Preparation for Rongali Bihu celebrations begins across Assam

Guwahati (Assam) [India], April 9 (ANI): Rongali Bihu fervour has gripped Guwahati and other parts of Assam as people prepare to celebrate the state's biggest festival, marking the Assamese New Year.
Ahead of the Rongali Bihu festival celebrations, markets in Guwahati have been decked out with food items, Gamosas, Bihu clothes, Dhool, pepa, Assamese traditional Japi, etc.
People have thronged to the markets to buy various food items including Pitha (rice cake), fresh cream, thick creamy curds, various types of laddus, jaggery, Gamosas, traditional clothes etc.
Rongali Bihu which is also known as Bohag Bihu is celebrated annually across the state in the second week of April with joy, happiness and fervour.
Preparations are in full swing to celebrate the biggest festival of the state. This year the Rongali Bihu festival will be celebrated on April 14 and 15.
Earlier, a Bihu dance workshop had been organised in Guwahati and around 500 girls from different parts of the capital city of Assam participated in this workshop.
The workshop was organised by Guwahati Bihu Sanmilan at Chandmari field. According to the organisers, the main aim of organising this Bihu dance workshop is to train the new generation in traditional folk Bihu dance and give them a platform to learn about traditional Assamese culture, dance, etc.
Simanta Thakuria, General Secretary of Pub Guwahati Bihu Sanmilan told ANI, more than 1000 students have registered for this Bihu workshop.
"This year Pub Guwahati Bihu Sanmilan is going to celebrate its 64 years Bihu celebration. We have organised this Bihu workshop to teach our culture to our new generation. Every year we have been organising Bihu workshop and this year the workshop has started from today and it will be continued till April 12. We will organize the main Bihu competition on April 14, 15 and 16," Simanta Thakuria said.
The festival signifies the onset of the agricultural season and is celebrated with great enthusiasm and fervour. Rongali Bihu is a multi-day festival that typically spans seven days, each day known as 'Xaat Bihu.'
The celebration involves various cultural activities, traditional rituals, and feasting. On the first day of Rongali Bihu - the cattle are washed, and smeared with a paste of fresh turmeric, black lentil, etc while people sing to them. (ANI)