Bihu dancer playing a 'pepa' (horn)

Bihu team of SRM University, Chennai

Bihu (Assamese: বিহু, Hindi: बिहू) denotes a set of three different cultural festivals of Assam and celebrated by the Assamese diaspora around the world. Though they owe their origins to ancient rites and practices they have taken definite urban features and have become popular festivals in urban and commercialized milieus in the recent decades. Bihu is also used to imply Bihu dance and Bihu folk songs. The Bihus are the national festivals of Assam. The most important festivals of Assam are the Bihus, celebrated with fun and abundance by all Assamese people irrespective of caste, creed, religion, faith and belief.

The word Bihu is derived from the language of the Dimasa people who have been agrarian since time immemorial. Their supreme god is Brai Shibrai or Father Shibrai. The First crops of the season are offered to Brai Shibrai while wishing for peace and prosperity. So Bi means "to ask" and Shu means "peace and prosperity" in the world. Hence the word BISHU gradually became Bihu to accommodate linguistic preferences.The other suggestion is that "Bi" means "to ask" and "Hu" means "to give" and so came BIHU. It was said by "Kalaguru" Bishnu Prasad Rabha . In Assam, Rongali Bihu draws from many different traditions— Austro-Asiatic, Sino-Burmese and Indo-Aryan—and is celebrated with great fervor. Celebrations begin in the middle of April and generally continue for a month. In addition there are two other Bihus: Kongali Bihu in October (associated with the September equinox) and Bhogali Bihu in January (associated with the January solstice). Like most other Indian festivals, Bihu (all three) is associated with farming; as the traditional Assamese society is predominantly agricultural. In fact, similar festivals are also celebrated around the same time elsewhere in India.

The three Bihus[link]

In a year there are three Bihu festivals in Assam - in the months of Bohaag (Baisakh, the middle of April), Maagh (the middle of January), and Kaati (Kartik, the middle of October). The Bihus have been celebrated in Assam since ancient times. Each Bihu coincides with a distinctive phase in the farming calendar. The most important and colourful of the three Bihu festival is the Spring festival "Bohag Bihu" or Rongali Bihu celebrated in the middle of April. This is also the beginning of the agricultural season.Bihu is celebrated by the all parts of Assam and all cast and religion.Directly we can say that Bihu is secular festival which brings the humanity,peace and brotherhood among the various cast and religion.^[1]

Rongali Bihu[link]

Rongali Bihu (mid-April, also called Bohag Bihu), the most popular Bihu celebrates the onset of the Assamese New Year (around April 15) and the coming of Spring. This marks the first day of the Hindu solar calendar and is also observed in Bengal, Manipur, Nepal, Orissa, Punjab, Kerala and Tamil Nadu though called by different names. It's a time of merriment and feasting and continues, in general, for seven days. The farmers prepare the fields for cultivation of paddy and there is a feeling of joy around. The women make pitha, larus (traditional food made of rice and coconut) and Jolpan which gives the real essence of the season. The first day of the bihu is called goru bihu or cow bihu, where the cows are washed and worshipped, which falls on the last day of the previous year, usually on April 14. This is followed by manuh (human) bihu on April 15, the New Year Day. This is the day of getting cleaned up, wearing new cloths and celebrating and getting ready for the new year with fresh vigor. The third day is Gosai (Gods) bihu; statues of Gods, worshiped in all households are cleaned and worshiped asking for a smooth new year.

Kopou phool (Rhynchostylis gigantea)

The folk songs associated with the Bohag Bihu are called Bihugeets or Bihu songs. The form of celebration and rites vary among different demographic groups.

Rongali Bihu is also a fertility festival, where the bihu dance with its sensous movements using the hips, arms, etc., by the young women call out to celebrate their fertility. In this aspect, the bihu dance can also be called a mating ritual by the young men and women. Bohag Bihu or Rongali Bihu festival continues for seven days.They are known as..Goru Bihu (Cow Bihu),Manuh Bihu, Hat Bihu, Senehi Bihu, Maiki Bihu, Rongali Bihu and Sera Bihu.Actually first day for to pay respect to cows and other days for social activities.(2012 by nabajit deka)

Goru Bihu

The goru bihu or cattle worship rites are observed on the last day of the year. The cattle are washed, smeared with ground turmeric and other pastes, struck with sprigs of dighalati and makhiyati and endeared to be healthy and productive (lao kha, bengena kha, bosore bosore barhi ja/maar xoru, baper xoru, toi hobi bor bor goru—eat gourd, eat brinjal, grow from year to year/your mother is small, your father is small, but you be a large one). The old cattle ropes are cast away through the legs and new ropes are tied to them, and they are allowed to roam anywhere they wished for the entire day.^[2]

Manuh Bihu

The New Year day, the day after the goru bihu, is called the manuh bihu. Elders are shown respect, with gifts of bihuwan (a gamosa), a hachoti (kerchief), a cheleng etc., and their blessings are sought. Children are given new clothes, and Husori singing begins on this day, and people visit their relatives and friends.^[3]

Husori

Village elders move from household to households singing carols, also in the style of bihu geets, called husoris. It possibly derives from the Dimasa Kachari word formation ha (land) and char (move over): hachari.^[4] Villages could have more than one Husori band, and they would visit households in a village non-contiguous to itself, first singing carols at the Naamghar. The husari singers then visit individual households, by first announcing their arrival at the gate (podulimukh) with drum beats. The singers are traditionally welcomed into the courtyard where they sing the husori songs and perform a ring dance. At the end of the performance they are thanked with an offering dakshina of paan (betel leaf) tamul (areka nut) in a xorai (brass dish with stand), whereupon the singers bless the household for the coming year. If there is a bereavement in the family, or the family does not invite the husori singers due to an illness, the husori band offers blessings from podulimukh and move on. Generally the singers are all male.^[5]

Fat Bihu

This is a very old form of Bihu, characterized by spontaneity, popular in the Lakhimpur area of Assam. According to legend, the first Ahom king, Sukaphaa, traveled to the region to watch it in the early 13th century.^[6]

Mia Bihu

Now this days Bihu is celebrated by interior and remote Mia areas such as Kalgachia,Moinbari,Mankachar, Jaleswar etc.Mia people has modified this Bihu with their own culture but reality remains same.

Beshma

This is celebrated by koches, in this festival 'bhurbhura','shak' are marrimaking and festing,

Mukoli Bihu

Young unmarried men and women attired in traditional golden silk muga dance the bihu and sing bihu songs in the open fields. The songs have themes of romance and sexual love, requited or unrequited. Sometimes the songs describe tragic events too, but treated very lightly. The dance celebrates female sexuality.

Jeng Bihu

This is Bihu dance and song performed and watched only by women. The name "jeng" comes from the fact that in earlier days women in the villages used to surround the place of their performance with sticks dug into the ground called jeng in Assamese. It is also called gos tolor bihu (Bihu beneath tree).

Baisago

The Bodo-Kachari people celebrate for seven days—the first day for cattle (Magou), the second day for man (Mansoi) and ancestor worship, feasting, singing and merriment. Songs follow the same themes as the Bihu songs.^[7]

Bihutoli Bihu

The rural festival made its transition to urban life when it was first time brought to the stage in Lataxil field in Guwahati by the Guwahati Bihu Sanmilani in 1962, promoted by leading citizens like Radha Govinda Baruah and others. Bihu to a great extent has been popularized by the Bihu 'Samrat'( king ), of Assam, Khagen Mahanta. Unlike the rural version, the dancers danced on a makeshift elevated stage in an open area that came to be known as a Bihutoli. Many such Bihutolis have sprouted since then in Guwahati and other urban areas. The performances are not confined to the bihu dance form, but may incorporate all forms of theatrical performances to keep the audience enthralled well into the early hours. Performances could include standup comedy, to concerts by solo singers. The stage form of bihu has become so popular, that organizers have begun extending the celebrations to bohagi bidai, or farewell to the Bohag month, which are similar performances held a month later.

Xaat Bihu

Rongali Bihu also called Xaat Bihu (seven Bihus). It celebrates seven days, it's called so. On the other hand, Rangali Bihu is constitute of seven different types of Bihu -Goru Bihu (Cow Bihu),Manuh Bihu, Hat Bihu, Senehi Bihu, Maiki Bihu, Rongali Bihu and Sera Bihu.Actually first day for to pay respect to cows and other days for social activities.(2012 by nabajit deka)

Kongali Bihu[link]

Kongali Bihu (mid-October, also called Kati-Bihu) has a different flavor as there is less merriment and the atmosphere has a sense of constrain and solemnity. During this time of the year, the paddy in the fields are in the growing stage and the granaries of the farmers are almost empty. On this day, earthen lamps (saki) are lit at the foot of the household tulsi plant, the granary, the garden (bari) and the paddy fields. To protect the maturing paddy, cultivators whirl a piece of bamboo and recite rowa-khowa chants and spells to ward off pests and the evil eye. During the evening, cattle are fed specially made rice items called pitha. The Bodo people light lamps at the foot of the siju (Euphorbia neriifolia) tree. This Bihu is also associated with the lighting of akaxi gonga or akaxbonti, lamps at the tip of a tall bamboo pole, to show the souls of the dead the way to heaven, a practice that is common to many communities in India, as well as Asia and Europe. ^[8]

Bhogali Bihu[link]

Bhogali Bihu (mid-January, also called Magh Bihu) comes from the word Bhog that is eating and enjoyment. It is a harvest festival and marks the end of harvesting season. Since the granaries are full, there is a lot of feasting and eating during this period. On the eve of the day called uruka, i.e., the last day of pausa, menfolk, more particularly young men go to the field, preferably near a river, build a makeshift cottage called Bhelaghar with the hay of the harvest fields and the Meji, the most important thing for the night. During the night, they prepare food and there is community feasting everywhere.There is also exchange of sweets and greetings at this time. The entire night (called Uruka) is spent around a Meji with people singing bihu songs, beating Dhol, a typical kind of drums or playing games. Boys roam about in the dark stealing firewood and vegetables for fun. The next morning they take a bath and burn the main Meji. People gather around the Meji and throw Pithas (rice cakes) and betel nuts to it while burning it at the same time. They offer their prayers to the God of Fire and mark the end of the harvesting year. Thereafter they come back home carrying pieces of half burnt firewood for being thrown among fruit trees for favourable results. All the trees in the compound are tied to bamboo strips or paddy stems. Different types of sports like Buffalo-fight, Egg-fight, Cock-fight, Nightingale-fight etc. are held throughout the day. There are other conventional festivals observed by various ethnic-cultural groups. Me-dam-me-phi, Ali-aye-ligang, Porag, Garja, Hapsa Hatarnai, Kherai are few among them.The koch celebrates this bihu as pushna.^[9] All assamese people around the world celebrates this tradition on the month of January as per English calender. The Uruka comes on 13 January & Bihu is on 14–15 January. On this occasion every assamese people celebrates with joy.

Instruments used in Bihu[link]

• Dhol (Drum)
• Taal
• Pepa (An instrument made of buffalo horn)
• Toka
• Baanhi (Flute)
• Xutuli
• Gogona

Others[link]

The Kadi-Khel (a game, somewhat similar to present-day Ludo) is closely associated with all the forms of bihu. Earlier, it was mostly played in the afternoon, specially during the days of bihu, by men and women, separately, by making a temporary dice on the earthen floor, and using the dry hard coverings of small snails. However, now-a-days, it is mostly extinct.

Bihu elsewhere[link]

Bihu is also seen to be celebrated abroad. Many Bihu associations / committees exist elsewhere where this festival is celebrated with enthusiasm. The London Bihu Committee (LBC), UK is one of them amongst others.

Notes and references[link]

External links[link]

• Bihu Festival
• Bihu photos
• Bihu Astrology
• Bihu Husori
• anvesha.co.in- a bilingual website on Assamese traditional musical instruments

v t e Festivals in the Hindu calendar Major festivals Pongal Makar Sankranti Holi Rama Navami Krishna Janmashtami Maha Shivaratri Onam Ganesh Chaturthi Navratri (Mysore Dasara – Durga Puja – Vijayadashami) Diwali (Bhau-Beej) Chhath Vat Purnima Thaipusam Regional New Year Gudi Padwa (Marathi, Konkani) Ugadi (Telugu, Kannada) Cheti Chand (Sindhi) Bihu (Assamese) Bisu (Tuluva) Vaisakhi (Punjabi) Vishuva Sankranti (Oriya) Pohela Boishakh (Bengali) Puthandu (Tamil) Vishu (Malayalee) Holy days Ekadashi Gowri Habba Karwa Chauth Mahalakshmi Vrata Raksha Bandhan Sankranti Savitri Brata Thaipusam Holy periods Chaturmas Dhanurmas

This biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately. (February 2012)

Zubeen Garg
Zubeen Garg at a concert in Bangalore, February 2007
Background information
Birth name	Zubeen Borthakur
Also known as	Goldie
Born	(1972-11-18) November 18, 1972 (age 39) Jorhat, Assam
Genres	Playback singing, Bihu, Indian pop, rock
Occupations	Singer, composer, songwriter, musician, actor
Instruments	Vocalist, guitar,tabla
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Various
Website	http://www.zubeen.com

Zubeen Garg (Assamese: জুবিন গাৰ্গ, born 18 November 1972) is a singer and composer from Assam, India, in the Bollywood and Assamese music scene. He plays dhols, guitar, dotora, mandolin, keyboard and various percussion instruments.

Background[link]

Garg hails from Jorhat, a city in upper Assam. His birth name is Zubeen Borthakur. He was named after the great composer Zubin Mehta and uses his gotra name, Garg, as his surname. Garg was born to Mohan Borthakur, a famous lyricist, poet and a magistrate (who uses the pseudonym Kapil Thakur, and the late Ily Borthakur.

The Borthakur family has its roots in Janji, Sivasagar. Mohan Borthakur was a magistrate and he and his family moved often during Garg's early years. Ily Borthakur was a dancer, actress and singer, but she never turned these talents into a professional career. Instead, she decided to teach her son at home. Garg's younger sister Jongki Borthakur was a well-known singer and actress who died in a car accident in 2002 near Tezpur while they were going to perform stage show. There after Zubeen made an album known as "SHISHU" in memory of his late sister.^[1] Zubeen's other sister Palme, a bharatanatyam dancer, runs a dance academy in Guwahati.

Feeling indebted to his fans from Assam, Garg became involved in various charitable organizations dealing with AIDS and cancer. He is also president of societies including Destination (for autistic children), the All-Assam Cultural Organisation, and Vande.

Garg lives with his wife Garima, a fashion designer, in his Mumbai flat, which is a part of his music studio called Sound & Silence. Zubeen is also a prominent actor in Assamese films. His films have won national awards.

Entering the music scene[link]

Garg considers his mother to be his first guru and mentor. He started learning tabla from Guru Robin Banarjee, and then continued learning Assamese folk music from Guru Romoni Rai. He attended Jagannath Barooah College in Jorhat, and then moved to B. Barooah College, where he pursued Bachelor of Science. He left before completing his degree. When he received the gold medal for his western solo performance in a 1992 youth festival, he got his first taste of success and confidence as vocalist. Apart from playing dhols, dotara, mandolin, percussions, Garg is an accomplished keyboard player. He entered the professional music scene in 1992, releasing his first album, Anamika. This unusual album, became an instant hit in northeast India and had a strong influence on the Assamese musical landscape.

Career[link]

Garg continues to make albums. Garg has sung more than 9000 songs in various languages including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi, Oriya, Bengali, Marathi, Nepali, English, Bodo and Karbi. His song "Ya Ali" from the movie Gangster became a superhit in India, the Middle East, and across South Asia. Following this success, he released an album titled Ya Ali Remix Blast. Z

Garg released a Hindi album Zindagi, in 2007, which was well-received. His most recent Assamese album is Runjun.

He has sung in many films in several Indian languages.He is the most successful musician after legendary Bhupen Hazarika in Assamese music industry.

Film career: producer[link]

Garg started his own production house in Guwahati. He acts in Assamese and Bengali films as well. In 2007 he acted in the Assamese Mon Jai which won as national award.

In 2000, Garg wrote, directed and acted in the Assamese film Tumi Mor Matho Mor. He acted, co-produced and scored music in another Assamese film Dinabandhu, for which he received a national award in 2005.

Garg has served as music director for Assamese, Hindi, and Bengali films. He received the Best Music Award in 2005 for the Bengali movie Shudhu Tumi. He was the music director for Strings – Bound By Faith, a Hindi film directed by Sanjay Jha. He won the Rajat Kamal National Award in 2007 for best music in a short film.

His new Assamese/Bengali film You are Not My Julie is set to be released in October 2011.^{[dated info]}

List of Zubeen's albums[link]

Assamese albums[link]

• Anamika
• Sopunor Sur
• Meghor Boron
• Zubeenor Gaan
• Mukti(added by saranga)
• Hiya mon
• Zubeenor Gaan
• Shapoon
• Xabda (Sobdo)
• Paakhi(2000)
• Snigdha Jonak
• Shishu(2002)
• Maya
• Chinaki Mon
• Akou Hiya mon
• Niribili Godhuli
• Lajuki mon
• Jantra(2004)
• Raang
• Rangdhali
• Mor Priyo Geet(remake)
• Chinaki Sur(Remake)
• Rongmaanguunu
• Mukha(2006)
• Rumal(2008)
• Abujan Mon(2010)
• Bahi(2010)
• Junaki mon
• Uroniya mon
• Unmona mon
• Ringa ringa mon
• GAAN
• Mone Mone
• Sunali Mon
• Runjun

List of Hindi album[link]

• Chandini Raat Hai Sanam Paas Aana
• Yuhi Kabhi
• Sparsh
• Shradhanjali(vol-i, ii & iii)
• Nupur
• Chanda
• Zindagi

Zubeen's Bengali Songs[link]

• soniye tu janiye tu film khokababu
• Tore niye jai film khokababu
• kichu chupi chupi kotha film Phire Esho tumi
• kichu kichu kotha film Phire Esho tumi

Music director in Assamese films[link]

• Barud
• Bidhata
• Daag
• Dinobondhu
• Rong
• Hiya Diya Niya
• Jeevan Nadir Duti Paar
• Jumon Sumon
• Jown Jwole Kopalot
• Prem aaru Prem
• Priya Milan
• Kanyadaan
• Mon Jai
• Nayak
• Tumi Mor Matho Mor
• Ekhan nedekha nodir Sipare

Awards[link]

• Global Indian Film Awards (GIFA) (2006)- Best playback singer (Male) for the song "Ya Ali".
• Max Stardust Awards (2007)- New Musical Sensation (Male) for the song "Ya Ali".
• Nominated for Film Fare Awards (2007)- Best Play Back Singer.
• National Award (Rajat Kamal) (2009) for Best music director (non-feature film category) for his work on film 'Echoes of Silence'(English-Khasi)is fine

Zubeen's Hindi Songs[link]

Zubeen Garg's songs[link]

• Zubeen Garg - Life, Music, Movies

References[link]