A cup of Assam Tea

When you lose someone as close as your dad, even the festive season feels incomplete. After my Dad passed away in 2020, it took us time to start celebrating the festivities. However, life goes on even with the absolute truth that you continue to miss someone while celebrating. This is the festive season in Assam, and here in my home in New England, we continue celebrating Magh Bihu. As busy as teenagers' parents, activities entirely occupied us this weekend, no exception. We could not attend any of the functions the Assamese community celebrated. However, we celebrated at home by preparing some festive dishes and sharing them with family precious. And, of course, no festivity is complete without wearing a mekhela chadar. I got this pair a couple of years back with a sustainable brand called Natural by Anuradha. A burgundy silk mekhela chadar with Eri silk motifs on it. A casual stay-home look with minimal make-up except for red lips and loosely tied hair bun. Hope you all like th...

You know my love affair with mekhela chadar is never-ending. As I grow older, I find it even more comfortable to wear. Last weekend, the Greater Boston Assamese community celebrated Bihu  with prompt and enthusiasm. Like  last year,  we attended again this year, and I had another opportunity to wear my mekhela chadar.          I got this mekhela chadar at  the Assam Convention,  where one of the designers, Jahnavi Swargiyari, showcased her designs.  A simple yet elegant mulberry silk mekhela chadar in bright yellow color, just great to celebrate Bihu and Spring. The mekhela chadar features both silver and gold designs. The bright yellow reminded me of Assam, especially the dotted mustard fields of Majuli  and dreamy daffodils in New England. I chose muted antique finish gold jewelry for earrings and a stack of bangles, and added a few turquoise enamel bangles with it, a turquoise bindi, and a turquoise potli bag for a spl...

      Growing up in the early 80s, a piece of white rectangular cloth with crimson border and flowery designs on the edge was a quintessential part of my Assamese household. Today whenever I use a Gamusa, it feels like yesterday,  when the softness of Gamusa wiped me up after a bath, the crisp and sweet smell of new Gamusa presented on a special occasion.       Whether it is a festivity, or special occasion or mundane task, one thing is for sure, in every Assamese household, you will find Gamusa. Ga means body and Musa mean a wipe, so it is technically a towel, but Gamusa has a deeper place in Assamese culture and a greater place in every Assamese heart. You can’t imagine any Assamese cultural celebration without Gamusa. The look      Gamusa in traditionally woven in cotton threads with red borders in all the four sides in a rectangular shape and motifs or designs on one side but sometimes could be found on either side as w...

      Every celebration in the world is associated with some kind of color. When somebody talks about Christmas, the red, green and gold always come to mind. Bihu  is a celebration related to colors like red and beige (in Assamese we call it muga color). This year we visited Boston for Bihu celebration. While deciding on an outfit, I chose a muga color mekhela chadar and a red bell sleeve top. I skip the blouse because I wanted to give a modern twist.       My love affair with mekhela chadar had started long back. But only thing stopping me from wearing it was that my plates were never perfect. When I was in my 20s, whenever I had to wear mekhela chadar , I always had an excuse for not getting proper plates.  In my 30s and now I am more comfortable, and I found my way to wear it, giving it a modern twist by either wearing modern accessories or chic blouse instead of the typical ones. Even now I am not getting perfect in wear...

Bohag Bihu or Rogali Bihu is not just a festival, it's a heartbeat that beats in every assamese heart. Bihu is an energy and spirit that carries a whole lot of assamese emotion. Food: Bihu is happiness in eating assamese delicacies whether it's pitha(Assamese sweet fritter) or jolpan(assamese cereal). Assamese home gets fragmented by all the delicious Bihu food. Handlooms or gifts: Bihu is the beginning of the assamese new year. Buying and gifting new clothes is a tradition. Gifting a handcrafted assamese gamosa or mekhela chadar to your beloved is always fun. Is it not exciting enough to celebrate Bihu? Bloom: Bihu is the time of the year that witness the bloom of beauty or beautiful flowers. New leaves come during this time and transform Assam into a whole new scene. Kapau full (foxtail flower) accentuate Bihu esthetics. Season of love or wedding: Bihu is the ultimate season of love. Bihu songs totally depict all the told and untold Assamese love sa...

Bihu delicacies from my Ma's kitchen. All served in bell metal dishes. I miss home Assam every single day, perhaps around this time of the year even more for not being there. Yes, it is  Bohag Bihu  time, the spring season of Assam's most vibrant and whimsical festival.  Bihu  is the biggest and most favorite festival of Assam. Another name of Bohag Bihu is  Rongali Bihu , Rongali means color, the color of food, culture, tradition, and love and assamese hospitality. I feel nostalgic; the nostalgia transports me directly to Assam, probably 20 years back Assam, where I spent my childhood and adulthood during the early 80s to early 2000.          Me and my daughter, dressed for Bihu last year Kapau  Phool(Foxtail orchid)       A few days before Bihu our whole neighborhood became fragranced whether it's Tilor ladu(Sesame balls) or Pitha(Rice cake). New leaves grow on the tree, Kapau Phool(Foxtail...