six seasons
Each season, ঋতু (ritu), covers two months:
- গ্রীষ্ম (Grishmo) — summer, Boishakh and Joishtho
- বর্ষা (Borsha) — the monsoon, Asharh and Shrabon
- শরৎ (Shorot) — autumn, Bhadro and Ashwin
- হেমন্ত (Hemonto) — late autumn, Kartik and Ogrohayon
- শীত (Sheet) — winter, Poush and Magh
- বসন্ত (Boshonto) — spring, Falgun and Choitro
Seasons in culture
Seasons are deeply woven into Bengali poetry, songs and festivals. Shorot is associated with white kash flowers and Durga Puja. Borsha brings heavy rain and inspires many songs. Boshonto is celebrated with yellow clothes and flowers, particularly around Saraswati Puja and Pohela Falgun.
Days of the week
- রবিবার (robibar) — Sunday
- সোমবার (shombar) — Monday
- মঙ্গলবার (mongolbar) — Tuesday
- বুধবার (budhbar) — Wednesday
- বৃহস্পতিবার (brihoshpotibar) — Thursday
- শুক্রবার (shukrobar) — Friday
- শনিবার (shonibar) — Saturday
Reading dates
Official Bangladeshi documents and newspapers often print both the Gregorian and Bengali dates. Learning to recognise both makes it much easier to follow news, invitations and holiday notices.
Practice
- Learn the six seasons and one thing associated with each.
- Find today's date in the Bengali calendar.
- Learn the months in order.
- Look up any words you don't know in a dictionary.
English Bangla Dictionary
Offline English–Bangla dictionary with meanings in proper Bengali script
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