“Tumra Na Jaiyo, Na Jaiyo oi re”……..there goes the soulful Goalpariya melody of the legendary singer Protima Pandey. This song has received fame worldwide> It is in the heart of all Goalpariya people.
Goalparia people by nature are very simple, honest and spirited in nature. This is displayed by their lifestyle and culture. Goalparia is actually a dialect spoken in earstwhile Goalpara district of Assam (now Asom), in India. It is dominantly spoken in Dhubri, Goalpara, Kokrajhar and Bongaigaon.
This dialect is composite one in which words of different regions and identities have been amalgamated. For exampke, there are many Urdu words in the dialect. Historians trace this impact as due to the arrival of Mughal General, Mir Jumla in Panbari area in Dhubri district. It was during Mughal invasion of Asom.There are also other words like Arabic, Persian abn Urdu in the dialect. All these words make the mosaic of Goalparia culture more colourful.
Within the community, there are many communities. Large sections of the people are known as Rajbongshi, which means Man of Royal descent, who are Koch in origin.
The Goalparia culture has impact on both Assamese and North Bengal life. This is observed in their marriages and religious ceremonies.
For example, during marriage the groom wears “xolar mukut”, as it is worn in North Bengal. Unlike the general Assamese culture, Goalparia culture has no Juron. In its place, there is a ceremony called “Telor Bhar”. This is similar to “Patir Patra” ceremony in Bengali marriage. Here elderly men and women visit the bride’s home before marriage to give her bridal gifts. A Goalpariya bride generally wears saree during marriage. In these days, as there are more cross community, that is, between Goalparia and non Goalparia marriage, Juron and Mekhala Chadar is also making inroads in Goalparia marriages.
Among folk culture, folk dances of Goalparia people constitute an integral part of Assamese culture. The major dances include Kushan Nrtya, Padda Puran Nrtya, Bashi Puran Nrtya, goalini Nrtya and Hudum Nrtya. In Goalparia, folk dances generally both men and women participate. But, there are some like Hudum Nrtya, Goalini Nrtya, and Kati Puja Nrtya which is restricted to female only. On the other hand, there also exists Bashi Puja Nrtya, Bhaluk Nachon Nrtya and Padda Puran Nrtya where female dancers cannot participate.
All these folk dances have there own characteristic and is distinct from the other. Similarly, there are folk songs of different community.
Thus, we can see that Goalparia culture has many shades to learn. The more we go deeper, the more we understand.
