- Contributed by Dr. Gautam L Baruah and Mrs. Enakshi Baruah
What can we say? The 2013 Chicagoland Bihu was truly of epic proportions. A good chunk of the Assamese Diaspora from the entire Midwest attended, with the total participation upwards of 150. Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan were all well represented, apart from the Chicagoans. If you think you knew your neighboring Axomiya raiz, you are mistaken. There was a bewildering array of new faces in the gathering at the Holiday Inn, Rolling Meadows-Schaumburg.
The evening began with choice Axomiya pitha and jalpan with cookies to whet the western palate – courtesy Rani baidew, Gita baidew, Kabita baidew, Kuki baidew and Enakshi. The first act of the cultural program was the soulful rendering of the National anthem of USA by Shelly Bhuyan. What followed next was a collage of costumes and delightful melodies conducted by MCs Udish and Anya with a deft grace, belying their tender age. The chorus was a song composed by Arup Bhuyan with uniquely relevant lyrics.
The overarching theme this year was children’s programs. The group dance from the Chicagoland kids was the cutest with toddlers dancing in unison. The Bollywood number by Farasha, song by Tara Kashyap (Pori), dance duet
by Falisha and Drishti (aptly named daughter of Nayan Goswami), group Bihu dance by Milwaukee kids, Bihu duet by Rimjhim and Isha, song duet by Aneeth and Ankith were truly a joy to behold. We were indeed mesmerized by these performances. The ladies and gentlemen were not to be outdone. God alone knows how they summoned the energy and time to deliver such finely tuned items after spending countless hours with their children’s items.
The highlight was a song and dance masti by Indus Masti – a Chicagoland group with great talent and global aspirations comprising Dipak, Fardeen, Rituraj and Ankur. There were standout songs from Arup and group; Arundhati’s Hindi song was magnificent and the lovely couple from Michigan – Debojitda and Rumabaidew thrilled us with their duet and made a great pitch for the 34th Convention in such chaste Assamese that many needed a dictionary to understand the content fully. The songs by Dr. Kalika Sharma from Urbana were fantastic as usual. There were great solo numbers from Fardeen, Gautam Das and Ambalika that kept us glued to our seats. Then there was the inimitable Roopaba with her poetry that flowed from her heart and soul.
What is a Bihu without dancing? This one was no exception. The Bollywood dance medley by Vasanthi, Farhana and Nibetita was spectacular. The group Bihu dance by Maitreyee, Manali, Saghamitra and Momita was gorgeous and the Odissi performance by Abhilasha Bharadwaj was rendered with dexterity and grace.
A highlight of this Rongali Bihu was a Children’s essay competition regarding Assam. Dr. Anuj Sarma (our resident Astrophysicist) welcomed the new folks in Chicagoland. It was indeed a long list. This was followed by Jatiya Xangeet performed by all with gusto. This was truly an evening to remember.
