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Guwahti : For a trophy and cash reward of Rs.2,001, up to 400 birds and their owners are locked in a bitter fight - an event that marks Bhogali Bihu, the harvest festival in Assam began on Jan 14.
Since morning, this dusty roadside village 30 km west of Guwahati in Assam came alive with an estimated 400 Redvented Bulbul, a small bird belonging to the Pycnonotus cafer family, fighting one another amid loud cheers from their owners and thousands of spectators.
Bird fights have been an integral part of the Bihu celebrations in Assam with the locals of Hajo preparing for the annual event with tremendous enthusiasm - a tradition dating back centuries. The two-day event is held in the precincts of the Hindu temple of Hyagriva Madhava with the birds being coaxed and cajoled to fight by their owners - all for a trophy and a cash reward of Rs.2,001.
"This is a tradition going on for ages with bird fights held on the first day of Magh Bihu," Pulak Das, a village elder said. The preparations for the event begin at least two weeks in advance with people catching birds using various ingenious means like bamboo traps and other baits. Once caught, the owner grooms the 20-centimetre-long bird for the big day.
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