Bihu festivity around the world
Shrutidhara Kaushik
The month of Bohag is a very special month for the Assamese community. Rongali Bihu, an inseparable part of Assamese society and culture is celebrated with a sense of solidarity, togetherness & feeling of oneness amongst members of the Assamese community. The word ‘Rongali’ is derived from the root word ‘Rong’ meaning gaiety and happiness indicating that the festival is marked by a fervor and jollity that find their manifestation in the various Bihu songs and dances that are performed through ‘Husori’. The rhythm and euphony of Rongali Bihu pulsate in the veins of the people of Assam spreading messages of goodwill, peace and harmony. Like all previous years, the Assamese Community in NSW and ACT celebrated Rongali Bihu on April 16 at Pennt Hills Community Centre in Sydney.
The evening was iugurated with a beautiful chorus of ‘’Shree Moyee Axomi”. An opening speech was delivered by the president of Assamese Association of Australia ACT & NSW. The president presented a brief overview of newly formed association.
The children program was started with stunningkid’s fashion show (below the age group of 5 years). The little kids walked on ramp holding their mum’s hand and wearing different kinds of traditiol attire. All the kids enchanted the audience with their magnificent performances such as dance performance in the tune of ‘Poka dhanor ma je maje xoru xoru ali o’, Rabha Sangeet ‘Tilai Tilai’ and song performance of popular Assamese singer Dipali Borthakur’s ‘Kon man borxire sip’ and Bhupendra Sangeet ‘Manuhe Manuhar babe’. The group of small children enthralled the crowd by their dance ‘Padel mari mari’ and it was really fasciting and entertaining. Our talented girls also performed dance on Karbi, Jhumur and Tiwa songs which indeed portrays the existence of our rich cultural heritage and unity and diversity among various ethnic tribes in Assam. The Assamese diaspora has invested time into running an informal language and culture appreciation school‘Bhaxa Ghor’ – providing kids from the diaspora an insight into their home language and culture.
The team Canberra also captivated the crowd through their fabulous performances such as group dance medley on ‘Assamese version of Kolaveri di’ and ‘Xagor Xangamat’, soulful instrumental recital and of course the dance drama med ‘Xans kritir Pragatir Jokhola’.
The Bihu magazine ‘Gogo’ was also released on the day of Rongali Bihu celebration.
The cultural evening also featured a number of solo song performances by our local artists and their songs comprised of old and new Assamese melodies. One of the most dazzling performances of the evening was ‘Labra dance”. Another mesmerizing programme of the event was Assamese traditiol fusion group song blending in a sequence of devotiol and bihu songs.
The popular Assamese band Jantroz’s sparkling performance on old and new Assamese melodies further added the beauty of the evening and it was highly appreciated by the audience.
This evening ended with the most awaited Husori and Bihu performance by Sydney Bihu Dol with their superb performance. The stage was also beautifully and artistically decorated with gamosa, japi, dhol, pepa, bihuwa-bihuwoti etc. by our young artists.
As the Assamese community grows it became evident that the community needed to organise itself and hence Assamese Association of Australia (ACT & NSW) was formed last year. The Association has been instrumental in organising a few events over the past 12 months and has had 2 successful elections. The official website of the Assamese Association was launched in Bihu www.assamiustralia.org.au . The Assamese community’s popularity and recognition are spreading all over Australia gradually. These Assamese residents of Sydney and Canberra’s continuous effort have made the bond of our rich cultural and literary heritage more powerful and effective.
