Celebrating diversity

If you want to pluck a leaf out of Wordsworth’s life and spice up a day of yours, have a brush with the Bihu. After all, pleasures of life can be as platonic as studying the Zombie tribe in Africa or lazing around the one-horned rhinocerous among the elephant-grass in the evergreen forest of Kaziranga.
Bihu is one of the most colourful festival of the North-East of India, primarily celebrated in Assam. Of the three Bihus (Bohaag or Rongali – the spring festival celebrated in the middle of April; Maagh or Bhogaali – celebrated during the harvesting season which falls in mid-January and the Kongaali or Kaati – during the sowing season in mid-october), Rongaali Bihu displays the essence of the Assamese spirit. Factually the three Bihus scripts a rich legacy of the region – its history since the Ahom rule, its unique balance of the endemic flora and fauna and primarily the rustic romance of the region.
The chronology of the Bihus are as pristine and as vibrant as the state itself. Each Bihu coincides with a distinctive phase in the farming calendar. The Bohaag Bihu marks the New Year at the advent of seeding time, the Kaati Bihu marks the completion of sowing and transplanting of paddies, and the Maagh Bihu marks the end of the harvesting period. Bohaag Bihu is the festival of merriment, Maagh Bihu is the festival of food and Kaati Bihu is the festival of the poor.
The visionaries or the warfarers (the Ahom tribe) who migrated from Thailand and settled in the North-East, contributed towards the cultural and geographical constitution of the region. The origin of Bihu can be traced to that era when the region flourished under the rulers of Koch, Rajbonshis, Miris, Manipuris and numerous small rulers under the patronage of the Ahoms. And the benelolent rulers of the region ensured one of the most liberal thinking zone in the country till date. And Bihu is one of the greatest symbol of harmony in the social process – both then and now, as it is a festival with no religious tinge.
The Bohaag Bihu ushers in the period of greatest enjoyment and marks the arrival of Spring. The folk songs associated with the Bohaag Bihu are called Bihugeets or Bihunaam. The Bohaag Bihu lasts for several days during which the young people in the village may be seen moving about in groups gaily dressed in Muga (the only natural golden coloured silk produced from a larvae) or forming circles in the midst of which the prettiest girls dance singing songs of love and romance. Such gatherings are called Mukoli Bihus (Open Bihus). The songs are very popular among all sections of the people.
The language of the Bihu songs have changed from generation to generation. The songs are composed in couplets that rhyme (and are almost always accompanied by a distinctive form of dancing), and each couplet depicts a different emotion. The language is simple and suggestive, and the style is neat and clear. Scholars agree that the songs have no influence of Sanskrit, the ancient language of religious text and learned commentaries.
The Bihu songs have exercised great influence on Assamese literature. Even the translator (Madhav Deva, 1849-1596 AD) of the great Hindu epic Ramayana and the great hymn composer Sankar Deva (1449-1569 AD) could not escape their influence.
The overcast sky catching the vernal wind, the soft green leaves breathing new life and the rhythm of Bihu is simply a heavenly bliss.