GUWAHATI: There is a lot of excitement across the state of Assam as the state’s biggest festival, Rongali or Bohag Bihu, stirs the minds of all Assamese regardless of geographical boundaries. There are large numbers of people in the western suburbs of Mumbai, Mira-Road, and Thane who are celebrating Rongali Bihu with the same enthusiasm. Gagana, the Assamese People’s Association, celebrated Rongali Bihu as the ‘Bohagi Utsav’ on April 20. The festival was celebrated at St. John Marthoma Syrian Church’s auditorium, Mira Road, with a variety of programmes including Bihu songs, Bihu dances, Jhumur songs, Lavani dances, and many more. The audience was impressed by the performance (husori) of Kalpataru Shilpi Samaj, an organisation of Assamese professionals working in Navi Mumbai. There were attractive Assamese Bihu dances that were performed on stage by children and adolescents with the aim of involving the younger generation with Assamese culture, in which some non-Assamese children also participated. A ladies’ group of Gagana performed a mash-up dance rich in elements of different ethnic groups in Assam. There were also impressive performances by emerging Mumbai-based Assamese artists Rishabh Borchetia, Hriday Kashyap, and Loy Baruah.
Cultural exchange can be used as a form of creating dialogue and understanding diversity in communities to help build community relations, and cohesion is a primary vision of Gagana. Therefore, Gagana is pleased to invite Mr. Manouj Kadaamh, a Marathi writer, film director, producer, international jury member, director of several television serials, and recipient of several national/international awards for his work in Bollywood and Marathi language films. He appreciated the initiatives taken by Gagana Mumbai and expressed his full cooperation in the future. There were also invited Marathi dancers led by Gauri Jadhav, who performed a spectacular Lavani dance and received huge appreciation from audiences.
The event was sponsored by Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Mumbai, and Jupiter Hospital, Thane. The General Manager of Kokilaben Hospital, James Aranha, was impressed by various performances and urged the people to take advantage of the various facilities offered by the hospital authorities. At the end of the cultural evening, everyone enjoyed a traditional dinner. Gagana Mumbai has always worked towards the cultural integration of Assam and Mumbai through cultural exchange and to spread the vision of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.’
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