Lumpi people celebrate Rongali Bihu as ‘The Bihu of the Border’ in Boko

A CORRESPONDENT

BOKO: On the occasion of the Assamese ‘Rongali Bihu’ festival, people of the Lumpi area celebrated the Bihu festival for the first time in Lower Lumpi with a day-long cultural programmes and traditional games among the children of the area on Tuesday. People of the area named it as ‘The Bihu of the border’, as the location is situated along the Assam- Meghalaya border under Kamrup district’s Boko revenue circle.

As a hill station, Lumpi region is a popular destination for tourists. It is very near from Guwahati city (about 100 kilometers) and also sometimes make headlines for border disputes. On this occasion, several traditional games including long jump, high jump, blindfold duck catching and many other traditional games were organized. The day-long programme was presided over by the president of the Bihu committee Man Bahadur Thapa and the secretary Suman Srish.

Secretary Suman Srish said, “The Lower Lumpi Border outpost in-charge Jini Saikia and the Kamrup Police took initiatives to celebrate the Bihu festival.”

Kamrup District Superintendent Hitesh Chandra Ray, Additional Deputy Commissioner Kamrup (Rural) Pranab Dutta Goswami, Boko Police Station Officer in Charge Phanindra Nath took part as chief guests in the Bihu celebration.

Hitesh Chadra Ray, SP Kamrup said, “Rongali Bihu is generally for boys and girls who celebrate it by wearing traditional Assamese attires and performing the traditional bihu dance.” , SP Ray exhorted the residents of the Lumpi region to annually observe the Bihu festival in order to preserve Assamese culture for future generations. Later in the evening, the cultural stage was opened by the Sumit Rabha, Executive Member, Arjun Chetry, General Member of RHAC and many other dignitaries.

Arjun Chetry said, “The Lumpi people have started a great initiative that may have already been started. However, future generations will be aware of Assamese culture. Despite us, the majority of those residing in Lumpi areas are members of the Gorkha Community. However, we have lived here since before the country’s independence, therefore we are well aware of how to celebrate our culture.”