Over 11,000 Bihu Dancers, Drummers To Attempt Guinness Record In Assam Today

Over 11,000 folk dancers and drummers will perform the Bihu dance in Assam today with an aim to put their performance on Rongali Bihu, the state's spring festival which marks the beginning of the Assamese new year, in the coveted Guinness Book of World Records.

Rehearsals are taking place in full swing at Sarusajai Stadium in Guwahati ahead of the historical moment. The certificate will be handed over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will be in the state to celebrate the state's spring festival.

According to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the aim is to "organise the largest Bihu dance performance at a single venue and make it to the Guinness Book of World Records in the folk-dance category".

"The performance itself will just be around 15 minutes long. But the logistics involved are massive, beginning with the selection of the artistes," Mr Sarma said.

At least 70 per cent of the performers would be women and 30 per cent men, an official said. The performers would include singers and those playing traditional instruments such as dhol, taal, gogona, toka, pepa and xutuli, he said.

The performers were selected from across the state. With 1,400 in attendance, Dibrugarh will have the most representation and South Salmara will have the least representation with 20 performers.

The most crucial part of the process was choreographing a routine that 11,140 dancers from different parts of the state could perform in synchrony.