The M.V. Mahabaahu offers a seven-day journey on the Brahmaputra. We decided to take it.
The Mahabaahu.
Evening hues on the Brahmaputra from the deck of the Mahabaahu.
Corridors of the Talatal Ghar and the Rang Ghar, or the sports pavilion. Both built by Ahom kings in the 18th century.
Near Silghat, we discover this jute mill. Along with agriculture, tea and silk, the manufacture of jute products provides livelihood in Assam. The workers worked without masks in a room full of jute dust and fibres.
The world’s largest river island, Majuli, is Assam’s cultural capital and is replete with monasteries, crafts and performing art schools. The monasteries have their own granaries and are self-sufficient in food.
Kaziranga is the home of the Indian rhino and their companions, the water birds! We spotted several migratory birds on a jeep safari.
MIshing is a tribal village of weavers and fisher folk. The live in houses on stilts, in readiness to vacate when the Brahmaputra overflows. Their staple food is steamed fish. Each house has a loom under the stilts, where Mekhalas and Chadors, the traditional Assamese dress, are woven.
Shiva Dol is the highest Shiva temple in the country near Sibsagar Lake, with a gold Shivling on its dome.
Sohaila Kapur is an actor, theatre director and playwright.