|
As
the cuckoo's dulcet voice echoes in the hills and vales of the
State heralding spring and the sound of the 'dhol' vibrates in
the air, it's time to celebrate Rongali or Bohag Bihu, one of
the greatest  festivals
of the State. Unlike majority of the Indian festivals that are
religious in character, Bihu has little religious fervour and is
observed with secular character. This festival binds together
people of all communities in a secular spirit. The essence of
the festival has been aptly summed up by the noted
singer-lyricist-composer Dr. Bhupen Hazarika thus: Bohag
mathu eti ritu nohoi/nohoi bohag eti mah/Asomiya kristir e ayhuh
rekha/ganajibonor e hah (Bohag is not only a season, nor is
it just a month; it is the lifetime of Assamese culture,
inspiration of social life).
Significantly,
the propensity of the grandeur relating to each of the three
Bihus - Rongali, Bhogali or the harvest festival and the Kongali
or the Bihu of the lean period is basically popular festivals of
the agrarian community. Rongali Bihu not only marks the advent
of the Assamese New Year but also the beginning of the
harvesting season. Wild jubilation expressed through pastoral
singing and dancing dominates the Rongali Bihu, the spring
festival. Etymologically, its roots can be traced to Vishuvat
- a Sanskrit term referring to the vishava
sankranti, spring. Of course, the use of this word is not
confined in Assamese society. It is called Chaitra
in Tamil Nadu, Bisu
in Himachal Pradesh, Baisakh
(same day with the Assamese) in West Bengal and Baisakh
in
Punjab
.
Most
of the tribes in
Assam
too celebrate Bohag Bihu in their own traditional style. Bodo
Kacharis observe it as Baisagu
whereas Tiwas call it Bisu.
Deoris name it as Bahagiyo
Bihu, while Rabhas observe it as Nava
Barsa. The plain Karbis call it as Johang
Puja and Tai Phakes observe it as Pani
Bihu. Though the celebration varies from one another,
quintessentially it remains the same for all the tribes: Bihu as
the messenger of peace, brotherhood and joy. The songs and
dances, mostly earthy ones reflected elemental passion.
Primarily a festival of youth, the old however did not lag
behind in spirits and movement. With the advent of the Vaishnava
movement, the songs underwent a change. The Vaishnavites and the
traditional strongholds of faith, which accepted the songs,
changed them with earthy, perhaps erotic connotation and
graduated them to Nava
or devotional songs or hymns associated with the leelas
of Lord Krishna.
Then
came the westerners and with their advent the Bihu songs took a
backseat. Bihu songs, they believed, could not propagate moral
or ethical messages. However, Bihu asserted its place despite
tremendous pressures at least from two quarters to subdue it.
The traditional and elitist religious and cultural strongholds
labelled it indecent and lascivious while the "new
enlightenment", that is, the western institution, felt it
detracted from their moral emphasis. But its vitality and vigour
made it prevail and it in turn augmented national resurgence as
a cohesive secular domain that everyone could participate in and
subscribe to.
Among
the enlightened ones were Holiram Dhekial Phukan, who rejected
Bihu songs out and dubbed them erotic and degraded. Phukan felt
they were the song and dance ensemble of lascivious youths held
in erotic secrecy, especially in
Upper Assam
. But Bihu ultimately prevailed and bounced back with the
national resurgence. Today Bihu is the only secular festival
that has given a kind of oneness to the people of this
multi-ethnic and poly-cultural region and the nation as well and
has become a nationalistic endeavour displaying the distinct
oneness of the Assamese nation or sub-nation.
As
far as the masses are concerned, they continued to persist with
Bihu in diverse forms. The songs, dances and rites associated
with it dates back to ancient times, prior to the days of
settled agriculture, gathering and hunting. The Bihu songs,
which constitute a prolific variety of Assamese songs, are woven
mostly around themes of love, replete with music from pepa,
dhul and gagana. While the boys play the buffalo horn called pepa
and beat the drums, the girls clad in mekhala
chadar dance in wild ecstasy.
Moreover,
rituals like the ceremonial bathing of the cattle on the first
day of Rongali Bihu called Goru Bihu and community fishing date
back obviously to those days. Finally, the "gentle
folk" also agreed to give in to it as folk customs. May be,
their participation and keen interest in it transformed the
pristine folk art into a performing art. Although they would not
sing and dance themselves, they would have others perform it.
With the advent of the electronic media as well as stage
performances by the urban elite, Bihu in its new incarnation
proliferated into remote rural bastions. Soon the originators
started emulating the imitators. Today, Bihu has come full
circle.
With
the winds of change the concept of celebrating Bihu in the truly
customary way has been considerably on the wane. Bihu being
celebrated today at the various Bihutolis of the State is far removed from the one that is
celebrated in the open fields.
Eminent
personalities from the fields of education, arts and culture say
that the changes in the tunes of the songs associated with the
festival, the rhythm of the dances and the places where they are
performed are bound to occur with the passage of time. However,
a section of eminent personalities attribute the alienation from
culture to the translocation of people from the rural to the
urban areas. They are of the view that people living in towns
and cities can never feel the spirit of the Bihu.
Dr.
Md.
Muslih-ud-Din, an educationist of long standing, reasons that
there is nothing to be worried about the changes taking place in
Bihu songs. “Culture, as we all know is not static and changes
with the times. So there is nothing to feel bad about the
changes taking place in Bihu.”
Echoing
his views, noted cricket umpire and football referee Suren Ram
Phookun says, “A lot of changes have taken place in the last
two and a half decades. The world is changing, so has Bihu.
Change is inevitable. In earlier times, we used to get pithas
(rice cakes) on Bihu. Now we get biscuits. Most people nowadays
do not keep cattle at home and cannot observe Goru Bihu even if
they want to.” Phookun feels that the new generation should be
allowed to celebrate Bihu in their own way.
Noted
folk singer Khagen Mahanta says the change in the concept of
Bihu is because of distorted incorporation of western culture
with the passage of time.
The
well-known singer feels people living in the urban areas are
completely out of village life and this has alienated them from
their roots. “There is a need to go back to our roots. The
younger generation swayed by western culture must be made aware
of what their culture really is. And that Bihu is not an
occasion to make merry. The elders must take the lead in this
regard,” he adds.
Apart
from this, the commercialization of Bihu has come under scathing
criticism from various quarters. The critics say that Assamese
culture is being sold to the big corporate houses in the name of
Bihu. These companies with an eye on marketing their products
put up hoardings and banners at the Bihutolis and not with the intention of promoting Assamese culture.
“How many of them have come forward to financially help needy
artistes?” says a critic.
On
the other hand, organizers say this commercialization of Bihu is
helping the propagation of Assamese culture. They attribute the
spiralling prices of various commodities as well as the near
astronomical fee demanded by the artists today behind such
commercialization.
“We
can no longer meet the huge expenses through donations only.
Sponsorship by companies helps us to make both ends meet.
The
sponsors do not have any say in the Bihu programmes. Since we
are not under any kind of obligation from the sponsors, their
help can only further the cause of Assamese culture,” says an
organizer adding, “There was a time when artists felt honoured
to be invited to the Bihutolis
and performed without any fee. But those days are gone. Now even
minor artists demand several thousand rupees for themselves and
their accompanying musicians.”
Says
Md.
Muslih-ud-Din, “If players can sport the logos of various
companies, then what is the harm if the Bihu organizers accept
sponsorship from any firm? One has to accept the fact that
commercialization has come to stay.”
Although
the concept of Bihu has undergone changes with the passage of
time, one thing is certain - Bihu has no sectarian bias. It is a
festival celebrated with great enthusiasm by people of various
faiths.
April
2007
|
