- Sabina Zeenat and Collage by Geeti Das
The Assamese community of Minneapolis and Saint Paul celebrated their beloved festival, Rongali Bihu, on 16th April 2011. The bihutoli was the beautiful log cabin nestled in the midst of Lion’s Park, Shakopee, which has been the venue of our Bihu celebrations since 2007. Although the weather was less than spring-like, the day was fun filled and the Bihu spirit and our bihutoli kept us all warm and comfortable. Friends from within the city, from neighboring Rochester and Milwaukee and as far as New Jersey graced the occasion and made our celebrations even more fun and a day to remember.
The sounds of the taal, the beats of the dhol and the euphonic sounds of the pepa reverberated and filled our bihutoliuntil late in the evening. The tastefully decorated stage and the screen made our bihutoli look even more splendid this year. The Organizing Committee kicked off the preparations early on and the rehearsals were regularly scheduled. The kids and the adults alike, practiced very diligently to put up great show.
The “Konmainar Monimala” from the 3, 4 and 5 year olds - Ruhi, Nimisha, Pinky, Geet, Annie, Devarsh, Aarhi and Reisha, was a delightful rendition of our beloved songs of yesteryears (‘soku meli nasaba’, ‘bonoriya ami bonor sorai’ and ‘ek dui tini saari’). The audience thoroughly enjoyed their performance and so did their proud parents. The same group, a little later, impressed us with their Bihu dance to Zubeen’s appealing song “Boroline Aspoline Erili”. Nibir, Samir and Ayan lent their youthful voices to the catchy tunes of Joi Barua’s popular song “Aikon Baikon” and got the crowd humming. Geet, the enthusiastic rocker, entertained the gathering with his dance moves to the song of “Zor ka Jhatka”, a popular Hindi song. Pooky, Ashmita and Riyah’s striking group dance to 80’s disco hit “Funkytown” was another memorable performance. Devika performed 2 popular songs by Bruno Mars while strumming her own music in the guitar that left the audience wanting for more! “Coated in Curry”, a skit conceptualized by Pankaj Sarma and written by the elementary and middle schoolers, Nibir, Ashmita and Riyah and performed by the writers along with Samir and Ayan, was a performance with a lot of originality. The entertaining skit had funny one-liners and was complete with music and excellent props. The real surprise of the skit was the Bihu theme at the end. A debut piano recital by Ruhi and an Assamese modern song by Ashmita were the other highlights of the kids’ cultural performances.The kids’ performances were interspersed with the beautiful Bihu dances from our talented dancers Ankita, Mili, Geeti and Purabi. The youthful exuberance of our deka dol found expression in the husori which was replete with tradition, energy and zest. The spontaneity and the wit of the lyrics have always made the husori a very special part of our Bihu celebrations.
The cold weather prompted the kids to play some indoor games which were very well organized by Prantor Bora. He was helped by Sanjeev Bordoloi and Parag Sarma. The winners and the runners-up of the sack race, marble in a spoon race and tug-of-war received medals and their joys knew no bounds! A separate sports day has been scheduled at a later date due to inclement weather on Bihu day. We are eagerly looking forward to that.
The evening cultural program, which followed a snack break, opened to the very stylish “Fashion show” beautifully coordinated by Monika Kataky. The enthusiastic models showed off their best traditional Axomiya and Indian attires. The young and old made the stage and the ramp dazzle in every sense of the word. Music mixer, Parvez Hussain, provided the music for the models to tread in style!!! Talented singers, Minti and Pranab’s creative rendering of “Bistirna Parare” along with a few more Axomiya and Bihu geet enthralled the audience. They were accompanied by Saroj on the guitar and Arun on the keyboard. A group dance by the ladies to Rahat Ali Khan’s “Tum Jo Aaye” and a rendition of Joi Barua’s “Dosoku Melute” by the men’s group were an exciting part of the cultural program. The program came to a close with the “Mukoli Bihu” where everyone rocked the stage once again to the Bihu tunes.
An arts and crafts exhibition showcasing all things Axomiya was another prominent feature in our Bihu celebrations. Mallika and Geeti provided most of their priceless collection from jewelry and clothes to books and artifacts. Our rich heritage was on display for all to appreciate. The audience was kept engaged with various trivia questions on Assam and everybody participated very enthusiastically. Ankita and Devika were the wonderful emcees.
How can Bihu be complete without those luscious pitha, laroo, doi sira, and other Axomiya snacks? The great variety made by all the ladies made our jolpan hearty and filling. The dinner was abundant and delightful and it was a true Bihu bhoj with traditional fare.
We are thankful to Dr. S. R. Borbora, from Assam, for his welcome speech and to Gautam, Zoheb and Anjan for capturing our beautiful day in their camera and video lenses. Our sincere thanks go out to Purabi’s brother-in-law, Mr. Suresh Sarma, from Guwahati, for providing his beautiful song “Brahmaputra’r Parore” and the music track for our opening chorus. Our heartfelt thanks to all our visitors for gracing the occasion and lastly, a big applause to all for working hard towards making the Bihu a grand success!
The organizers also announced the release of the second edition of Bordoichila, the annual magazine. The magazine is the brainchild of Nilanjana Mahanta (Joon), a Minnesota resident who has now moved to California. The magazine which is both in Axomiya and English is a collection of articles, short stories, poems, children’s contributions, recipes and many more.
