Kongali Bihu: Kati Bihu Hindu Festival

Kongali Bihu is also known as Kati Bihu as it falls on the Assamese month of Kati. It falls in mid-October and is the Bihu of less merriment. This Bihu is characterized with a feeling of solemnity as the granaries are almost empty during this season. On this Bihu, people light earthen lamps in front of tulsi plant, the granary, garden and the paddy fields. The cattle are also fed with pithas.

Kati or Kongali Bihu has a different flavor as there is less merriment and the atmosphere has a sense of constrain and solemnity. People worship the deities for a rich harvest; it is dedicated to the worship of Goddess Lakshmi who is the dispenser of wealth to mortals. Kati Bihu marks the completion of sowing and transplanting of paddies.

In the evenings, offerings are made to the ‘Tulsi‘ plant. Little earthen lamps (Diyas) are lighted at its feet and puja rituals are offered to God for improvement in crops and their yield. The significance of this Bihu is more in the villages, where farmers go to their respective fields and light “Akash-Banti” or ‘sky-lamp on the tip of a bamboo pole to show the souls of the dead the way to heaven. Sacred to the Hindus, the tulsi (basil) tree is planted or pruned in the courtyard of each household and for the whole Assamese month of Kati, people worship the Tulsi plant with an earthen lamp.