Bohag Bihu in Colorado

Otikoi senehor Bohagor Bihuti Napati kenekoi  thaku
 
 Bohag Bihu was celebrated with much gaiety and enthusiasm by the Assamese community of Colorado on the 20th April, 2008 at Fort Collins. The din-juriya karjyoxusi started with the partaking of cheera-doi and pitha-pona made by the ladies, which was relished by all.

 The cultural program started with the melodious chorus Shreemoyee Oxomi. Emcee for the Bihu program, Jugal Kalita then proceeded to welcome the families of Shyamal and Niloufar Baishya, Gargi and Kumar, Sanjib Giri, Prabir Das into the community and bid farewell to the families of Dipendra and Anima Goswami, Deepak and Mandakanta Chakrabarty, Charles and Rita Kastner, and Luna Gohain.  This was followed by a brief description about the significance of celebrating Bihu by Nandini Das. There was a quiz hosted by Sanjib and Rinku Dewri about the entire Assamese barnamala in which Jishu Das, Rohan Baishya, Anoushka Sarma and Ananya Kalita participated with a lot of gusto. This innovative quiz was thought out and implemented by Jugal Kalita with the aim of familiarizing our kids with our mother tongue. Rohan Baishya also regaled the audience with his rendering of Kohuwa bon mur oxanto mon. The Bihu gathering was then treated to a wonderful piano recital by Jackie Bhuyan who played three of her own mesmerizing compositions.
 
The sumptuous lunch, which was catered by Gurkhas Restaurant of Boulder was enjoyed by one & all right from the lip smacking ’singaras’ to the savory ‘gulab jamuns’. Lunch was followed by a musical extravaganza of foot-tapping Assamese and Hindi numbers by new Colorado resident Shyamal Baishya. Surekha Baishya then proceeded to enthrall the audience with a couple of melodious songs. Her husband, Sachin Baishya also joined her for a duet. This was followed by a  dance recital by Bonmayuri Kalita who performed a Ganesh Koutuvam/Vandana based on the Raaga Natai, set to Adi taalam. She also performed to the Assamese Bishwar sonde sonde mohanonde anonde with utmost  grace. Bharat Baruah  with his unique Assamese translations of popular Hindi songs charmed his way into everybody’s hearts.

Evening tea with more snacks was followed by games like tekeli-bhanga, musical chairs, and Mukoli Bihu which was taken part and enjoyed by all. Some visitors also partake in friendly poker games while the rest watch in delight. Jackie Bhuyan concluded the 2008 Bihu celebrations with a vote of thanks for the organizers, Subalita & Bharat Baruah, Sagarika and Paban Sarma, and Rinku Dewri, for their hard work. The Assamese community now looks forward to many more such joyous occasions.

Text by Surekha Baishya, Photo by Bharat Baruah