Assamese to celebrate Magh Bihu with folk dance, songs

On the occasion of Magh Bihu, t he Assam Association, Mumbai, organised a cultural programme at Sankalp nursery in Vashi on Saturday.

Around 2, 000 Assamese residing across Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane are expected to gather at the venue.

The programme will start with Bihu songs and dances performed by a few renowned artistes from the community.

It will be followed by a musical fusion by a team based in Mumbai. Women teams from Panvel, Kharghar, Vashi and Kopar Khairane will perform various folk dances and songs. A community feast with traditional Assamese cuisine has also

been organised to conclude the celebration.

Deepankar Borgohain, general secretary of the Assam Association, Mumbai, said Magh

Bihu is a harvest festival which marks the end of harvesting season in the month of Maagha.

“In Assam, there is a practice of people building makeshift huts called ‘ Bhela Ghar’ and preparing traditional dishes in those huts on the night before Bihu. They enjoy the whole night with Bihu songs and bonfire and then burn the huts next morning,” Borgohain said.

After the burning of huts, people sit down to enjoy their fill of traditional Assamese food. In the villages, people also witness bullfights and bird fights.

Amid the enchanting notes of flutes and buffalo horns, the youth sing Bihu songs with lyrics of a good harvest.

“In Mumbai, however, we cannot celebrate it like that, but we leave no stone unturned to make our people get the flavour of our soil. We have been celebrating Bihu by organising such cultural functions every year not only to mark the festival but also to create a better social understanding which is quite important in a multicultural, multilingual and multi- ethnic society like ours,” he added.

HT FILE Magh Bihu is celebrated every year by inviting artistes to perform the traditional song and dance.