Eclectic Culture

250 of the 400 tribes of India are in our region, and each have their own historical and cultural uniqueness. Tucked away for long, it needs you to unravel the secrets. The region is an intermixture of various racial stocks such as Mongoloid, Indo-Burmese, Indo-Iranian and Aryan.

Bihu message

January, or the month of Magh in the local calendar, is a wonderful month to visit Assam, as it coincides with the harvesting season. This celebration of harvest by the indigenous ethnic groups of Assam bears similarity to many ethnicities of South-East Asia, and is an occasion for feasts, vibrant dances, and bonfires that make merriment an integral part of the ethnic Assamese mileu. It is celebrated as Magh Bihu or Bhogali Bihu. On the eve of Bihu, , called ‘Uruka’, ( January 14th this year) our ladies get ready for the next day with very characteristic food items, the traditional ‘pitha’ , basically various variants of rice cakes, and ‘laroos’ or sweet balls of coconut or sesame seeds. Please check on our home page on ‘Gastronomic experiences’.

The bonfires are lit in specially constructed ‘mejis’ of bamboo and banana leaves, and nearby one would find the ‘Bhelaghar’ , a temporary hut, wherein the family or the community gets together for the interaction of merriment, feasting and the traditional Bihu songs accompanied by the ‘dhols’ (drums).

An interesting aspect is the subtle pilferage of the neighbour’s vegetable and the usually undistilled rice beers! Remember that an empty bowl is a request far a refill!! It could be quite heady!! . Well, that’s the spirit of Bihu! Come to East India and get the heady flavour.