Umesh Chandra Deka speaks at the symposium on Sunday. Telegraph picture

March 24: Gauhati University is introducing a six-month diploma course on Bihu performance from the next academic session starting June.

Umesh Chandra Deka, director of the Institute of North East Studies of the university, which will conduct the course, today said they had received the required approval from the academic council of the university to launch the course.

“As the academic council has approved the course, we are ready to launch it from the next academic session,” he said, while talking to The Telegraph on the sidelines of a symposium on Bihu.

The daylong symposium on recent trends in Bihu was organised by Bihu Xanskriti Xongrokhyan Aru Bikax Manch, Asom — a forum created to generate awareness about the original elements of the festival.

Deka said teachers of the institute had prepared the course syllabus with help of Bihu dance experts Prasanna Gogoi and Pradip Neog. “As both Gogoi and Neog are Bihu experts, we entrusted them with the task of preparing the syllabus. We hope this course will be an ideal one to train students on the dance form,” he said.

Students of higher secondary standard will be considered eligible for the course.

Through the course, students will be imparted training on Bihu dance, songs and playing of instruments like dhol, pepa, flute, xutuli and gogona. “It will be a combination of both theory and practical lessons,” the director said.

“After introducing Bihu, we will look for introducing courses on Xattriya and Manipuri dances,” he added.

The institute has been conducting several Bihu workshops during the past two years to study the different aspects that need to be included in the new course.

The Institute of North East Studies was set up in 2010 in a bid to encourage study on various issues related to the Northeast. At present, the department is running a course on “creative writing and translation studies”. A few students are also conducting related research.

The university had earlier requested Dispur to sanction a few teacher posts to help it run courses on Bihu, Xattriya and Manipuri dances, but in vain. “We cannot wait for the state government to sanction the posts. We will start it with the help of guest teachers. The university will bear the expenses,” Deka said.

Expert Nila Borah said there was no harm in introducing Bihu as a course. “But the syllabus should be created after discussions with Bihu experts. Rapid changes are taking place when it comes to Bihu songs and performance, thus making it alien to its original form,” he said.

Actor Pranjal Saikia said a course on Bihu was required to protect it from further deterioration.