The end of the harvesting festival of Assam marks the beginning of the mist and foggy dawns of the Bhogali Bihu. The food and feast festival has crossed borders and on this the Kolkata Assamese Cultural Association (KACA) have brought the festivities to the City of Joy.

The third edition of Rupohi Haat, a fair of handloom, handicrafts and food of the northeast region was held in Kolkata at the Assam Bhawan under the initiative of the Kolkata Assamese Cultural Association. Various groups producing handlooms, food, and handicrafts have participated in Rupohi Haat. These include self-help groups, NGOs, government organizations, designers of fabric and looms, ethnic food experts from Kamrup, Chirang, Dima Hasao, Guwahati, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Kokrajhar districts of Assam, Nagaland and other parts of the northeast.

Rupohi Haat was inaugurated by Anish Sarkar IPS, Deputy Commissioner of Police of Bidhannagar alongside other guests theatre artist Shrimati Kalpana Baruah, Joint Resident Commissioner of Assam Bhawan Kolkata Tapas Deb, Joint Secretary to the Government of Assam Shrimati Miranda Das and KACA President Shri Khanindra Pathak. The fair was announced open to the public by the Chief Guest Anish Sarkar by opening the gate of the fair which is a traditional gate of the households of Assam called nongola. It is mentioned that KACA projects unique ways to open the fair every year by introducing different ways that are attached to the culture and tradition.

The Rupohi Haat of this year brought some of the finest fabrics of the northeast, handicrafts of bamboo and cane that are handcrafted and organic foods from the farmland of the region. KACA Vice President Shrimati Orihana Ojah mentions that the hotspot of this edition was the live kitchen of Nagaland and Assam where ethnic food was prepared and served. Other food ingredients of the Bhogali festive season like komol saaul, joha saaul etc. that are not available locally were at the stalls of Rupohi Haat. A live demonstration of a loom was set up by the weavers from Dhemaji where people witnessed the traditional way of crafting designs and cloth.

A huge response from the people of Kolkata apart from the northeastern people was seen at the three-day fair that concluded with the feast festival Uruka where people joined for a community dinner. Esteemed personalities DCP South Kolkata Shrimati Bidisha Kalita Ghosh IPS, actress Shrimati Jaya Seal Ghosh, General Manager IOC Shri Pankaj Bhattacharya, Senior IRS official Shri Tridib Sarma and Shri Chandan Bora joined the celebration. The Uruka night was a celebration of the Bhogali Bihu with the lighting of the meji (bonfire) where people indulged themselves in worship, song, and dance and concluded with the festive food pitha, laaru and a grand feast.

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