Guwahati: While passing through the busy Guwahati-Shillong road on Friday, people from different walks of life got to see structures made of bamboo and paddy straw being kept on the roadside.
Not new for many, these were the Mejis or Bhela Ghars, an integral component of Magh Bihu, also known as Bhogali Bihu.
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Mejis and Bhela Ghars are found in abundance in the villages during the Magh Bihu, which is usually celebrated on January 14 and 15 every year.
These structures are made using bamboo and paddy straw which are available in abundance in the villages. But back in Guwahati, paddy straws and other stuff, needed to prepare Mejis, are rarely found in the concrete city.
To introduce the traditional Meji to a generation bred on Starbucks and shopping malls, people from the nearby villages are now selling portable Mejis on the streets of Guwahati, the capital city of Assam.
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“I have brought these Mejis all the way from Nalbari. I am not here to earn profit by selling these Mejis. I am doing this to keep the Assamese tradition alive. I want the new generation get to know about our culture,” Mukunda Deka, a seller from Nalbari told Northeast Now.
People were seen coming in large numbers, some even in their Porsche vehicles, to buy these portable Mejis.
“This is the festival of the Assamese people and the majority of the people of Guwahati are Assamese but we cannot prepare Mejis on our own here due to lack of raw materials and lack of space.
“So we are dependent on these portable Mejis which are brought by the villagers. We are trying to keep our tradition alive somehow. Those people who stay in Guwahati and are not able to go to the villages due to various reasons somehow manage to celebrate it with these portable ones,” said Chandan Kumar Bora, a resident of the city’s Beltola area.