An eerie silence envelopes Assam's Mayong village, well known for its
magic and sorcery, as one drives towards it from the nearby city of
Guwahati.
With a history that is bound to scare the daylights out of believers
and make others gape in wonder, the peaceful ambience somehow looks like
a cloak of mystery.
Situated near the Pobitora wildlife sanctuary, about 40 km from
Guwahati, Mayong has often been called India's magic capital. Astounding
tales of a man disappearing into thin air, or being turned into an
animal, or a fierce tiger being tamed and serious illnesses being cured
lie in the treasure trove of almost every family.
Today Mayong's fascinating stories are attracting tourists, prompting the government to develop this place as a tourist hotspot.
Lots of curious visitors come to the village to enquire if people still practise magic.
Nowadays, it's (magic, sorcery) not practised as much as before.
These are modern times. People don't believe in magic or spells as much
as they used to. Children go to school and shun these things as
superstitions
Legends - like those of Chura Bez who could disappear into thin air
just by muttering the 'Luki Mantra' and sedate an angry tiger with his
'Baagh Bandha Mantra' - anecdotal accounts and magical texts abound in
Mayong's esoteric history.
Septuagenarian Basanta Nath, a magic practioner of the village, is a strong believer in magic.
"People these days dismiss magic as superstition. But when you see
things for yourself, you believe. Nowadays, when people fall ill, they
generally prefer to go to the doctor instead of us. But there are still
people who come to us with their troubles," Nath said.
"People from far off states like Punjab, Haryana and West Bengal,
other than from Assam and the surrounding places, come to Mayong to
learn magic," he added.
Believer or not, courtesy its fascinating history, and also its
beautiful surroundings - Mayong sits in the lap of nature, near the
Brahmaputra, and has rich wildlife - the government is promoting it as a
tourist destination for its culture, flora and fauna, along with the
Pobitora wildlife sanctuary, which has a high concentration of the
one-horned rhino.