The Masks of Majuli

In Majuli, the island on the Brahmaputra, it struck me that not every mask hides a smile, some reveal secrets. I read this somewhere on the way to this island, perhaps on the ferry from Jorhat which I took a few years back.

Mask making is a major trade in Majuli. It might have been started by the Vaishnava Satra when they came to this island, as a way to not just provide economic opportunities to the locals, but also to instill values in them. These masks were used for the plays and dramas staged in the Satras, based on the Puranas and Itihasas. The Satras are not just religious institutions, but also serve as centers of cultural and artistic expression, well supported by the masks and their makers.

At the same time, Majuli is also inhabited by the Mising and other tribes of Assam, which practice paddy cultivation, pottery and rice beer fermentation. The mix of masks and their makers, the Vaishnava Satra and the local tribals, all living together in the environs of the mighty Brahmaputra makes Majuli some kind of mystery island for certain.

It is this intrigue that it triggered in my mind, and gave rise to the question – is there something that the masks of Majuli conceal? What do the masks hide? What would happen if these masks held a story about humans that we tourists didn’t see?

That gave rise to ‘The Mask’ – the opening story of my book ‘A Bend in the Road.’

What is it that our masks hide?

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