IWAS destined to be on a power trip.But the power tripped. Watt’s up, thestreetlight yonder asked me the oth-

er day, “Isn’t it your job to enlightenus?” The television in the showroomacross the road ridiculed: “This IPL hasgone into your head. Stop playing theAmpere and adjudging us timed out.”The air-conditioner above the show-room moaned: “Because of you, peo-ple have started calling me BC, not AC.”I wished I could clarify, but all I could

do was swallow this dig at my Ohm-nipotence. A transformer, after all, is asgood as dead without the surge of en-ergy. “You have gone limp for too long.Go get it,” said the fan in that wine shop,its blades staring as if they would sliceme off to kingdom come.Get what, Viagra or visa power? The

fan read my mind, and before I couldreact, she said: “You need some vigour.And if you can’t get it from thoseMegawatt morons, down some mar-garitas for that elusive surge.”

What margarita, and why? It’s a tequi-la-based cocktail comprising orange-flavoured liqueur and lemon juice of-ten served with salt. You need it becauseyour master swears by margarita, andbecause you should take your impo-tence with a pinch of salt while gettingpower-drunk. You got it wrong, buddy, I said. The

word is Margherita, not margarita, andit’s the name of some Italian queen.“I stand corrected, but why are you sofeeble when your master comes fromthe power centre?” the fan asked again.Wrong again, I replied. “Not all Ital-ian queens emit power from a ‘dusnumberi’ mansion on Janpath,” Ipointed out. I went into a shell almost immediate-

ly, thinking about my future. I won-dered why they painted the skull andcrossed bones on my body. Was it towarn others or to tell people I wouldeventually become as powerful as a life-less skeleton? And why did they inscribe‘Danger 440 volts’ when I hardly haveenough charge to shock even the crowsthat use me as a potty?My thoughts travelled to my past and

of those of my forefathers. We trans-formers are the descendants of an elec-tromagnetic device some inventornamed Michael Faraday gave birth to.I have no idea how my Indian ances-tors made it from Faraday’s lab to a Faridabad factory, but my ship-ment to Guwahati was anything but electrifying.Initially, though, I had a whale of a

time. I was installed in an upscale lo-cality inhabited by powerful people.The first blast of electric current flowedthrough my system to produce a mag-netic field, and it made me feel at-tractive. I felt authoritative as I beganto transfer electrical energy from onecircuit to another through inductive-ly coupled conductors. Before long, Irealized it was a lot of load meant for shedding.Today, I am more of an absorber of

abusive shocks than a potential shock-giver. You can blame it on the Bard ofBrahmaputra who sang ‘...moy aend-haror roja’. My master, inspired, tookthe song literally because darknessrules the collieries on his home turf. I know things will change, that Bor-

dolight will last beyond the power playand glow at the end of the tunnel thatyields the black gold. Until then, I willensure enough energy for you tocharge your mobile phone and lightup your day by listening to this ElvisPresley evergreen: ‘Who makes myheart beat like thunder; who makesmy temperature rise... Marguerita!’Or is that Margherita? �

POSTscriptM A Y 1 3 , 2 0 1 2

SEVEN SISTERS

S U N D AY M A G A Z I N E

SUNDAY STUNNERS

TEA FLAVOURS: A girl shows off her laal-pari sari, while the boy looks good in a dhuti-kurta teased with a laalgamchha wrapped around his waist.

Here’s your chance to feature in Sunday Stunners. Just slip into what you think will reflect themost of your community, get clicked and shoot us the best pick at Seven Sisters Post, C R Heritage, House No 6, Nayanpur Main Road, Ganeshguri, Guwahati-5or sundaystunners@gmail.com

Photos: Deepak Das

Majuli trailA trip that begins with thesingular idea of visitingmuseum sites ends upoffering much more ������� P4

i VIEWRANA A BAYAN

BordolightNever say dieThe story of Tejimola, likethe eponymousprotagonist, reincarnatesin many forms in manyforms and genres �������� P2

Her mother’s taleA translation of MridulSharma’s story on socialperceptions �������� P3

PURBA KALITA

IT’S 6 pm. The stillness in theair is suddenly pierced by thethrobbing of the doba (hugedrum), the beats of which ap-

pear to resonate in the heart. Boom-ing sounds from the shankha(conch shell) also pervade the sceneas little bhakats (disciples) give voiceto evening prayers. The hallowedprecincts turn sublime. We are atAuniati Satra, one of the social-cul-tural-spiritual-economic institu-tions which pull thousands of peo-ple from across the country andabroad each year. Besides pre-serving the rich traditions handeddown by Assam’s greatest saint-philosopher Srimanta Sankardev,this centre in Majuli has also beau-tifully conserved antiquities. Reflecting tranquility through

pristine environs, the island — aconcentration of various kinds ofheritage — gives a peek into thestate’s history and love of yester-year rulers for theology and art.Patronised by Ahom king Jayad-hwaj Singha, Auniati Satra there-fore has a lot of relics dating backto the 17th century along with rareartefacts moulded by gurus anddisciples of the institution downthe years. Some of these arehoused in two museums, includ-ing the one which was completedby the Directorate of Archaeolo-gy (DA) last year. “The notion of displaying relics

was alien to satras and it was forthe first time in 1998 that a deci-sion was taken to bring a few thingsout for public-viewing,” says Au-niati satradhikar (head of satra),Pitambar Dev Goswami. The in-stitution got help from the IndianMuseum in the art of preservationand display. “Earlier, we used togive out a few historical objects tocultural organisations for their pro-grammes but we have now dis-continued the practice,” he adds. A 250-year-old ivory mat, brass

basket, wind instruments kali andbheru donated by Ahom king Ra-jeswar Singha, masks, boat usedduring paal naam, ivory footwear,borjapee (big ancient umbrella),unique traditional utensils, silverand copper multipurpose caskets,bamboo milk pot, wooden tableand chair with bull-horn and ivoryinlays donated by Queen Victoria

following her visit, dish, saucer andbowl used by king Gadadhar Sing-ha, bhaona attire, indigenousweapons and deer skin-horns aresome of the showpieces here. The new museum houses hun-

dreds of sanchipat (sashi tree bark)manuscripts, a gold-plated boat,metal objects, swords, birds,gramophone records in Bengali,saucers, plates, xorai (receptacle)of different metals and books inSanskrit and Assamese. “I sent ex-perts from the state museum tohelp in the display,” state archae-ology director HemendranathDutta says. Manuscripts have been dusted,

which is the traditional method ofconservation. “Chemical preser-vation might damage them so theyare wrapped in cloth and kept inwooden boxes to prevent destruc-

tion from humidity,” adds Dutta.It was reportedly as late as 2005

when the first official body —SatraPreservation Committee (SPC) —was formed to protect these insti-tutions, many of which have pro-duced Sangeet Natak Akademiawardees. Of the 862 satras iden-tified by SPC, 132 —including Au-niati and Bengenati where two mu-seums are coming up —have beengetting financial help under stateplan since 2008-09. Nine other mu-seums at Garamur, Bhogpur, Pu-rana Chamaguri, Notun Cham-aguri, Bihimpur, Narasingha,Dakhinpat, Uttar Kamalabari andTokobari satras are being con-structed under special plans as-sistance through the cultural af-fairs department.The one at Garamur was said to

have been readied by March-April

this year, but artefacts are yet to beshowcased. “Uttar Kamalabari mu-seum is in its final stages and wehope to complete it this month,”says Dutta, who is being assistedby senior conservationist Ajit Ku-mar Bora and state archaelogicalengineer Sonaram Saud in realis-ing the museums.The antiquities at Garamur are

currently kept at the century-oldPitambardev Smrity Bhawan ren-ovated by the DA. Cannons fromAhom era greet you at the entrancealong with elephant-cart wheelsfrom the British Raj. Over 250sachipat manuscripts — treatedby Kalakshetra in Guwahati forpreservation —berakahi (big plateon stand), khel nao (boat), stoneplates, khorom (footwear), wood-

en sculptures including that of Joy-Bijoy (celestial guards), Garuda,Narasingha, various kinds of xo-rai, ivory items, silver banbati (bowlwith stand), wooden grater, as-tadhatu (eight metals) plate andpots, silver plates and hati khujia(elephant-foot like) banbati aresome of the satra’s pride. There is a manuscript, over 350

years old, at the manikut (altar)which is frayed at the edges andkept in a huge wooden case. “Thissomehow got left out and was notsent to Kalakshetra for treatment,”says caretaker Keshav Chandra Sar-ma, 58, who has been at the satrasince the age of 12. The manikutalso has a four-step ranga (red) xo-rai, around 200 years old, which isused once a year during purnima(full moon) in the month of jeth(May-June). The museums, which stand

within the satra campuses, areRCC constructions but have beenplanned keeping in mind the ar-chitecture and styling followedby the local populations that com-prise people from Mising, Deoriand Sonowal communities. Thearea is prone to floods and sothese structures stand on stilts.The motifs and ornamentationon the posts and roofs are inspiredby satras. “The museums de-signed by Indian Museums,Kolkata, in the region look likereplicas but I didn’t want thesame pattern for Majuli. I want-ed a separate identity, somethingthat would reflect the local ethosand culture,” says Dutta. Hoping that these repositories

will safeguard the state’s heritage,he says, “While we also surveyedthe satras, some institutions cameforward to seek help. We identi-fied the places where the muse-ums should come up based onthe number of antiquities presentand their rarity. While locals don’tunderstand their value, humidi-ty and rains have also caused alot of damage.” Many satras are the custodians

of the largesse showered by theroyalty but the ravages of time andvagaries of nature have taken a toll.“The satra remains submerged inwater for many days during floodsand naturally there is a lot of lossto property,” rues Dakhinpatsatradhikar Nani Gopal Dev

Goswami. This place seems to belike a goldmine as Naren Kotoki,67, the bhorali or caretaker of theriches, escorts us to what he saysis the first concrete structure ofMajuli. Dark and damp, the househardly reflects the wealth it sup-posedly hides in its recesses. Ko-toki ups the mystery quotient ashe points to a corner with a lampwhich reportedly has been burn-ing for 359 years. “No one can gothere. Only I enter the room to fuelthe lamp. There are lots of trea-sures there but there are alsosnakes,” he warns.

Kotoki makes up for not allow-ing us to enter the secret chamberby displaying artefacts of great his-torical importance — tobaccogrinder used by freedom fighterManiram Dewan, a gold xorai,gold-silver bota (receptacle), a 255-year-old astadhatu ghoti (pot), asword used by Jayadhwaj, jalang-hanta —an ancient clock consist-ing of 12 bowls, muga dhotis dat-ing back to 300 years, silver stick,gupti or secret sword, 11-foot-longsilk scroll and a fraying throne cover with gold work. �

Continued on P4

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THE antiquities atGaramur are currentlykept at the century-oldPitambardev SmrityBhawan renovated bythe Directorate ofArchaeology. Cannonsfrom Ahom era greetyou at the entrance

Stephen Styris

The seat of Assam’s culture, Majuli is a goldmine of heritage and traditions. We visitthe place to soak in some of yesteryears’ spirit & check out a few upcoming museums

TREASURE ISLAND

HOUSING HISTORY: 1. Auniati Satra museum; 2. Artist Hem Chandra Goswami atthe museum site of Notun Chamaguri Satra; 3. Dakhinpat Satra repository; 4. Garamur Satra museum; 5. The abandoned project at Natun Kamalabari Satra.

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Photos: Purba Kalita