Bihu in New Jersey
Bihure Birina Paat 2019: Top L-R (Lolit Bora, Jahnabi Barman, Suvadeep Bhuyan, Debajani Hazarika, Piyush Chhabra, Bidisha Hazarika, Bhaskar Phukan, Mark Bordoloi). Bottom L-R (Sagarika Dutta Bhuyan, Anjan Saikia, Dipleena Sharma Patnaik).

The Assamese community people living in New Jersey and Pennsylvania in USA gathered together with their families and friends recently and celebrated Rongali Bihu with much fanfare and enthusiasm.

The programme held in New Jersey was organized by the North East Indian American Cultural Organisation (NEIACO) in order to get an experience of Assam in the USA, and to be a part of the fun filled celebrations with festive spirit and fervour, stated a press release.

‘Jeng Bihu’, ‘Mukoli Bihu’, ‘Husori’ and different forms of Bihu dance and songs were performed by the residents.

Also read: Rongali Bihu celebrated in London

The sound of Bihu songs, beats of ‘Dhol’, ‘Pepa’, ‘Gogona’, ‘Taal’ and the aroma of Assamese food filled the air.

The dancing ‘nasonis’ and ‘bihuwas’ brought the Bihu spirit in full and made it a truly vibrant evening. The event ended with a delicious Assamese dinner and the audience left happy promising to themselves to meet again at the next year’s Bihu.

“I feel blessed to be a part of such a grand celebration of keeping the customs of our homeland alive and promoting them. These events help keeping us connected to our roots since we are away from home and it’s a way to reach people’s hearts. Performing Bihu for the first time made me all emotional and proud at the same time and felt like home. Thanks to NEIACO for giving us this opportunity,” says Sagarika Dutta Bhuyan, who performed the ‘Jeng’ and ‘Gos Tolor’ Bihu.

New Jersey-based Assamese Entrepreneur, Mark Bordoloi said, “This time, we have seen lots of new and young faces. The programme was wonderful and well organized with the introduction of a Bihu performance by few of us from New Jersey and Pennsylvania.”

The programme ended with ‘Mukoli Bihu’ where everyone danced their heart out. It was a perfect evening of happiness and laughter.