Participants in the Bihu workshop. Picture by S.H. Patgiri

April 6: Tips on the nuances of Mising Bihu are being imparted to young dancers at the Bihu workshop under way at Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra till April 10.

Mising Bihu has been included in the workshop, which is being organised for the fifth time at the same venue.

?Every year, we will try to include one or the other form of tribal Bihu of Assam. The objective of the workshop is to keep the original form of the folk form intact,? said an official of the Kalakshetra.

?We also want to ensure that the folk form is made presentable as a performing art outside Assam or even India. We are also trying to impart lessons on the Bihu naams (songs) and musical instruments associated with Bihu,? the official added.

Altogether 30 female and 20 male dancers are participating in the workshop. They were selected from a group of 100 aspirants after an interview and a practical examination.

The workshop was inaugurated by Numal Gogoi, an exponent of Bihu, who is also a retired lecturer of Tinsukia College.

Joykanta Gandhia, another exponent of Bihu, was the chief guest.

Both scholars are the main resource persons in the workshop.

The session on Mising Bihu is being conducted by Nahendra Padun, a Mising writer, who is also a member of the Kalakshetra society. He is being assisted by Pabitra Kumar Pegu and Suruj Kumar Patir.

The camp director of the workshop is noted Bihu exponent Ranjit Gogoi and the main trainer is Ojha Somnath Bora, an exponent of the dhol. The other trainers include Neelakanta Bora, Prasanna Gogoi and Prashen Bora. They are being assisted by Hiren Sharma and Moushumi Phukan.

Pratibha Das, a singer who is participating in the workshop, is mainly concentrating on upgrading her skills on the Bihu naams. ?I am looking forward to learning about the hitherto unknown naams and enhance my knowledge,? said Das.

On the concluding day, the participants will perform a special recital of Bihu dance in the open air theatre of the Kalakshetra.