Marked by Halkhata — merchants close the old year's ledger and open a new one, invoking Ganesha and Lakshmi over sweets shared with customers.
पश्चिम बंगाल
The Halkhata custom is often traced to Mughal-era Bengali calendar reforms attributed to Akbar's court, aligning revenue collection with the agricultural cycle — a rare Hindu festival with a documented administrative layer beneath its religious one.
Businesses distribute sweets to customers as they open the new ledger, invoking Ganesha and Lakshmi over the first entry. Cultural programs of Rabindra Sangeet and other Bengali arts mark the day publicly across Kolkata.