Children perform Bihu at a programme in Tezpur. Picture by Eastern Projections

Bihu spirit over the ages

As maestro Bhupen Hazarika had sung in one of his most popular songs on Bihu, “Bohag is not just a month or a season. It is the lifeline of the Assamese, the strength of collective life of the people.” But what saddened me is the fact has the traditional festival of the Assamese people has lost much of its romance because of the growing commercialisation of the Rongali Bihu festival. Added to this is the lack of respect among a section of younger generation for traditions and customs associated with the festival.

I have seen Bihu changing in the past 50 years and the traditional flavour is giving way to commercialisation and aping of ways of life that are alien to Assamese society.

When Radha Gobinda Baruah brought Rongali Bihu onstage for the first time at Latasil in Guwahati in 1952, I wonder if he had any idea that in another half a century, everything about Bihu would be stage-managed — from its form and content to its very spirit.

I earnestly request the Bihu organisers to stick to Bihu in its pure and traditional form to ensure that there will be no dearth of the spontaneity that Bihu actually stands for.

Ramani Kanta Bora
Guwahati

Monsoon woes

It has only rained for the last few days and not poured, but even that has been enough to expose the underbelly of Guwahati’s woefully inadequate preparedness for such natural phenomena. Puddles have formed, water has flowed down the street instead of along drains and the denizens have suffered; they have perhaps suffered more in the mind thinking what it would be like when the monsoon really arrives in the next few months.

There has been plenty of talk about the civic administration taking steps to mitigate the sufferings of the people, talk that is as old as the hills and which have been laid bare over the years.

It is now time for the government to act; dredge the channels, clear the clogged drains and, above all, take tough action against those who are guilty of blocking the passage by water through these by dumping garbage. Monsoons have inspired poets and musicians alike, but the season brings only untold sorrows for the Guwahatians. Is anybody listening?

Shivani Kashyap
Guwahati

Caught in the crossfire

It was indeed shocking to read about the death of 55-year-old Dulen Baruah in Sivasagar district, particularly on Goru Bihu day, apparently in a crossfire between militants and security forces.

Residents of Himpora village are not buying the argument that he was associated with Ulfa as propagated by the security forces.

The government must realise that acts of omission and commission, which lead to such tragedies, have the potential of turning the people away from it and, instead, push them closer to Ulfa and push the state further to the brink.

I beseech the state government to take immediate action to ascertain whether an innocent person has really fallen to some trigger-happy security personnel.

Sangita Changkakoty
Sivasagar