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SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2014° WWW.LIVEMINT.COM
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SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2014° WWW.LIVEMINT.COM
TRAVEL SPECIAL
TRAVEL SPECIAL PHOTOGRAPHS
ALLEPPEY, KERALA
The big splash
E
Write to lounge@livemint.com
B Y S ARITA S ANTOSHINI ································· he rhythmic thump of dhols resounded around me as a group of young women danced in two rows on a stage made of bamboo sticks, whose edges were draped in red and yellow silk. Performing the folk gumrag, the dancers’ hands moved from their sides to their hips, in synchronization with the sound of the dhol, resembling the fluttering of a butterfly at one point and the reaping of paddy at another. Moments later, the troupe paused for a break. As I looked away from the dancers, I noticed the 100-odd men and women around me for the first time. A red-cheeked boy, who looked like he was about 10 years old, nudged his friend; an old lady beside them nudged another old woman. All of them stared at the large Canon camera around my neck, and at me. Within seconds, all the eyes in the gathering had shifted to me. I stared back, confused. My camera had marked me as an outsider, even though I was from around here. The days were getting longer in Assam. The early March sun set a little later than 5pm, and a single sweater was enough to combat the slight nip in the air. I had come home from Mumbai after a strenuous year for a twomonth vacation, determined to explore areas around my hometown Dibrugarh that I had never seen before. The island Majuli, which lies in the midst of the Brahmaputra river and its tributary Subansiri, had often topped the list, having often featured in local dailies and dinner-table conversations. For years now, raging annual floods
T
ANOOP KRISHNAN
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During the annual snake boat races, oars and boats chop up the usually placid backwaters here B Y A NOOP K RISHNAN ······································· STay: Visit ‘w very monsoon, the backwaters of Kerala come alive withCarry: the Visit ‘w splashing of the oars—as the‘w eat: Visit chundan vallam (snake boat) Visit ‘w races get underway in See: Alleppey. The annual event, also called Nehru Visit ‘w Trophy Boat Race, is held on theKnow: second Drive Saturday of August. In this event, 100-120ft-long canoes are pitted against each other in a raceMusic across the Punnamada Lake in Alappuzha, or Rafting Alleppey, to compete for the Nehru Trophy. The boats, made of wood which isSpend: locally called aanjilithadi, carry 90-110 rowers— and get their name because they Shop move like snakes through the channels.
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Stay Eat Do Know
GETTING THERE Carry Activity GO The nearest Drive airport, Cochin International Airport in Kochi, is wellconnected with majorMusic Indian cities; and Alappuzha railway stationRafting is connected with Delhi and Mumbai. technicalities From there, take a taxi or bus. Kochi to Spend Alleppey takes about an hour by road. Shop
STay: Visit ‘w STAY Play check in at LakeStay In Alleppey, Palace Carry: Visit ‘w Eat (rooms start at `9,000, double occupancy
for a night; www.lakepalaceresort.com; +914772239701) or at Arcadia Regency (`4,000, double occupancy for STay: Visit ‘w Stay a night; www.arcadiaregency.com; Carry: Visit ‘w Eat +914772230414). eat: Visit ‘w
Do
See: Visit ‘w Know DO TakeKnow: a houseboat ride. Sip Carrythe local Visit ‘w fermented the local Drive drink toddy. Eat Activity ‘karimeen’ (pearl spot fish) delicacy. Visit Drive Music the beaches on the west coast of Kerala. TakeRafting boat rides, or stay inMusic the Rafting technicalities houseboats, on the backwaters.
eat: Visit ‘w
Do
Spend:
See: Visit ‘w
Know
Shop
Carry Know: Visit ‘w Driveaway at India’s largest had been eating Activity
The winning oars: 1. Locals fishing for catfish in the irrigation canals of Alleppey. 2. A women’s team doing a practice run. 3. Craftsmen working on a snake boat. 4. Contestants practising on Punnamada Lake, a day before the race. 5. Paddy fields provide a lush background to the lake. 6. The scenic Vembanad Lake.
Spend Shop
Play
Jeep drove me a kilometre further to riverine island, shrinking the landmass the eco-property of La Maison de Drive Music to a third of its original size. Ananda. Recommended by a traveller And yet, despite the regular devasfriend for its hospitality, its gates Music Rafting tation, Majuli continues to be home to opened up to a mowed lawn partially Rafting technicalities peoples and cultures that are quite occupied by a small concrete house Spend: Spend on stilts, a bamboo restaurantunique. The explorer in me was curious to meet its people and under- Shop kitchen, and a thatched hut whose Shop stand how they had sheltered themstairs led to a verandah decorated selves, their island and their culturePlay with red and white upholstery. While from nature’s fury. I was admiring the huts and the quiet I drove from Dibrugarh past wooded bylane that they lay in, caremakeshift markets, small towns taker Monjit Risong came up. Over a and tea gardens to the boat jetty at traditional meal of freshly prepared Neematighat in Jorhat district, where chicken with bamboo shoots and I boarded a ferry. On the 20km-trip steamed fish, he familiarized me with across the Brahmaputra, we drifted the culture of the Mishing people, past deserted sandy banks as the sun whose annual harvest festival I had so reflected off the river’s silvery surfortuitously coincided my visit with. face. For the first time, I wasn’t The Mishing tribal people migrated merely admiring the perennial river to Majuli from Arunachal Pradesh from a distance. centuries ago, and now with around An hour later, I got off at Kamala63,500 of them, the community conbari Ghat in Majuli. But before I stitutes less than half of Majuli’s total could savour the delight of finally population. Their agricultural and arriving at a long-anticipated destina- fishing practices require them to live tion, I was hustled into one of the along the river banks and near many shared Jeeps, which screeched swamps. In order to deal with the across the long stretch of white sand, constant flooding, they build their a cloud of dust blurring my vision. bamboo huts on stilts. Within 5 minutes, however, the The next day, Risong and I island looked anything but deserted crossed a narrow stream, walking and sandy. Paddy fields lay interacross a wooden plank placed spersed with water bodies, dotted by between two boats, to reach a Mishmigratory birds. Men in dhotis cycled ing village called Kartik Chapori to and from the markets, chickens (pronounced as sapuri). This was dangling from their handlebars. Fish- the source of the music I had heard ermen were lugging nets bulging with earlier for Kartik Chapori was celefish. Muffled songs came floating brating Porag, the Mishings’ annual over a distant loudspeaker. In post-harvest festival. response to my puzzled look, the I walked through the village’s mud driver said that I had arrived in the trail, which was mostly deserted, middle of a festival week. except for a few stray pigs and elderly Fifteen minutes later, after dropwomen who were soaking up the sun. ping off other passengers in the vilEveryone else was at the festival lages of Kamalabari and Garamur, the ground. Porag, I learnt, was a festival
SOUND, FURY, SONG, DANCE AND BANQUETS ON THE LARGEST RIVER ISLAND IN INDIA
An isle of feasts to honour, and seek the blessings of, “Mother Earth”. Interestingly, there’s no fixed date for the festival: Each Mishing village celebrates Porag on a day that suits them in the post-harvest weeks. Often overshadowed by its popular counterpart Ali-Ai-Ligang, a five-day spring festival to pay homage to nature, Porag is little known in the outside world. And as I later found out, locals were only just getting used to the sight
of visitors during celebrations. A long walk across the village, past the last hut, brought us to the festival ground. A few men sat selling colourful candies, pickles and plastic toys at the entrance. Small makeshift tents that housed the festival feast stood to one side of the stage. The largest tent was occupied by women cooking a pork stew in large steel utensils on stoves and men slicing pork on wooden boards.
The entire village was present together as a community, proudly dressed in their traditional attire: The men wearing overcoats called mibu galuk with dhotis or pants, and women draped in saris and gaseng or waist cloth, with elaborate patterns, all handwoven at home. In my jeans and sweater, I stuck out, until I decided to start conversing in Assamese. “Would you like to see your picture?” I asked a group of women
whose photograph I had clicked a few minutes ago. Their faces lit up immediately. After giggling at their pictures on the camera screen, they steered me towards brimming plastic jugs of the local brew, apong. The light brown, almost transparent liquid made of fermented rice and a number of herbs is a favourite drink during ceremonies. Its sourness lingered in my mouth. A good start towards blending in and being accepted by my new hosts, I
assured myself. It was a little past 11 in the morning and the feast was already on in full swing. A large portion of the funds gathered for the festival is usually spent on the preparation of delicious meals in large quantities. Children sat devouring every bite of their pork stew in the dining tent; behind the tent, five girls practised their dance steps before going on stage. Within the next few minutes, I had introduced myself to a dozen villagers, been served enough food to sustain me for a week, and gathered numerous stories about my hosts’ lives. I spoke to Noyonmoni Doley, the new bride who wanted to continue weaving when she moved to New Delhi with her husband. I talked to Romen Payeng, the army man who had served the country and then voluntarily retired to spend his time farming and fishing. I chatted with Ratul Mili, a young man and father of two, who juggled his life between family in Majuli and his hotel in Nagaland. Risong excused himself for a while and returned in a dhoti and mibu galuk to the cheers of his traditionally dressed friends. More laughter, apong and stories followed. Thrilled with the experience, I gladly braved a long, dirty track with Rajeev Gam, my voluntary guide, the next day, to attend the closing ceremony of the festival in another village, Jengrai Pomua, more than 20km from La Maison de Ananda in Garamur village. When I arrived at 4pm, the dancers were eating a late lunch in the tent, and the festival was in its last throes. The village head and the chief guest for the closing ceremony, a respected
elderly man from a neighbouring village, requested that I stay and take a video of the closing ceremony. I was honoured by the request: I had been here just for a day, and surely this was a sign of acceptance. After the feast, as soon as I had finished recording a video of the chief guest’s speech, the dance that crowns the grand finale of Porag began. The entire crowd of around 150 people packed the small mud path in front of the festival area. They sang and swayed to the beat of dhols, and marched along with the chief guest all the way to his house in the next village, a kilometre away. I found myself swept along, one with the frenzied crowd. The next day was my last in Majuli. Just as I was hoping to settle down with a book, Mili, who I had met the previous day, dropped by: It was his cousin’s wedding, and would I want to attend the feast? It was the thought of pork stew, chicken with bamboo shoots and apong that made me say yes, but at the wedding, the couple wouldn’t let me leave. “Have some more fish curry,” said the bride. Every time my glass of apong came close to being half-empty, she refilled it. I stared at my watch. I was worried I would miss the ferry, but the fish curry was far too delicious to refuse. Then, after one last, longing swig of apong, I was scurrying for the Jeep. By the time I reached the jetty, 3 minutes remained for the boat to depart. Leave I did, but as the island braves nature’s fury again, I will tune out the news, say a little prayer and recall the happy stories. Write to lounge@livemint.com
MAJULI, ASSAM Getting there Flights for Jorhat are available from New Delhi and Mumbai, via Kolkata or Guwahati. Roundtrip fare for New Delhi and Mumbai starts at around `9,500 and `12,500, respectively. Hire a cab (for `500) from the airport for the 13km drive to Neematighat. Ferries for Majuli leave at regular intervals until 4pm every day and cost `20 per person. After the ferry ride, local buses or shared taxis can be used to reach Garamur village. A private car can be hired for `500. Stay A stay at La Maison de Ananda (call +91 9957186356 or email at monjitrisong@yahoo.in) is priced at `800 for a night, for double occupancy. Eat Eat Assamese or Mishing cuisine at Danny’s Kitchen in La Maison de Ananda. A Mishing Thali costs `250 and includes rice, steamed fish, bamboo shoot chicken, dry fish powder and ‘aloo pitika’ (Assamesestyle mashed potatoes), among other seasonal dishes. Smaller ‘dhabas’ in Garamur and Kamalabari towns nearby provide basic meals of ‘paratha’ and curries made with bottle gourd, potatoes or other local vegetables. Do Opt for boat rides in Luit Ghat for birdwatching or cycle through the villages towards smaller streams to watch the sunset. Visit the many NeoVaishnavite monasteries (‘satras’) to learn about Assamese culture and heritage.
Land and water: Traditional ferry boats cross the river Brahmaputra between Majuli island and Jorhat in Assam.
DANIEL J. RAO/SHUTTERSTOCK