GUWAHATI, April 25 � Making a call for putting an end to unrestrained celebration of stage Bihu across the State, public activist Prof Deven Dutta said that the tone and tenor of celebrating the occasion in the stage � and for prolonged periods � was far removed from the ground realities confronting the State.
In a statement, Prof Dutta said that while the State�s flood-ravaged agriculture and denuded forests did not exactly inspire the festive Bihu mood, the local economy in its diverse aspects was totally under the grip of outsiders.
�While the people have long discarded the age-old practice of making the Bihu delicacies at home, the popular readymade Bihu delicacies prepared by local self-help groups are sold at such exorbitant rates that it amounts to plain cheating,� Prof Dutta said, adding that every conceivable item associated with Bihu celebrations � from gamosas to gamkharus � were coming from outside.
Criticizing the trend of performances by highly-paid local artistes, Prof Dutta said that they, together with the MNC �patrons�, were actually fleecing the people in the name of organizing extended Bihu celebrations from April to July.
�The sooner the people realize that Bihu will not survive the ongoing unbridled commercialization at a time when the local economy comprising agriculture, trade and industry is under total dominion of outsiders, the better would it be for the future of the State and its inhabitants,� Prof Dutta said, adding that to survive as a real people�s festival and to retain its indigenous flavour, Bihu would need something more than �vested patronisation� from corporate houses.
