Bihu is of three types and it is an important cultural festival unique to the Indian state of Assam – 'Rongali' or 'Bohag Bihu' observed in April, 'Kongali' or 'Kati Bihu' observed in October or November, and 'Bhogali' or 'Magh Bihu' observed in January. The festivals present an admixture of Tibeto-Barman, Austroasiatic and Indo-Aryan traditions entwined so intricately that it is impossible to separate them—festivals which are uniquely Assamese to which all communities of Assam had contributed elements. The Rongali Bihu is the most important of the three, celebrating spring festival. The Bhogali Bihu or the Magh Bihu is a harvest festival, with community feasts. The Kongali Bihu or the Kati Bihu is the sombre, thrifty one reflecting a season of short supplies and is an animistic festival.
The Bihu dance is an indigenous folk dance from the Indian state of Assam 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, and the dancing style is characterized by brisk steps and rapid hand movements. The traditional costume of dancers is centered around the red color theme, signifying joy and vigour.
Kamarupi Prakrit is the postulated Middle Indo-Aryan (MIA) Prakrit language used in ancient Kamarupa. This language has been derived from Gauda-Kamarupi Prakrit and the historical ancestor of the Kamatapuri lects and the modern Assamese language; and can be dated prior to 1250 CE, when the proto-Kamta language, the parent of the Kamatapuri lects, began to develop. Though not substantially proven, the existence of the language that predated the Kamatapuri lects and modern Assamese is widely believed to be descended from it.
Zubeen Garg is an Indian singer, songwriter, composer, lyricist, music director, music producer, actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, poet and philanthropist. He primarily works for and sings in the Assamese, Bengali and Hindi-language film and music industries, but has sung in many other languages and dialects, including Bishnupriya Manipuri, Boro, English, Goalpariya, Kannada, Karbi, Khasi, Malayalam, Marathi, Mising, Nepali, Odia, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Tiwa. He is also a multi-instrumentalist and plays 12 instruments including anandalahari, dhol, dotara, drums, guitar, harmonica, harmonium, mandolin, keyboard, tabla and various percussion instruments. He is Assam's highest-paid singer.
Assamese cinema is the Indian film industry of Assamese language. It is based in Assam, India. The industry was born in 1935 when Jyoti Prasad Agarwala released his movie Joymoti. Since then the Assamese cinema has developed a slow-paced, sensitive style. In the beginning the industry were called Jollywood, for Agarwala's Jyoti Chitraban Film Studio.
Bhabendra Nath Saikia was a novelist, short-story writer, editor and film director from Assam, India. Dr. Saikia received his doctorate in physics from the University of London. He began his career as a reader in the Department of Physics, University of Guwahati. He later played an important role in the publication of college level textbooks in the Assamese language during his tenure as the Secretary of the Co-ordination Committee for production of textbooks in regional languages.
The culture of Assam is traditionally a hybrid one, developed due to cultural assimilation of different ethno-cultural groups under various political-economic systems in different periods of its history.
Tarali Sarma is an Indian singer from Assam, who won the National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer in the year 2003 for the Assamese film Akashitorar Kothare. Her father was Prabhat Sarma who was a folk exponent, flutist, music director and a Sangeet Natak Akademi Awardee. Tarali is a versatile singer and music director in the Assamese film industry. She has composed music for films like Akashitorar Kothare, Laaz, Jatra the passage, Basundhara and Abhijatri, among others. She has also released several albums such as Abhixari Priya, Sonjoni, Sankar Madhav, Sneh, Pohar, Tarali, Henguliya and Bargit. Tarali's album list also includes Abhimaan, Prajapati, Nayanmoni, Mukoli etc.
Joi Barua is an Indian singer and music composer. Born in Digboi, Assam, he started his career by singing advertising jingles and later did playback singing for Hindi, Assamese and Telugu films. He is also the lead vocalist of the band Joi. Barua has a mixed musical style incorporating elements of rock, soul, jazz, folk and world music.
Pabitra Kumar Deka was a progressive writer, columnist, publisher and editor of monthly magazine, film critic and screenwriter of the State of Assam in India. He is the winner of the Best Film Critic Award in 1988 from the Eastern India Motion Picture Association. The Government of Assam has instituted the State Best Film Critic Award in the name of Pabitra Kumar Deka Award from 2010 after his death.
Ekhon Nedekha Nodir Xhipare is a 2012 Assamese language socio-political thriller film, with some dialogue in Hindi, starring Sanjay Suri and Bidita Bag in the lead roles. It was directed by Bidyut Kotoky and produced by National Film Development Corporation of India. The film was simultaneously made in Hindi as As the river flows.
Ko Yad is a 2012 Mising drama film, written, directed and produced by Manju Borah. The movie is based on Anil Panging's novel Ko: Yad, published in the weekly Assamese Xadin. The film portrays the life of ordinary Mishing people through the protagonist, Poukam, struggle to make a living, in a small village by the Brahmaputra, in Assam.
Dau Huduni Methai is a 2015 Bodo language drama film directed by Manju Borah; based on the Assamese novel Dao Hudur Gaan written by Rashmirekha Bora and adapted as screenplay by the director herself. It was produced by Shankar Lall Goenka and stars Reshma Mushahary, Ahalya Daimary, and Nita Basumatary in the lead roles. The film was premiered at Montreal World Film Festival on 1 and 2 September 2015.
The Guwahati International Film Festival (GIFF) (Assamese: গুৱাহাটী আন্তঃৰাষ্ট্ৰীয় চলচ্চিত্ৰ মহোৎসৱ) is an annual film festival held in Guwahati, Assam, India.The State Government-owned Jyoti Chitraban (Film Studio) Society organised the festival in association with the Dr. Bhupen Hazarika Regional Government Film and Television Institute. The first ever Guwahati International Film Festival (GIFF) to be held in northeast India, which will be inaugurated on 28 October 2017 by Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal. The Assam government supported festival began on 28 October with screening of the Oscar winning ‘The Salesman’, directed by Asghar Farhadi and produced by a joint collaboration of Iran and France.
Chalachitram National Film Festival (CNFF) is a festival conducted in Guwahati, Assam. The festival director is Utpal Datta, a National Film Award-winning film critic and film maker.
Monita Borgohain, IAS, is the Secretary to the Govt. of Assam, Director of the Dr. Bhupen Hazarika Regional Government Film and Television Institute, Secretary of the Jyoti Chitraban Film Studio, Festival Director of the Guwahati International Film Festival, and Producer of the feature film Xobdo Nixobdo Kolahol. Occasionally, she writes for journals, such as the Film Critics Circle of India Journal of Indian Cinema and the FIPRESCI-India journal.
Dara Ahmed was an Indian film director known for films like Rickshawala, Jakhini, Bordoisila and Pooja. He entered the Assamese Film industry as an assistant director in the film Dr Bazbarua. He died on 24 May 2021, at the age of 72 in Guwahati.
Baghjan is an Assamese-Moran bilingual film directed and written by filmmaker Jaicheng Zxai Dohutia and produced by MAYAMARA art & culture. The film is about the biggest industrial disasters; oil-leakage tragedy of 2020 at Baghjan.
Hem Chandra Goswami is an Indian mask-making artist from Assam's Majuli district. He received the India’s fourth-highest civilian award Padma Shri in 2023 for his contributions in the field of art.
