Rongali Bihu is a fun time for us Assamese people. Luckily for me, I landed in the thick of action. The second day itself I was whisked off for a Bihu gathering by my dad. Apparently it’s a tradition for his group of friends (going way back to 1957!) to meet during Bihu and spend some time together. So a group of his friends was there along with their better halves in some cases, making it a motley collection of about 20 odd 60+ year folks recollecting their school days and still bonding so many years later. It was a rather nice sight to see.

It’s been a while since I’d actually visited a Bihu celebration so I thoroughly enjoyed myself. There were several different types of performances from the Bihu dance, to Manipuri to Jhumur to a Punjabi dance (not the bhangra though!). The CM of Assam also made an appearance along with several Black Cat commandoes and a reasonably big entourage and also shook a leg on the merry occasion.

Rongali Bihu is also a time for food, not that we ever need an excuse. So I helped myself to large doses of pitha, sira (puffed rice) with fresh cream, yoghurt and jaggery (which I love!) and all kinds of fish delicacies. I was out nearly every day visiting friends of my dad. It seemed more like a trip where I was socializing with his friends. Not that I minded since I didn’t have too many folks on my list anyways!

So overall, I had spent a really hectic week. And except for a few altercations with my mom on her favourite topic that I referred to earlier, I actually had a rather nice time. I had some intention of visiting the Kamakhya temple at some point of time. But the weather played spoil sport with heavy rains almost every day. And very overcast skies, so it wasn’t exactly ideal to take any photographs.

I was left off with the airport by mom and dad with no so veiled suggestions. Just as I was about to leave, boarding pass in hand, my mom tells me that one of her friends knows a guy… (I feign ignorance and look to the ceiling) and dad tells me that next time I need to come back next time with a “companion” in tow. I rather liked his choice of the word. If only companions were like vegetables and readily available at Foodworld, I’d have several varieties on my plate : asparagus, lettuce, spinach, beans for example are some of my favourite.

In my best sombre expression, I promised to get Kit Kit along next time I visit.

~~ A few more photos from Rongali Bihu