Covid scare fails to dampen Bhogali Bihu spirit in Assam

BONGAIGAON: With the yearly Bhogali Bihu festival (that is typically marked with song-dance routines and feasting) less than two days away, Assam is now brimming with excitement.

While the adults are kicking off the celebrations by building bhela ghars (a temporary night shelter, used as a community feast hall, made of thatch, bamboo, straws) and making the traditional eatables such as pitha and laru, the children are out in the fields singing and dancing 'Bihu', the folk phenomenon. Despite the fear of the coronavirus continuing to hang over our heads, Jalakhata, a tiny village in Assam's Bongaigaon district, is not lagging behind in any measure as far the Bihu celebrations are concerned.

In preparation for the festival, the village community has built a majestic two-story 'bhela ghar'. Already, the festival fever has hit the village folks, and singing and dancing in the fields have already begun. A walk through the village revealed that much of the action in the village is now centred around the bhela ghar, which has become an attraction of sorts.

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Even the tiny tots have put on their best traditional regalia and are flocking to the bhela ghar, where feats featuring the all time favorite 'khichdi' have already begun.

"Last year passed by without any celebrations and we could not celebrate Bohag Bihu. This year, though, we have resolved to celebrate the Bihu in spite of the coronavirus pandemic. Although we are taking precautions the virus -- and all the villagers are being alerted -- we have also decided to celebrate Bihu, albeit in a subdued manner," a villager informed us.

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