Rongali Bihu goes from ‘Gosor Tol’ to TikTok

Guwahati, April 14, 2019:

The Rongali Bihu is back with the arrival of ‘Bohag’ month, the new year of the Assamese calendar. It is called the Rongali Bihu as the name of the festival implies “rong” (colors).

The “Nasoni” (dancer) and the “Dhulia and Bihuwa” are the souls of Rongali Bihu since it is the Bihu in which troupes of young boys and girls go from house-to-house and perform “Bihu Husori” in open fields of the nearby area beneath a big tree, “Gosor Tol”.

The performances include popular instruments like the Dhul (drum), Pepa (pipe made of buffalo horn), Taal, Toka, Gagana, Sutuli, etc. with fine tune of the Bihuwa.

It is also a festival of love among the people of the state as the loved one offer their utmost love by gifting each other handwoven “Gamusa”. But these are scenes from the past.

The Bihu from the Gosor Tol moved to commercial stages across the state. It then reached the world stage and also with the passage of time, it rolled with the new twists and modern touch.

And now, the Bihu is in trend as spoken in the language of social media via “Tik Tok”. This is the implication of the mode of transformation of a tradition with the passage of time and through penetration of new media.

Intellectuals believe that the originality of the Assamese culture has been somewhat diluted because of these innovations. People nowadays have become more dependent on social media profiles than that of reality. Due to this, many of the present generations are unaware of their own culture and tradition.

This has not only created a gap among communities but also among the generations due to the transformation of Bihu culture in the state and beyond.