On 14th April 2007, while the kith and kin of the Probasi Asomiyas were sleeping peacefully after a fun-filled day of Goru-Bihu, a Bihutoli in Garden City, a suburb of Detroit, USA, came alive with the many people from Assam living in the states of Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio and the neighboring city of Windsor in Canada. Around 80 people attended.
The program, which ran past midnight, started at 5 pm with games and snacks. The guests treated themselves to such Assamese delicacies as Narikolor Laru, Narikol Pitha, Ghila Pitha, Kordoi Xira, Doi Chira etc., lovingly prepared by the Assamese ladies attending, spearheaded by Manjula Barua. The pitha-pona was served on a meticulously arranged table which was beautifully decorated by Manjula, Jeuti, Ruma, Pranita and Sanghamitra with Phulam-Gamochas.
Debojit Bora welcomed the gathering to the Bihutoli. A chorus group from Detroit opened the cultural program with a melodious rendition of “Srimoyee Oxomir”. Dhon Bordoloi, next, took the audience on a journey of the yesteryears by singing songs of Bhupen Hazarika. After that, Bharat Natyam exponent Vaani Dhanyakumar’s exceptional performance of Pulak Banerjee’s “Phulorei Melate” kept the audience spellbound. Next was a talent show by the children, which included Piano recital by Sanjan (8 years), rendition of “Shyam Kanu Duroi Hoi Najaba” by Suhaani (4 years), “Hamsini o mere Hamisini” by Anishka (4 years), a poem about the Spring season by Ragini (5 years) and “O’ Kuli O’ Kuli” by Krishangi (8 years). This was followed by melodious songs by Kabita Sundi which included “Naba Naba Bohagi Aahe”. PN Sarma entertained the kids as well as the adults with an interesting story-telling session. Jahnabi Bora, from Madison, concluded the first part of the cultural program with a beautiful solo Bihu dance, Wisconsin, who had won many Bihu Kuwari awards in Assam before moving to the USA. The audience was overwhelmed with this wonderful Bihu performance so far away from Assam.
The delicious dinner, served during the interval between two halves of the cultural program, was from a popular local Indian restaurant called Priya and it was arranged by Utpal Das and Bornali Das. The catered dinner was also supplemented with delicious Rou-Mach-Bilahir-Tenga prepared by Bandana Bora and Priyanka Kaushik.
The second part of the cultural program started with mandolin recitals by Mridyushyam Talukdar accompanied by his wife Mayuri on the keyboard, daughter Bhavna in khanjari and son Rohan on the tambourine. Their rendition of “O Xoru Bhoniti” in the mandolin kept the audience wanting for more. Singer Biplab Roy took the entertainment another notch higher with his rendition of popular Kishore Kumar numbers. Ruma Barua and Iku Rahman followed it by singing of “Meghe Gir Gir Kore” by Debojit Barua and a duet. After that, 12 year old Bhavna Talukdar, winner of several awards in Indian dance competitions in the region and the first Bihu Kuwori of Canada, won accolades from the audience with her performance of a fast paced Bihu dance to the tune of the popular contemporary Bihu song, “Boroline Aspoline Erili” from the Jonbai-I VCD. Krishanu Kaushik entertained the audience to a parody of Zubeen Garg’s “Nobou O”. The second part of the cultural program was ended by Istakur Rahman, who enthralled the audience with the rendition of a couple of popular Hindi songs.
The remarkable stage decoration, which included a hand-made Bihu scene and a big replica of a Xorai was done by Dhon Bordoloi, who was helped by Juri and Anamitra. The sound and music system was arranged by Kalyan De with the assistance of Sabuj and Sheetal. The beautiful stage decoration and excellent audio arrangements made the program even more enjoyable.
Husori and Mukoli Bihu led by Pranab on Dhol, Kamal Sarma on Taal and Krishanu Kaushik on Mohor-xingor-pepa brought a sense of completeness to the Rongali Bihu celebrated in a land far far away from home. Jahnabi, Vaani, Pranita, Susmita and Chumki were the nachonis, who were later joined by several members of the audience. During the Mukoli Bihu everybody danced to their heart’s content, to the lilting tunes and beats of Dhul-pepa-gogona. The Vote of Thanks was delivered by Debojit Borah and the program was concluded with a soulful rendering of “O Mor Aponar Dex”.
Contributed by Kaushik Krishanu, Detroit
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