17th May 2016

The journey to Nimatighat in Jorhat from Sivasagar Circuit House took over one
hour; the road both NH37 and the one that followed do not provide fro a comfortable ride. It
was here that the boat provided by the SDO of Majuli was waiting for us. Mr. Chakravarthy
Mohan of Karnataka cadre who is General Observer at Majuli was also waiting with his wife
and daughter. I was taken aback as observers are forbidden by the ECI to bring their family
members! May be Majuli is too remote to attract their attention. To my surprise, my car and
also his drove across a floating platform and then straight onto the waiting boat. They were
comfortably parked side by side just about covering the width of the boat. We boarded the
boat thereafter. There is a seating space below the deck. The weather was cloudy, the water
muddy. The boat pulled out. We too climbed to the deck and enjoyed the vastness of
Brahmaputra. There was hardly any traffic on the river. Though we did see a ferry boat with
passengers and a red car I could clearly see on its deck. Ferrying a car is an expensive affair.
Borthakur, the Protocol Officer of Chakravarthy Mohan said that it costs Rs. 5000 to hire a
ferry for a single trip. On commercial ferries, ticket for a car would be anywhere around Rs.
700 while passenger tickets are Rs. 20 per head for the one hour sail.
We enjoyed good weather. The sun peeped out for a short while giving an excellent
view of the sand banks. The boat pulled into the jetty at Kamalabari in Majuli just after 12
noon.This time the car drove out first. The way to Garmur was slushy in parts making driving
difficult. In about 20 minutes we were at the Majuli Circuit House opened by the ex Chief
Minister Hiteswar Saikia on 17th September 1983. For a sub-division, it was a fairly big
Circuit House. Next door is the equally sprawling office of Mahakumadhipati, the Sub
Divisional Officer. The rooms are modest, I was allotted Kherkatia, named after a river. We
were served a fairly big lunch salad, rice, dal, chicken curry, fried baby potatoes and a
paneer peas curry. It was drizzling occasionally.
At about 3 pm we set out to explore the island. Jayanta had a friend, a local brick kiln
owner Pranab Bhuniya who was our local guide. There was a sharp shower on the way to
Dakshin Pat Satra. This Satra or a Vaishnab monastery was founded in 1654 after the wave of
Vaishnavism swamped Assam following the teaching of Sankaradev. The Satra has a huge
complex with hostels for the young monks. We went round and were allowed entry even to
the main temple when its locks were opened for us. There are four major deities of Krishna
Bhuban Roy, Kalyan Roy, Jadav Roy and Baikuntha Nath from the left to the right in the
dimly lit garva griha. The sanctum overlooks a long rectangular hall with clay floor which is
used for prayers. The old wooden pillars a few centuries old still stand. We could see some of
the young monks around their hostels and a few deer in a locked hall. The Satradhikar was
not present.
Our next stop was another Satra, though a private one the Chamaguri Satra. The
Satradhikar here, Kosha Kanta Dev Goswami is an acclaimed craftsman. He has received
award from President A P J Abdul Kalam for his artistry in mask making. We saw a few
masks half made. This art form is famous in this region. The art involves making of masks
the frame of cane and bamboo with layers of cloth, cow dung and clay to give it the finish. In
the small room, were on display masks depicting Gods and Godesses, demons and
mythological figures. Many of these masks are nowadays used in theatres.
We drove to a resort next to have tea. The way by the river Luit, a branch of the
Brahmaputra is treacherous being faced with erosion by the river. In a short stretch

geotextiles have been used to protect the bank but that did not seem to have much impact.
The drive through puddles and soft clay where the wheels slipped always looked a bit
uncertain. When we reached the Dekachang resort, we found it locked, we learnt that it had
closed for the off season a couple of weeks back. In the dusk with a couple of dimly lit lamps
providing illumination, it the structure looked like a haunted house. The caretaker opened a
room on the raised floor for us. Built of bamboo and cane, the investor has put in a lot of
effort and money to set up the resort. The location is desolate and the river and the rain gives
one an eerie feeling.
We were back to the Circuit House by 7 pm. The return was uneventful except that we
missed the way by the river Luit. The evening was spend chatting with friends about the Exit
polls. No one seemed to take the Exit polls seriously, most said that Jote would win the
majority. And everyone had their own justifications for it. The staff served dinner at about 930 pm; this time it was fish curry and fried Boroli fish with rice and dal and a bean
preparation. I retired after 11 pm.
18th May 2016
Jayanta and I decided to take a walk around. We started just after 7 am and were back
close to 8 am. The Garmur area appeared quiet. We skirted the Garmur satra and then walked
along the black top road back to the SDO office and then the Circuit House. I wonder how
they have constructed black top roads on this island as black stone chips are not available
locally! For the last couple of years there is a bridge connection to Lakhimpur district. Before
that everything had to be transported across in boats! It is difficult to imagine Majuli as an
island from this area. The river is not visible, in fact, it is a few kilometres away in either
direction. People were readying themselves for another day, the bazaar was settling down and
shops were beginning to open. There is a CRPF camp and a few individual houses.
After the bath and a breakfast of puri, dal and banana, we set out to visit the Auni Ati
Satra about 10 km away. Jayanta had work a kurta and dhoti to be appropriately dressed
while visiting a Satra. He had even got a dhoti for me, but I stuck to my trousers. Both of us
had sacrificed omelette in the morning in preparation for visiting the Vaishav monastery. The
Auni Ati Satra is one of the largest and oldest in Assam, having been founded by the Ahom
king Jayadhawj Singh in 1653. As required, we left our footwear in the car and walked
through the gate into the monastery complex. We had picked up raw betel nut and leaf,
incense sticks, oil and earthen lamps to offer puja. At the main temple, we offered puja it
was simple. A priest said a short prayer after we lighted the lamps and incense and handed us
a few bits of flowers. We could even take photographs in the garba griha, the monastery
administration is very liberal.
That view was reinforced when we met the Satradhikar, Pitambar Dev Goswami who
is the chief or Satradhikar since last twenty years. He received us in his private prayer room
where we offered puja and he gave his blessings. A middle aged man, he could speak English
and even Bengali. I had a conversation with him. He spoke about their sect of Vaishnavites.
They have about 600 Satras in Assam, a result of the Bhakti movement of Sankardev. Auni
Ati, he claimed is the largest monastery. Four hundred monks reside within the monastery. He
claimed to have about 10 lakh disciples from all around Assam and three from Tamil Nadu. It
is from their donations and the income from cultivation of the lands by the disciples (at 1% of
the production) gifted by the Ahom kings that the monastery meets its expenses. We also had

a look at the small museum with a few utensils, antiques, weapons and pieces of clothing.
Most impressive are the items made from ivory including a chessboard and a real elephant
tusk.
We left after having tea in the complex of the Satradhikar. A few English tourists
joined us in the tea room. They have been going round Assam and intend to fly to Kashmir
next! We were back to the Circuit House around 11-30 am. We had a cup of tea. The staff
laid out a delicious lunch and we had Pranab join us as if to make amends for the breakfast,
they served excellent chicken masala with rice, dal and a vegetable.
We set out for Kamalabari just after 1 pm. Garmur to Kamalabari is about 9 km but
for a sizeable portion there is no road. It is strange that this part is not well maintained though
the ferry at Kamalabari is a lifeline to the island! Most goods and many people enter the
island from the Kamalabari ghat. We reached the jetty and had to wait for the boat belonging
to the PWD which had been arranged by Jayanta. While we waited, a big boat arrived and
docked at the floating jetty. It was carrying eight vehicles on its deck and more than a dozen
motorcycles. It also carried close to a hundred passengers. The motor cars provide the highest
revenue at Rs. 700 per trip. Motorcycles are charged at Rs. 30 each and a passenger ticket
costs Rs. 20. It is the principal connection between the mainland and Majuli.
Our boatman took his time to come. In the meantime, our car drove up onto the deck
of the waiting boat. Our small boat came in and aligned next to the waiting boat and our
driver had a tricky and risky task to get our Renault onto the launch. The width of the boat
was just enough to accommodate the car, so he had little scope for error.
Our boat pulled out at 2-39 pm. The Brahmaputra is so vast that the other bank was
barely visible as a fine black line on the horizon. And I was not sure that our destination was
that mark in the horizon. Kamalabari gradually receded till it became a hazy speck in the
distance.