Showing posts with label Assam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Assam. Show all posts

Sunday 10 September 2017

An afternoon discovering Nagaon in Assam

Nagaon is a tiny sleepy town in Assam. I visited it some time back for work. I remember it because it gave me an opportunity to observe the traditional Assamese fishing in Kolong river.

Bhuyapatti bridge, Nagaon, Assam, India - Images by Sunil Deepak

The image above shows the Bhoyapatty footbridge on the Kolong river on a misty evening in Nagaon.

Nagaon town

The little town of Nagaon, 94 km to the north-east of Guwahati in Assam, is known as the birthplace of Shrimanta Shanker Dev, a sixteenth century social and religious reformer who had a profound impact on Assamese people and culture. Actually Shanker Dev was born in Bordowa, about 17 km from Nagaon.

Kolong river passes through the city centre of Nagaon, and is a tributary of Brahmaputra river.

Along Kolong river, Nagaon, Assam, India - Images by Sunil Deepak

Reaching Nagaon is easy. Apart from the state buses, there are numerous private jeeps and vans starting from Khanapara in Guwahati and going to Nagaon. A.T. road, an important artery of transport in Assam, coming from Guwahati, passes through Nagaon.

I was in Nagaon for some work for just one day.

A Walk Along Kalong River

When I reached Nagaon, it was late afternoon. I found a hotel off the state highway 18, near the city bus stand. It was close to a footbridge on Kolong river, which went towards the Nowgaon Law College.

Online search about places to see in Nagaon did not provide any information. All the places to visit were outside the city, in the district or in the nearby areas - such as Kaziranga wildlife sanctuary, Laokhowa wildlife sanctuary, Chapanalla pond, Bordowa (birth place of Srimanta Shanker Dev) and Madhabthan (birthplace of Madhab Dev, a follower of Shrimanta Shanker Dev).

My work appointment was for the next day morning and I was free that afternoon. However, I was tired from the journey, and did not want to do anything tiring. Thus, I decided to take a slow walk along the Kolong river and discover a part of Nagaon town.

Close to the river there was a Naamghar, a Vaishnav praying place for the followers of Shrimanta Shanker Dev. Inside there were no statues. Instead the people prayed in front of the sacred book, Bhagwat Puran, which tells the story of Krishna. The book was kept in the centre of the temple, at the top of a pyramid like structure and lamps were lighted in front of it.

Naamghar near Kolong river, Nagaon, Assam, India - Images by Sunil Deepak

Dheki-Jal Traditional Fishing Nets

After visiting the Naamghar, I got on the footbridge over the river. From there I saw a man fixing a fishing net in the river. Such fishing nets, placed in rivers, lakes and ponds are a common sight in Assam. It was the first time I was seeing someone actually making the whole structure, so I walked along the river bank to look at it from close.

Fixing the net looked complicated. There were about a dozen bamboo poles that had to be arranged in such a way to create a cantilever mechanism in which two bamboo poles were tied at one end, while their other ends diverged to create a wide arc. These two poles were linked to a whole system of supporting bamboo poles, so that putting a weight at the tied end of the cantilever bamboos, raised up the divergent end, while removing the weight, brought down the divergent end to just below the water surface.

Traditional Dheki jal fishing net in Kolong river, Nagaon, Assam, India - Images by Sunil Deepak

After fixing the poles, the fisherman fixed the fishing net to the diverging part of the bamboos and then lowered the net in the water. He was clearly an expert at making this fishing net, deftly balancing the poles into position and then fixing them without any help. The whole thing took him almost two hours of work.

Traditional Dheki jal fishing net in Kolong river, Nagaon, Assam, India - Images by Sunil Deepak

He told me that that he had been doing this kind of fishing ever since he was 14 years old. He also explained that this was called the Dheki jal.

I have seen similar cantilever nets in the sea in Kochi (Kerala), where they are called the Chinese nets. The principle for making them seems to be same, though they remain fixed in one place while the net made by this fisherman was temporary. Every few days, he moved to another place, leaving the river and the fishes to regenerate.

I was really happy that I could witness the setting up of the traditional Dheki-jal. By the time, he had finished, it was already evening. I walked back to the footbridge and resumed my walk. Below me, I could see the fisherman's boat gently bobbling on the Kolong waters.

Traditional Dheki jal fishing net in Kolong river, Nagaon, Assam, India - Images by Sunil Deepak

Back to the walk along Kolong river

After crossing the footbridge to the northern bank of Kolong, I continued my walk along it till the Bhoyapatti footbridge and then went back to the southern bank of the river. Close to the river was a Hanuman temple with a "chimaeras" or a Bahurupi statue of Hanuman, where a priest was conducting an evening prayer (Aarti).

Chimaeras statue of Hanuman, Nagaon, Assam, India - Images by Sunil Deepak

Chimaeras is a mythical animal composed of different parts of animals and birds. One of the earliest examples of chimaeras in India is on an Indus Valley seal. One of my Italian friends who has been involved in excavations of some Indus Valley sites, uses the term "chimaeras" for Navagunjara-rupa of Krishna in Bhagwat Gita. I thought that showing Hanuman with different faces has the same concept and that is why I am calling it "chimaeras" statue of Hanuman.

Close to the Hanuman temple was the state bus stand of Nagaon. Passing through the bus station, I found myself at a Sai Baba temple at a street corner. Here too, an aarti was being conducted. However compared to the Hanuman temple, which was almost deserted, the tiny Sai Baba temple was packed with devotees.

Sai Baba temple, Nagaon, Assam, India - Images by Sunil Deepak

From the Sai Baba temple, I walked back to my hotel.

Shrimanta Shanker Dev Mission

Next day morning, I took an auto-rickshaw for Panigaon chariali on the AT road to visit the Shrimanta Shanker Dev Mission. With an eye hospital, a hostel for blind children, a disability centre for the distribution of technical appliances, a leprosy centre, an anganwadi training centre and many more activities, the Mission was a very active place.

Shrimanta Shanker Dev Mission, Nagaon, Assam, India - Images by Sunil Deepak

After discussions with the persons looking after the disability centre of the Mission, it was time for me to leave Nagaon.

Conclusions

Most persons just pass through Nagaon. Probably the only persons who stop are those who have families here or those who have some work.

It was a short visit and for me, the most memorable part of it was the time spent near the river to see the construction of the traditional Dheki Jal.

A Bihu straw sculpture, Nagaon, Assam, India - Images by Sunil Deepak

Let me conclude this post with an image of a giant sculpture of a bird made from straw in a field near Nagaon. Such straw sculptures are built as part of the celebrations of Bihu, a traditional Assamese festival.

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Tuesday 14 March 2017

Dancing in Assam

Assam in the north-east of India has a rich tradition of dance, music and theatre. This photo-essay presents some of the classical and folk traditions of Assam.


People of Assam 

Assamese people are a mixture of different races and ethnicities. Over the centuries, people from central and north India, from the Tibetan plateau, from the neighbouring areas of China, Myanmar and Bangladesh, have all contributed to Assamese people and cultures.

Ahoms, who came from the neighbouring Myanmar in the 12th century and ruled Assam for almost eight hundred years, have been a strong influence. Neighbouring Bengal and Odisha, have also been an important influence.

Assam also has different indigenous groups such as Bodo, Mising, Deori, Rabha, Tiwa, Lalung, Khamti, Sonowal, Karbi, Naga, Dimasa and Singpo. It also has tribes from central India who were brought to Assam by the British during the past hundred and fifty years to work in the tea gardens (tea tribes).


All these different groups of people bring their cultures to Assam and thus contribute to the richness of the Assamese dance, music and theatre traditions.

Traditional Dance, Music and Theatre

Traditional performing arts of Assam are of two kinds - folk traditions and classical traditions.

Folk traditions are based in rural communities and are orally transmitted between the generations. Only over the past decades, written materials about some folk traditions have been developed.


Folk theatre can be on different themes - religious, satires related to daily lives, romantic stories and historical figures. Assam has different folk theatre traditions focusing on religious themes such as Ojapali, Kamrupia Dhulia, Putula Nach, etc. Another area of religious folk theatre is Jatra, which also has many variations in Assam such as Manai Jatra and Bhasan Jatra. Finally, there are dramatic theatre traditions that can be religious or non-religious, such as Paseti and Mothoni.

Classical traditions of Assam are strongly influenced by the Vaishnavaite teachings of Shrimanta Shankar Dev and his disciple Madhabdev in the 16th -17th centuries. Religious centres called Sattra established by the followers of Shankar Dev have developed cultural traditions. These revolve around the texts of Padma Purana and other Hindu scriptures. Classical traditions are governed by codified norms. These include Bhaona theatre, Gayan-Bayan singing traditions and Sattriya dance.

Traditional dances and theatre are accompanied by different musical instruments such as cymbals (Kartal, Khutital, Bhortal), anklets, drums (Joidhol, Deodhol, Nagara, Bordhol, Mridanga, Khol), flutes (Kali, Benu, Bonsi) and cord-instruments (Lautukari, Benu, Aktara).

During 20th century, Bhupen Hazarika, a multi-faceted Assamese artist with interests in folk music, dance and theatre, has been a significant influence in Assam, leading to a renaissance of the traditional art forms.

Classical Music, Dance and Theatre of Assam

Majuli island in Brahmaputra, not far from Jorhat, has the most important Sattra that carry forward the legacy of Shrimanta Shankar Dev.

The image below presents a scene from Ramayana from a Bhaona performance of a group from Majuli, showing princess Sita. All the female roles in Bhaona are usually played by men.


Popular folk theatre also uses masks in performances. The next image has a Krishna Putula for a theatre performance, created by master craftsman Debkanta Mahanta.


The next image presents Gayan-Bayan, the singing and story-telling tradition from a sattra in Majuli. These are sung by male monks from the Sattra and are accompanied by percussion drums (dhol) and medium size cymbals. During the singing there are also dancing movements using the drums.


The third image presents a Sattriya dance performance by Ms Shrutimala Medhi of Guwahati. Often the Sattriya dance is used to tell a story about Krishna and are like one-act plays (Ankiya Nat). However, the dance can also be abstract. The movements of hands (mudra) and feet (pada), as well as the different body postures must follow the codified dance norms.


The next image has a group of Cymbal dancers, a kind of Sattriya dance, where the dancers use medium size cymbals during their dance.


Traditional Dance and Theatre linked with Bihu

Bihu festivals linked with agricultural life are the most popular cultural events of Assam. There are three Bihu festivals – Rongali Bihu, Kongali Bihu and Bhogali Bihu. Bihu folk dance is the most popular dance of Assam.

During this dance, men are responsible for singing, music and dance. The music instruments used in the dance include cymbols, dhols (drums) and pepa. The men wear dhoti and gamocha. The women wear mekhla-chador dresses and one of their characteristic dance movement is that of bending slightly forward with hands on their backs, as shown in the next image.


Folk Music, Dance and Theatre of Assam

The first image has boys in the traditional dress of Dimasa (children of the river) tribe who are part of Kachari people. Their mythological stories are about Bangla raja (earthquake god) and a divine bird called Arikhidima.


This group was from Dima Hasao (sometimes called Hsiao) district of Assam. Their drum is called Khram.

The next image has dancing young women from the Mising (also called Mishing) tribe. This is one of the bigger tribes of Assam, spread over different districts. This dance is called Lotta Sohman and is accompanied by folk songs called Oi Nitom.


Karbi tribe is one of the larger groups of persons in Assam. This tribe lives in the hills across different districts. The next image has a martial dance called Chong Kedam performed by the men and women of Karbi tribe who carry swords and shields.


It is said that the Karbi tribe is originally from China and this dance is about their southwards journey when they came to Assam. During the dance, the male dancers show vigorous exercises.

The next image is also about the Karbi tribe and shows the young men in the Nemso Kerung dance. This dance is part of Chomonkan ceremony related to a funeral of elderly persons in the family.


Assam is also home to some Naga tribes. Next image has a group of Naga dancers from the Karbi Anglong district. Naga dresses have a dominance of black and red colours.


Assam has a significant number of Muslims and traditional Axamia Muslim communities are culturally integrated in mainstream. Zikra is the specific traditional music form linked with the Axamia Muslims, shown in the next image.


The Next image is about the Popular Theatre of Assam – from the play Sati Bahula directed by Lakhendra Gunnakar Goswami.


Assam shares the tradition of wandering singing mistrals called Bauls with neighbouring Bengal. Bauls are often travellers who carry their songs of devotion to the rural areas. Though close to Hindu ascetics, they also include persons from the Muslim Sufi tradition. The last image of this post has a woman Baul singer during the Ambubashi festival at Kamakhaya temple in Guwahati.


Conclusions

This is just a brief glimpse into the rich traditional dance, theatre and music heritage of Assam in the north-east of India. I lived for about a year and half in Guwahati, the capital of Assam, during 2015-16. This was a great opportunity to know and appreciate some of those traditions.

References: Folk Theatre of Assam, by Gitali Saikia & Sanjib Luchan Tamuli, Jansanyog, Directorate of Information and Public Relations, Assam, India

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Thursday 16 February 2017

Assam Tea, Bruce Brothers & Maniram Dewan

A Scotsman, Robert Bruce is credited with the “discovery” of tea in Assam in India. I think that it is anachronistic that 70 years after the end of colonial rule in India, we still continue to use the colonists’ ideas about discovering the world, so that if something was not “discovered” by the west, it did not exist.

And if we want to credit Robert Bruce for having “discovered” the tea in Assam, why do we forget the name of the person, Maniram Dewan, who had made it possible for him to make the discovery? (Image below: Statue of Maniram Dewan at the Freedom Fighters Memorial, Guwahati, Assam)


This is the story of two brothers from Scotland and an Indian. The names of the Scottish brothers are known for the discovery of tea while the Indian is known as a freedom fighter. I think that there were more links between them than is commonly believed. This post explores these ideas.

Discovery of the tea in Assam

It is said that in 1823, a 17 years old boy Maniram Dutta Baruah helped Robert Bruce to find the tea bushes in Assam. He took Robert to meet the chief of Singpho tribal village, who collected wild tea in upper Assam. Unfortunately, Robert died in 1824. The further “discovery” and development of Assamese tea is credited to his younger brother, Charles Alexander Bruce.

History books do not tell, how and where did Robert Bruce come in contact with Maniram and what was the relationship between them. However, later the same Maniram became an important figure in the freedom struggle of India in Assam.

Historical Background

In late 1500, Venetian merchants introduced tea from China to Europe. By 1610, Portuguese and Dutch traders were bringing Chinese tea to Europe. Tea drinking became popular in Britain in 17th century, especially after King Charles II married Catherine of Breganza from Portugal, who liked to drink tea. Import of tea from China increased and became costly.

In the 18th century, East India Company (EIC) started selling opium to China and by 1773, it was their leading supplier. By starting Opium cultivation in India and using this opium to pay for the Chinese tea, the profits of EIC increased.

In the 18th century, the British had started looking for alternate places for growing tea in their colonies. For example, Sir Joseph Banks, the President of the Royal Society in London, in a letter dated 27 December 1788 to the deputy chairman of East India Company explained that Bihar, Rangpur (in Assam) and Cooch Bihar (in W. Bengal) could be suitable for tea growing in India. He suggested to EIC to “convince” the Chinese tea growers to bring tea plants and start tea plantations in India.

In 1833, the Chinese agreement with EIC about the supply of tea in exchange of opium ended. China informed EIC that they did not want to import opium as it was hurting the health of their population. The British troops with Indian soldiers attacked China, forcing them to continue to accept opium. Well known author Amitav Ghosh in his wonderful trilogy of books starting with the “Sea of Poppies” has explored this issue in some detail.

In the same year, 1833, Lord Bentick of EIC constituted the Tea Committee in Calcutta and charged it with the task of growing of tea in India.

Tea traditions in Asia and Pre-British India

Tea drinking has a long tradition in China. From China it spread to neighbouring countries. Ancient records show tea drinking in Korea in the 6th century and in Japan in the 9th century CE.

Tribal communities in contiguous geographical areas of India, China and Myanmar had known tea shrubs for hundreds of years.

The Singpho tribe which had helped Robert Bruce to find tea shrubs in Assam, is spread over neighbouring areas of Myanmar and China. They are called Jingpo in Myanmar and Xunchu in south-west China (especially Yunnan). They call themselves Jinghpaw Wunpawung. They are most numerous in Myanmar in the geographical area of Kachin (and are also known as Kachin), with significant groups in south-west China and some groups in north-east of India (in Arunachal Pradesh and Upper Assam).

The main species of the tea shrub in China is Camellia sinensis while the tea shrubs found in Assam were of its sub-species, Camellia assamica.

The Bruce Brothers and the Discovery of Tea in Assam

Robert and Charles Alexander Bruce were born in Edinburgh, Robert in 1789 and Charles, 4 years later in 1793.

Life of Robert Bruce: In 1807, 18 years old Robert graduated as an army cadet. Soon, he was part of the EIC army. It is not very clear when exactly did he reach India. For a few years, he was in the Maratha regiment and later in Bengal Artillery, for which he received a pension from EIC.

In 1814, the 25 years old Robert was living in Bengal, where he supported one Mr Brajnath’s claim to be the king of Cooch Bihar. Both Brajnath and Robert were arrested by David Scott, agent of EIC Governor General in Assam, but Robert was given a bail.

In 1817, Burmese forces occupied Upper Assam, however this did not stop the fights between different Assamese kings. In 1820 Robert had joined the army of Purandar Singha, in Rangpur (part of present day Sibsagar in Assam), in his fight with Chandrakant Singha for the Ahom throne of Upper Assam. In 1821, Robert was captured by Chandrakant, who asked him to become part of his army. Thus Robert changed sides and became a fighter for Chandrakant Singha.

By this time, he was also the owner of a factory (probably, an opium factory) at Jogigopho near Goalpara (Assam) and he had maintained contacts with EIC.

In 1823, 17 years old Maniram took Robert to meet the chief of Singpo clan village called Bessa Gaum and showed him the local tea shrubs. Robert knew that the British were looking for indigenous tea plants for growing tea in Assam. However, before he could do anything with his new found knowledge, he died in early 1824 at the age of 35 years.

Life of Charles Bruce: Robert’s younger brother, 16 years old Charles Alexander Bruce, had left Britain in 1809 on a ship as a midshipman. In the following years, he was involved in the Napoleonic wars between Britain and France in the Mediterranean Sea. He was captured by the French navy and kept as a prisoner in Mauritius. He was freed when the British took over Mauritius. He also took part in the EIC war in Java (Indonesia).

We don’t know when exactly did Charles arrive in India but in 1824, when his brother Robert died, he was living in Assam. After his brother’s death, he sent the Singpo tea shrubs to the Botanical Garden in Calcutta.

In 1824, EIC decided to launch a war against the Burmese in Upper Assam (first Anglo-Burmese war). Charles was part of this war, responsible for a gun boat. In 1825, British were able to defeat and send back the Burmese. After the war, Charles became the Gun Boat commander at the British outpost in Sadiya to the north of Dibrugarh.

The role of Nathaniel Wallich: Meanwhile there was no news from Calcutta about the tea shrubs Charles had sent there. Nathaniel Wallich, the director of Royal Botanical Gardens in Calcutta travelled to western parts of India in 1825 and to Assam and Burma in 1826-27, coming back with thousands of specimens of plants. In 1828, he went to London with 8,000 samples of plants. Four years later, in 1832, he came back from London and informed Charles that the tea shrubs samples from Assam sent in 1824 were not the real tea plants.

In 1833, when the tea treaty with China expired, a Tea Committee was formed in Calcutta, with G. J. Gordon as its secretary. Nathaniel Wallich was also a member of the committee. Gordon was sent to China to procure the tea plants and expertise for growing tea in India. In the meantime, Gordon’s assistant, Mr Charleston sent more samples of Assamese tea shrubs to the Horticultural society, which confirmed that these were real tea plants. Gordan was called back from China while Charleston was given a gold medal for the discovery of the Assamese tea plants.

Charles' efforts to show his tea-growing expertise: Charles Bruce was based in Sadiya, and he had continued to study the tea plants of the Singpo. His expertise was recognised by the EIC Tea Committee and in 1835, he was given the tea seeds brought from China and asked to grow them. However, the results of growing Chinese tea seeds were disappointing. In 1836 Charles took the Singpo tea plants and started a cultivation in Sadiya, samples of which were liked by the tea committee in Calcutta. In 1837, Charles sent his tea to London where they reached in 1838 and were auctioned with great success in 1839. Finally Charles and his Assam tea became famous.

In 1839, Wallich and Charleston had to agree that the original plants collected by Robert and sent by Charles were the real tea plants and thus finally Bruce brothers’ contribution to “discovery” of tea was recognised by EIC.

In 1839, Wallich accompanied by other botanists visited Upper Assam including Sadiya. Following this visit, Charles was appointed as the Superintendent of Tea Culture in Assam. In 1840, he became the superintendent of northern region of the newly created Assam Tea Company.

In his new role as the tea expert, Charles made different suggestions to the EIC. For example, in his report to the Tea Committee dated 10 June 1839, he suggested to them to involve Indians in running the tea plantations and to bring labour for the tea plantations from other parts of India. He was against the production of opium in Assam and recommended to levy taxes on opium import because opium caused misery and opium addicts were not fit to work in the plantations.

His suggestions were not accepted by EIC. In 1845, Charles Bruce was discharged from Assam Tea Company and he retired to Tezpur where he died in 1871. His wife Elisabeth, continued to live in Tezpur and died in 1885. Both Charles and Elisabeth were buried in the old cemetery of Tezpur.

Dewan Maniram Dutta Baruah

Maniram was born in 1806, his family was employed by Ahom kings in Rangpur. In 1817 when the Burmese occupied Rangpur, Maniram was 11 years old. His family left Rangpur and took refuge in Bengal.

In 1823, 17 year old Maniram accompanied Robert Bruce to Bassa Gaum village of Singpo tribe along the Burhi Dehina river (today it is called Dihing river and is north of Sivasagar town). At that time, Bruce was part of the Chandrakant Singha army.

Initially, in 1825 the British were reluctant to administer the vacuum left behind by the departing Burmese in Rangpur. Wars between the rival factions of Purandar Singha and Chandrakant Singha continued for some years. However, Assam was divided by EIC into two Zilla (districts) – Senior and Junior Khunds. In 1828, Maniram was appointed by David Scott of EIC as the Tehsildar and Shrishtidar of Junior Khund (Upper Assam). He was based in Rangpur, the site of Ahom kingdom.

Due to the wars Maniram was not able to exercise his role of Tehsildar properly and revenue collection for the EIC was not satisfactory. Therefore, at the beginning of 1832, finally Purandar Singha was nominated to be the ruler of Upper Assam and was asked to pay an annual tribute of one hundred thousand rupees to EIC. Maniram became his Borbhandar (Prime Minister).

However, Puruandar Singha did not pay the annual tribute to EIC. In 1838, EIC decided that they needed to control Assam if it was going to produce tea for Britain. Thus they instituted an enquiry. The British claimed that “tribute was not paid because of general system of corruption encouraged by Purudar Singha”. They also claimed that his subjects were oppressed and misgoverned. Thus in 1838, the British deposed Purunder Singha and exiled him out of Assam on a small pension. Upper Assam was then annexed by proclamation. Thus the entire Brahamaputra valley from Cachar in the south Assam to Sadiya in the North came under British control.

In 1839, Maniram was nominated the Dewan of Assam Tea Company (ATC) under Charles Bruce and placed at a tea plantation in Nazira, to the east and south of Rangpur. It is said that he was not fluent in English. However he wrote in Assamese - he had written about history of Assam (Buranji Viveka Ratna). English translations of his writings on the art of gold-washing in the rivers of Assam and on the cultivation of Assam silk were also published.

In 1839 a group of Indian entrepreneurs including Radhakanta Deb, Dwarkanath Tagore and Prasanna Kumar Tagore created the Bengal Tea Association and proposed to take over the Government tea plantations. Later this was merged in the British dominated Assam Tea Company.

In 1841, a letter by an ATC official William Princep praised the work of Maniram. In 1842, the chairman of ATC praised Maniram for having opened new tea gardens and for having increased the income of the company.

In 1845, when Charles was removed from ATC, Maniram also resigned and started his own tea plantations, first at Cinnamara near Jorhat (on the road from Jorhat to Mariani) and then in Singlo near Rangpur. While British plantation owners received concessions from EIC for receiving land, Maniram started his plantations without any EIC support. However, the British planters did not like it and in 1851 his plantations were taken over by the East India Company. (Image below: An abandoned hospital at a tea garden in Cinnamara near Jorhat)


In 1852, Maniram presented a petition to the Sadar Court in Calcutta, where he argued for bringing back the Ahom kingdom by giving back Upper Assam to the descendants of Purundar Singha. He also asked the British to reduce the taxation and to stop the opium cultivation. His petition was rejected by the court.

He joined the son and grandson of Purundar Singha in a bid to install them at the Rangpur throne. On 6th May 1857 he presented another petition asking for reinstatement of the descendants of Purundar Singha as the legitimate heirs of the Ahom kingdom. Four days later, on 10 May 1857, the revolt against the British rule broke out in different parts of India. Maniram made contacts with other Indians fighting against the British and participated in making plans for an attack against the British in upper Assam. However, these plans were not successful.

Maniram was caught by the British at the end of August 1857 and hanged in Jorhat on 26 February 1858. (Image below: Freedom memorial in Jorhat depicting tea planters and the freedom struggle)


Relationship between the Bruce Brothers and Maniram Dewan

Robert Bruce was a mercenary fighting for Ahom kings while Maniram’s family worked for the same kings. Probably that was where they had met and that is why in 1823, Maniram had accompanied Robert to the Bessa Gaum to meet the Singpo chief.

After Robert’s death, while Charles went to Sadiya, he had continued to visit the tea shrub areas. In 1828, the 22 year old Maniram was made the Tehsildar of Rangpur. This must have provided them opportunities for meeting regularly. In 1839, both Charles and Maniram held important roles in ATC and worked closely. In 1845, Charles was removed from his post, soon after Maniram resigned.

The recommendations of Charles Bruce to the EIC in 1839 and the petition presented by Maniram to the Sadar Court in Calcutta in 1852, were very similar. Both touched on similar issues and used similar language.

Even though there are no documents about any links between Charles and Maniram, I think that there was a close relationship between the two. Perhaps, Charles had advised or inspired Maniram to start his own tea plantations. Descendants of Dewan Maniram Dutta Baruah, who have access to his papers and family stories can confirm if they have more information on this issue.

Conclusions

It sounds a bit funny to me to read that tea was discovered by Robert Bruce. I think that the term “discovery” should relate to new knowledge. In this case, the knowledge about tea plants was known to persons like Maniram who had taken Robert to the Singpo village. The Singpo tribals had known the tea plants for many centuries.

Instead of saying that the Bruce brothers discovered tea in India, it would be more appropriate to say that Bruce brothers and East India company played a key role in setting up of tea plantations in Assam and in the commercialization of tea.

History books mention only the name of the Bruce brothers while the role of Maniram is limited only to as someone who had accompanied Robert Bruce for his first meeting. In reality, the role played by Maniram was much bigger.

The spread of tea plantations in Assam and West Bengal also had a negative aspect, about which so little is known - millions of indentured labourers, who were told lies and brought to work in dismal conditions in the tea gardens from other parts of India. This exploitation lasted almost a century.

Unfortunately, even Independent India did not stop this exploitation of tea garden workers and even today, the conditions of many of the them continue to be very dismal. But then, that is a completely different story. (Image below: Tea garden workers doing maintenance work in a tea garden near Tezpur)


Note: Though I consulted a large number of documents to piece together the different parts of this story, I would specifically like to acknowledge the following: An account of the manufacture of the black tea as now practiced in Suddeya in Upper Assam, by C. A. Bruce, Calcutta, 1838; Tea in Assam and the Bruce brothers, by Derek Perry; Impact of Bengal Renaissance on Assam 1825-1875, by Amalendu Guha.

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Saturday 8 October 2016

Guwahati Walking Tour – Riverside Temples of Uzanbazar

Uzanbazar is an important social, cultural and historical area of Guwahati, spread around the Dighalipukhuri pond. This second part of the Uzanbazar walking tour will take you to the different places on the northern side of Dighalipukhuri, the part towards the Brahmaputra river. You can also look at the first part of this tour focusing on the southern side of Dighalipukhuri.

The image below shows the Brahmaputra river seen from Kachari ghat in this part of Uzanbazar. The swirling water of the swollen river and the monsoon clouds painted in broad brush-strokes by the nature, make it a fascinating place. I remember sitting there and passing hours looking at the passing boats and people.

Brahmaputra at Kachari ghat in monsoon

This walking tour will start from the west at the Northbrook gate and cover three important temples – Shukreshwar, Umananda and Ugratara, as well as some other buildings such as the high court, planetarium and the cricket club.

NORTHBROOK GATE

Northbrook gate was built in 1874 to welcome the British Governor General of India Lord Northbrook, whose ship was anchored here. He had come here to announce that Assam province will have its own high commissioner. After 1850, as the British import of tea from China had declined, Assam had become important to the empire for its tea gardens. After his visit, for 40 days “Gowhatti” had become the capital of British Assam, before the capital was shifted to the cooler hills of Shillong. At that time the city population was only 11,000.

British called this gate the Gateway to Assam. It is located on M. G. road, where the road leaves the Brahmaputra river and turns inwards.

Northbrook gate, Guwahati, Assam, India

It is a simple gate made of 12 arches, 5 in front, 5 at the back and 2 on the sides. In 1897, there was a big earthquake in Assam with widespread damages in Guwahati. Northbrook gate was one of the few buildings that had survived this earthquake.

In 1919, poet Robindranath Tagore had rested here before going to nearby Jublee park for a public meeting. In 1949, the urn containing the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi was placed here before their dispersion in Brahmaputra river.

From Shukreshwar ghat near the Northbrook gate you can hire private boats for visting the Umananada temple and island in the middle of the river. However, if you do not want a private boat but want to use the public ferry for this visit, you need to walk to Kachari ghat (explained below).

Beginnings of modern Guwahati: The lower half of Assam came under the British rule in 1826. British author William Robinson in his 1841 book "A descriptive account of Assam", explained that at that time the city covered an area of about two and half miles on the south bank of the river. He wrote that this area had one of the old chowkis for controlling entry into the city – the Lattasil chowki or Pani Chowki. At that time, the ruins of some of the old gateways to the city were still visible, though the city had lost its ancient importance and its numerous spacious tanks were choked up with weeds and jungle.

Thus,when British arrived in Assam, the ancient city of Pragjyotishpura of the Kamrup empire was in decline. The new city of "Gauhati" (also called Gowhatti) took birth around Uzanbazar, especially in the areas near the Northbrook gate.

SHUKRESHWAR TEMPLE

This temple is situated close to the Northbrook gate and was already there when the British had arrived in Guwahati in the 19th century.

The Shukreshwar complex hosts many temples, including a famous Shiva temple on the top of a small hill where the inner walls are covered with hundreds of flowers. Since this temple is dark inside and the use of flash is not possible, I do not have a good picture of this temple, but it is really worth a visit.

The courtyard of the Shukreshwar temple complex is full of colourful statues, including the Vishnu statue presented below.

Vishnu, Shukreshwar temple, Guwahati, Assam, India

The temple complex overlooks the Brahmaputra river, where the rocks have some 1500 years old rock-cut sculptures. You will find some more information about these rock-cut sculptures in a separate section further down in this post.

HIGH COURT, CRICKET CLUB, LATASIL GROUNDS AND PLANETARIUM

As you will walk further down the M. G. road you will see the Assam High Court building and Guwahati Ashok hotel, followed by the Cricket club grounds (Judges' field), which used to be the officers' club during the British period.

Cricket grounds, Guwahati, Assam, India

Near the Cricket grounds are the the Latasil grounds, whose name remembers the old chowki with its gateway (Lattasil chowki or Pani chowki) which had once marked the entrance to the medieval city of Guwahati.

Latasil grounds are a popular venue for the different city festivals including the Bihu celebration (Bihu dance and a pani-puriwala at Latasil grounds at the Megh Bihu fair are shown in the two images below).

Bihu dance, Latasil grounds, Guwahati, Assam, India

Paanipuri, Latasil grounds, Guwahati, Assam, India

Across from Latasil grounds is the Guwahati Planetarium, which has daily shows in Assamese, English and Hindi to learn about the stars and the cosmos. Near the planetarium there is small white marble temple while on the other side of the Latasil grounds is the well known Dighalipukhuri mosque of Guwahati. (Planetarium of Guwahati in the image below)
Planetarium, Guwahati, Assam, India

KACHARI GHAT AND BAZAR

The road next to the Planetarium will bring you to the river and to the traditional market of Kachari bazar and ghat. The name of this area "Kachari", means court and makes reference to the high court.

Kachari bazar is a simple market with small shops and tin roofs, but it is famous because you can find a wide variety of traditional Assamese vegetables and plants that are not available in other parts of the city.

Vegetables, Kachari bazar, Guwahati, Assam, India

The market has a small but beautiful Kali temple.

Kali temple, Kachari bazar, Guwahati, Assam, India

Steps near the Kachari market take you down to Kachari Ghat where you can get the public ferry for Umananda temple. The grounds of Kachari Ghat are a popular venue for cultural events like the annual kite festival and the celebration of chhath festival by the Bihari immigrant community of Guwahati (in the image below).

Chhath festival, Kachari ghat, Guwahati, Assam, India

UMANANDA TEMPLE AND THE PEACOCK ISLAND

Umananda temple is one of the ancient temples of Guwahati. The 1841 book of Britisher William Robinson already mentioned above, said about it: “In the centre of the river, opposite the station, stands a little rocky island called Umananda. According to the Hindu legends, this island was formed by God Sib (Shiva) with the dust that marked his forehead. It presents a very picturesque object, clothed as it is with trees and crowned with temples.

The Indian Railway association was formed in 1845 and the first train journey in India took place only in 1851, so I think that the “station” mentioned by Robinson in this paragraph refers to a local boat station, perhaps near Kachari ghat or near Shukreshwar ghat?

The image below presents the Kachari ferry dock with the river island hosting Umananda temple in the background. From here you get the public ferries for visiting the temple.

Kachari ferry for Umananda temple island, Guwahati, Assam, India

The return ticket on the public ferry boat to Umananda temple on the peacock island costs only 20 Rs. The temple is located on the top of a hill and requires a bit of a climb. The image below shows one of the temple priests.

A Brahmin priest, Umananda, Guwahati, Assam, India

The Umananda island is also home to a group of Golden Langur monkeys. Usually you will find them on the trees, if you take a walk going towards the back of the island, below and behind the main Umananda temple, on the path facing the north bank of the river. (A golden langur in the image below, eating a cake given to her by some visitor).

Golden langur, Umananda, Guwahati, Assam, India

The island is also home to a group of friendly geese who might follow you around and even ask you with their quack-quack to share your food. They have learned that people do not hurt them, so they seem completely fearless.

The views of the other river islands with their pristine white sands, visible from the top of the Umananda hill if you look towards the north bank of Brahmaputra, are breath-taking.

UPPER STAND ROAD

The road along the river going east from Kachari ghat towards the Kharguli hills and the Governor's house has many traditional old Assamese houses. Vivekanand Cultural Kendra, one of the cultural centres of Guwahati, is located at its corner, just opposite Kachari ghat.

Upper Stand road is home to some exclusive boutiques selling traditional Assamese silk dresses for women (Mekhla Chador), including the Fab India Handicrafts store of Guwahati.

Across the road, is the fish market of Guwahati that is ideal to buy fresh river fish, early in the morning. The image below shows one of the traditional Assamese houses on Upper Stand road.

Traditional Assamese house, Riverside, Guwahati, Assam, India


UGRATARA TEMPLE

The same road that goes towards Kachari ghat along the planetarium, if taken in the other (southwards) direction will pass along the boundary of Latasil grounds and then take you to Lamb road and the unassuming Ugratara temple.

Ugratara temple, Guwahati, Assam, India
It is one of the ancient temples of Guwahati built during the medieval Ahom kingdom.

Behind the temple, there is a big pond, Jorpokhuri. A road was built here which divides this pond into two. The pond is famous for its large number of geese.

Like the friendly geese of Umananda, these Ugratara geese are also aware that people and vehicles will never hurt them so they are completely fearless. It is not unusual to see a gaggle of geese walking in the middle of Lamb road while all the cars and autos, try to pass around them without hurting them.

Ugratara Jorpukhuri geese, Guwahati, Assam, India

ANCIENT ROCK-CUT SCULPTURES IN UZANBAZAR

Guwahati area has many bas-relief rock sculptures, rock-cut sculptures (carved into the rock) and rock sculptures. According to Prof. P C Choudhury (The History of Civilization of the people of Assam till the 12th century A.D., 1959), the rock-cut sculptures are from 5 to 12 century CE.

However, it seems that the actual archaeological dating of the rock-cut sculptures has not yet been carried out. According to a recent article in the Ancient Asia journal, “A number of scholars have highlighted on the rock sculpture and iconography of the region but no work focusing on the rock art and engravings of the region have so far been reported.

The visit to Uzanbazar will give you an opportunity to visit two important sites of rock-cut sculptures in this area.

One group of rock-cut sculptures representing Vishnu (with adjoining figures of Surya, Ganesh, Devi, etc.) is present in the rocks facing the Brahmaputra river behind the Shukreshwar temple. These are locally known as Vishnu Janardan and are protected under the Archaeological Survey of India.

Vishnu Janardan, Rock-cut sculptures, Guwahati, Assam, India

A second group of ancient rock-cut sculptures representing Ganesh are located on the island of Umananda temple, near its western tip facing the Neelanchal hill and Kamakhaya temple. Near by a path goes down towards the river, with some more sculptures. These sculptures look much older than many of the Umananda temple buildings.

Ganesh, Rock-cut sculptures of Umananada, Guwahati, Assam, India

CONCLUSIONS

I think that Uzanbazar is one of the most culturally vibrant area of Guwahati with a lot of places to visit.

All the places mentioned in this post are located close together and you can easily walk to them. Reaching Uzanbazar through public transport is easy and you can get down at the Kachari bus stop.

If you do not have time to visit all the places mentioned in this post, make sure to visit at least the Umananda temple and the island. The visit to the temple by the public ferry will require at least 3 hours. If you have less time, take a private boat from Shukreshwar ghat near Northbrook gate (BTW, don't try asking people about Northbrook gate, hardly anyone knows this name. However, most people can point you to Shukreshwar ghat.)

You can also look at the first part of this tour presenting other places to visit on the southern side of Dighalipukhuri, towards Cotton College and Paltan Bazar railway station.

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Wednesday 28 September 2016

Guwahati Walking Tours - Uzanbazar, Cultural & Historical Area of Guwahati

A small area of Guwahati called Uzan Bazar, located between the south bank of Brahmaputra and the city railway station, is the most culturally and historically rich part of the city.

The ancient pond of Dighlipukhuri is placed like a jewel, at the centre of this area. Since the area has so many places to visit, this walking tour is divided in two parts.

Uzan Bazar and Guwahati city centre, images by Sunil Deepak

The image above is from a small lane close to Dighlipukhuri and shows the preparation of Saraswati idols in preparation for the Saraswati Puja festival.

This first part of the walking tour focuses on the Dighlipukhuri pond and the area to its south including the Assam State museum, the state library, Robindra Bhoban cultural centre, Ambari archeological area, Cotton college and Nehru Park. Let’s start the tour by a brief introduction to the history of this area.

Uzan Bazar is very well connected by public transport. You can get down at Dighalipukhuri and then easily walk to all the places mentioned in this post.

History of the Uzan Bazar area

Ambari archeological area was discovered in 1960 and excavations are still going on. They show that this area was an important cultural centre in the ancient Kamrupa empire, when Guwahati was known as Pragjyotishpura. The excavations have shown constructions and artefacts from two periods – from 8 to 11th century CE and from 13th to 18th century CE. An artist guild with production of sculptures was located here. Glazed terracotta potteries, Kaolin pots and Celadon wares found here show that the area was an important trading centre in the medieval period.

Due to high level of subsoil water in the area, deeper digging was not feasible here.

During the British times, building of railway tracks and construction of the Paltan Bazar railway station, brought a different kind of development in the area. While the capital of the British Assam was in Shillong, important buildings in British colonial style were built here.

Dighalipukhuri Pond

According to Assamese writer-historian Kumudeshwar Hazarika, in 19th century, when the British had arrived in Guwahati (then known as Gauhati), there were around 300 ponds in the city. Pond-construction was seen as one of the duties of the kings, and often ponds were built to thank or to mark some special occasion. In 19th century, most of those ponds were filled.

However, Uzanbazar area still has some of these ponds. Dighlipukhuri is the biggest and oldest of all the ponds of the city.

Uzan Bazar and Guwahati city centre, images by Sunil Deepak

I don't know how big a water body should be, to be considered a lake, rather than a pond - probably, Dighlipukhuri is big enough to be called a lake.

Dighlipukhuri, built during Ahom empire, was earlier connected to the river Brahmaputra in the north by a canal and used as a boat-port. This canal was closed and the European club was built here by the British, which is now used as part of the High Court (old campus).

To the south, the pond also connected to a marshy area called Shola Beel. This area was covered when Paltan Bazar railway station was constructed.

Dighalipukhuri has a children’s park, a boat club and paddle boats for the tourists. It is a great area for the morning and evening walks, though during office hours, it is a little noisy with the traffic rush.

Central Library and the State Museum

Assam state museum and the central state library are both opposite the south end of Dighalipukhuri.

The library courtyard has the statues of three of the famous Assamese cultural icons of 20th century – playwright, writer and film maker Jyoti Prasad Agarwala, pioneer of music and art Bishnu Prasad Rabha and actor-director Fani Sharma. Unfortunately India does not have a tradition of honouring its cultural icons, and most of the public statues are reserved for politicians. Guwahati and Assam are probably an exception to this trend.

Uzan Bazar and Guwahati city centre, images by Sunil Deepak

I did visit the state library and museums for cultural events but not for their original purpose. Thus, I never managed to see the books in the library and to visit the exhibits of the museum. Instead, I participated in the cultural events held in their premises such as the annual conference of Indian museologists and the Indian youth festival, presented in the two images below.

Uzan Bazar and Guwahati city centre, images by Sunil Deepak

Uzan Bazar and Guwahati city centre, images by Sunil Deepak

Robindra Bhoban

Close to the state museum is Robindra Bhoban cultural centre that has a rich programme of plays, dance and other cultural events through out the year. The building also hosts a cultural museum which I never managed to visit it as well – finding it closed the couple of times I visited it. The image below shows an art exhibition held in its courtyard.

Uzan Bazar and Guwahati city centre, images by Sunil Deepak

Like Kalakshetra, the other important cultural centre of Guwahati, even Robindra Bhoban (Bhawan) does not have a proper website or facebook page or even an email mailing list to get information about its events-programme. Thus, unless you live in the area and can check its billboards regularly, it is not easy to be updated about its activities.

Ambari archaeological area

Under the “History” section above, I have already given some information about the significance of Ambari archaeological area. It is a five minutes’ walk from Robindra Bhoban. The area is part of archaeology department of Guwahati university.

Here you can see the remains of the medieval houses of the old city as well as visit the small but nicely maintained museum that has many artefacts from 8th to 10th century and from medieval period, discovered in the diggings in this area.

The image below shows a 10th century Shivalinga and a medieval bamboo statue of Ganesh from the Ambari museum.

Uzan Bazar and Guwahati city centre, images by Sunil Deepak

Cotton College

A side road near Dighalipukhuri, takes you to Cotton college and Nehru Park. Cotton college is one the old institutions of higher education in Guwahati, established in 1901, during the British colonial rule. It was also an important centre of the freedom movement in the north-east. With its wide open areas, low colonial buildings and huge ancient trees, Cotton college is a beautiful area.

The image below has one of the busts of the luminaries of Cotton College, which include Bhupen Hazarika.

Uzan Bazar and Guwahati city centre, images by Sunil Deepak

Near Cotton college, a picturesque street going towards the river has the shops of flowers and plants-sellers.

Uzan Bazar and Guwahati city centre, images by Sunil Deepak

This part of the city has been beautified by bas-relief artistic panels fixed along the walls of the buildings facing Dighlipukhuri. The image below presents the details of one such panel.

Uzan Bazar and Guwahati city centre, images by Sunil Deepak

Similar panels have also been put up in Dispur. As far as I can tell, each panel is a work of art, different from all others. I wish that the city would give recognition to the artists of such works by indicating their names near each panel.

Nehru Park

The entrance of Nehru Park is from the Cotton college road. It is a nice garden with a lot of sculptures, starting from a nice group of terracotta statues including India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru with three children.

Uzan Bazar and Guwahati city centre, images by Sunil Deepak

Close to the entrance, the garden on the left has terracotta statues presenting the different dance and music traditions of Assam. The image below presents the Zikar singers, a traditional art form of Assamese Muslims.

Uzan Bazar and Guwahati city centre, images by Sunil Deepak

Another favourite area of the park is close to its other border towards the river, which has a Bhul-bhulaiyan (maze) made of shrubs, where once you enter, you can easily get lost and not find your way out (not so much for adults, as for children).

This area also has a lovely sculpture of Kushal Konwar, a follower of Gandhi ji and a believer in non-violence, who was hanged by the British in June 1943.

Uzan Bazar and Guwahati city centre, images by Sunil Deepak

Road and Park events in Dighalipukhuri

Though formally Guwahati is not the capital of Assam and only the Dispur area of the city is called the state capital, the areas between Dighalipukhuri, state museum and library are popular venues for protest marches, public meetings and strikes to attract the government and public attention.

Every time I went to this area, I always went around to see who was protesting or doing hunger strikes and for what reason. The image below is from the Dighalipukhuri park showing a meeting of the farmers of the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) with its leader Akhil Gogoi.

Uzan Bazar and Guwahati city centre, images by Sunil Deepak

The next image is from a fashion show in front of the entrance to Dughalipukhuri park during the north-east GLBTQI pride parade in February 2016.

Uzan Bazar and Guwahati city centre, images by Sunil Deepak

Conclusions

For me, in terms of its importance to the soul of the city, this area can be considered as the “centre of Guwahati”. As you can see, there are a lot of places to visit in this part. I have touched on only some of those places in this post.

The remaining places located to the north of Dighalipukhuri such as the famous Ugratara, Shukreshwar and Umananda temples, will be presented in the second part of this walking tour.

Let me conclude this post with an image of the steam train locomotiv of the North-East Queen outside the entrance to the Paltan Bazar railway station. This engine was built in 1956 and was in service till 1997.

Uzan Bazar and Guwahati city centre, images by Sunil Deepak

If you have little time and can not visit all the places mentioned in this post, I suggest that you shoud make an effort to visit at least the Dighlipukhuri lake and Nehru park.

Read the second part of this post regarding the other places of interest in Uzanbazar.

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