The first of the spring rains hit the city yesterday morning bringing a brief respite from the dust blowing around. This cycle of dust storms and then, rains in this period (Mar-Apr) is a regular phenomenon in this part of the world though, signaling the onset of Spring and sometimes, continuing well into the later part of April. There is an interesting Assamese legend explaining this local phenomenon. This legend bears telling in a dark room lit up by the feeble light of a hurricane lantern with the wind howling outside, just as I heard this tale for the first time so many years ago. We call this fierce wind the “bordoisila” and legend has it that she is a married lady.
THE OVERTURE
So, in the mid of March (which is the Assamese month of Sot), Bordoisila rushes to her mother’s home (Assam), flying like the wind and in her haste, bringing a trail of destruction in her wake. So, when we are well and truly in March, dust winds blow around, picking up dirt and stray stuff and whirling them around.
THE CRESCENDO
Sometime later towards the second week of April, when Bordoisila leaves her mother’s home, she unleashes another series of frightful bursts in her wake. Only this time she is sad after her short maternal visit; so she burst into tears. If the heaving dark masses of rain-laden clouds wasn’t such an ominous sight, the manner in which massive rain clouds assemble in the sky seemingly at a moment’s notice turning day into night, is undoubtedly one of nature’s most awe-inspiring tricks. Blinding lightning flashes and loud thunderclaps follow with heavy rainfall, and you can feel the full force of Bordoisila’s agony all round you. It’s a nice legend though and if one stops to think about it, bridled passions and the accompanying emotional outpouring which often follows, is very much human nature and by extension, a part of all nature itself.
Numerous rituals have been built around the legend of Bordoisila and the quaintness of these traditional rites handed down over the years, is simply heart-pleasing. One of these rituals is a poem still being taught to children in the villages – “Sotor bihut Bordoisila makor ghoroloi jai, gos gosoni ghor duar niye uruai” which literally translated means, “Bordoisila, the symbol for whirlwinds, visits her parents in the month of Sot, uprooting trees and houses along the way.”
Another short couplet ritually forms a charming part of Bihu-naam (Assam’s spring-songs). It goes like this:
"......nalbirinar paah, brahmaputrot halise jalise, boga koi bogoli nil aakaxot urise,
aahise bohagi tai maa'kor ghoroloi bordoisila hoi..........."
Literally translated (to the best of my abilities), it says, “Alongwith the new buds on trees and the brimming waters of the Brahmaputra, the frolicking herons in the blue sky, Spring comes to us in the form of Bordoisila visiting her mother..”
To make Bordoisila feel welcome in her mother’s home, people do their own bit in their homes. A traditional comb made of bamboo called ‘kakoiphoni’, and wooden stool called ‘borpira’ is left outside in the courtyard for Bordoisila to comb her tresses and rest awhile, before continuing along her journey.
I am sure that cultures worldwide have built their own legends and traditions around local storms, so many of whom have feminine names (‘Mala’, ‘Laila’, ‘Melissa’ and the fearsome ‘Nina’); I wonder why?!
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