Brahmaputra Beach Festival

Amid a biting cold wave in the first part of January, the sandy beaches of the river Brahmaputra in the city of Guwahati remains agog with excitement and joy. Festivity grips the historical city and its people just a couple of days before the Bhogali Bihu. The capital city of Assam becomes the ideal destination for many foreign and domestic tourists, who find it a good occasion to enjoy the natural sights and sounds of the land of red river and blue hills.

The Assam Boat Racing and Rowing Association (ABRRA) and the Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC) jointly organize the Brahmaputra Beach Festival to promote tourism in the land of red river and blue hills. The open air festival turns the huge sandy beach into a mini north east India when the various ethnic tribes and organizations participate in the three day long event showcasing their unique culture and tradition before the people from home and abroad.

A number of sports and games apart from the cultural programmes really make the event more glittering. These events include beach cricket, beach volleyball, water rafting, canoeing, wind surfing, ice skating, kayaking. Other attractions include aero sports like ballooning, paragliding and hang gliding. Even the visitors and tourists are free to show their skills in the traditional games that strike mass attention. These include the traditional elephant races, egg fight and cock fighting. Exhibition of traditional craft is also no less pleasant and mesmerizing.

The local arts and crafts draw no less applause from the visitors displaying their skill at the stalls. The income is handsome when the visitors and tourists from the far flung areas go on purchasing spree during the festival. The entire tourism event brings boundless festivity, mostly, among the young ones defying the dusty breeze on the river bank. In fact, the festival further aims at awareness on adventure sports and the outdoor sports to play a healthy role amongst the young generation of societal pressures. The National Disaster Relief Fund and Assam Police also join the festival with stalls to help the visitors know the activities.