Lumpi: On the occasion of the Assamese ‘Rongali Bihu’ festival, the people of the Lumpi area celebrated the Bihu festival for the first time in Lower Lumpi on Tuesday with a day-long cultural program and traditional games for the children of the area.
The people of the area named it ‘The Bihu of the border’ as the location is situated along the Assam-Meghalaya border under Kamrup district’s Boko revenue circle.
It is worth mentioning that the Lumpi area is popular with tourists as a hill station that is very near to Guwahati city (about 100 kilometres) and sometimes makes headlines for border disputes.
On this occasion, several traditional games, including the long jump, high jump, blindfold duck catching, and many other traditional games, were organized.
The day-long program was presided over by the President of the Bihu committee, Man Bahadur Thapa, and the Secretary, Suman Srish.
Suman Srish, the Secretary, said, “The Lower Lumpi Border Out Post in-charge, Jini Saikia, and the Kamrup Police took the initiative to celebrate the Bihu festival.”
The Kamrup District Superintendent, Hitesh Chandra Ray, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup (Rural), Pranab Dutta Goswami, and Boko Police Station Officer in Charge, Phanindra Nath, took part as chief guests in the Bihu celebration.
Hitesh Chandra Ray, SP Kamrup, encouraged the youths of the Lumpi area by saying, “Rongali Bihu is generally for boys and girls who celebrate it by wearing traditional Assamese attire and performing the traditional Bihu dance.”
SP Ray also encouraged the people of the Lumpi area and emphasized the importance of celebrating the Bihu festival every year so that future generations can continue the Assamese culture.
Later in the evening, the cultural stage was opened by Sumit Rabha, Executive Member, Arjun Chetry, General Member of RHAC, and many other dignitaries.
In his speech, Arjun Chetry said, “The Lumpi people have started a great initiative which might have been started before. But this will make future generations aware of our culture in Assam. Despite most of the people living in the Lumpi areas belonging to the Gorkha Community, we have been living here since before independence, so we know how to celebrate our culture well.”
Chetry added, “Without culture and education, a tribe and its generations cannot move forward. So we have to pay attention to celebrating our culture and education too. By getting together to celebrate our festivals, we can also solve problems and develop our community. We also thank the district administration, police, media, and the public for the success of the cultural program.”
Sumit Rabha, Executive Member of the RHAC, said, “For the first time, the Lumpi people are organizing the Rongali Bihu Festival, and this is a good sign for the people living in the interstate border’s Assam village Lumpi. Despite being in an interstate border area, this is a milestone for the people living in the Lumpi area who are celebrating the Bihu Festival. I am also grateful that I stood as a witness for the first time celebrating Bihu, which is called ‘The Bihu of the Border.’ I thank the Lumpi border outpost in-charge and the police team, as well as the district administration and the Kamrup District Superintendent of Police, who came and celebrated the Bihu with the Lumpi people. I hope the people of the Lumpi area will continue to celebrate the Rongali Bihu Festival in the coming days.”
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During the media interaction, Arjun Chetry also mentioned that Khasi and Garo people from Meghalaya state also took part in the Bihu celebration, and it has become a field of harmony.
The 4th Assam Police Battalion Bihu team, along with other artists, performed in the evening, along with the local public.
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