Guwahati, Jan. 13: The Bhogali Bihu mood got off to a “hearty” and “sparkling” start today on uruka, unclouded by the dull and hazy weather that has been continuing since the New Year set in. Refusing to let the weather chill the celebration mood, each locality lit glowing bonfires in front of homes, apartment blocks and youth clubs. Hors d’oeuvrs of a night of feasting also began in the right earnest since early evening.
Strains of Bihu songs as well as Hindi film numbers blared from decks as the rhythm for the night was set by merrymakers.
Some localities posted shamianas beyond the bonfires for “community or locality feasting”.
“The shamianas have been put up for the elderly and children to keep warm,” said Bhabesh Sharma, an enthusiastic organiser of one such feast in the Uzanbazar area.
Open spaces in the city were dotted with mejis, which are built with finely-splintered wood and bamboo.
These will be lit in the wee hours tomorrow after offering Bihu delicacies and prayers with traditional piety.
Magh Bihu — which symbolically celebrates the new harvest — is a festival of feasting and merrymaking.
Earlier in the evening, preparations for a hearty Bihu feast and bonfires were on in right earnest. People thronged the main markets of the city buying pithas, pithaguri, laddoos and chira for the traditional Bihu feast tomorrow.
Roadside hawkers of woollens did brisk business as many young men bought woollen caps, jackets and thick sweaters to keep the cold at bay.
Amar Saikia, a city college student, who was frantically looking for balaclavas for himself and his friends, said: “Since we plan to party till the wee hours tomorrow, I am buying balaclavas to keep all of us warm.”