Revellers gather around a meji (bonfire) in Guwahati on Wednesday. Picture by Eastern Projections

Guwahati, Jan. 14: People today prayed for a year of prosperity as the state celebrated Magh Bihu with traditional fervour and gaiety.

The celebrations, which started with the grand feast on uruka yesterday, continued through the night and culminated in the ritual of setting the mejis on fire early this morning.

Braving the cold and dense fog, Bihu revellers, particularly in rural areas, first took a bath and then set the mejis on fire before sunrise. Both young and old stood in front of the burning mejis to pray to the fire god and wished prosperity for everyone.

“The fire implies the inner strength to douse the evil in us. We must pray for inner strength to defeat the evil forces in society. Residents of my village prayed for peace in the state,” Haren Das, a resident of Bamundi in Hajo area, said.

In Guwahati, mejis were burned in open places and paddy fields in Rani, Sonapur, Chandrapur and Deepor Beel in traditional style. After burning the mejis, people returned home and exchanged Bihu greetings with family members. The young took the blessings of their elders. There were daylong celebrations in different households as people visited their relatives and friends’ houses and enjoyed curd, pitha and other traditional Bihu delicacies. The sunny weather doubled the Bihu spirit.

Hajo, nearly 50km from Guwahati, throbbed with activity for bird sport, which is unique. People from different parts of lower Assam rushed to Haigrib Madhab temple to watch the traditional fight of bulbulis, despite an Assam forest department instruction last week not to organise the fight as it caused injury to birds. “The tradition of bird fight dates back to the Ahom era. Ahom king Swargadeo Rundra Singha used to enjoy the fight. Magh Bihu is incomplete without a bird fight,” Ananta Deka, a local resident of Hajo, said.

A six-day Bhogali Bihu festival was inaugurated at Nehrubali ground in Nagaon district by forest minister Rockybul Hussain. A large number of people visited the ground and enjoyed various events and games hosted there. There was an exhibition of traditional Assamese dishes. A colourful cultural function was organised in the evening.

“It will be a grand and extended Magh Bihu festival in Nagaon. Chief minister Tarun Gogoi will attend the open session of the Bhogali Utsav at Nehrubali on January 19,” an organiser said.