Why these three
At Bihu you give a gamosa. That is the gesture, and it is not optional or decorative. The tea and the japi are there because a single cloth in a box looks thin as a gift posted across the country, and because these three are the objects an Assamese household actually recognises.
If you are sending this to someone Assamese, the gamosa is the part that matters and they will know exactly what it is. If you are sending it to someone who is not, the card explains what each thing is for, because a gift nobody can read is just an object.
What is in the box
- One handwoven cotton gamosa, red on white
- 100 g of second flush orthodox Assam, whole leaf
- One small japi
- A printed card explaining each, and how to wash the gamosa
Timing
Rongali Bihu is in mid April, Magh Bihu in mid January, Kati Bihu in October. Order at least two weeks ahead for delivery outside the Northeast, and three if you are sending it in the week before a festival, when every courier in India is saturated.
A note on giving a gamosa
It is handed over with both hands, and it is not thrown or tossed. If you are presenting it in person, that detail is noticed. The rest of the conventions are in the gamosa: meaning and rules.
