Looitporia – Assam Association, Hyderabad celebrates Bohagi Bidai
HYDERABAD
Angsuman Deka
Joint Treasurer, Looitporia Assam Association, Hyderabad
Human Resources Manager, Microsoft
[email protected]
In sync with the rising crescendo of the contemporary Bihu number, piriti, piriti, piriti Looitporias in Hyderabad went into a frenzy. Twirling, shaking, jumping, clapping; there was none in that packed hall who could hold back from breaking into an impromptu jig. And why should they! Young and old, you knew others or were meeting for the first time, you had ever shaken a leg earlier in life or not; nothing seemed to matter at that moment. The energy was electrifying, the positive vibes pulled you into the crowd, dancing without a care in the world. If there was something closest to trance, this was it, moments of pure ecstasy that weaved magic! This was the grand finale of Looitporia’s Bohagi Bidai celebrations. This was the grand finale of our Bihu celebrations in the Land of the Nizams – Hyderabad.
The Assamese population of Hyderabad is reaping the benefits of enhanced opportunities in this IT hub; but staying away from one’s land for long durations makes the heart yearn – it yearns for the sights, sounds and smell that one grew up enjoying, that now have got pushed into the annals of memory, sometimes fading. If there was one time in the year when those pages of yesteryear’s memories came calling, it was probably now. After all, this was bohag, the season of Bihu and how long can an Assamese stay without hearing the mellifluous tunes of the pepa, the beats of the dhul and the soulful play of our gogona, taal and xutuli !
Ranjit Saikia, a denizen of Guwahati, probably had such a flashback moment when he decided to invite his fellow Assamese brethren for a general body meeting in April. The aim was to revive Looitporia which is a registered society of the Assamese population based at Hyderabad. Looitporia had its humble beginnings 13 years back when it was formed in the year 2003 under the able leadership of Padmashree Dr. Sarbeswar Sahariah, a reknowned doctor from Assam who has been living in Hyderabad for many years now. Looitporia strives to carry out cultural, social, educational and other developmental activities for the promotion of Assamese culture, literature and language and to help Assamese people in Hyderabad in whatever capacity possible, as a nonprofit organization. Over the years, many active members of Looitporia had shifted base from Hyderabad that had resulted in its pace of activities slowing down, thus necessitating the need for revival. On the meeting day, braving the blazing evening sun, Looitporias from every nook and cranny of Hyderabad started pouring into the venue. The call of the familiar, the bond with the motherland was after all too strong and deep to be deterred by the forty degree plus temperatures of a burning Deccan evening. The meeting ended with the formation of a new Looitporia executive body headed by its President, Chandan Thakur. It was bohag, and we could not let it go without celebrating Bihu. Thus, the first major agenda of the Looitporia executive body was to celebrate our dear Bohagi Bidai.
The date was fixed; 14th May 2016 would be the day of Bihu celebrations at Hyderabad. Time was short, we were already in April; but spirits were high, energy levels even higher. Thus started the brainstorming sessions of the executive body. Pulling off an event of this scale is easier said than done; more so when stakes are high in terms of people’s expectations. Being working professionals, all of us in the executive body could not devote full attention to this task. Given the spread of the city and our busy corporate schedules it was difficult to even get everyone together at one time under one roof. Getting a roof to hold meetings was a task in itself, as unlike other major cities we still do not have an Assam Bhavan, a need greatly felt, here in Hyderabad. But, this was Bihu, our very own Bihu, could any problem be big enough to prevent us from celebrating Bihu? We went ahead at full steam. Weekend meetings, after office sessions and even whatsapp meetings became the norm of the day. With responsibilities divided amongst ourselves we were making steady progress. Those were strenuous days, but when we got together we never forgot to laugh and have our share of fun. The Bihu nritya rehearsals, the singing sessions, the husori practice were a laugh riot. Some of us were even beginning to think, “Did I have so much fun during Bihu even when I was at home in Assam?”
A month and a half of back breaking work culminated in a Bihu publicity blitzkrieg on social media aimed at pulling in the crowds; and finally the D-Day was here. It was 14th May and the executive body gathered at the event venue, Hotel Swagath Grand at Madinaguda. We were about to make a fresh start. Will we be able to pull it off? Will we be able to make people smile? .
And then the crowd started pouring in with everyone dressed in their traditional best. The beautiful mekhela chadors, the traditional muga silk shirts and white dhutis started filling the room. The eyes were seeing familiar attire after a long time. The gamusa was ubiquitous, sometimes on a shoulder, sometimes tied to the waist and sometimes on the head, making you feel proud as an Assamese! Soon the hum of chat and laughter started rising; people were meeting their friends and family, they were seeing familiar faces after a long time. Happiness knew no bounds with people unexpectedly meeting friends who they never knew were based in the same city! Decibels were rising, the excitement was palpable. The evening was on. We kicked off with the traditional bonti projolon followed by a quick welcome note by the Looitporia President and went on to start the cultural evening with a chorus of Assamese classics and modern hits performed by the gracious ladies attired in their traditional best. This was followed by a beautiful rendition of the das avatar nritya which mesmerized the crowd and kept them hooked. The tempo rose exponentially when the svelte Bihu nasonis took to stage and enthralled the audience with their skillful moves. As the nasonis twirled on stage, it was getting difficult for a few in the crowd to resist the temptation of shaking a leg to our jovial bihu numbers. Young boys and girls joined in, albeit off stage, which raised the energy levels of the audience further. The long applause that followed the Group Bihu dance spoke volumes of the crowd’s appreciation as much as it spoke of the high quality performance on stage. This had to be one of the highlights of the evening, so we thought at that time. Ofcourse we never knew what was to come! The evening rolled till it was time for the next generation – the kids – to take centrestage. The Kids’ traditional fashion show was a huge hit as kids ranging from two to the mid-teens took the stage by storm walking ever so cutely in their traditional Assamese attire making their parents’ chest swell with pride. Staying away from Assam, their kids will not grow up without knowing their roots, their culture. The feeling was deeply satisfying. Looitporia, maybe, played a small part in it. As the flashbulbs went on an overdrive and the kids were enjoying all the attention; our brethren back in Assam, were enjoying the show live on TV, courtesy the News 18 Assam team who were beaming it live on their channel, enabling us reach outs to a wide audience in our homeland. Meanwhile, a few of us, who were manning the registration desk were trying hard to contain our excitement as records showed that attendance numbers were much higher than anticipated. A thunderstorm in the evening couldn’t deter the Bihu boliya raiz from making it to the venue. Looitporia Bihu celebration seems successful. Did I hear anyone say?
Meanwhile the crowd enjoyed a beautiful session of Rabha xongeet post which it was time for husori. The hall reverberated with the beats of the dhul, the clanging of the taal and the shrill tune of the pepa. The energy levels rose, so did the crowd! Throughout the entire; lively, high energy performance, fine-tuned through many hours of practice the crowd swayed to the beats and shouted words of encouragement. They seemed to be thoroughly enjoying. As the evening progressed the audience mellowed down a little after gorging on the sumptuous dinner spread laid out. But we were not done yet! The star of the evening, an upcoming Delhi based Assamese singer, Ms.Prakriti Bordoloi, had graciously accepted our invitation to enthrall the audience. The moment she took to stage; the crowd took to its feet. As Prakriti belted out one hit number after the other the crowd was on seventh heaven. The hall turned into one big dance floor. Young and old, you knew others or were meeting for the first time, you had ever shaken a leg earlier in life or not; nothing seemed to matter at that moment. The energy was electrifying, the positive vibes pulled you into the crowd, dancing without a care in the world. If there was something closest to trance, this was it, moments of pure ecstasy that weaved magic!
Were we able to pull it off? Was Looitporia able bring a smile onto people’s faces, albeit for an evening? “Looitporia’s Bihu celebration was an evening to remember”, Did I hear a smiling face in the crowd say?