Bihu shoppers at a stall at the NEDFi Haat in Guwahati on Sunday. Picture by Biju Boro

Guwahati, Jan. 12: Gur from Golaghat and Mayong, joha rice from Lakhimpur and Tinsukia, chunga pitha from Jagiroad: the list is mouth-watering. The weather may be a trifle damp and the chill in the air biting, but Magh Bihu — starting tomorrow — promises to be a “hot” item for Guwahatians, with the most exotic delicacies associated with the festivities being served under a single roof.

The Bhogali Mela at the NEDFi Haat has turned out to be one of the main destinations for Bihu shoppers in the city as a day before the uruka feast, people lined up at the mela stalls for their share of chunga pitha or chunga doi.

“Though it would have been more fun if we could have made all this at home, it is a problem getting pithaguri here. Getting all these readymade traditional food items has been very convenient,” said Dipti Dutta, a housewife. Such has been the response that Sukleswar Kalita from Maloibari in Jagiroad rued coming to the mela with “very little gur”. Kalita, who has set up a stall, which has these exotic items along with gur from Mayong, said, “We had a very good response and our stocks are almost nil.”

Pankaj Sharma, from Baruabamungaon in Golaghat, said, “Golaghat is traditionally famous for its special gur and I had got two-and-a-half quintals of it but it was sold out on the first day itself. We are now planning to packet and market it with the help of Nedfi.” As the melodious strains of Bihu songs fill the air, one can sit down and have a plate of sizzling hot tekeli pitha and a laddoo made from coconut and gur (jaggery) with a refreshing cup of tea. All this at an open-air stall set up by at three women — Ira Deka, Pratibha Tamuli and Meena Kalita, at the Bhogali Mela.

For those who want to opt for the special Bhogali Jalpan “Bihu gift hampers” to present to their friends and relatives, it is a package which has coconut laddoo, pitha, gur, til laddoo, malbhuk chira and maakhorai. S. Saikia, a civil servant said, “I don’t get time to make pithas. Now we can even gift these Bihu hampers to our friends who live outside Assam.”

Sharma added, “Our stall also has a Nepali delicacy, sel roti and a Bengali speciality called akhoi laddoo, which has been a sell-out as well. It also depicts the communal harmony, joy and peace which signifies the spirit of Bihu.”