Interesting Facts/Traditions

Like all places in India, Assam has its own typical customs, traditions and characteristics.

The traditional Assamese dress for women is called “Chaadar-Mekhela” (pronounced Saa-dar Mekh-la). At first glance it looks exactly like a sari. But unlike a sari, it actually is in two parts. There is the Mekhela, which is an A-line straight ghaghra or skirt with pleats, and then the Chaader, which resembles a long dupatta is draped over the upper half looking like the pallu of a sari. On my last day in the village, the girls in my house made me do a photo-shoot in their finest traditional attire, trying out different types of drapes and decking me up with their jewellery, complete with flowers in the hair!

The Brahmaputra runs all through Assam, and influences villagers lives tremendously. In earlier times, this was used as the mode of long-distance transport. It is the only ‘male” river in India and goes with different names in different countries – the same river is known as Tsang-Po in Tibet and Padma in Bangladesh.

If you ever visit an Assamese home, they will always offer you is “tamul”. Tamul is the same fruit which in the dried version is known to most of us as “supari”. However, the fresh version, “tamul”, has very different effects. It is known to produce lot of heat in the body and can cause dizziness if one has never eaten it before. I was warned of this by Raman and diligently refused every time the villagers offered it to me (on second thoughts, perhaps I should have experimented once!). The little boy in my house, Kishore, was eating it once and I asked him when he started having tamul. “Jab se daant hai, tab se khaata hoon!”

The girls have a special tradition to follow in their adolescence. At the onset of the first menses, they have an event known as “Chhoti Shaadi” for the girl. Chandana, the eldest daughter of the house explained it as “Bilkul shaadi jaisa hota hai – bas dulha nahi hota!”. I don’t know if this practice is limited to rural areas alone. The girl has to perform puja and there is a banquet for all relatives later. All in all, it is quite a special day for the girl and she gets full attention. I looked at the pictures of Shivani’s Chhoti Shaadi – really seemed festive like a wedding. Without the pressure of in-laws, of course!

Assamese weddings are a bit different too, they go on for eight days. And the most peculiar thing of all that Raman told me – the bride and groom’s mother is not present at the main wedding ceremony! So there is an event held the day before the wedding, called "Zuroon", when the groom’s family gives gifts to the girl, where the mothers are present, and this is a very important ceremony too. The kin of the bride and groom MUST wear traditional Muga silk at the wedding events.

Similar to how many cultures present shawls as a mark of respect or as a memento at an event, the Assamese people present a “Gamusa”, which is a multi-purpose cloth used as towel or scarf. I have been given 3 by different people so far, in order to remember them.

Like most parts of India, the Assamese believe in taking tremendous care of their guests. All those that I have met, have been especially warm and really made an effort to make me feel comfortable. Probably why this experience here is one of the most enriching in my life J