Gaurisagar

From Jorhat to Gaurisagar and back

It was a visit with a purpose, but not so important a purpose to drop my accumulated ever growing idea of collecting data. I started on a car from Jorhat with three of my kin.

It was 1 hour past a May noon. We were tense with sweat pouring down the face. But we had already decided to go.

Sivasagar is 56 km from Jorhat. Gaurisagar lies is in the outskirts of Sivasagar 10 km away from the main town. Gaurisagar is a sparsely populated low-lying area with the river Dikhow flowing right through it. It is not a place commonly visited by tourists. But there are things in Gaurisagar, our consuming & always exhausting natural brains would like to see and experience. It is the place where my forefathers lived and some surviving generations still manage to live in the harsh conditions. Gaurisagar may not be a king’s paradise but truly a naturalist’s heaven. And not to mention the food, for if you are lucky you can fill your belly till you cannot lift. Big jars of Curd, heaps of gourds, occasional big fishes, all kinds of rice, many tasty herbs and grains, mangoes and banana and many other fruits and vegetables make a list of the dreams. Hope someone visits the place for site-seeing only.

Let’s have an idea of the route that takes us to Gaurisagar. After crossing the eastern end of the By-pass of Jorhat town, as we go along the A. T. Road (NH-37), a long Assam type building with a veranda running from end to end in front of it comes to sight. This is one of our chief educational institutions and also an important academic centre. It was previously called the Science College. Now it has been renamed as “Jorhat Institute of Science & Technology”. The name of the area where the college is located is called “Satai”. The look of the college itself brings to mind a disciplined atmosphere filled with studious students. The next important place we pass through is Ladaigarh. Situated here are two of our sacred places which have great religious importance to the local people. First comes the Mainaparia Namghar and next the Dhekiakhowa Namghar. Both these places have great religious as well as historical importance. The very base of the culture of the local people rests on them. Next we pass through Sipahikhula and then Kakozan. Kakozan has a college. It is called the Kakojan College. It is easy to recognize the college as there is an extraordinarily big football field in front of it and a few shops which block its view from the main road. Kakojan is a tiny town.

The town we come through after Kakojan is Teok. There is the Teok public bus stand and the Teok police station by the side of the main road. Beyond Teok proper lies the Auniati Satra. It is one of the group of sacred places called Satras. The surrounding locality is called Kaliapani. Here is a little history about this religious place. Auniati satra was originally situated in Majuli. Due to erosion of the river island this holy place had to be partly shifted from Majuli to this place Kaliapani. After Kaliapani come Hahsara and Bhagamukh. Finally comes the Zazi nai. Crossing the bridge over this river means we have entered Sivasagar district. So far we had been in the Jorhat district. Going about 50 meters away from the bridge, there is a road diverting away from the main on the right side. This road leads to Amguri, Mukaksang and the Nagaland border. After we pass the Zazi high school and college we enter a part that is full of trees and lush green wet grasslands which is called Phulpanisiga. Next is Saring. Finally we reach Zakaishuk. There is the Zakaishuk School. At a point beyond it there is a weekly market place. It is the Bazar which opens every Monday giving it the name “sumboria hut”. If you are coming on Monday you would be lucky enough to find the market which is usually full of fresh eatables and colorful cloth items and the vendors are mad to empty their loads at a low price. But the sight of so many schools and colleges leads us to the conclusion that we have no lack of educational institutions in this part of the Northeast.

The road is now straight and rise up on the bridge over the Mitong River. It is when you see the tip of the first Dol. Dol is the name of the different old Ahom-time temples that exit in Sivasagar. They rise so steep and high that anyone anywhere in Sivasagar can see as many as 5 such similar cone architectures around him without taking a single step. Once you see a Dol you can be sure you are in the historical town.

The car’s engine being efficient we had spent not more than 2.5 liters of fuel. And it was an hour’s ride covering about 54 km of the occasional bumpy otherwise smooth road. And then we turned sharply around to go on a narrow lane. We did not see the river but we were actually following its course down towards its mouth at the Brahmaputra River. But we made a 90 degree turn more putting us on a road of mud and gravel. This road is lined on either side by a plant which is taken by the locals as food and which is known to have medicinal values. The road leads to our ancestral village Nakatani. As we move on the car rises up on the embankment onto a small open space where we parked the car. There are wild poisonous plants at the spot. As I looked around I could recognize a broad leafed plant growing vigorously as it was spring. It is the plant whose leaves if rubbed on the body can give terrible itching. It is locally known as “Suratpat”. The plant is as devilish as name suggests. So beware. It is a good thought not to spend time examining the plants. Once you raise your head you can see the ingenious human brain working, for there is a boat full of passengers being guided with the help of a rope from the opposite bank. The idea seems weird. But it is working. The man pulling the rope controls all movements of the boat due to flowing water, the wind and the friction of water to guide it straight to the other bank. The boat reached our bank and we walked onto it. It was like a rope way journey. On the other end we were greeted by my uncle who is also the owner of the boat. I had come here several times. I know about the trees and the fields of this place as much as my uncles do.

There are trees which bear seeds with a fur like coat. These are the “Simalu” trees. The fur is used to make the bed soft to lie on and previously cushions for sofas were also made out of it. Another plant which looks like a palm grows here. It has thorns like the teeth of a shark. It bears seeds also. The importance about this plant is that the core of its stem can be cooked into a very tasty dish. This plant is called “Bat”. It is used as cane to make chairs also. But the thing to worry about it is that it is next to impossible to uproot the plant. All good things are difficult to get.

Pasatia is the name of the plant we came across on the road leading to the bank. The young shoots of this plant are eaten. The dish prepared from it has a bitter taste yet it is nice to eat. The leaf of this plant is said give relief from pains. Far away from the bank lies a large natural pond. It is home to the famous bird called Kamsarai. It has a shining blue body and small wings that cannot carry it far. The pond has many fishes which are caught by the villagers regularly. Another bird which catches the eye is the Bortupula. It is a huge bird as big as a medium sized man. Yet it can fly high and far. The only drawback is that it feeds on dead and decayed things.

I have seen them all and wish to come to see them again. Our main purpose of the visit being fulfilled we returned before dusk. On earlier visits, we had feasted to our hearts content on our uncles’ farmland and ran about freely in the fields in the hot summer sun, aware that a big snake might be basking anywhere. Such visits give us strength to face the obstacles of life. These are really motivating trips. Our uncles have taught us to live independently; to endure nature as it is and never to lie down.

Note: - This is not a usual tour. Tourists can plan to swerve from their normal itinerary to visit Gaurisagar if they are helped by a local person. Such trips are relaxing and allow us to know the actual culture of a place. Village visits or Eco-tourism has always been missed out in the conventional package tours.