Preserving Ethnicity

Rinkumani Pathak

  Assam is enriched with a colourful cultural tapestry. Having blessed with a rich heritage, many of the precious cultural resources of the state are on the verge of extinction. At such a critical juncture, Sukladhwaj,a socio-cultural organisation from Abhayapuri of Bongaigaon district has been taking up initiateves to keep our folk culture alive. The voluntary organisation led by Bikram Ranjan Roy, a local journalist along with a group of young people has been working to preserve the magnificent culture of the state. The sole aim of the organisation is to revive the folk songs and dances of different ethnic groups without causing any distortion. They are trying to make the young generation aware of the opulence of our culture by organising different programmes.

   Last year, during the summer vacation, Sukladhwaj took up the initiative to organise a workshop on folk dances of the Koch-Rajbongshis.  The magnificent dances of the community.i.e. Gowalini, Kusan, Kartika, Hudum Puja dances were trained at the workshop. It may be noted that there was a practice named as Hudum Puja among the Koch Rajbongshi women to worship the god of rain. In this tradition which has almost gone into oblivion, the women danced in the midnight becoming completely nude. The presence of the male folk is restricted at the venue of Hudum Puja. Though the performance of Hudum dance was never done in public, Sukladhwaj enlisted this dance form in their workshop. The organisation has exhibited tremendous responsibilities in reviving the enchanting cultural practices of the state. Recently, under the aegis of Sukladhwaj, a workshop on Borgeet, Holigeet, Kamrupi Lokgeet, Jyoti-Bishnu Rabha-Bhupendra Sangeet was held. The participants were trained by leading artistes like Mrinalkanti Medhi, Buddhadeb Das, Basanta Patgiri, Saurav Jyoti Das etc.  The organisation, as part of their initiative to encourage the hidden talents, provided free training to many economically backward participants. On the other hand, Sukladhwaj is working on the field of environmental awareness through the means of street plays.  They are also  planning to prepare a documentary on the historical town of Abhayapuri, which was the capital of  ancient Bijni Kingdom. We hope, Sukladhwaj under the leadership of Bikram Ranjan Roy and Manoj kumar Baruah as President and Secretary respectively along with 27 other members will play the role of forerunner in preserving  the glorious cultural heritage of Assam.