Covid lockdown mars Bohag Bihu celebrations in Assam

Covid-19: Bohag Bihu, or Rongali Bihu, is Assam’s biggest festival and marks the onset of spring and the beginning of the Assamese new year and involves feasting.

Updated on: Apr 13, 2020, 05:32:34 IST

Hindustan Times, Guwahati | By Utpal Parashar

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The Assam government has asked the public to follow the Covid-19 lockdown guidelines by staying indoors and directed Bohag Bihu committees to restrict their celebrations of the week-long festivities beginning Monday to just ceremonial hoisting of flags.

Assamese woman filling bamboo tubes with traditional home-made curd (buffalo milk curd) ahead of Rangali Bihu Festival and Assamese New Year celebration at Bum-Beseria Village in Tezpur on Sunday. (ANI)

Bohag Bihu, or Rongali Bihu, is Assam’s biggest festival and marks the onset of spring and the beginning of the Assamese new year and involves feasting.

The Bihu celebrations start with Goru Bihu when cattle are bathed and worshipped. Most rituals will be restricted with the social distancing norms in place to check the spread of Covid-19.

“I request all Bihu committees to conclude this year’s programme by hoisting flags in presence of not more than 5 persons,” Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

Bihu is marked by preparing of sweets and delicacies called pitha and laru and making of gamochas (traditional towels) in handlooms, which are distributed among loved ones. Month-long cultural programmes are held to mark the festivities across the state.

The first day of the new year as per the Assamese calendar (Tuesday) is marked as Manuh (human) Bihu when younger people touch feet of elders in their families to seek their blessings.

In Guwahati, 26 committees announced the cancellation of Bihu cultural programmes on March 20 five days before the national lockdown was implemented.

All Assam Students Union (AASU), which has been holding Mukoli Bihu (open Bihu) in Guwahati since 1982, has decided to do away with the event this year. It will not hoist the Bihu flag either to mark the festivities.

“Let us all resolve this Bohag to fight the menace of coronavirus unitedly. Let us maintain all rules and safety measures. Only then we will be able to win this battle,” AASU general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi said.

Assam has recorded 29 Covid-19 cases till date. A 65-year-old person died of the disease on Friday at Silchar.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Utpal Parashar
A seasoned senior journalist, I have nearly three decades of experience across print, digital, and online platforms, covering political transitions, insurgencies, environmental issues, and development stories in India and Nepal. I am skilled in breaking news, leading editorial teams and launch of newspaper editions. I am adept at leveraging digital trends and social media to expand global reach, with a strong ethical foundation and a reputation for impactful journalism. An alumnus of Asian College of Journalism, I joined Hindustan Times in New Delhi as a trainee reporter in May 1997. Over the years, I have been posted in Dehradun, Kathmandu (Nepal) and Guwahati. Currently, as Senior Assistant Editor at Hindustan Times, I lead a team reporting on India’s northeastern states. My work involves in-depth analysis, and engaging multimedia storytelling across formats, including text, photo, video, and interactive content. I am skilled in producing timely, shareable content, leveraging digital platforms and social media to engage global audiences. Throughout my career with the Hindustan Times, I have led diverse editorial teams, designed capacity-building activities, and supported reporters in developing strong story ideas, ethical reporting practices, digital skills, and fact-checking techniques. As Senior Assistant Editor for Northeast India, I have been responsible for guiding correspondents through complex political, humanitarian, and community-level stories using multimedia formats. Earlier, as Foreign Correspondent in Nepal, I produced extensive reporting during Nepal’s democratic transition and the 2015 earthquake and its aftermath.Read More

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