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.
The music of Assam consists various genres of folk and modern music, drawing its artistic basis from the history of Assam, from Assamese culture and its ancient traditions. In recent times, starting from the late eighties, popular artistes have modernized the music catering to local popular demand.
Bhupen Hazarika was an Indian playback singer, lyricist, musician, poet, actor, artist, editor, filmmaker, professor and politician from Assam, widely known as Sudha Kontho. His songs were written and sung mainly in the Assamese language by himself, are marked by humanity and universal brotherhood and have been translated and sung in many languages, most notably in Bengali and Hindi.
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 40 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.
Goalpariya is a group of Indo-Aryan dialects spoken in the Goalpara region of Assam, India. Along with Kamrupi, they form the western group of Assamese dialects. The North Bengali dialect is situated to its west, amidst a number of Tibeto-Burman speech communities. The basic characteristic of the Goalpariya is that it is a composite one into which words of different concerns and regions have been amalgamated. Deshi people speak this language and there are around 20 lakhs people.
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.
Jayanta Hazarika was an Indian singer and composer associated with Assamese music. He wrote lyrics for a few songs and composed music for several movies. He was the younger brother of Bhupen Hazarika.
Khagen Mahanta was a singer and composer of folk and traditional music of Assam. Khagen Mahanta was a notable person in Assamese folk music and known as the "King of Bihu". His Bihu songs, Borgeet and other folk songs remain popular in Assam. The artist, along with his wife Archana Mahanta and son Angaraag Mahanta who is known as Papon, represent one of the most influential families in Assamese music. He died on 12 June 2014.
Bohag Bihu or Rongali Bihu also called Xaat Bihu is a traditional ethnic festival celebrated in the Northeastern Indian state of Assam and other parts of Northeastern India by the indigenous ethnic groups of Assam, and marks the beginning of the Assamese New Year. The festival is of mostly aboriginal origin comprising Tibeto-Burman and Tai elements. It usually falls in the 2nd week of April, historically signifying the time of harvest. Every year it falls on the 14th day of April. The holiday unites the different native communities of Assam regardless of their backgrounds and promotes the celebration of ethnic diversity.
Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, also known as Sarusajai Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Lokhra locality, Guwahati, Assam, India. Seating 21,600 people, it is the home ground of NorthEast United FC and is used for athletic events. The stadium was one of the venues for the 2007 National Games, the 2016 South Asian Games, and the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Rameshwar Pathak was an acclaimed Kamrupi Lokgeet singer from Kamrup, Assam, India. He also worked as a teacher in Arya Vidyapeeth Higher Secondary and Multipurpose School, Guwahati from 1963 to 1996.
Angaraag Mahanta, known by his stagename Papon, is an Indian playback singer and composer from Assam. Papon has also sung in many languages apart from Assamese like Hindi, Bengali, Tamil and Marathi. He is the lead vocalist and founder of the folk-fusion band Papon and The East India Company. He is the son of the noted Assamese singer Khagen Mahanta and Archana Mahanta.
Jim Ankan Deka is an Indian musician, documentary film maker, photographer and director of Bangalore based organisation and music school Eastern Fare Music Foundation. He is the first person from Assam to open a music institute and a production house in Bangalore, India. He won multiple awards for his song Aawaz - speak up against sexual violence based on the 2012 Delhi gang rape incident.
Axl Hazarika is an Indian avant-garde musician and film-maker. Hazarika, He is from Guwahati, Assam, known for his work in electronica/industrial/avant-garde music in Northeast India.
Kalpana Patowary is an Indian playback and folk singer from Assam. She has recorded songs and folk music in several Indian languages, with Bhojpuri music being the major genre.
Padmanav Bordoloi is an Indian singer, performer, songwriter, music composer and anchor from the state of Assam. He has sung many songs in Assamese, Hindi, Nepali, Bengali, Marathi and English. He was nominated for Global Indian Music Academy (GIMA) Award 2016 for the Best Music Debut Non-Film segment for his first ever Hindi composition Teri Jo Baatein Hain. Padmanav is the second male singer from Assam to be nominated for this coveted title after Angaraag Papon Mahanta.
Kalika Prasad Bhattacharya was an Indian folk singer and researcher. He was born and raised in Silchar, Assam. He went on to study comparative literature at Jadavpur University. His musical inspiration was his uncle Ananta Bhattacharya. In 1999, he co-founded the band Dohar with the intent to revive the folk music tradition of Northern and Eastern Bengal. He also contributed music to a number of movies. His last movie was Bhuban Majhi (2017). He was associated with the popular Zee Bangla Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, a renowned Bengali music reality show. His last concert was in the Baguihati Krishi Mela.
Rajdweep is an Indian screenwriter, playwright, lyricist and journalist hails from Dhing, Nagaon, Assam. He has been awarded by Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan for his script 'Ishqlogy' at Cinestaan India's Storyteller's Script Contest in 2018. He is the first lyricist from Assam who writes Assamese songs in Bollywood film. He wrote the songs 'Jiri Jiri' for the film A Death In The Gunj and the bihu song for the film Jagga Jasoos. Again, he becomes the first screenwriter from Assam who signed a Bollywood film. He signed the film on 21 October 2019.
