|
The
celebration of merriment, our dearest Rongali Bihu is here.
Bohag Bihu reflects the coming of spring and is celebrated
with distinctive Bihu dances. It is a festival that symbolizes
peace and harmony, without giving any prominence to caste,
creed and religion and recognizing no boundaries. People observe
this festival with great enthusiasm and happiness to celebrate
fertility. This festival is celebrated with great pomp and
enthusiasm all over the State. Being the biggest festival
of Assam, Bohag Bihu involves people from all section and
classes of society, largely reflecting the rich cultural heritage
of this beautiful State.
Goru
Bihu:
The
cattle of the house are washed, smeared with ground turmeric
and other pastes, struck with sprigs of dighalati and makhiyati
and endeared to be healthy and productive.
Manuh
Bihu:
The
day after the Goru Bihu is called the Manuh Bihu. Elders are
shown respect, with gifts of Bihuwan (a gamosa), a Hachoti
(kerchief), a Cheleng etc., and their blessings are sought.
Children are given new clothes, and Husori singing begins
on this day, and people visit their relatives and friends.
Husori:
Village
elders move from household to households singing carols, also
in the style of Bihugeets, called Husoris. It’s possibly derived
from the Dimasa Kachari word formation ‘ha’ (land) and ‘char’
(move over): hachari.
Mukoli
Bihu:
Young
unmarried men and women attired in traditional golden silk
muga dance the Bihu and sing Bihu songs in the open fields.
The songs have themes of romance and bonding. Sometimes the
songs describe tragic events too, but are treated very lightly.
Bihutoli
Bihu:
Unlike
the rural version, the dancers danced on a makeshift elevated
stage in an open area that came to be known as a Bihutoli.
The performances are not confined to the Bihu dance form,
but may incorporate all forms of theatrical performances to
keep the audience enthralled well into the early hours.
As
we are poised to celebrate this beautiful festival, we reached
out to people who are away from the heart of their homes in
Assam. With a tinge of nostalgia and happiness galore in their
minds, they had varied views of celebrating the spirit of
Rongali Bihu outside Assam. They are away from their homes,
but as their hearts revealed, they were never away from the
very spirit of the festival. Almost all of them got drowned
in the pool of nostalgia, while some floated high hopes with
the onset of festivities. With a glorious wish deep within
their hearts that this beautiful land of theirs will once
gain rise and shine to more glory!
For
Rahul Baruah, who is presently based in Kolkata, Bihu is as
much as about remembering his roots as it is about savouring
the Bihu delicacies. As he says, “Bohaag Bihu for me is a
festival that I have always associated with my roots, my value
system and my beliefs, a festival that imbibes in me respect
and honour for my culture, my community and my homeland. The
memories of my mother preparing mouth-watering delicacies,
my father getting me new clothes, getting loads of gifts from
relatives and hopping from one Bihu ‘sonmilon’ to another
with friends remain etched in my mind even till this day.
Today as I stay far away from my dear ones, we look forward
to celebrate Bihu by keeping alive its spirit and energy that
we experience back home and get along with friends and relatives
to commemorate this great festival.”
Many
others, however, are gearing up to celebrate the festival
in the place where they currently reside. “I would be attending
my first Bihu this year in USA. Pretty excited as we have
a lot of Assamese here in the Austin area,” says Chiranjit
Chetia, who is now in Austin, USA. But even though most Assamese
outside the State do celebrate the season in their own unique
ways, nothing can match the celebrations back home. This is
something which saddens most of them. Chandana Pathak Sharma,
now based in Villahermosa, Mexico, says, “Unfortunately we
are the only Indians in our place called Villahermosa. It
is sad yet true that I prefer to forget the date and the occasion
so that I do not get nostalgic and feel sad!”
Similar
views were echoed by Dipankur Sarma in Bikaner, who said,
“Bohag bihu is the festival I would die for. There are lots
of fond memories attached with this festival. But Bihu is
to be celebrated in Assam only because celebrating it outside
is making a mockery of it.” The sights and sounds in Assam
during this time of the year is also a major cause for nostalgia,
evident from the views expressed by Amarjyoti Das, who is
now in Dehradun. He says, “Rongali Bihu is the time when we
wear new clothes, eat lot of homemade goodies, watch Bihu
functions, have loads of fun. But no Bihu is complete without
passing stares at moments dressed in traditional attire. Sad
and nostalgic yes, because away from home no one can create
that ambience and magic which accompanies this festival, irrespective
of whatever way we celebrate it. As I sum up, ‘Lao kha….bengena
kha…bosore bosore bahi ja!’”
“From
my perspective, Bihu away from Assam can never be equated
with Bihu, irrespective of how good the arrangements are.
I had always missed the aura, the air filled with the sound
of dhol, the weeklong Bihu programmes at Bihu tolis. Having
been in Delhi for the last 8 years, Bihu for me has become
limited to visiting some association’s lunch arrangement,
a bit of games and a cultural night wherein popular pop singers
render melodious numbers... although more of Hindi than Bihu!”
says Bidyut Bikash Tamuly, New Delhi.
But
despite the sadness, Bihu is still an occasion for Assamese
outside the State to celebrate. “Bohag Bihu is like a holiday
at home or a small get together at home for friends. A lot
of haldi bathing and loud garrulous bihu round the corner.
I do feel nostalgic being away from Assam, which is why I
make it a point that friends from across Mumbai come and get
a drink and some good Assamese food,” says Archita Kashyap,
now in Mumbai.
Similar
views were echoed by Pahi B Dutta, who is now in Kolkata.
She says, “It’s really sad staying away from your parents
and dear ones during this time of the year. But celebrating
this beautiful time out here has its own share of happiness.
At least I make sure I follow and do everything that's so
essential to the spirit of Rongali Bihu celebrations.”
Bhaskar
Baglari in Ahmedabad even feels that their jest for celebrating
Bihu has caught the fancy of outsiders as well. He says, “As
an avid member of the Assam Youth Association of Ahmedabad,
we conduct Bihu and other festivals with full fervor that
witnesses full participation of the Assamese community. Nowadays,
even the people of Ahmedabad are taking keen interest in Bihu
festivals, thanks to the rising community of Assamese people
in this part of the world.”
Come
what may, the festivities of Bohaag Bihu will still linger
on. For ages to come. Till the time mankind breathes its last,
the sound of Dhol, Pepa and Gogona will not go down!
*
Ankur Baruah "
|
