World's largest river island in Assam offers a memorable experience

Majuli, the largest freshwater river island in Assam is witnessing a stream of visitors as it offers a traditional living experience from where tourists return home with sweet memories. In 2005, a young Frenchman named Jim Chauvin came to visit Majuli. He was mighty impressed by the place and being an architect by profession, decided to build the best tourist accommodation on the island. He built a beautiful cottage with all the necessary amenities and named it  La Maison De Ananda, which means 'House of Happiness'. When Jim returned to his country, Manjit Risang and his family took over. Jim had built the cottage out of bamboo following the traditional Mishing architecture which is a hot favorite among the tourists. Manjit made seven more such cottages from bamboo, which grows in abundance in Assam and in the northeast region. The cottages have helped to meet the growing inflow of visitors. Gradually, Manjit who now owns the La Maison De Ananda, decided to extend his family kitchen with the tourists to give them an authentic taste of Mishing delicacies and a slice of the Mishing way of life. He began to serve authentic, mouth-watering delicacies of the Mishing tribe with the aromatic Mishing rice beer called apong. Traditional Mishing meal includes rice, vegetables, fish and meat. Rice is cooked in a leaf called tora pat which gives a distinct flavour to it, which is the essence of the food. Non vegetarian dishes like fish, chicken and pork are baked in banana leaf or cooked in bamboo pipes which is a traditional technique of cooking.   Manjit uses only traditional ingredients in his cooking. Care is taken to see that the ingredients are not diluted or adulterated as he wishes that all his customers should go back happy with good memories. His kitchen has also been constructed in a traditional way with an open fire place in the middle. Another specialty that has won many hearts is the mouth-watering apong, a home-brewed rice beer. There are two varieties of apong, one is poro, the sweet one which is very popular and sought after and the other is the sour one called nokjin. However, if the visitors wish to have beer, they must inform in advance as the beer takes a long time to brew. What makes Majuli an unforgettable experience is not just the food, but its culture. Since it is a river island, it does not support mass tourism. Manjit and his colleagues also explain to the guests about the food and culture. The guest appreciate this gesture and find it altogether a worthy experience. So next time, you can plan a holiday to this wonderful island of Majuli which is 300 km from Assam’s main town of Guwahati and can be accessed by  a ferry ride.