DHUBRI, Sept 20 - Around 100 devotees crossed the Indo-Bangla border near Satrasal area of Dhubri district, on the occasion of Mahapurush Srimanta Sankaradeva�s 570th birth anniversary, singing naams from the Kirtan Ghosha to visit the famous Ou (elephant apple) tree, where the Vaishnavaite saint had tied his boat during his visit to the area.
Legend has it that this tree that marks the visit of the Mahapurush to Dhubri in the mid-15th century was once located by the banks of the Sonkosh river. When the saint visited this place, he tied his boat to this particular tree. With time, the river dried up, but the tree still stands tall in no man�s land between India and Bangladesh.
The tree is located almost 200 metres from the Indian side of the border, and is around 500 metres south of the famous Ramrai Kuthi Satra, where the wedding ceremony of Koch general Bir Chilarai with Ai Bhubaneswari, the daughter of Ram Rai, was solemnised.
On the occasion of the birth anniversary of Sankaradeva, the border gates were opened by the Border Security Force (BSF) and personnel escorted the devotees to the Ou tree. The devotees stayed there for almost half an hour and prayed.
Meanwhile, committee members of the Satra said the four-day celebrations that started on Tuesday will include naams, kirtans and other performances. A Bhagavad Sobha Jatra will be taken out through the Satrasal area and devotees will again visit the Ou tree.
Nikhil Chandra Sarkar, assistant secretary of the Satra, said the tree was very special for the Vaishnavite culture as it marks the coming of the saint to this area. �On the birth anniversary of the Mahapurush as well as saint Madhabdev, the border gates are opened for devotes to visit the tree,� he said.
