It was that special time of the year again. Time for spontaneous dancing and singing. Yes, it was Rongali Bihu and time for merriment for the non-resident Assamese community in the capital who swayed to the reverberating tunes of Bihu songs and dance at a mega celebration here. The venue of this year’s Bihu function organized by the Assam Association, Delhi was Lal Chowk, Pragati Maidan. Far from home but not far away from the homeland spirit, a large crowd of around 3000 people thronged the venue on 19th April on a relaxed Sunday evening.
As we all know, the bounty of nature in the Assam valley during this time of the year is rightly reflected in the spirit of Rongali Bihu, celebrated in the first Assamese month of Bohag.
Besides the denizens of Delhi, Assamese people from the neighboring satellite cities of Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Noida too poured in. ‘The gathering is really overwhelming. I am happy to be associated with the Assamese people on this great occasion’ Mr Jayant Kastuar, Secretary, Sangeet Natak Akademi and the Chief Guest, spoke on the occasion. There were other guests of honour like Mr. N M Bora, CMD, OIL, Mr. H S Brahma, IAS, Secretary to GOI, Dr Atul Sarma, Member, 13th Finance Commission etc. who also graced the occasion. Dr Sarma released the ‘Samayik’- the bi yearly magazine of the Association.
The crowd went into raptures when a group of youngsters presented husori, or Bihu carols, accompanied by musical instruments like dhol (drum), taal (brass cymbal), mohor xingor pepa (buffalo horn pipe) and gogona (Jew’s harper). Abhishruti Bezbaruah, a young and talented artist from Assam managed to lift the mood of the crowd by singing a medley of some very popular numbers. Bihu dance by a bevy of Delhi bred small children mesmerized the crowd soon after, hinting at the continuance of the vibrant Assamese cultural life in the busy capital city.
Star attraction of the evening was noted Assamese playback singer Mr Dwipen Barooah, who has sung more than 350 film songs for Assamese films. Mr Barooah sang for more than 1 hour, and kept the audience spellbound with evergreen Assamese film numbers. One couldn’t help but feel nostalgic listening to those popular numbers from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.
A team sent by the Department of Culture, Govt. of Assam performed Bihu towards the end of the evening and once again charged up the atmosphere with the eternal Bihu spirit. ‘This is an amazing period for us Assamese. It is simply enjoyment right now and nothing else’ said Bheena Saikia, a professional who hails from Dibrugarh and is employed with an IT firm at Gurgaon. The finale came with ‘mukoli Bihu’ when every one danced together once again celebrating the New Year spirit, but in a free for all mode.
Next day, the Bihu team was taken to the Mother’s International School for a performance for the pleasure of the students in the Primary section. The aim was to propagate Assamese culture amongst the non Assamese children as well. The team also performed at ‘Disang Club’ of Oil India Ltd, apart from doing a recording for the Doordarshan.
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