Guwahati, April 15: Traditional games such as tekeli bhonga (breaking the pot) and tug-of-war in the day and cultural programmes, including revival of theatre in one of Assam's oldest bihutolis, after dusk marked Rongali Bihu here today.
The stage and the main area of the 63-year-old Guwahati Bihu Xonmilani at Latasil were chock-a-block with participants by noon.
"Apart from tekeli bhonga and tug-of-war for children, jeng Bihu and diha naam for women, power-lifting competition, contests for children like painting and games such as musical chair, kabaddi and one-legged race were organised during the day," Nilupam Das, secretary of the Xonmilani, told The Telegraph.
Das said the Xonmilani had decided to revive the legacy of being the only group here to stage theatre during Rongali Bihu, after nearly a decade.
"Tonight, we are staging Lachit Borphukan directed by playwright Nilu Chakravarty. The demise of filmmaker Bidyut Chakravarty this morning came as a shock and we first thought of deferring the play. But knowing the visionary filmmaker, he would have wanted it to be staged, so we decided to go ahead," Das said.
Cultural programmes got under way in the evening with troupes performing Husori, Karbi folk and Tiwa dance among others.
"Among the artistes featuring in the special programmes tonight are comedian Uday Sankar Bhuyan and singer Krishnamoni Chutia. Yesterday, actor George Baker of Chameli Memsaab fame (Assamese film made in 1975) inaugurated the cultural programme. Last night's attraction was singer Simanta Shekhar," Das said.
The Bihu Kuwari and Bihu Rani competitions at Latasil will begin tomorrow while the Bihu Xomragyi contest is slated for Friday.
The Kamrup (metro) district has over 100 bihutolis, with over 20 among the oldest, located in the heart of the city.
The Pub Guwahati Bihu Sanmilan, in its 54th edition this year, saw Angaraag (Papon) Mahanta perform in the late-night special slot at the Assam Engineering Institute ground in Chandmari. "Tonight, we have artistes such as Tarulata Kutum, Mun Mun Das and Aarohan Bordoloi as crowd-pullers," a member of the organising committee, said.
The Ulubari Rongali Bihu Sanmilan, which is observing its golden jubilee year, has lined up a slew of competitions such as Husori, Bihu Kuwari, jeng Bihu and comedy apart from games and cultural programmes.
Likewise, the 32nd Brihattar Rukmininagar Rongali Bihu Sanmilan has Husori, Bihurani and jeng Bihu contests in its programme list. Competitions such as sports, quiz, go-as-you-like are also being organised during the three-day celebrations.
The scene in Upper Assam though is a little different from the public functions in Guwahati. In Jorhat, the Bihu Sanmilans have deferred the public functions to the last week of April and May so that the people are not taken up with the arrangements and allowed to celebrate the festival with traditional fervour.
Secretary of the Jorhat Kendriya Rongali Bihu Udjapan Samiti, Ranjan Sai, said, "The highlights of the Bihu Sanmilani held every year at the Jorhat District Sports Association ground include All-Assam Bihuwati and Bar Bihuwaticompetitions on May 6 and a performance by Papon during cultural night the next day."
At Choladhora locality in Jorhat town, the two-day 34th Brihattar Choladhora Rongali Bihu Sanmilan will organise Husori on April 25. Rubul Srutikar, one of the organisers, said this would be followed by a get-together of the residents and a pitha competition for women. The Nal Birina Husori group will perform along with other local artistes in the evening.
The Tezpur Anchalik Students' Union today organised Mukoli Bihu, involving several ethnic cultural groups, at Mazgaon Swahidbakori field in Tezpur.
The Uttar Paschim Tezpur Rongali Bihu committee, which is in its 50th year, also celebrated Bihu at Chandmari.
Additional Reporting by Smita Bhattacharyya in Jorhat and Pranab Kumar Das in Tezpur
