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Screening of documentary on Mayong

Utpal Borpujari's documentary "Mayong: Myth/Reality" will have a special screening at the main auditorium of the India International Centre, Lodi Road, New Delhi, at 6:30 pm on March 11.

Synopsis

On July 15, 2011, the day Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 got released in India, we carried out an informal survey among about 200 young (and not so young) people in Guwahati, Assam, India, about whether they had heard about Mayong. Many had not heard about it, and most of those who had, did not know where it was located. Most of them knew everything about the fictional world of magic in Harry Potter, but were largely unaware that in Mayong, just 40 km off Guwahati, practice of magic – Tantra-Mantra as the locals call it – has been a way of life since ages. The irony is that most of those surveyed, like many locals, have travelled to Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, famed for its thick one-horned rhino population, more than once, without knowing that they have travelled through Mayong! This prompted us to explore Mayong visually – to explore whether all those myths about black magic in Mayong were just myths or otherwise, why despite its legendary status in Assamese folklore, the place remains largely unknown, and what locals think about their magical heritage. The result: a cinematic journey to a place believed to be the land of sorcerers!

Production Credits:

Director: Utpal Borpujari
Producer: Jayanta Goswami
Cinematographer: Biswajeet Changmai
Editor: Parveen Sharma
Music: Anurag Saikia
Narration: Robin Kalita

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