SIVASAGAR, Jan 20 � Rang Ghar, the royal sports pavilion from which the Ahom Swargadeos and nobles witnessed games like buffalo fights and other sports at the Rupahi Pathar, once again wore the looks of the past when buffaloes were seen fighting, with large crowds around the Rupahi Pathar at the 4th edition of Rangpur Mela, organised by the Sivasagar district unit of the Tai Ahom Yuva Parishad (TAYP) recently.
Buffalo fight is a tradition as old as the tradition of Assamese �Magh Bihu�. Buffalo owners from neighbouring villages brought their animals to take part in the competition. It needs mentioning that various traditional sports like buffalo-fight, egg-fight, cock-fight and bulbuli-fight are associated with this popular harvest festival. Buffalo-fight is the most popular among all these sports and draws huge crowds since it is held on the historic Rupahi Pathar.
Earlier, the �Rangpur Mela� began with smriti tarpan and flag hoisting, which was followed by the inauguration of �Rangpur Mela� by �Arjun� Bhogeswar Bauah, in presence of the president of the organising committee Hemanta Changmai, vice-president of the Sivasagar Zila Parishad Gajen Rajkonwar, noted social worker Dr Samar Gogoi, Ajit Ranjan Gogoi, Lekhak Changmai and many other noted personalities. To mark the occasion, a souvenir Che-Mun, edited by Ranjan Phukan was also released by Pankaj Borgohain, central working president, TAYP.
