The sound of dhol and pepa - a traditional musical instrument - is in the air in Assam as the state is ready to celebrate its biggest festival, Rongali Bihu, marking the Assamese New Year, starting from tomorrow.
The Bihu celebrations in the last two years have been a muted affair due to the pandemic. This time, however, the government has allowed celebrations without any restriction.
The state has reported only a single Covid case in the last two weeks.
The week-long festival will be celebrated with music, dance, and new clothes but price rise has also been a big worry in the state markets.
"There is a hike in prices of Bihu items, it's related to the overall inflation but actually, the local cloth weavers are still not getting a good price for their Bihu weaves" said Vinod, a Guwahati resident.
"For the past two years, there was no Bihu, no Bihu workshops. This times 400 girls, boys have registered for Bihu training and we are training them on traditional instruments like dhol, pepa and gagona," said Bolin Chandra Bora, a Bihu trainer from Guwahati.
The state government has also given ' Bihu financial aid' to the Bihu organisers- a grant of Rs 1.50 lakh to each of the Bihu committees that are over 10 years old.
The big-budget Bihu committees, with a budget of Rs 20 to 40 lakh are also back. The price rise has led to the increase in the budget.
"The overall price rise, inflation has affected the Bihu budget; even the renowned artists have hiked their fee so we are bound to increase the Bihu budget," said Kailash Sarma, a prominent Bihu organiser from Latashil.
The Bihu economy - a one-time opportunity in a year for Bihu singers, dancers, musicians, cloth sellers, celebration, the price rise has put a dampener.
"There is a hike in prices of Bihu items, it's related to the overall inflation but the local cloth weavers are still not getting a good price for their Bihu weaves" said Vinod, a Guwahati resident.
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