“When the winter’s brown and bare twigs give way to a glint of green, you know it’s the season we so happily call spring”. What better way to welcome the sweet fragrance of spring than our own Rongali Bihu, which celebrates the feelings of hope and joy in nature’s rebirth.
The Assamese community of Minneapolis and St. Paul celebrated Rongali Bihu with timeless traditions on the 14th April, ’07, at the picturesque log cabin at Lions Park in Shakopee, Minnesota. The increasing number of Assamese families in the twin cities has made the celebrations very memorable. Our friends from Rochester and Chicago joined us to make the celebrations even more special.
It was a day long celebration with traditionl fun, food, games, music and dance. A highlight of the fun filled day was the outdoor Mukoli Bihu where we danced under the perfectly blue April sky and on the revived blades of grass. The park was also ideal for the outdoor games. The “tug-of-war”, “marble-in-a-spoon race” and “sack race” stirred lots of thrill and were enjoyed by the young and the old alike.
The cultural evening featured a “xomabeto sangeet” led by the melodious voices of Minti and Pranab. This was followed by “husori” by our energetic and talented team of men accompanied by the sounds of “taal” and “toka”. Another sweet highlight of the evening was the “okonir bihu” where the kids quite enthralled us with their beautiful Bihu performances. They also impressed us with their Bihu themed art work at the children’s art exhibition. Way to go Anurag, Ayan, Ashmita, Arnav, Nibir, Pooky and Riyah. Thanks to Joon who came up with this wonderful idea. The musical evening was pure entertainment with a “jhumur” dance by the ladies, Bihu dances by the lovely sisters Meghna and Devika and by our ever so elegant Mili. A pulsating dance performance by the father-daughter duo of Pervez and Pooky energized the crowd. Lighter moments were provided by Anjan with his hilarious “koutuks”. Our talented friends captivated us with their melodious “adhunik” and “Bihu-geet”. We concluded our evening with the chorus “O mur apunar dex”, which truly evoked passion and nostalgia.
Thanks to all the ladies (Geeta, Geeti, Rinti, Ankita, Babli, Meenaksi, Namita, Parineeta, Monika, Barnali, Purabi, Joon, Mili, Minti, Rashmi, Reema and Sujata) for preparing the traditional Assamese dishes and Bihu treats like “doi sira”, “pitha” and “laru”. It was quite a treat to the taste buds. The dinner was a delightful feast of authentic Assamese food.
We take immense pride in celebrating a slice of the richness of our culture, home away from home. The eventful day came to an end with lots of fond memories to cherish marking a great start to another new year.
Collage prepared by Geeti Das, Write-up by Sabina Zeenat
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