GUWAHATI, April 24 � Every year, the Assamese community of Phoenix, Arizona eagerly waits to celebrate the Rongali Bihu festival. A small Assamese community comprising nine families lives in and around Phoenix, the capital of the State of Arizona, an email received here said.
This year, the �Rongali Bihu Adarani� was organised on April 17, at a community centre named �Snedigar Recreational Center�, owned by the city of Chandler. This city is one of the most beautiful and fast growing cities within the metropolitan Phoenix area. Every city has several community centres available for the public. Like other community centres, this centre is also well equipped to provide various recreational facilities and provide halls and spaces for meetings and parties to the communities.
Several family friends, originally from other parts of India and from Nepal, who live in Phoenix, were also invited to be part of this celebration. It made the celebration more enjoyable through sharing various traditions. The community gathered in the early evening at one of the halls of this centre and greeted each other by wishing happy Rongali Bihu. The decoration made in the hall with the Bihu songs and music playing in the background turned the centre into a Bihutoli.
A temporary display booth was constructed inside the hall under the banner of Assamese Cultural Society of Arizona (ACSA) to remind the community about its history and rich culture. The display included muga silk dresses, brass articles and jewellery of Assam and write up of its history, tourist places, and natural resources among other things. The function of ACSA is to preserve the culture and tradition amongst the proud Assamese community in Arizona and to inform others about this rich culture.
The programme began with a few children�s activities that included games and art work. While the Bihu songs and music filled the air, the mouthwatering jolpan enriched with pithas were served.
Neon Talukdar and Chandan Das took the stage to conduct the cultural programme of the evening. They welcomed the community and thanked the guest families for coming to the celebration. The programme started with Jatiya Sangeet, O mur apunar desh, followed by the national anthem of India. Dr Bhupen Hazarika�s Aah aah olai aah was also presented. The audience also sang along when the groups sang on the stage and while 8-year old Aditya Kumar sang the national anthem of the US beautifully.
The cultural programme included Odissi dance performed by Rachna Nath, Bihu dance by Nikita Bhuyan, Nepali modern and traditional dances by Samjhana and her brother Santosh Devkota, which all brought applause from the audience. Shamala Das and Sandhya Kumar sang a Carnatic song. The 13-year-old Samjhana and Nikita also entertained the audience by making a joint comic presentation.
Children including Brinda, Broto, Diya, Naveen, Neil, Rishan, Sanmaan, Sthuthi, and Yuvan showed their talents by singing, dancing, describing significance of Bihu, performing comedy act etc. Towards the end of the cultural programme, Samar and Rashmi Bhuyan performed a short skit, and Satish Reddy cracked a few jokes which brought laughter to the audience.
The sumptuous Bihu bhoj cooked and contributed by every family was served after the cultural programme. The bhoj, primarily cooked to Assamese taste, also included North and South Indian, and Nepali dishes that enriched the diversity of the menu and the celebration. The menu included bhat, bootor dali, masor tenga, chagoli mangso, chicken, bengena pitika, kerela bhaji, paneer, bise bele bhat and bean with bamboo shoot sabji amongst other dishes.
The celebration was capped with Mukoli Bihu dance. Everyone participated by dancing in group as well as individually. This Rongali Bihu celebration then concluded in the middle of the night with words of thanks and blessings to everyone for a successful new year. The Assamese community of Phoenix looks forward to bringing more festive moments like this in future and promise to keep the rich Assamese culture alive.
