Festival of lights Kati Bihu 2023, everything you should know

Guwahati: Kati Bihu, an annual festival that marks the beginning of the new harvest season, is being celebrated on October 18 this year. It falls on the first day of the month of Kati in the Assamese calendar, usually in mid-October.
The festival celebrated in Assam symbolizes the transplanting of the rice crop. Houses are decorated with lighted lamps, and bamboo paths are made to honor the ancestors.
Tulsi plant is purified and placed on a platform called Tulsi Bheti during Kati Bihu. The festival involves offering sacrifices and praying for the well-being of families and a bountiful harvest. A special lamp called ‘Akash Banti’ or sky candle is lit in paddy fields.
These mustard oil lamps are placed on bamboo poles and are thought to guide the ancestors to the afterlife. All three Bihu festivals have agricultural significance and mark different stages of farming. Kati Behu, also known as Kongali Bihu, occurs when rice seedlings are transplanted.
It reflects Assam’s cultural heritage, rooted in agriculture and spirituality, reminding people of their connection to the land and their duty to protect and nurture it.
The light of the lamps, a symbol of hope and guidance, highlights the continuity of life and traditions. The term Kongali Bihu comes from the generally empty grain and sparse use of the period.
To combat darkness and adversity, lamps or candles are lit throughout the house, with the central lamp near the sacred basil plant, a symbol of hope and guidance, highlighting the continuity of life and traditions. The term Kongali Bihu comes from the generally empty grain and sparse use of the period.