The people of Assam are gearing up to celebrate the Rongali Bihu festival across the state on Saturday.
Bohag Bihu or Rongali Bihu, the harvest festival of Assam, inspired unity, humanity, bond of love, joy, expressed through intoxicating songs and dances.
Preparations are in full swing across the state to celebrate one of the biggest festivals of Assam that marks the new year calendar of the Assamese society.
Over a thousand Bihu Sanmilans have organised with various cultural events to celebrate the Rongali Bihu festival for the next seven days across the state.
Celebrations have already started on Saturday in different parts of the state.
In Guwahati, more than 65 Bihu Sanmilans have organised various programmes including Bihu dance competitions and Mukoli Bihu (open bihu)
“Preparations are almost over for celebrating Rongali Bihu. This year we are planning to demonstrate various cultures and traditions of different ethnic tribes of the state,” an organiser of a Bihu Sanmilan of Guwahati said.
Assam Students Union (AASU) has organised open Bihu (Mukoli Bihu) at Judge field in Guwahati on Sunday.
Apart from Guwahati, several Bihu Sanmilans have organised in Nagaon, Sivsagar, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Sonitpur, Darrang, Barpeta, Kamrup, Morigaon, Nalbari, Goalpara district.
The festival begins from the last day of the month of Chaitra.
The first day of the festival week is called Garu Bihu and will be observed across the state on Sunday.
Garu Bihu is dedicated to the cattle and livestock.
During the Garu Bihu celebration, in the morning the cattle, buffalo are taken to nearby ponds or river banks for a ceremonial bath. The horns and heads of the animal are rubbed with the paste of newly harvested turmeric and black gram. Cut of pieces of brinjal, turmeric and laogourd are thrown on the animal and also fed to them. The animals are tethered with new ropes (Pogha) and garlanded with a collection of different kinds of leaves.
Rongali Bihu or Bohag Bihu is the most important among three Bihu festivals-Rongali Bihu, Kati Bihu and Magh Bihu of Assamese society.
