Auniati Satra lights 21 pairs of akash bontis
STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: ‘Tulokhir tole tole mrigo pohu sore, taake dekhi Ramchandroi Horo dhonu dhore...’ This is one of the folklores (folksongs) that echoed in Assam today in her traditional welcome to Maa Lakshmi (the Goddess of Wealth), praying for a good harvest, mainly paddy.
Kati Bihu, associated with cultivation, is one of the three Bihus of Assam. This is the period of the year when the green paddy in the field starts bearing seeds to attain clusters of golden and droopy paddy seeds. The essence of the prayer is to appease God to make their paddy in the field grow free from pests and ensure them a good harvest.
The rural folks in Assam were busy from dawn to dusk today. The farmers went to their paddy fields in the morning and erected bamboo sticks to light earthen lamps on them in the evening. The folk belief is that after dusk, insects, including pests, will get attracted to the lamps and die, ensuring bumper paddy yields. The people of some areas of the state also believe that the bamboo posts so erected allow insectivorous birds to perch on them and feed on insects and pests. In the evening today, the farmers and their family members placed earthen lamps on the bamboo posts and lit them with the prayers of a good harvest.
The tradition of lighting an akash bonti (sky lamp) on Kati Bihu is still prevalent in some areas of the state, though the practice has become moribund. Some centuries-old xatras have kept the tradition of akash bonti alive. In sync with this tradition, Sri Sri Auniati Xatra in Majuli lit 21 pairs (42) of akash bontis this evening.
Speaking to The Sentinel, Xatradhikar Dr. Pitambar Dev Goswami of Sri Sri Auniati Xatra said, “This xatra was established in 1653. Since then, the lighting of 21 pairs of Akash Bonti has been a practice in the evening on Kati Bihu. Keeping this tradition alive, we have lit 21 pairs of akash bontis this evening. Dihanaam, gayan-bayan, etc., continue at night.”
Xatradhikar of Batadrava Than (Narowa Xatra) Devananda Dev Goswami also said that they organized naam prasanga on the occasion of Kati Bihu. The centuries-old Phulguri Chenglai Satra in the Nagaon district also lit akash bontis on the occasion of Kati Bihu.
Rural people went door to door in groups and sang hymes, and the households paid them obeisance this evening.
Paying obeisance at basil plants by lighting earthen lamps has been the practice followed from time immemorial. And the households in the state followed this practice today.
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