GUWAHATI, May 15 - Veteran journalist and former president of the Asam Sahitya Sabha, Kanak Sen Deka on Saturday exhorted the students of Don Bosco School, Panbazar, to imbibe the essence of the rich folk culture of the State, including Bihu and the legacies associated with it.
Inaugurating the 11th Don Bosco Annual Rongali Bihu Utsav at the Bihutoli erected in the school�s football field at Panbazar, he said, �The actual origin of the term Bihu has its roots in the Dimasa words Brai Shibrai, meaning �O Father Shibrai�, where �Shibrai� denotes a Dimasa god.� He further added, �The pristine traditions like offering of Bihuwans, bathing of the cow (Goru Bihu), etc. are all rooted in our society and in the simplicities of human life.�
Some of the other dignitaries who attended the function were Fr VM Thomas, Provincial, Guwahati Province of Salesians; Conrad Saldanha, advisor, Don Bosco Centre for Learning, Kurla, Mumbai; Fr Sebastian Mathew, school Principal; Abonti Kumar Bordoloi, Bihu programme coordinator, amongst others.
Some of the attractions of the cultural afternoon were an inter-house Bihu dance competition, a Hussori performance by renowned Bihu exponent Ranjit Gogoi and his troupe, modern fusion songs by Papu Gohain and his band �Cloud 16� that included a fusion of Kirtan Gosha with Buddhist chants, Bollywood oldies like Baar Baar Dekho, etc. The annual school magazine The Bosconian was released by Fr Guillermo Basa�es, Councillor for the Missions of the Salesians of Don Bosco.
