The program was attended by about 150 persons from the Emirates of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ajman. The program was also attended by a few guests from Asom, who were visiting their relatives and friends in the Emirates.
The main feature of the Bihu celebrations was a cultural function held on the evening of April 13, where local talents as well as artistes from Asom participated.
The program included performances by Pulak Banerjee, the famous Assamese singer and Jayanta Nath, another contemporary Assamese singer besides famous Assamese cine artiste Jatin Bora.
The function started with the traditional Husori led by local ‘Dhulia’ Dayananda Gogoi. The ladies who participated in the Hussori were Neera Borah, Dimple Bhagawati and Mayuri Neog Das, while the male participants were Mahananda Medhi, Aswini Borkotoky, Sumon Bordoloi, Dr Utpal Kataky, Gonesh Kharghoria, Iswar Prasanna Das, Tandeep Bhagawati and Farook Ahmed.
The guest artistes from Asom were honoured by P K Bordoloi, on behalf of Asom Somaj, with ‘Phulam Gamocha’ and mementos.
Pulak Banerjee delighted the audience with his melodious rendering of songs of yesteryears. He was accompanied by his team comprising of Abhinandan Banikya on tabla and Bhabiram Boro on the keyboard. Gonesh Kharghoria from Abu Dhabi provided the accompaniment on guitar for Pulak Banerjee.
Jatin Bora enthralled the audience with his impromptu dance performance of contemporary style, which prompted a few enthusiastic members of audience like Tandeep Bhagawati and Sumanto Dutta to join him on the stage.
Later part of the evenings performance was centred around the song performance by Jayanta Nath which included a few improvised Bihu songs for the occasion.
The two and half hour long cultural program, which continued till late in the evening, included Bihu dance by children ( Sucheta, Harshita and Sanjana), ‘Doxabatar Nritya’ by Dimple Bhagawati, songs in Assamese by Radhika Borah, recitation of Assamese poem by Shireen Dutta.
The performance by Dimple Bhagawati, with the traditional attire for the ‘Doxabatar Nritya’ was really a treat to watch.
Pulin Barua, a senior citizen from Guwahati formally released the third issue of the souvenir of the Society “Probaxi Bihuwan”, brought out to mark the celebrations.
The post dinner program included a raffle draw which saw almost cent percent participation. Neena Kataky did a wonderful job of compering for the cultural program, single-handedly. The formal program was concluded with the distribution of prizes and gifts. However, the celebrations continued well past midnight with ‘Mukoli Bihu’ and an informal session of singing by Jayanta Nath. Dayananda Gogoi and Siba Borah delighted the audience with their powerful performance on the ‘Dhol’ accompanied by Sumon Bordoloi on ‘Toka’ and Faruk Syed with ‘Pepa’.
A number of Dubai based organizations and individuals supported the cultural program as well as the souvenir. The organizational sponsors were Air India, Ajmal Perfumes, Al Khaleej Sugar, Al Shaer Advertising, DHL Express, Emirates Airlines, Fortune Hotel, Mediaedge:CIA, MIG Enterprises, New Medical Centre, Net Freight Services, Rapid Oil, and Western Union Money Transfer. The individuals who supported the effort in a big way were Nazir Ajmal, P K Bordoloi, Bhaskar Khound, Anupal Phookan and Rebecca Almeida.
The gifts and prizes for the program were sponsored by Ajmal Perfumes, Emirates Airlines, Diamond Lease and Nikai Electronics. Iswar Prasanna Das did a great job in stage decoration, supported by Tandeep Bhagawati.
This is the eighth year in succession since 1999, when Bihu was organized in UAE as a community function.
(The Assam Tribune,04.05.2006)