Day 5
Of course, around Kaziranga National Park there is more to do than just safaris – though, we did have one more to go on this afternoon. Before that however we visited a local school in Kohora Village. That is always a highlight for our guests … and the kids have usually as much fun as well.
We always visit the same small school. There are classes from pre-school until grade 10. Each grade has a special classroom. And the kids are all so cute in their matching school uniforms.
Schools in India, both public and private alike, have a compulsory school uniform policy in grades 1-12. English uniforms have had an influence, but India has developed many uniquely national styles. English styles are particularly prominent at private schools and very basic at many public schools. The school we visited was a private school run by some sort of charity foundation.
The uniform for boys is usually a buttoned shirt – in summer with short sleeves, in winter with longs sleeves – and a pair of plain coloured pants – in some short, in winter long. In Winter they wear an extra uni-coloured jumper as well. For younger girls the uniform is a buttoned blouse and a knee-length skirt. In winter they also wear a jumper. Here they have a combination of white uniform with red jumpers. Now in November it was not too cold yet and the jumpers were not yet manadtory and since the uniform was white, so where the shoes.
Older girls – here starting from grade 6 or 7 – wear a Shalwar Kameez – a traditional combination dress consisting of a knee-length tunic with long sleeves and matching pants. They usually wear a long scarf called a dupatta around the shoulders.
The younger kids are always more shy than the older ones. Nevertheless, they are usually excited to see foreigner – something out of the ordinary, probably.
With a population of more than 1.3 billion, it is no surprise that India runs the largest national school system in the world – it is not often recognized for its quality, though. Education in India is provided by public schools and private schools. In 2009 the Indian Parliament had passed the landmark Right to Education Act that made education free and compulsory to children between the ages of 6 and 14.
However, just 70% of school age children in India attend public schools. That being said, only about 50% of Indian children actually go to school at all – while registration is compulsory, attendance is not typically enforced.
Most students begin their schooling at 5 years of age in the form of preschool. By the time they are six primary school begins. The primary education in India is divided into 2 parts – Lower Primary Class I-IV and Upper Primary or Middle school Class V-VIII. Because education laws are given by the states, duration of primary school visit alters between the Indian states. The Indian government has also banned child labour in order to ensure that the children do not enter unsafe working conditions. However, both free education and the ban on child labour are difficult to enforce due to economic disparity and social conditions.
Most schools in India are public schools funded and run by the government. However, the public education system faces serious challenges including a lack of adequate infrastructure, insufficient funding, a shortage of staff and scarce facilities. Since many government schools do not provide adequate education, Indian parents aspire to send their children to a private school. We did notice a high percentage of girls attending this school, though.
The literacy rate of women in9 India is 64 % while the male literacy rate is 82%. The top state with the largest number of literate women in India is Kerala with 92%. The states that include the lowest female literacy numbers are Rajasthan 52% followed by Bihar with 53%. Though there has been a substantial increase in the number of literate women in recent years, the number still falls low for the entire nation. 38% of secondary school-aged girls in India are not in school. Even more are likely to drop out early because of gender bias, poverty or marriage.
Mohans 2 nieces were also attending this particular school and of course we met them as well.
The newest game of the kids here was to ask the foreigners for their autographs in their exercise books. I think, they might have a competition on who gets the most signatures … Anyway, it was always like mayhem … we could hardly move around the premises with the cloud of kids around us. But it obviously made them happy … In that half an hour of our visit there was not much teaching done, obviously …
When we visited in February, the kids had their sport’s day. No classes were being held that day, but lots of games in the yard. The older kids had real sports competitions like long jump and such. The younger kids had games like frog jump, balancing on bricks or jumping hoops. There even was a round of musical chairs.
The kids sure had fun with the games and the mothers of the younger ones were all watching and cheering the kids on.
One of the funniest things we watched that day was the technical break of the pre-school boys … I guess, that is how they train them to hold it during class … Hop hop, everybody take a pee!
Before we were leaving we all had to pose for several photos and selfies. Only a few of the older students had mobile phones. But the principal always wants a photos of the visitors.
Leaving the school we stopped in the center of Kohora Village. The small town is the main entrance of the world-famous Kaziranga National Park and lies right on the National Highway 37/Asean Highway 1.
They call this part of the village close to the national park gate the Tourist Complex since everything needed is located here along the highway stretched over a distance of some 10 km. Most restaurants, guesthouses and shops are located here.
We stopped for a short shopping break. Let’s face it … on this cruise in touristic no-men’s land there are not many opportunities for our guests to buy anything, let alone souvenirs. There are no hassling souvenir shop keepers around here like at touristic hot spots in Rajasthan either, though. That is definitely a plus! Only a few shops here sell handcrafted souvenirs.
Of course the Rhino is the preferred souvenir here. No Chinese made plastic kitsch has found its way here yet … They are hand carved and available in all sizes. Some plain and some lacquered. I bought a handful of the smallest ones to give away at home.
I had to laugh on the last cruise, because a couple of our guests were desperately searching for “a pretty rhino in any size” when we were on our post-cruise tour in Rajasthan. I asked then, why they did not buy it in Assam when we were at Kaziranga National Park, because in Rajasthan they definitely would not find rhino souvenirs. – Because the souvenirs in Assam were too ugly and we want a pretty rhino! – Well, I can definitely assure you that you will not find a rhino in any of the souvenir ships in Rajasthan! Here they have elephants, camels and peacocks in any kind of material, colour and size, but for sure no rhinos. Those were only available in Assam … – And you would know that? – Yes, I would! I have been here a couple of times before … Since Assam is some 2000 km away and rhinos do not live here in the Rajasthani dessert … Why would they sell them here?
Those guests spent the rest of our time in Rajasthan looking in every souvenir and handicraft shop for a rhino … Not only did they not believe me, but they also did not believe our local guide there … they searched and searched without success … Of course, it was all my fault in the end! I felt like the Naughty Tomato in the minimarket shelf … Why had I not made sure there were pretty souvenir rhinos in Assam?
Our next stop was at another tea plantation. Since the other day at the Haroocharai Tea Estate they had only CTC tea on sale, our guests always ask where they can buy more Assam Tea. Here! We took a walk in the Hatikuli Tea Garden which is located near Kohora Village.
The word Hathikuli is derived from the Assamese words Hathi meaning elephant and Kuli meaning frequent – translating into “A place that is frequently visited by Elephants” or “Where Elephants trumpet to the tea”. The estate is situated on NH 37 adjoining the Kaziranga National Park with tea gardens stretching 15 km along the Highway. They produce Organic Green Tea, Orthodox Tea and CTC Tea.
The organic status of the estate was achieved in 2011 and has led to an increase in the number of natural predators that feed on the various pests that blight the tea plants. Turning the plantation into an organic one has naturally improved its soil structure. Hathikuli is also host to many wild animals and birds which visit the estate now and then.
The 1st section of the garden was planted in 1902. The estate once belonged to James Finlay & Company who came all the way from Scotland to Assam. The estate came under the ownership of Tata Tea in March 1983 and in March 2007, Amalgamated Plantations Pvt. Ltd. took up the reins of the plantation.
Hathikuli is one of 25 tea gardens of Amalgamated Plantations and has 836 permanent employees, during the peak season it employs an additional 1200 temporary workers. In the shop next to the tea garden, not only our guests bought a lot of tea. After all it is the best to buy directly from the producer.
Excellent quality of Organic Black Pepper is also produced within the certified organic plantation here. Peper cultivation in Hathikuli was tried long ago in 1990 on a small scale. A few year later it was developed as a nursery hub for pepper vines to other estates. The capacity was enhanced with the aim to cover all of the shade trees in all the estates.
Hathikuli Estate has more than 27000 shade trees in the tea gardens which are pretty much all planted with the pepper vines to produce certified organic black pepper. That brings Hathikuli amongst the top 3 organic pepper producers in India. On our cruise last January were were lucky to watch them harvest the pepper right when we visited.
Black pepper – Piper Nigrum – is a flowering vine cultivated for its fruit known as a peppercorn which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. When fresh and fully mature, it is about 5 mm in diameter and dark red. Black pepper is produced from the still-green, unripe drupe of the pepper plant. The drupes are cooked briefly in hot water, both to clean them and to prepare them for drying. The heat ruptures cell walls in the pepper, speeding the work of browning enzymes during drying. The drupes dry in the sun or by machine for several days, during which the pepper skin around the seed shrinks and darkens into a thin, wrinkled black layer. Once dry, the spice is called black peppercorn.
Peppercorns and the ground pepper may be described simply as black pepper. The green pepper is the dried unripe fruit and white pepper is the ripe fruit seeds – basically peeled black pepper.
Black pepper is native to the Malabar Coast of India – mostly present day Kerala – and is one of the earliest spices known. The conquest of pepper dates back to the discovery of India – when Vasco de Gama reached India in 1498 the merchants enquired what he came in search of – “Christians and spices” was his reply! Kerala in South India is where still some 90% of the pepper in India is produce today. It is the world’s most traded spice which is why it is also called Black Gold. It is also one of the most common spices added to cuisines around the world. Its spiciness is due to the chemical compound piperine which is a different kind of spicy from the capsaicin characteristic of chili peppers.
Assam is subjected to extreme climatic conditions with devastating monsoons and the pepper thrives on these extreme changes in the fertile soil – the plant requires a long rainy season, fairly high temperatures and partial shade for best growth. They begin bearing after 2 to 5 years and may produce for as long as 40 years. The entire production here in the estate is done by hand – harvest, washing, drying, sorting. Assam pepper is best cracked with a pestle and mortar and sprinkled over winter vegetables or delicate fish.
The pepper plant is a perennial woody vine growing up to 4 m in height on supporting trees, poles or trellises. The leaves are 5 to 10 cm long and 3 to 6 cm across. The flowers are small, produced on pendulous spikes lengthening up to 7 to 15 cm as the fruit matures. A single stem bears 20 to 30 fruiting spikes.
The harvest for black pepper begins before the fruit is fully mature. The spikes are collected and spread out to dry in the sun, then the peppercorns are stripped off the spikes.
Sure that was interesting to see … and after all that shopping for souvenirs, tea and pepper it was time for lunch at Diphlu Lodge. From Kohora it was only a 15 min bus ride to get there.
The Lodge is the best choice for our guests to have lunch near Kaziranga National Park – not only because they are part of the same company as our ship. It is situated on the periphery of the park next to the name-giving Diphlu River. It was opened in 2008 and purposely built to blend into the surrounding foliage and terrain. Its thatch-and-bamboo cottages on stilts are inspired by the simple architecture of Mishing tribal homes and the unique weaves and artifacts that adorn the lodge are handmade by local artisans.
It is in fact the best place to stay around here … proof of that is, that Price William and his Kate stayed here in April 2016 for 2 night during their visit to India. That story is being told plenty … Chef Vincent who works on our ship, was here to cook for them … Photo evidence is readily available!
Before we indulged in the excellent lunch buffet, though, we went down to the river bank to watch the resident Elephant take her daily bath. They actually have more than one Elephant – I have watched 2 of them bathing. One of them – her name is Lakhipurnima – is calm and obedient to her Mahouts commands. The other one – she is Urvashi – is a free spirit and has a special preference for a real bath.
Lakhipurnima is as happy to take a bath as the other one, but she rather has her Mahout do the work of washing her. She has an obvious deep bond with her master and they trust each other.
Elephants are highly dependant on water, not only for drinking but also for their skin and general hygiene. During their evolution, they were probably fully amhibious and wild Elephants enjoy a daily bath if possible. Domesticated Elephants should be showered daily for their skincare and it is also important for their mental well being. After working all morning there is nothing an elephant enjoys more than a good bath.
Like all mammals – except humans and apes, who have to learn how to swim – Elephants are very good and untiring swimmers. They move all 4 legs to swim and are able to move quite fast like that. Their big body provides enough floatation while the trunk acts like a snorkel. Swimming is a necessary skill for crossing rivers and lakes when traveling to find food. Of course here, the river was not deep enough to swim, but sure deep enough to go under water.
It may not come as a surprise that Elephants enjoy playing in the water. They are famous for splashing playfully and showering themselves and others with sprays from their trunks. And we did not leave disappointed. It was really fun to watch.
With this Elephant guests could even go in the river and bath with her … if they wanted … However, I experienced only once that one of our guests did it, though. I did it once – but not here – here I am working and cannot indulge in such activities … On one of my many visits in Nepal I was travelling with a friend to Chitwan National Park. That was in 2010 and there we actually did it! We went in to bath with the Elephants.
It was a proper tourist attraction there … in the morning we went on an Elephant Ride to see One-Horned Rhinos – Chitwan National Park has the second largest population in the world after Kaziranga National Park – and in the afternoon we went bathing with those Elephants in the river close to our guesthouse. That sure was fun, though!
Here at Diphlu Lodge the Elephant got a proper bath – while she was on her side in the shallows the Mahout splashed water on her and had a bunch of straw or so to give her a proper scrub. I guess, an Elephant needs to bath every part as a human would – special attention was paid to dirty knees, hidden spots and hard to reach areas – behind the ears, between the wrinkles, around the nails and the full length of the spine. Rinse, scrub and rinse again. And then the Mahout ask the Elephant to turn over and repeated the process – with her clearly enjoying her bath! Her head frequently went under while the end of the trunk remained above water as snorkel or she blew bubbles with her trunk. Mahout’s note – A clean Elephant is a happy Elephant!
Now … the second and free spirited Elephant Urvashi … she was a different story … When I met her for the first time, Mohan told me – No way can you tell the guests they could go bathing with that Elephant! – Why not? – Trust me! Do not tell them they could if they wanted to! With our luck somebody would go and that is not possible! – Why not? – You will see! She is a mad one!
Urvashi arrived with 2 young guys on her back … Mohan said, her Mahout hat died and now she had 2 new ones … The Mahout is the Elephant rider, trainer and keeper. Usually, he starts as a boy in the family profession when he is assigned an elephant early in its life. They remain bonded to each other throughout their lives. Now, Urvashi obviously did not give too much for her new keepers …
She was clearly looking forward to her bath! She walked straight into the water … and went straight for the deep end! The guy on her back had left his flip flops and mobile with his colleague … basically he threw it ashore … she did not give a damn about him … in no time he was in the water as well … he tried desperately to get her under control and get back on her back … but soon he gave up and swam for his life to the opposite bank where he sat and spread the contents of his wallet to dry in the sun … while Urvashi enjoyed her bath!
She bathed herself happily … throwing mud on her back … diving under and having fun! It looked very much as if she was smiling all the time.
Our guests had much fun watching her as well. This was definitely not staged for us! That Elephant had proper fun!
Eventually the second guy called Urvashi out of the water and … surprise! … she came out! She probably had bathed enough …
The guy sitting on the other bank called out to send the Elephant over to pick him up. But the second guy just laughed … he said he was not going to go swimming, too … After some bickering back and forth the guys did get the Elephant to walk through the river – crossing without sending anybody swimming again – and pick up the stranded guy …
The second time I met Urvashi she was only slight calmer … she did not throw her Mahout in the river … maybe he had learned … he stayed ashore from the start. And in the end she greeted all of us happily with her trunk and sauntered off to roam for food.
For us it was time for lunch. The buffet was prepared in the garden and everything was delicious. They always have different local specialties here like chicken cooked in bamboo. Today there even was Curry Leaves Pakora. Pakora is a fried snack dipped in a batter made from gram flour and then deep-fried. The Curry Tree – Murraya Koenigii – is native to India. Its leaves are used in many dishes.The fresh leaves are valued as seasoning usually fried along with vegetable oil, mustard seeds and chopped onions in the first stage of the preparation. Here they did a very good Pakora with the Curry Leaves. The Kingfisher went well with the food and was the best thristquentcher.
We had time for a short siesta in the garden before our last safari. Most guests used it to relax and have a nap in the lounge. The view over the river was calming.
Sometimes we spotted many butterflies in the lush garden. There was a Common Jezebel – Delias Eucharis – which is generally found all over India. The Lime Butterfly – Papilio Demoleus – is a common and widespread swallowtail butterfly which prefers usually plants of the citrus species such as the cultivated lime as host plants. And then there was a Himalayan Colour Sergeant – Athyma Nefte Inara – a species of brush-footed butterfly.
Soon it was time to leave for our last safari in Kaziranga National Park. This time we would go to Burapahar Safari Zone with the gate located at Ghorakati Village which is the gate furthest to the west. Today was the first time we did a safari in this zone. Since before we did the central and western ranges plus an Elephant Ride – and now we did the western and central ranges without the Elephant Ride … so a new zone for me! This safari zone has hilly terrain with beautiful scenery and dense forest.
First we spotted a Green Bee-Eater – Merops orientalis – a resident but prone to seasonal movements found widely distributed in Asia through India to Vietnam. They are mainly insect eaters and they are found in grassland, thin scrub and forest often quite far from water. Several regional plumage variations are known. This one was richly coloured with the entire plumage bright green and tinged with blue especially on the chin and throat, a yellow crown and doing its name justice – it had just caught a large insect and was eating it.
Before we reached the hill side we passed a swamp covered in Water Hyacinth where a family of wild Elephant were munching away in the distance. Water Hyacinths – or million-dollar-weeds as they are also called – are a favorite food of Asian Elephants. However – like with many other delicacies – proper preparation is necessary to ensure they are safe to consume. Learning how to properly prepare a Water Hyacinth for consumption is just one of the many lessons young Elephants have to learn as they grow up. These plants found on the surfaces of freshwater bodies have oxalate crystals in their leaves which can cause mouth irritation and itching. To avoid this, Elephants have a specific system of washing the plant in place prior to ingesting it.
The Elephant is well known for its intelligent behavior. For example, if he cannot reach some part of his body that itches with his trunk, he does not always rub it against a tree – he may pick up a long stick and give himself a good scratch with that instead. If he pulls up some grass and it comes up by the roots with a lump of earth, he will smack it against his foot until all the earth is shaken off or if water is handy he will wash it clean before putting it into his mouth. Here they smacked the Water Hyacinths against their leg and through the water.
Reaching the forest we immediately were lucky to spotted a bunch of Indian Giant Squirrel – Ratufa Indica – a large tree squirrel native to forests and woodlands in India. It is a diurnal, arboreal and mainly herbivorous squirrel.
It is one of the largest squirrels with a head-and-body length of up to 50 cm, a tail that is about the same or somewhat longer and a weight of 1.5-2 kg.
That squirrel has a conspicuous colour scheme. The colours involved can be whitish, creamy-beige, buff, tan, rust, reddish-maroon, brown, a dark seal brown or black. The underparts and the front legs are usually cream coloured, the head can be brown or beige, however there is a distinctive white spot between the ears.
The Indian Giant Squirrel is an upper-canopy dwelling species rarely leaving the trees. It requires tall profusely branched trees for the construction of nests and travels from tree to tree with jumps of up to 6 m. It is mostly active in the early hours of the morning and in the evening, resting in the midday. They are typically solitary animals that only come together for breeding. However, we watched 3 of them moving through the canopy in search of fruits. The species is believed to play a substantial role in shaping the ecosystem of its habitat by engaging in seed dispersal. Its diet includes fruit, flowers, nuts and tree bark.
Watching the Giant Squirrels was wonderful – it was the very first time I saw them! And as if that was not enough, a troupe of Capped Langurs – Trachypithecus Pileatus – a species of primate found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Myanmar made an appearance as well. We had never encountered the long-tailed monkey that virtually wears a cap on its head before.
The Capped Langur is a large monkey with males bigger than females. The face is black as well as the head which is blackish with long, erect coarse hairs directed backwards in what looks like a cap and hence the name. The coat colour varies from light ashy-grey to reddish with a golden hue.
Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests and it ranges from the plains 5 m above sea level to 2800 m of altitude in the Himalayas. Although it is the second most abundant primate of Assam, its populations are declining due to continuous destruction of its forests. Since the 1980s, one-third of the Capped Langur habitat in Assam has been lost because of tree felling and encroachment.
The Langurs south of the Brahmaputra have short whiskers and a distinct, conspicuous army-cut hairstyle-like cap, well separated from the ears. They are arboreal and gregarious by nature. They are herbivorous, ingesting leaves, twigs, buds and fruits.
The movement of the troupe was a noisy affair as they jumped from tree to tree, bending and breaking branches under their weight, often crashing through. Interestingly, they travelled single-file with each individual treading the same branches as the preceding ones.
Handsome creatures, Capped Langurs live in mixed social groups that may include 2 to 5 adult females often with infants, some sub-adults and juveniles – totalling up to 14 langurs led by a brawny male.
The track lead through the typical semi-evergreen forest. It was jungle-like mit huge trees with many strangler figs. Strangler Fig in the common name for any of numerous species of tropical figs – genus Ficus – family Moraceae – found in many tropical forest and named for their pattern of growth upon host trees, which often results in the host’s death. The growth habit is an adaptation for growing in dark forests where the competition for light is intense. These plants are hemiepiphytes, spending the first part of their life without rooting into the ground. Their seeds, often bird-dispersed, germinate in crevices atop other trees. These seedlings grow their roots downward and envelop the host tree while also growing upward to reach into the sunlight zone above the canopy. Although a Strangler Fig often smothers and outcompetes its host so that the Strangler becomes a columnar tree with a hollow central core, there is some evidence that trees encased in it are more likely to survive tropical cyclones, suggesting that the relationship can be somewhat mutualistic. The plants are fully photosynthetic and do not rely on their hosts for nutrition.
The sun went down early in this part of the world and the time before sunset was the best to look out for animals. The track reached the Diphlu River bank and followed it for a while. It was the right light and time for Tiger spotting … and everybody kept their eyes peeled to the opposite bank … no Tiger … In 2006 Kaziranga National Park has also been declared a Tiger Reserve … and we always tell the guests that there is a chance to spot a Tiger … but let’s face it … Kaziranga National Park is the hotspot for One-Horned Rhinos … not for Tiger … But as per the 2018 estimate there are 111 Tigers in the national park … we did not see one … Good thing, I saw Tigers on my visit to Tatoba National Park earlier this year ….
There was another spectacular sunset over the river, though … that definitely made up for no Tiger sighting …
We did see another Rhino, though. A huge one. The Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros is the largest of the 3 Asian Rhinos and – together with the African White Rhinos – is the largest of all Rhino species. Males can weigh up to 3000 kg. This one stood picturesque in the landscape eyeing us suspiciously.
And we saw some more Swam Deer photogenically posing for us in the twilight. Swamp Deer live in the swampy grasslands and floodplains, eat mainly grasses and remains close to water all the time.
It is the branched and interconnected antlers that give the Swamp Deer its unique look. Only the male species grow antlers. These antlers are shed every year and then a new set replaces them. As is the case with most of the animal kingdom, the one with the best set of antlers gets to call the shots.
These antlers, when fully grown have 12 different branches on the same antler piece and hence are rightly called Barasingha in Hindi – which translates into Twelve Horns.
And to top off the day and our visit of Kaziranga National Park, another wilde Elephant showed up in front of our convoy of jeeps. He was walking peacefully towards us on the track. That was sure something! Of course, afterwards a couple of the guests complained that they could not get a proper view of it, because other jeeps were in front of them and they did not get the best photo of it … Oh really? I am sure, some of our treasured guests are always thinking they are in a zoo and we order the animals to show up at the right place at the right time … Well it might have also to do with the digital progress … most of our guest did not even bring cameras anymore … they use their mobile phones. Also there is a camera fee in the park which not yet applies to mobiles phones. Now, of course with a proper camera and zoom lens it does not really matter if there is another jeep or two ahead of you …
The solitary Elephant did not care much about us, but veered off into the thicket before he got too close to the jeeps and then he watched us drive past him.
We exited the park very late and it was already dark. Our mini busses were waiting by the highway. Since we were in the far western corner of the park, the drive back to the ship was not so long and we arrived well before 18:00. Traffic on the highwas is thick after dark, though.
Back on board there was enough time to take a short break before we had a cultural programm on the sundeck. A local dance group from Silghat – young students from the village – came to present us with a performance of the traditional Bihu Dance. The Bihu Dance is an indigenous folk dance related to the Bihu Festival and an important part of Assamese culture. Performed in a group – the Bihu Dancers are usually young men and women – the dancing style is characterized by brisk steps and rapid hand movements. The traditional costume of dancers is colorful and centred round the red colour theme signifying joy and vigour.
The origins of the dance form is unclear, however, the folk dance tradition had always been very significant in the cultures of Assam’s many ethnic groups. Traditionally, local farming communities performed the dance outdoors in fields, groves, forests or on the banks of rivers. The earliest depiction of Bihu Dances come from 9th century sculptures found in the Tezpur and Darrang districts of Assam. The first official endorsement is cited to be when Ahom King Rudra Singha invited Bihu Dancers to perform at the Ranghar fields around 1694 on the occasion of Rongali Bihu.
The Bihu Dance takes its name from the Bohag Bihu Festival, the national festival of Assam, which celebrates the Assamese New Year. The festival takes place during mid-April and the Bihu Dance is meant to celebrate and emulate the seasonal spirit, celebrating fertility and passion – in earlier times it served principally as a courtship dance. The Bihu Dance’s association with fertility refers to both human fertility, through the erotic nature of the dance, as well as to the fertility of nature, meaning the celebration of spring and the welcoming of the life-giving spring rain. The use of instruments such as drums and horn-pipes is believed to replicate the sound of rain and thunder as a way of invoking actual precipitation.
The dancers all wore the traditional costumes of Assam. The Assamese adorn very simple dresses which are mostly hand loomed. The women wear motif-rich Mekhela Chador or Riha Mekhela. The men wear a Dhoti and over it they drape a chadar known as Seleng. Gamoosa is an indispensable part of almost all socio-religious ceremonies in Assam. Assamese men wear the dhoti-gamosa which is their traditional dress. Bihu Dancers wrap it around the head.
The Mekhela Chador for women consists of two main pieces of cloth that are draped around the body. The bottom portion – draped from the waist downwards – is called the Mekhela. It is actually a form of a sarong – a very wide cylinder of cloth that is folded into one or two pleats to fit around the waist and tucked in. The folds are to the right and are very less as opposed to the pleats in the saree which are folded to the left and have multiple pleats. Strings are never used to tie the Mekhela around the waist, though an underskirt with a string is often used.
The top portion of the two-piece dress – called the Chador – is a long length of cloth that has one end tucked into the upper portion of the Mekhela and the rest draped over and around the rest of the body tucked in triangular folds. A fitted blouse is often worn, though in the past and traditionally another garment called a Riha was and is still worn. Ornamental designs on the Mekhela Chadors are traditionally woven, never printed.
The Jaapi is a traditional conical hat from Assam which is made from tightly woven bamboo and/or cane and a large palm leaf. In the past, plain Jaapi were used by ordinary farmers for protection from the sun while ornate Jaapi were worn as a status symbol by Assamese royalty and nobility. Decorative Sorudoi Jaapi are made with intricate cloth designs that are integrated into the weaving. Today the Jaapi is a symbol of Assam. It is worn in the Bihu Dance, used as protection against the elements, offered as a sign of respect in ceremonies and placed as a decorative item around the house, especially near the front door as a welcome sign.
That performance was the perfect end of another fantastic day in Assam! There was much to reflect and process and after dinner it was an early night for everybody … I think.
