In anticipation of the Rongali Bihu, Assam was earlier this month in a celebratory mood with people of divergent faiths, tribal affiliations, regions and educational backgrounds greeting each other like lost friends and soaking in the State’s rich art, culture and heritage at a three day long event on the outskirts of Guwahati.
“Rongali Celebrating the Essence of Assam” emphasised the fact that Rongali Bihu was an important event in the life of an average Assamese irrespective of his/ her religious denomination. The festival also gave an opportunity to musicians and folk artistes, who have made a mark regionally or nationally to highlight the State’s rich cultural traditions and pluralistic traditions.
The first edition of the festival, which is being celebrated across the State nowadays, also emphasised the relevance of harvest in the daily lives of the inhabitants as Assam is primarily an agrarian State.
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As the festival’s attempt was to build bridges between different communities of Assam, tribes like Karbi, Meishing and Bodo were given space at the event to showcase their ethnic craft, local delicacy and weaving technique.
According to Barsha Rani Bishaya, leading Assamese actor who hosted the event, this festival was a serious attempt to bridge the gap between Hindus and Muslims. “We want people from these two communities to remain together peacefully. This is the tradition of our State and this is the reason why Hindus and Muslims celebrate Bihu. We celebrate our cultural traditions and it helps to bind these communities together. There is nothing like the right-wing fundamentalism or Hindutva. Somewhere the problem has arisen due to tribes demanding autonomous council. This has brought a small rift,” says the actor, who goaded Papon to sing her favourite Assamese songs.
Noting that the socio-economic development of the State is necessary to attract tourists, Barsha says festivals such as these integrate the people and give them a feeling of oneness. “Earlier news of bomb blasts gave bad publicity to Assam but now violence has abated. In fact, it is a peaceful State and one-horned rhinoceros is a must see for tourists, both domestic and foreign.”
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Her views were echoed by other prominent personalities from the State.
“Whether it is Muslims, Bihari or Marwari they all celebrate this festival. All those who reside and work in the State invariably become Assamese. So this festival binds the people together. Even in weddings, Hindu and Muslim brides wear identical white dress though the customs, rituals vary. Like we have nikaah, Hindus have yagya but the white three piece sari mekhela chadar, signifying chastity, is worn by brides of both communities,” says Mehzabin Ershad, a designer.
The festival’s highlight was the Papon-mania, which was in full evidence as his songs were aired on local channels and his pictures were splashed all over in the newspapers.
His enthusiastic fans wearing Papon T-shirts, just wanted to be let inside the venue and the organisers had a tough time handling them.
According to Shyamkanu Mahanta, festival organiser, “We wanted to project the image of Assam as a State where people of different faiths and regions live in harmony and peaceful co-existence. This was the essence of the festival as we do not want domestic and foreign tourists to get an incorrect perception about our people and the state of affairs in this part of the North East.”
Next time, the organisers plan to stage the festival in an even bigger venue as they want people from not just Guwahati but also from across the State to come in more numbers.