10 January, 2020, Chirang, BTAD, Assam: Dwijing is a popular festival in Bodoland Territorial Area District (BTAD) of Assam and is celebrated across a span of twelve days from December 27 to January 7, every year near the Aie River flowing through the Chirang district.

There are seven rivers in the upstream and two of the major rivers, Kanamakra and Sukan Teklai meets near Hagrama Bridge in the downstream. Dwi is a popular river festival organized every year with footfalls from both domestic and international tourists, and also communities from BTAD.

‘DWIJING’, a Bodo word is made of two different words, ‘DWI’ meaning ‘water’ and ‘JING’ meaning riverbank and is a River Festival emphasising the significance of rivers in everyday Bodoland life.

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The short drama ‘DWI’ promoted by Wildlife Trust of India, first staged in 2017 has been staged 17 times so far at various platforms ranging from local markets around Manas National Park to local community festivals, and on occasions like World Environment Day and very recently during the Dwijing Festival (https://www.wti.org.in/news/street-play-dwi-takes-a-bow-with-policy-makers-pledging-to-ban-plastic-in-manas/).

This year too DWI was staged on the closing day of the Dwijing Festival with over ten thousand people witnessing the play.

Dwi, the play is on sensitizing people on water security and wildlife conservation and is staged on community events and festivals. This year, as a token of appreciation for the play which was well received, The Cultural Committee of DWIJING, awarded the team a cash prize of Rs. 10,000 as a token of appreciation.

“Where there is forest, there is river, where there is river, there is water, where there is water, there is people and where there is people, there is festival like Dwijing, therefore save forest to celebrate Dwijing Festival,” emphasized Sanatan Deka, WTI addressing the audience post conclusion of the play.

“I took the right decision by giving you the best time in the main stage of Dwijing Festival for staging your short play DWI. The theme of the drama is very relevant and deeply connected to the core objectives of our Dwijing Festival. People should realize the value of water and the connection between forest and river system that is lifeline to human civilization. You must perform it to other large gatherings, festivals like Bodo Sahitya Sabha, Assam Sahitya Sabha including local festivals to reach more and more people,” added Bimal Basumatary, Chairman, Cultural Committee, Dwijing Festival.

We appreciate the support from the Cultural Committee (BTAD), Mr. Siddhartha Mukharjee, renowned film actor, Mr. Jyotiprasad Das, visual artist, Guwahati. Dhiraj Mohan Bharali, Senior Lecturer and the teachers and students of Bahbari High School near Manas NP and our Manas team on the support to Dwi.