Assam’s most popular folk dance form ‘Bihu’ will be one of the star attractions of the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games on October three in New Delhi.
A 110-member troupe, comprising 48 dancers and 62 drummers, or dhuliyas in Assamese, led by acclaimed drummer Oja Somnath Bora, has already left for New Delhi to practise for the opening ceremony.
“It is indeed a big honour to showcase our beautiful Bihu dance form before a global audience and we are practising hard to leave a lasting impression in the minds of millions of people who will watch the opening ceremony,” Mr. Bora said.
The State cultural affairs department has asked Mr. Bora to bring together the dancers and drummers and prepare for the ceremony.
Mr. Bora, a master dhuliya, who was the first Indian to win a gold medal in a percussion playing competition at Delphic in South Korea last year, is, however, keeping the details of the presentation close to his heart.
“We are still evolving and improving on the steps and the final presentation is yet to take shape,” he said.
The new assignment has kept on hold his long-cherished dream of making it to the Guinness Book of World Records.
“I have a dream of bringing together 25,000 dancers, drummers and instrumentalists on a common platform and present a performance to enter the Guinness World Records,” Mr. Bora said.
He had earlier planned for October 10, 2010 as the date when he wanted to break the earlier record created by 10,200 Cheraw dancers from Mizoram, but had to postpone it due to the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony.
“We have been practising for the last one year and have held several workshops for dancers, drummers and other artistes, but we had to postpone it as performing at the Commonwealth Games was an honour and an opportunity to make both the State and the country proud,” he said.
After the opening ceremony was over, Mr. Bora said, the 25,000 participants for the Guinness Book performance would resume their practice. Among the participants, 10,000 are Bihu dancers, as many drummers and 5,000 players of indigenous musical instruments.
“With the blessings of our gurus and enormous goodwill of Assamese people, we hope to create a global impact with our beautiful Bihu dance,” Mr. Bora signed off.
