From Our Correspondent
GUWAHATI: Buffalo fight is a tradition as old as the tradition of Assamese ‘Magh Bihu’ or ‘Bhogali Bihu’, the most popular post-harvest festival in the state of Assam celebrated in the middle of January.
Feasting, merry-making and enjoying traditional sports is what Magh Bihu means to the people of Assam especially the agrarian community which have a leisure time around this time of the year after reaping their paddy bounty.
The buffalo-fight is usually held on a large ground. Buffalo owners from neighbouring villages bring their animals which have been well fed for the last couple of months to make it literally fighting-fit.
The proud owner of the winner (buffalo) is provided with cash prize and other incentives by the organizers.
Ahatguri in Nagaon district of central Assam is one such places where organizing buffalo fight during Magh Bihu has been a tradition for decades.
Another round of annual buffalo fight was organised on Monday on the same sprawling ground besides the National Highway 37 at Ahatguri in presence of about ten thousand people who cheered the fighting animals.
Sixty pairs of buffalos were brought to the mega event by owners from various parts of Nagaon district in Central Assam. It happened to be the 40th edition of buffalo-fight at Ahatguri so far. Magh Bihu or Bhogali Bihu is the Assamese celebration of Sankranti.
Since the granaries at farmers’ houses are full at this time of the year, the celebration involves feasting on all sorts of Assamese delicacies and organizing community feasts all over the state on the eve of the ‘Magh Bihu’.
Various traditional sports like buffalo-fight, egg-fight, cock-fight, nightingale-fight and pot-breaking are associated with this popular post-harvest festival in the state.
Buffalo-fight is the most popular among all these sports and continues to draw huge crowd notwithstanding the sustained campaign launched by animal lovers who term it a glaring example of cruelty to animals and the fight leaves buffalos injured. However, there is no law so far in force in the state to prevent organizing buffalo fights.
Magh Bihu or Bhogali Bihu comes from the word Bhog that is eating and merriment and is celebrated in the mid of January, post harvest.