Masks kept at the Samaguri Xatra in Majuli. Telegraph picture

Jorhat, Sept. 14: Assamese literature, culture and history will culminate in the theme of Jorhat railway station’s Durga Puja this year.

Gitanjan Ganguly, joint secretary of the organising committee, said this year’s Puja would be a celebration of the life and works of Lakshminath Bezbaruah.

“One of his most famous books, Burhi Aai Hadu, has completed 100 years and is still very popular among children. This and other literary works of Bezbaruah has enriched Assamese literature for more than a century now and we would like to display all these,” Ganguly said.

Besides Bezbaruah, writings of other literary figures will also be showcased. Ganguly said a sanskritik mancha (cultural arena) would be constructed next to the main stage, where there would be short speeches and lectures as well as other activities for three days to promote Assamese culture.

“We are also hoping to involve the mask makers of Majuli. We are in contact with them and are trying to work out a schedule so that they, too, can participate,” he said.

The background of the sanskritik mancha will resemble Sivasagar’s famous Rang Ghar — the amphitheatre of the Ahom kings.

Ganguly further said the main mandap itself will be modelled on Kamakhya temple in Guwahati along with the gateway.

“Assam has diverse cultures and is replete with temples and other historical artefacts little known to the present generation. Once a replica comes up, questions come up regarding that particular structure and thus knowledge is disseminated and interest awakened. Durga Puja is the best time for such displays when people of all walks of life come to offer their prayers to the Goddess and take part in the general festivities,” said Suman Mazumdar, another joint secretary of the organising committee.

Last year, the Railway Station Puja Committee had showcased 150 years of Rabindranath Tagore. “While our mandaps are built by local people, the dhakis are brought from Alipurduar in West Bengal. For the last 11 years, the idols have been made at Bokajan,” Ganguly said.

The JPR Junction Durga Puja, on the other hand, will highlight the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda by creating a replica of Belur Math in West Bengal. Sandip Nandi, secretary of the organising committee, said very few people knew about Vivekananda, who put Hinduism on centrestage in the Western world in 1893.

“Belur Math is a magnificent edifice and we would like people here to know what it represents,” Nandi said.