Expression of Experience

Bhuvan Pahar is the nearest and cheapest pilgrim spot for the people of Barak Valley, situated in the Nnorth-Eastern state of Assam. This place is famous for the Shiva temple situated at the top of this hill. Thousands of people from various parts of the state flock to Bhuvan Pahar during the 'Maha Shivratri' and 'Dol Purnima' to worship Lord Shiva. On the way to the Bhuban Situated almost 50 kms away from the heart of town Silchar, it is a very significant pilgrimage place of Assam. Car and bus services are available till the foot of the hill. Buses and cars can be availed from Silchar as per the requirement. Special buses are run during the festive season in the month of February and March. These transportation modes take you upto Motinagar, a small place at the foot of the hill. However, if one has private car, then they can take it upto Panichowki, a few kilometres up the hill. The road is broad and good till this point. From this place, the pilgrims can onl

'Ojha', the term usually means the name given to the profession of an exorcist. Ojha can also be a healer, or a teacher, such as of a religious dance. But, Ojha dance is totally a different idea. It is a religious dance form performed mainly in the Barak valley of North-Eastern state of Assam. Ojha dance is performed by a single male performer. He wears a long skirt and a kurta. He performs taking a 'chamar' (a broom kind of thing) in his hands. Now, ladies also perform. This dance form is usually performed at the time of 'Bishari' ( a goddess) puja mainly in the fourth Bengali month 'Shravan' (July-August) in Panchami tithi. The dancer also recites mythological story related to ' Behula ', 'Lakhindar' and ' Chand saudaga r', a trader. The story goes like this. Chand saudagar', the trader was a great devotee of Lord Shiva and a respected person. The goddess 'Bishari' wants  Chand to worship her so that al

Dhamail is a popular folk dance of Barak Valley, which has its origin in Sylhet district of Bangladesh. Radha Raman Dutta (born 1833, died 1915), also known as Radha Romon, Bhaibe Radha Romon or Radha Raman, was an influential Sylheti folk music composer and poet from the Sunamganj District in Sylhet, Bangladesh. He is considered as the father of dhamail folk dance and music. Now, this dance form is diminishing and losing its charm in the age of multimedia. But, it still survives in the three districts of Assam- Cachar , Karimganj and Hailakandi . Tripura, the neighbouring state of Assam also has some traces of this folk dance. Dhamail dance is usually performed by group of ladies. Ladies move rhythmically in circle clapping their hands to the beat of the music. The songs are first sung by the leader and then the other group members join the chorus. The ladies wear saree in a typical Bengali style while performing this dance form. The lyrics mainly relate to Shyam (Kr

It has been more than 25 years so I don't remember the exact date or time but I remember how it felt like....It was a mixed feeling. Whenever, I heard the name of school, I used to imagine a bunch of boys and girls being tortured by some evil adults known as teachers...However, I was also happy to see some new friends with whom I could play around...I was accompanied by my mama (maternal uncle). And, he had to sit there with me for one hour, which was a big time for me...My first day class was a looo.....ng one hour one with no studies at all...I just looked around and discovered new faces. Luckily, our teacher, my first teacher was very lovable and kind. He took me on his lap and made me comfortable....I don't remember what was taught or who else were sitting there with me but that started a new journey towards this new world, full of knowledge.... This first day gave me enough courage to face the little world of school and I was confident to be there next day without anyo

1st Day: 08-06-1995 After completing the morning chores and packing up our rucksacks, we started our trekking from Munshiary PWD bungalow at 7 AM. It was a steep downhill trail passing through cultivated fields on the slopes of the mountains. The small children greeted us with 'namaste' followed by 'toffies', which we distributed throughout our journey. We passed Dummargaon, a small hamlet with a Post Office and halted at Selapani after 7 kms to have something to eat. After a well-earned rest with tea and snacks we resumed our trek. The bus to Pithoragarh from Munshiary via Mudkot passes by the road at Selapani and we could have easily cut short our first day's trek by 7 kms by availing of the bus and starting our trek from Selapani. This could also have saved us from the injuries inflicted on our feet by the Hunter shoe on our steep descent from Munshiary to Selapani. The trail from Selapani was also downhill but with a lesser gradient. We passed thr

Life is unpredictable and no one can deny that! You never know what will come to your way the next moment. On a rainy morning, an elderly lady (Banerjee aunty) of our apartment knocked the door. I saw her standing with an old file in her hand. Then she handed over me the file asking if I could go through the contents of it. There were some dusty papers inside. There were some travel experiences of her late husband Mr Biswajit Banerjee, who was an enthusiastic traveller. She wanted to preserve the write-ups by publishing to a journal. I suggested why not preserve it digitally as journals are kept in the corner of a library after some time but if shared through blogs, hundreds of people can read it. I have never seen Mr Banerjee but heard lots of praises about him from his wife. Now, as it has been years, he passed away, no one is there to take proper care of his rich collection of books, magazines, journals and many write-ups. Being a travel enthusiast myself, I thought why not share