Majuli Island: world’s largest and most untouched river island

Majuli island is the largest river island in the world. It is a place where the sunsets remind of the ones of wild Africa, where every child goes to school by bicycle, where the lush green bamboo jungle meets the peaceful water of the Brahmaputra river, where dogs and calves play in the middle of quite streets, where the night sky looks brighter than daytime and where the air feels tropical. Life here is simple and peaceful, people live in beautifully constructed bamboo houses, have chickens and cows, work in the field until sunset and cook homegrown food with their extended family every night.

The landscape here changes so drastically during the monsoon season that most houses are built on tall wooden poles to avoid flooding from heavy rain and river overflowing.

A distinctive feature of the island is its satras. These are Hindu monasteries where lord Vishnu is exclusively worshipped. They serve as centres for unique Assamese arts like mask-masking (Samaguri), religious dances (Apsara), music and drama. They are also the home of Hindu monks who silently roam around the site wearing white ropes wrapped around their waist and legs. Like its people, Majuli satras are simple and welcoming, they don’t excel in details, they are peaceful, full of greenery, and imbued with spirituality.

People of Majuli island welcome us with exceptional warmth. We get invited to a wedding, only this one is particularly special, and very foreign to us. There is no groom, only a 14 year old bride and guests coming from her village and the surrounding ones. The so called “first wedding” is organised to celebrate the first menstruation of a girl, when she becomes “mature”. I wonder how the beautifully dressed 14 year old girl standing in the centre of the room is feeling about sharing this moment with 500 other people. I remember when I first got my period, my mum suggested to go out for dinner with the other women in the family, and I thought that was too much.

Another day we get invited for a tea by the mum of three girls we befriended during a bicycle ride around the island. It is a complex of houses surrounded by fields where a few sisters live with their respective families. They have fruit trees, like banana, papaya and grapes, they have four cows and a few chicken roaming the courtyard. They grow vegetables in the field next to the house and sell a part of it in the market. There is even a small pond used for fishing and to irrigate the fields. Most resources aren’t purchased by home-sourced, and all of them are shared among the families, as well as meals, judging by the size of the pans they cook in. The tea tastes amazing, we try to communicate but our Hindi is worse than their English so it’s mostly gestures and sounds, and lots of laughter.

There is no better way to explore the island than on a scooter and there is no time limit as to how long to stay here, as it is impossible to get bored of this island’s dreamy energy.