Himanshu Chutia Saikia

Riya Behl

Text Editor

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It’s
nearly noon and dancer Golapi Goyari is ready and waiting at home. She is
adjusting the yellow-striped dokhona
wrapped around her body when eight school-going girls arrive, all dressed in
matching dokhonas and red aronais (stoles), traditional to the
Bodo community of Assam.“I
teach these young girls our Bodo dances,” says Golapi, a Bodo herself and a
resident of Goalgaon village in Baksa district. Baksa
alongwith Kokrajhar, Udalguri and Chirang districts form Bodoland – officially
the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR). This autonomous region is predominantly
inhabited by the Bodo people, listed as a Scheduled Tribe in Assam, among other
indigenous communities. BTR lies on the banks of the Brahmaputra river below
the foothills of Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh. “They also perform at local festivals and
events,” says Golapi who is in her early thirties. She has offered her home to
host a performance in honour of PARI Founder Editor, journalist P. Sainath, who
was given the 19th UN Brahma Soldier of Humanity Award in November 2022 by the
Upendra Nath Brahma Trust (UNBT).

As
the dancers prepare for this performance, local musicians from Gobardhana block
begin setting up at Golapi’s home. Each of them wears a khot gosla jacket along with green and yellow aronais or mufflers around their heads. These items of clothing are
usually worn by Bodo men during cultural or religious festivals.They
unpack their instruments, commonly played during Bodo festivals: siphung (long flute), kham (drum), and serja (violin). Each instrument is decorated with aronais, patterned with the traditional
“Bonduram” design, and is locally crafted.One of the musicians, Khwrwmdao Basumatary who
will play the kham, addresses the
small audience of locals that have joined in. He informs them that he will
perform the Subunsri and Bagurumba dances. “The Bagurumba is usually performed after the
cultivation of crops during spring season or after harvest, usually during the
Bwisagu festival. It is also performed during marriages with joy.”

Soon
after the dancers take to the stage, Ranjit Basumatary, steps
forward. He ends the show with a solo performance playing the serja. He is one of the few performers
here who also plays in marriages as a source of income. During this time,
Golapi has slipped away, preparing the food she has laboured all morning to
cook for her guests.She lays the table with dishes such as sobai jwng samo (black gram with
snails), fried bhangun fish, onla jwng dau bedor (chicken curry with
a local variety of rice flour), banana flower and pork, jute leaves, rice wine and
bird&#39;s eye chilli; a feast that is relished after watching the captivating
performances from earlier in the day.

Bodo dancers and musicians take the stage

بوڈو ڈانسروں اور موسیقاروں کی دنیا

వేదికను వెలిగించిన బోడో నృత్యకారులు, సంగీతకారులు

மேடையேறும் போடா கலைஞர்கள்

ਬੋਡੋ ਨਾਚੇ ਤੇ ਸੰਗੀਤਕਾਰ ਦਰਸ਼ਕਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਕੀਲ਼ਦੇ ਹੋਏ

ମଞ୍ଚ ଉପରେ ବୋଡୋ ନୃତ୍ୟଶିଳ୍ପୀ ଓ ସଂଗୀତକାର

बोडो गायक आणि नर्तकांचा कलाविष्कार

ബോഡോ നർത്തകരും ഗായകരും വേദിയിൽ

ಬೋಡೋ ನೃತ್ಯಗಾರರು ಮತ್ತು ಸಂಗೀತಗಾರರ ಕಲರವ

बोडो डांसरों और संगीतकारों की दुनिया

બોડો નર્તકો અને સંગીતકારો ધ્યાન આકર્ષિત કરે છે

स्टेज मं बोडो नर्तकी अऊ बाजा बजेइय्या

मंच पर छा गइल बोडो नाच आउर गीत-नाद

বোড়ো জনজাতির নাচগানে মাতোয়ারা মঞ্চ

বড়োসকলৰ নৃত্য-গীত, চিফুঙৰ সুৰ আৰু খামৰ ছেও

Bagribari

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Bodo dancers and musicians take the stage

Watch the Subunsri and Bagurumba dances from Assam's Bodo community, with musicians on the siphung (long flute), kham (drum), and serja (violin) in attendance

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