Delhi, NCR gears up to celebrate the harvest festival, Magh Bihu

Not just Assamese living in the Capital and NCR, but others, too, are celebrating the festival of harvest.

Gurgaon

Magh Bihu celebrations in Gurgaon will see a host of activities to mark the harvest festival of Assam. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

The celebration of Bhogali Bihu or Magh Bihu is going to be quite interesting this year. Drihata Phukan, a resident of Delhi, says, “We may not light a meji (bonfire) because we want to keep our Bihu celebration as eco-friendly as possible. We will light lamps instead. Also, rather than celebrating individually, we will opt for a group party, and our folk dance, Bihu dance, and play party games.”

Many folks like Neel Saikia are heading to Gurgaon to indulge in Bihu festivities. Saikia, a lawyer by profession, explaining why the festival is called Magh/Bhogali Bihu, says, “It is called ‘Magh’ because it’s observed in the Assamese month of ‘Magh’, and ‘Bhogali’ comes from the word ‘bhog’, which means feasting.”

With different varieties of pithas (sweet and savoury snacks), ladoos and jolpaans (jalpaan) at the venue, the Assam Association, Gurgaon is set for Bihu. It has also arranged for a traditional meji followed by pitha-pona (rice based sweet) competition among other interesting things.

These pithas, ladoos and jolpaans are shared with everyone who visits the celebration. It will continue with fun games, dance and music. The free-for-all event that has been popular among Gurgaonites since 2006 will be organised at Huda Community Centre, Sector 47, Gurgaon, today. Prabhakar Dutta, general secretary, Assam Association (Gurgaon), says, “A lot of people who are not even from Assam love to participate in the festivities.Traditionally, on the eve of the Bihu, young men gather wood to construct meji and bhela-ghar (a makeshift cottage built with bamboo and dried rice stalks) in nearby fields or open areas. A community feast is then held on the Uruka eve, and dishes are prepared and feasted upon in front of the bhela-ghar. The morning after, the meji and the bhela-ghar are set on fire, and people offer prayers to the God of Fire. However, we will light meji on the Uruka eve to conclude the celebration the same day.”