The Magical Majhuli

I took off from Nameri towards Majhuli, it was a dream journey of about three and a half hours. Well, the reason I say it’s a dream journey is because we have to go through Kaziranga. Going through Kaziranga is a strange feeling overall. On the way you get to see tons of Rhinos, elephants and deer. We see the elephants busy chatting, the rhinos having their lunch and deer mostly keeping to them.

driver, Keshab’s house was nearby as a result he knew the area like the palm of his hands, be it the flora or fauna all are on his fingertips. . I went with him to see the Dhansinri river, don’t be surprised, when you hear the name, what a wonderful form it is, the blue hill behind it and the Dhansinri coming down from it … I was fascinated by the road from Kaziranga to Numaligarh was like a moving picture postcard.

After reaching Nimita Ghat we were waiting for the ferry boat. It took about an hour on the ferry and cost Rs 750 including the car. Finally we reached Majuli. The place was oozing with greenery all around; we were welcomed to Majhuli by three types of rare Kingfishers. As I was about to enter the Prashanti Guest House, I saw two giant squirrels barking at each other. At the sound of our car, they climbed up the tree as they got scared. The Sprawling campus of Prashanti Guest House is quite impressive, the location is the best place to stay but the rest of the rooms are not maintained except for four rooms, the bed sheets, pillow covers were pretty clean. There were a lot of paddy fields around, lots of trees, the entrance was cleaned regularly, but the back of a few houses were not cleaned. There are not many people. Value for money is a lot of tariff, but judging by the rest, this is the best place. There is a restaurant in front of the market, where you must eat Ahmiya food or lunch I promise you will remember it for a long time … If you are a fan of liquor don’t forget to carry along with you as there are no F/L shops nearby.

I have been wandering from one end of Majuli to the other since that morning. There were small water bodies all around. The shadow of the betel trees were all over the water bodies. I saw ‘auni pan’ being cultivated from the betel tree. The ‘auni paan’ is quite smaller than the regular sized paan. The tip of auni paan is quite thinner. Wherever my eyes fell, I could only see greenery. The word ‘Majuli’ comes from the word ‘Maa Laxmi’ and ‘Jhuli’ means ‘hung’. I have been eating basmati rice in Majhuli for the last 2 days. It’s quite like the ‘Tulaipanji’ of ‘Raiganj’. I kept from Luit River to Mishin tribe’s home. The beauty of Majhuli was driving me crazy. The journey from Jengrai to Dhemaji will be forever in my memory; the most memorable experience in Jengrai was to eat “Sai Mad”, wine with Roasted Pork. “Sai Mod” is a tea-like coloured wine, made after the fermentation of black rice was really a delight to drink. 1 litre of this costs Rs50 along with it I also had Chilli Pork. It a unique recipe made with curry leaves. The experience that I had spending time with the Mishing Tribe’s was quite unique and relaxing. These Mishing people are quite hospitable and kind hearted. As soon as we started to head out, they started to treat us with a strange dish with small river fish and bamboo pickles, even though I don’t quite like fish.

We were also treated with “Nagin Mad” which we call it ‘Hariya’ came in a glass with ‘bamchoo’ pickle and dried chilli. The people of Mishing Tribe were very simple, I was quite fascinated by their simplicity. They also arranged lunch for us. Sometimes it I felt like I was dreaming. After spending quite a bit of a time with them, it is time to witness the sunset on the banks of the river Luit. The rain has made Luit flowing at his own whim; the radiant presence of a red aura on its chest could not be expressed in words. When I finally returned home in the evening, I could not express what I got properly.
After having spent all day with the people of Mishing Tribe, I came to know that
“Mi” – Men, “Yasing” – Worthy
Long ago, people from the “Tani” group from North China started living in the plains and valleys of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, although their migration history is still under research.
Right before heading out to explore Assam, I had gathered quite of a bit of information about the people of the ‘mishin’ tribe. So I had to make sure i did some things right like not invading their privacy in any way. When I entered their village, it was around eleven in the morning. They were quite busy; their houses were made of bamboo twigs, on bamboo scaffolding.
The canal that cuts the river is flowing behind their houses; this village gets washed away by the flood every year, again when they built their houses when the flood water recedes. While I was walking suddenly an old man started pulling my hand. It is according to them an invitation for having lunch. How could I miss this wonderful opportunity? I walked right into their kitchen.
I was ecstatic to see pork being roasted on the fire, deshi wine, dried lentil powder, bamboo pickle and chutney. I was feeling extremely relaxed the exchange of their unique tongues continue. The local kucho fish fry also appeared, however I let myself be deprived of that tast as I had never eaten fish in my life. The missing women let her husband take charge of the kitchen. A few moments later the rice was ready, he took a handful of raw meat from one corner of the curry with various local vegetables and poured it on a pan. Making a nice pork tenderloin with lentil powder, tamarind, bamboo. It was afternoon by then. I stomach was filled with the wine and pork and the food was slowly getting digested in my stomach. As soon as the Mishing woman ordered us to sit down on the wooden peg, we followed her orders like obedient children. By the evening, my body was full and heavy. I returned home but the mind lingered with the Mishing people.