Kati Bihu 2027

About Kati Bihu

Kati Bihu, also called Kongali Bihu, is the quiet October Bihu of Assam, kept on the first day of the Assamese month of Kati. In 2027 it falls on Tuesday, 19 October 2027. The granaries are low and the paddy is still green, so families light earthen lamps under the tulsi plant, at the granary and on tall bamboo poles in the fields, and pray for the crop instead of feasting.

Of Assam's three Bihus, this is the one without a dhol. No dancing, no feast, no bonfire. Kati Bihu is an evening of small clay lamps, lit at the foot of the tulsi plant and out in the paddy fields, by families waiting for a crop that is not ready yet.

That waiting is the whole point. The sali paddy transplanted in the monsoon is standing green in the fields. Last season's rice is nearly used up. The harvest comes in Aghon, and the feasting waits for Magh Bihu in January. In between sits Kati Bihu, a prayer that pests, floods and bad luck stay away from the crop for a few more weeks.

Why is it called Kongali Bihu?

Kongali, also spelt Kangali, means poor. The name is honest about the time of year: the granary is low, there is little to spare, and nobody pretends otherwise. Assam's tourism department describes it as a day with neither merrymaking nor feasting.

Kati is simply the name of the Assamese month, the same month called Kartik elsewhere in India. Some websites say the word means cutting or refers to transplanting seedlings. The transplanting happened months earlier, and the name simply follows the month.

How the date is set

Kati Bihu is kept on the first day of Kati, the Assamese solar month that begins when the Sun moves into Tula (Libra) in the sidereal zodiac used by Indian almanacs. That transit falls on 17 or 18 October. The Assamese panjika decides which day counts as the first of Kati from the time of the transit, so the festival moves between those two dates. Assamese news reports call the day the domahi, the meeting of the two months Ahin and Kati.

It usually lands in the same fortnight as Durga Puja, or between Puja and Diwali. In Assamese towns, the saki under the tulsi often shares the evening with pandal lights down the road.

What happens on Kati Bihu

The day is quiet until dusk, when the lamps go up.

1. Morning
   Bamboo poles go up in the fields

   Farmers plant tall bamboo poles at the edge of their paddy, ready to hold the evening lamps. In some places the poles are tied in pairs.

2. Afternoon
   The tulsi bheti is made ready

   The tulsi plant is cleaned and set on a small raised platform of earth, the tulsi bheti, in the courtyard. Some families plant a fresh tulsi for the day.

3. Dusk
   Saki are lit around the house

   Earthen lamps burning mustard oil go at the foot of the tulsi, then at the granary, the cowshed, the garden and the gate.

4. Dusk
   Prayers and maah-prasad

   The family offers prayers to the tulsi, seen as a form of Lakshmi, with maah-prasad, an offering of soaked pulses, for the health of the household and a good harvest.

5. Evening
   The akash banti in the fields

   A lamp is raised to the top of the bamboo pole. It is said to light the way for the souls of ancestors, and it draws night insects away from the crop into the flame.

6. Evening
   Cattle and chants

   Cattle are fed rice pitha. In some villages, farmers whirl a length of bamboo and recite rowa-khowa chants to keep pests and the evil eye off the field.

The akash banti has a practical history. Before pesticides, a flame on a pole at night was a simple insect trap. Many households keep the tulsi lamp and the akash banti burning every evening through the month of Kati, not only on the first night.

Satras, namghars and the state

Kati Bihu is a household rite, but some institutions mark it in public. On Majuli, the Auniati Satra, a Vaishnavite monastery, lights its akash banti in pairs on tall bamboo poles, with a tulsi planted between each pair. In 2024 it lit 21 pairs and counted the occasion as its 371st Kati Bihu. In Barpeta, the satra town, the whole month of Kati is kept with naam-prasanga, devotional singing, at satras and namghars.

In 2024 the Assam government's Agriculture Department held Kati Bihu programmes in every district, with lamps lit in the fields, farmers felicitated and seed handed out. Assam's birdwatchers also use the day: the Kati edition of the Bihu Bird Count, run by the Assam Bird Monitoring Network with Bird Count India, takes place over a few days around the festival.

Other names, other communities

The same season is marked by more than Assamese Hindu families. Bodo families call it Kati Gasa and light lamps at the foot of the siju, the cactus-like euphorbia that stands at the Bathou altar in Bodo homes. Among the Dimasa it is recorded as Gathi Sainjora. Customs also differ from district to district, so treat this page as a general picture, not the rule for every home.

What to write

A Kati Bihu message reads best when it is short and gentle. Talk about light, the tulsi, the fields and a good harvest to come. "Kati Bihur xubhechha" is the standard Assamese wish. The x stands for a breathy Assamese sound, close to the ch in the Scottish "loch".

Kati

The Assamese month from mid-October to mid-November, called Kartik elsewhere

Kongali

Poor; the name reflects the low granaries of the season

Saki

A small earthen oil lamp

Akash banti

A sky lamp raised on a tall bamboo pole in the paddy field

Tulsi bheti

A raised earthen platform on which the tulsi plant is kept

Maah-prasad

An offering of soaked pulses made to the tulsi

Domahi

The day two Assamese months meet

Namghar

A Vaishnavite prayer hall found in Assamese villages

Kati Bihur xubhechha

Greetings on Kati Bihu, the usual Assamese wish

How to wish someone on Kati Bihu

A Kati Bihu wish should be calm. "Kati Bihur xubhechha" is the usual Assamese greeting, and "wishing you a peaceful Kati Bihu" works in English. Mention the saki under the tulsi, the akash banti in the field, or a good harvest still to come. Leave out dancing, feasts and party words; those belong to Bohag and Magh Bihu. For a family that lost someone this year, a gentle line about the lamps said to light the way for ancestors is enough.

Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.

Language tip: English, Assamese.

When is Kati Bihu in each year?

Kati Bihu is set by the Hindu solar calendar, so it falls on a different date each year. In 2027 it falls 1 day later than in 2026.

Frequently asked questions