DERGAON, April 6 - At the time when the entire state of Assam is reeling under the COVID-19 pandemic, nature is preparing itself silently for the green spring season.
Though Bohag Bihu, Assam�s favourite festival to welcome spring, is at the threshold, there is no such picture of arranging Bihu festivities this time. Sound of the dheki � a simple household machine to make rice powder which is an important part of Assamese culture and a familiar sound in villages � is not being heard anywhere.
Sounds of traditional musical instruments like dhol (drum), taal (cymbals), pepa (a wind instrument), banhi (flute), gagana (a musical instrument made of bamboo) are also missing.
Assamese women are abstaining from weaving the favourite Phulam Gamosa in the handlooms, which is a common scene during the spring festival. But nature waits for none. Percy Bysshe Shelley had written, �If winter comes, can spring be far behind?� Due to the ongoing lockdown, pollution levels have come down, and human interventions in nature have also decreased as no one is moving out from their houses.
Flowers like Kapou (orchid), Tagar (crepe jesmin), Keteki (a fragrant yellowish flower) etc., are blooming in the jungles as well as in residences.
The villagers, however, expressed regret that they will not be able to celebrate the spring festival this time due to the pandemic.
Gyandeep Hazarika, a 10-year-old boy from Dergaon�s Kamargaon, said he would keep his dhol inside as no Bihu Husori (a special music and dance performed in the yards of village homes during Bohag Bihu) is expected to take place. �I have given up on enjoying the Bihu this time,� he said.
Another villager, Putali Hazarika (73) of Dergaon, said she had never seen such bad days in her life when all the villages were silent at the time of Bohag Bihu. �All celebrations will be off this year due to the bad situation,� she said.