Bihu Dance , Assam, India

The Bihu is the most widespread folk dance of Assam and is enjoyed by all, young and old, rich and poor. It is also a part of the life known as Assamese life. The folk dance cuts through all the religious, caste and class barriers of the different kinds of people living in Assam. The dance is part of the Bihu festival, that comes in mid-April, when harvesting is done, and continues for about a month. The participants are young men and girls, who gather in the open, in daytime. These performers dance together but are not paired together and form in lines when they dance. The music played at this dance are drums and pipes and the performers sing of love during the act. The pattern which the performers follow during the dance is the circle or the parallel rows. The dancers sway their hips, take brisk steps and fling and flip their hands when the dance progresses. Dancers wear traditionally colorful Assamese clothing.

The Bihu dance is performed in conjunction with traditional Bihu folk music, played with: the "dhol", similar to a drum; the mohor singor pepa, a pipe instrument made from a buffalo horn; the tala, a cymbal; the gogona, a reed and bamboo instrument; and the toka, a bamboo clapper. The songs (bihu geet) that accompany the dance have been handed down for many generations. The subject of the lyrics ranges from welcoming the Assamese new year to describing the daily life of a farmer, from historical references of invasions to Assam to contemporary socio-political commentary in a satirical way.

Sharing pictures of Bihu dance that we performed on 14 May on occasion

of celebrating Bihu at Asia Asia's Royal Ballroom at Kuwait City.....