I!R_ CENSUS OF INDIA, 19n VOLUME I-PART IV-B

KAMAKHYA A TOWN· OF ASSAM

BY

MOHAN SARMA, M.A.

OFFICE OF THE REGISTRAR GENERAL. INDIA. MINISTRY. OF HOME AFFAIRS NEW DELHI

FOREWORD As ancillary to 1971 Census, the Census Organi­ sation has taken up a project of intensive survey of about 200 towns in different parts of the country. In the preparatory stage of this project, another project of collection of basic particulars in respect of a large number of towns in different parts of the country was undertaken in cooperation with scholars belonging to various academic bodies. " For discussing the entire approach to urban stu­ dies, a seminar was organised in Delhi in 1967. In the light of the recommendations of the Seminar, and also in consultation with Town and Country Planning Organization, Delhi and a number of experts in the field, a schedule for rapid survey of towns was drawn u,p. It was visualised that the scholars undertaking the rapid survey of a town would, in addition to canvas­ sing the schedule, prepare a short running note high­ lighting the important features of the town. . I am happy that Prof. Sarma very kindly agreed to make a rapid survey of Kamakhya town. It was a labour of love on his part. In addition to canvassing the schedule he has examined a large number of origi­ nal source materials, to provide information a bout the historical and socio-economic developments of Kamakhya. In the presentation of his material he was provided technical advice and guidance by my colleague Dr. B. K. Roy ~urman. I would like to thank Prof. Sarma for this useful report.

A. CHANDRA SEKHAR, Registra1 General~ l1Ulia.

CONTENTS

PAGES

PuPAeE (i)

INTRODUCTORY Non (iii)-(iv)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT (v) lm'R,ODUCTIoN 1-63

APPENDIX • 65-72

PLA~ I-VII

PREFACE After completing my University Education, for a long time I was cherishing an ambition to write about the history and social and cultural life ofK.amakhya, my home town. But due to many circumstantial limitations it was difficult for me to believe that one day my ambition would actually be fulfilled. On 3rd March, 1968, Dr. B. K. Roy Burman, Deputy Registrar General, India (Social Studies) visited Kamakhya,. and on hearing about my academic background, enquired whether I would like to take up a project of socio-economic study of Kamakhya. This was a very unexpected opportunity for me and I readily accepted his offer. He provided the frame of the i~vestigation and guided me in the presentation of the materia18~ Also, he has given an introductory note to bringing out the iociological implications of the various data provided by me in the monograph. I am grateful to the Registrar General, India and to Dr. Roy Burman for giving me the opportunity to bring out this monograph. During collection of the various statistical and other information for the monograph, I have received unstinted Co­ operation from various official and non-official sources as well as private individuals. It would be invidious to mention names but I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all of them ..

MOHAN SAlUU.

(i)

;INTRODUCTORY NOTE

In the present monograph Shri Mohan Sarma has given a graphic account of ,the social and reli~ious institutions func­ tioning at Kamakhya and the changes taking place in them during the recent years.

It seems tbat though with improvement in the means~of com­ munication, the number of visitors to Kamakbya has gone up, a sense ofloss of vitality is slowly creeping up in the place. This is perhaps tbe outcome of a long drawn historical process. In the pre-British period, Kamakhya flourished under the patronage 'ofthe Kings; during the British period rich zemindars and busi­ nessmen did not hesitate to contribute liberally for its upkeep. They supported tbe establishment here; in return, they sought shelter from all powerful mother goddess. The common people were also linked with the place through awe, love and devotion for the mother goddess and the innumerable local gods and god­ desses. But it seems that, with the rise of new social forces away from metaphysics and heavily leaning upon technology those at the helm of affairs of the sooiety, felt less and less impelled to seek shelter from mother goddess. A process of disenchantment also perhaps went on among general people, as a reaction to ·the litigatIons and internal strifes in which the establishment bas been constantly involved.

The qualitative change in the nature of the attraction of an increasingly large number of persons coming to Kamakbya seems to be anotber factor which has contributed to the ennui of tbe old setting. Previously, wben communication was difficult, more pilgrims used to come, out of devotion and desire to perform an act of piety; now more visitors come out of curiosity and desire for diversion. This is a crushing experience for the persons who used to serve pilgrims from tbe exalted position of the;: ~etiator between the world of mystery and the world of mundane eXlstance, but who now serve the visitors as guides to the places of interest and to the performance of rituals which many of them agree to do only as a matter of good form. The hovering sense of loss of vitality of the establishment is the outcome of few other factors as well. There is a rumour that the government migbt take over the management of tbe temple. (iii) (iv) This has caused a great nervousness among tbe people of Kama­ kbya. To many, it means not only loss of secure means of live li­ hood, but also loSS of roles which have become part and parcel of themselves for genera~ions. It, however, appears that the future of Kamakhya is not wholly bleak. As mentioned in the monograph by Prof. Sarma there are s~veral spots a( Kamakhya: which find mention in the Puranas but which are still to be identified. Some of them could be located only recently. It seems not unlikely that Kamakhya may re-emerge as a place of great archaeological and cultural interest. The question that would interest most, a student of society in Kamakhya, is whetber the children of the Blue-hill are preparing themselves for tbeir probable future role. It seems from the account of Prof. Sarma that there is a growing interest in moderD education. It also seems that many are being drawn to modern occupations in Gauhati. All these seem to mark an agonising adjustment to modern conditions for the sake of survival. But a creative response to the challenge of modernisation is something more. It would require infusion of new meaning and new values to the old imtitutioIlL In recent years, a number of cllJbsf libraries and social service organisations have come into existence in Kamakhya. It is difficult to anticipate, what will be their exact role in future. But it will not be surprising if through their functioning a leader­ ship emer~s out from the fertile soil of the nIue-hill, whiqh will not only wistfull:y look backward, but will also look forwatd. and not only accommodate the wind of change but d,raw sucPour from it. This is an urgent task, the task of reinterpretation of the ancient traditio~ to bring it in harm,?ny: wit~ t~e .spirit of modem man. It IS hoped that systematlc lnvestIgatIon of the institutions and social processes at Kamakhya will help in fulfilling the task and in this matter the present study will be recognised as a pioneer· work.

BI K. RoY BURMAN ACKNO~EDGEMmNTABOVTTHEPHOTOGRAP.HS

I also like to express my gratitude to the Director, Anthro­ pological Survey of India, Calcutta, for allowing me to publish a few photographs of the Temple at Kamakhya.

MOHAN SAlWA

(v)

INl'RODUcnON

Kamakbya is one ofthe most in all directions for 100 sacred places of the Hindus. Yojana(aoout 450 miles). Some A9COrding to B. A. Gait, the regard Kamakhya as the eminent English authority mirror of Kamrupa (i.e. on the history of Assam, "Tbe Assam). temple of Kamakhya at Gauhati is one of the sacred shrines of the Sdkta Hindus Kamakhya is situated in tbe and the whole country is famed State of Assam, the eastern­ in Hindu traditions as a land most corner of India. It is .of'magic and witchcraft."p three miles west of Gaubati, Dr. B. K.. Kakati, the reputed tbe premier town of Assam. Assamese Scholar, has 0 b­ Assam is the land of blue served in this "Mother God­ bills and red rivers. Gauhati dess Kamakhya", "Godd~ss itselfis surrounded by several Kamakhya is the most domi­ such bills. Nilacbal (Kama­ nating name in early history kbya is SO named) is also one of Assam. It was under her among tbem and occupies the banner that the first empire in higbest position as regards early Assam was built. It was height and area. With tbe over her emergence and re­ mighty Brahmaputra flowing by cognition as the presiding its nortbern foot and surroun­ deity, of tbe State that the ded by the lower blue hills and Saivites and the Vaisnavites the landscape below, Nil a­ went into silent conflict and chal offers to the onlookers Naraka, the builder of the a rare picturesque and pano­ state, lost his life. Later ramic view, which the visitors religious history also centres come across only in a few of round her and other goddesses places all over the world. are recognised as her varied ma~ifestation." On the soutb and west of Kamakhya is situated Pandu, According to Kalika Purana and the Headquarters of the the temple of Kamakhya Northern Frontier Railway. near Gaubati was the centre of Kamrupa. In ViS11U Purana it is stated that Tbe real name of tbe hill is 1 tbe kingdom of Kamrupa 'Nilachal' (Nil' blue; acbal= ~ e~tended around this temple tbat cannot move). But as' --'-:------it is the home of Motber God­ IHistory of Assam-E. A. Gait. dess Kamakhya, it is more 2 well known as Kamakbya. growth in the importance of Nilachal actualy consts Gaubati pressure on tbe lands of three hills. They are Dhaim­ at the foot of Kamakbya hill neswari, Kamakbya and grew to an extent wbich could Baraha. In the KaHka Purana, not be imagined before. Bhubaneswari is known as Brabma, Kamakhya as At present, residential .Sbiva and Baraha as Vishnu. houses and other housebolds Among tbe tbree bills Bhn­ have spread on eacb side (){ baneswari is tbe higbest tJ{e foot of N'ilacbal, except and Baraha is tbe lowest. the nortb, which is sbielde4 Kamakhya oocupies the middle by the fury 'bf the lkahma­ position. More than a score putra. sacred spots are there at Nilacbal and most of tbem Locatiooal and DemograpbJe are concentrated at Kamakbya Data: proper. At Bhubaneswari there is only tbe temple of The area of tJJe townShip ·Goddess :Bhubaneswari. At is one square mile. The total tbe tOp of Baraba, there is number of residential bouses a small tank, which has some is seven hundred and nine legend connected with it and that of the households is and at its foot, tbere is a seven hundred and twenty­ temple of Lord Vishnu, four. The population of known as Pamilmath. Kamakhya according to the census of 1961 stood a.t 4,359. Most of the population Of these 2,621 were males.a.nd here live:: at the top of Kama­ 1,738 were females. The num" khya. there is still no resi­ ber of persOD,S bt]onging to dential bouse either at the the category of Scheduled top of Bhubaneswari or Castes was 37. Among them Baraha. Again about twenty 19 were males and 18 were years ago, there existed pracH­ females. None belonging to ,cally no residential house the category of Scbeduled at the foot of these hills, save Tribes lived at Kamakbya. four hermitages. on the north­ eastern and :north-western Of the total population oC sides. . During the Second tbe place, tbe number of World War, these places Which literate am educated persons remained closed to the local stood 2,198 in 1961. Of people, stationed several these 1,503 were males and mihtary Ca.11lps. 695 were females. The number of perSonS classified as wor­ kers was 1,599. Among them After tbe VI ar, particularly 1,472 were males and 127 .afleir ·indepe:Mence with rapid were females • · Among the workers 12 Bhagabata. the Tantra-Chura· persons were cultivators, 45 mani, the Deb; Bhagabata, worked in trades like mining, the Mahanila Tantra, tbe quarrying, livestock, forestry, Kamakhya Tantra,etc., contain fishing, hunting, plantation, the myths and legends of the orchards and such other allied origin of Kamakhya. But it is activities. Out of the latter significant to note that there is categOry of workers 41 were no reference to Kamakhya in males and 4 were females. the earliest works of the Aryan 125 persons were employed culture, i.e., the Vedas. in the housebpld industry. Out of them 45 were males Let us first see the origin of and 80 were females. In manu· Nilachal hill and the Goddess facture and other household Kamakhya in the light of the industries there were 169 per· Kalika Purana and the Yogini sons Qf whom 157 were males Tantra. In the ~ixty-second and 12 were females. Cons· chapter of the Kalika Purana truction works accounted for the origin has been explained 17 persons all males. There thus: formerly there were three were 279 persons in trade mountains as high as one and Commerce, out of whom hundred yojana, i.e., about 450 2.72 were males and 7 were miles, which constituted females. Transport, storage the Nilachal hill. The name and communication provided of King Daksha is familiar in employment to 118 persons Indian mythology. He is also out of whom 116 were males connected with the origin of and 2 were females, 834 per· Kamakhya. His daugther was sons were engaged in other SatL She died of vexation at services, of whom 812 were the discourtesy shown to her males and 22were females. husband Lord Siva by her father. Siva, then overcame with grief, wandered about the History, Origin, Myths and world carrying the dead body Legends about Kamakhya: of His beloved consort on his shoulder. At this all the gods There are few places on and goddesses got frightened e,arth which are So full of and approached Lord Vishnu ancient myths and legends as for the well being of the uui· Kamakhya is. Her name is Verse. Then, in order to put a found in most of the Puranas stop to the penance of Siva. and ~ Tantras and is connected Lord Vishnu followed Him ~itq. the history of Kamrupa, ,and lopped away the body of i:e. Assam. The great epic Sati piecemeal with his discus.: Mahabharata, the Kalika It fell to the earth in fiftY-one Pl,I1'ano, the Yogini Tantra, different places and wherever t~c Rudrayamala, the Maho· a piece fell, was held to be 4 sacred. Her organ of genera­ it from Lord Siva. In answer' tion fell on Kamagiri, i.e. to her query Siva replied Nilachal. Lord Siva, seeing that Kamakhya was same as the genital part falling,' held Kali, Who is regarded as­ it over his breast on the top of the eternal form of Brahma, that hill. Formerly, the colour the god of creation. Siva's of the hill waS red. But due to reply was thus: Brahma, the immensity of the weight after having created the uni... of the falling, object and of verse arrogated to himself the Siva, the colour of the hill supreme creative force. This become blue and it began to arrogance of Brahma Came to go down towards the centre of the notice of the great goddess the earth. Seeing that, Lord (Mahamaya). She was dis­ Brahma (the God of creation) pleased to see it and to teach held the eastern cliff and Lord a lesson to Brahma created a Vishnu, the western cliff. Still demon, named Kesi, out of the three cliffs were going down. her own body. The demon, At last 'Mahamaya' (from as soon as he waS born, 17mhed whose ovary this Universe towards Brahma to 6wallow is created and who is the wife him up. Brahma, in terror of Lord Siva) held all the ran to Vishnu who could not cliffs together and thus pre­ offer him any help and him. vented it from going down. self took to flight along with The spot where the 'genital' Brahma. Kesi built a city cal­ organ fell came to be regard­ led after his name 'Kesipura' ed as Kamakhya. The cliffs and began to harass Tribhu­ Bhubaneshweri, Kamakhya and bana(the three Worlds). There Baraha represent the bodies was only one echo, "Kill of Lord Brahma, Lord. Siva Brahma". Brahma cast aside and Lord Vishnu respectively. his vanity and in the company The goddess herself is called of Vishnu offered a hymn of Kamakhya because she came propitiation to Kali, for there to satisfy her amour saving the worlds from. the secretly with Lord Siva. tyranny of Kesi. The Goddess Dr. B. K. Kakati writes, was satisfied. She admitted "the derivations of the Kalika that the demon was created by Purana make the mountain herself for punishing Brahma both a grave-yard and a se­ 'for his arrogance. She then cret love-tryst ofthe goddess." uttered the syllable of des­ truction (humkar) and Kesi The Y ogini Tantra gives a was burnt to ashes. Then she different account stressing the gave directions to Brahma creative synibolism of the about the method of his deli­ Yoni (the genital part). Maha­ verance from the sin of igno­ maya was curious as to who was rance and arrogance., He was Kamakhya and wanted to know asked to create a mountain out 5

~f the ashes of the burnt de­ Thus the two scriptures put: mon. The mountain should be divergent interpretations about neither too high llor too low. the Y oni circle as a symbol of It should be covered with edible sex and as a symbol of crea~ . grass for cattle. Brahma's sin tion. Dr. Kakati is of the _ would be demini6hed in propor­ view that these may embody tion to the quantity of grass the views of two different sets consumed by cattle. Besides of people who professed that saying this~ she created a Yoni cult in different period£ oftime. circle (genital part) .out of her _, creative e1+ergy. on the very The Kalika Purana har~ spot from where Brahma'and monises amt)rous conception Vishnu bad offered their prayer of the goddess with the dread to her, then she behested goddess KaIi by prcsenting the them to regard this Yoni' picture of a goddess in circle as the source of all three fold aspects assumed things. Brahma was asked to in different moods. In her­ go in for creation in future, amorous mood the goddess only after paying his homage holds a yellow garland in her to tb.e Yoni. He WaS, however, hand and stands on red debarred from seeing the Yoni lotus placed on a white corpse. until by his penance he had When her amour is- gone, shtf­ brought down a luminous takes up the word and standli light from the sky and placed on a bare white corpse. In her it on the Yoni circle. mood of benevolence (Kamda). It was this that . YOlJi circle she mounts :upon a lion. So she of mother goddess came to be assumed one form or the other located at Kamiupa. Rcgard­ according to' whims (Kawaru­ ing this myth Dr. Kakati has pini)-(Kalika Purana-6015~ observed as follows : et. seq.). "Tbe notable points in this myth are; (a) Kamakhyn was a When Narakasura' fQund·· newgoddess unknown to tbe cd hiG ki_ngdom in Assam he Devi herself. Siva cs:a6lishes became the custo9ian of this tbe identity of Kali and Kama­ goddess. According to, Kalika khyu in that symbol of a Yoni; Pura1;la, Narakasura changed (b) the supreme' creative the name of the kingdom from force of Brahma is challenged, pragjyotishpura to Kamrupa thenceforth. He could create in conformity to the wish: only with the blc6singG of the of the goddess. YOlli as the sole creative prin­ ciple; (c) in both the accounts The Devi Bhagabata gives of the Kalika 'Purana and the the names of one hundred .and ;Yogin i- Tantra, there is men­ ei gh~ placer; that were a+ .Guciated tion .of a burial or crema­ with the bocy L·f Sa~j one tion ground. way or .. he 0:11(.,. Beside,., 2-2 R.G. India/72 6 -thoqtepmle of the Goddess Him. The Ganges herself, -~makhya, there are Bome flows there for the· pleasure of othCr 'temples the origin of Him. Lord Siva' stays in His --wb;K:w is also given by the 'Savar' form in a cave to the Kalika, ,Purana. In the same North of the great Goddess . . cqaptim (sixty-second), Maha­ He is known as, Kutilings. deva is saying that the great To the West ofthe Goddess, -Goddess ·(Kamakhya) is sur- is the abode of Lord Vishnu. -rou:nned ' by several other At this place, he' killed two :goddesses. He utters the name great demon-kings, 'Madhu' ,ofieight :s'I'i4h goddesses. They and 'Kaitava'. Near it ,is ~eGJIptaKan1a, Shri Kama, Barah-Kunda. This was dug. Biadhya; Bashini, Kotiswari, by Lord Brahma himself. &irtalltha,' 'Pad Durga, The stone on which Lord _Dil"gheswari,_ and Bhubanes­ Vishnu slayed the two demons ~ _i These' places originated is known as 'Pandu'. with the faU of the 'Genital Part'':''of the; great Goddess. Beside these, the names of AS.:it was deoomposed, there­ several other gods, goddesses fore, some; portions feU at and places are found in the different 'points at Kamakhya. Kalika Purana such as, Brah­ 'Thus along with the Great masakti-sila, BhasmachaI, G0ddess, '.~ these goddesses Kubjika-pith, Triputa, Siva, wor.e a.lso :( ,born. Over and Sarada, Kusmandi Jogini, .abb¥c these : goddesses, Lord Chamunda, (She killed two ,Siva.,:~ Himself exists at the demons named Chanda and place,in fiVe' forms. The first Munda), Puskar-kshetra, iii ~war. ',Near it, are Bhubananada cave, Chanda­ ,G4yakshetra aid Amritkunda. ghanta Jogini, and Skanda­ Kalika purana says that it mata Jogini. was dug by Lord Indra and ·other gods for the pleasure of At alittle distance from the Lord Siva.' On its left is Kamakhya temple, there is a Xameswar Siva: immersed tank which is known as -in,;Kainkunda. In between Saubhangaya Kunda. Re­ ~Siddheswar and Kameswar, ference of this is also found in thet'e is Kadar-Kashetra, a the Kalika Purana. p~e of Lord Vishnu. Lord · Siva' stays in his 'Aghor' Important Towns wi6lin Fifty I(dreaded) form to the south Miles of Kamakhya : · of Kamalchya. He is known · as Bhairab. In; the Sri-Bhaba Kamakhya is situated within ,Guha (cave), He stays in the a few miles of two most im­ form of Amrataheswar. He portant towns of Assam. Gau­ · says that in this cave, the bati, the premier town of not -Goddess Durga stays with only ofAssam, but of the Whole 7 of the north eastern region of the State Government of India is, only three miles. Assam, (among them, the east of Kamakhya.· The. name of Pandit Govinda area of Gauhati as in 1961 Vallabb Pant, ex-Home Minis­ is 5.50 sq. miles. The popula­ ter of India deserves special tion as stood in 1961 was mention) the communicatio.Q­ 1,00,707. Another important to Kamakhya improved very to,*n of ASSam, Pandu is much some years after in­ only one mile to the west of dependence. Sri Pant appre­ Kamakhya. The Area of ciated the importanace of Pandu is 2.50 sq. miles. Kamakhya and favoured a Its population according to the scheme of 'connecting it by a census of 1961 is 31,173. motorable road. The· then Chief Minister of Assam. Before 1958 these refer­ Sri B. R. Medhi also took rent towns were connected an active interest in the mat­ with Kamakhya with only ter. A scheme was finalised in two hilly tracks. Built of stone 1956 and was immediately these stiff/stair-cases were the put into effect. On the eve of only means of communication the sixty-third anniversary between Kamakhya and the ofthe Indian National Con­ plains. In the pre-indepen­ gress which was held in Assam dence era, no effort was made in February, 1958 the road by the alien government for was declared open by Sri the improvement of Kama­ Pant himself. So, an all khya. In the immediate post­ weather motorable road now independence era also, no connects Kamakhya with the marked improvement was rest oftM plains. observed at Kamakhya either in the field of communica­ Kamakhya is mainly de­ tibn or any other matter. pendent on Gauhati and Everybody desiring to visit Pandu in regard to marketing, the temple of Mother God­ employment and other econo­ dess KamakhYa had to climb mic and social activities. those stiff hill tracks. The Almost hundred per cent of ,old and the disabled could only marketable things are supplied cherish the hope of visiting to Kamakhya from markets the temple, but tbe hopes of in and around Gauhati and only a few were realised. Pandu. Local production Those Who could afford, hired almost nil. For higher edu­ 'dooly' which was generally cation also Kamakhya has very much expensive. to look to Gauhati. Formerly, there waS an M. E. School Thanks to the interest taken only. So, students after com­ by some of the ministers of pleting thier studies iIi the the Union Government and M.E. School had to go to Gauhati f{)r high school and places. Hence in addition to college education. At pres.ent, religious interest the people though ~here is a High School, of these . places are tied by students have t{) go down to economic interests with Oauhati for college and uni­ Kamakhya. versityeducation.

The situations of Gauhati Transport and Cemmonication : and Pandu are -very vital to Kamakbya. Youths of Kama­ Kamakhya is within Gau­ khya, after completion of hati Sub-division in the dis­ their studies have to depend trict of Kamrup. It has alreadY mainly bn these two places for been mentioned tbat this his..! their livelihood. The majority toric place is in the State of of the educated Youths of Assam. Shillong is the capital Kamakhya are employed in of Assam. Shillong is situated different offices, either govern­ in the Khasi and Jaintia ment or private at Gauhati Hills. It is a little more than and Pandu. Some of them are six thousand feet high from serving in different places in sea-level and sixty-four miles Assam and other parts of south of Gauhati. The dis­ India as well. Again a few tance of Shillong from Ka-­ ofthem are holding high posts makhya is sixty seven miles. in countries like U.S.A., U.K., Kamakhya is connected with etc. Gauhati by an all weather motorable road. ShiHong is With reference to political, also connected with Gauhati social and administrative by a motorahle road. There is activities, Kamakhya is a sate­ Transport Service, run by the llite of Gauhil.ti. Any social State Government between or political /Upheaval in Gau­ Gauhati and ShilIong. Over hati bas its impact in Kama­ and above this, there is a khya. Besides, Kamakbya is Tourists' Service and a large linked with the outside world number of private vehicles through Gauhati and Pandu. always ply on this road. There Hence even the pilgrim traffic is of course, no direct serviQ@ at Kamakhya is affected by the between Shillong and Kama- . <1evelopments in these two khya and although no direct. places. daily service is deemed neces· sary between Gauhati arid KariIakhya has also a net Kamakhya at present, there Work of connections with is a demand at Kamakhya places in the interior of Kam­ that the State Transport rul' and Darrang districts authorities should explore landed property of Kamakhya the possibilities of introduc­ ··is spread out in all these ing at least some experimental 9 -services during important trouble to Assam and othei!' celebrations like Ambubacbi, , parts of Eastern India, flows' Durgapuja, etc. by the north .of Kamakhya and washes the feet' of the The nearest airport of Mother Goddess Kamakhya. Kamakhya is Borjhar, at a Besides, it is helpful to its distance of eleven miles to the inhabitants in many ways. West. The railway stations nearest to Kamakhya are Galu­ Physiological Features: kbari (near Pandu) and Gau­ hati. During the British regime Kamakhya hill or Nilacha) a railway station was opened dominates the hill complex at the Eastern foot of Kama­ surrounding Gauhati. Nila­ khya. But after the outbreak chaI consists of three small hills. of the Second World War, Of them, Bhubaneswari is the the station was closed, as the highest and Baraha is the lowest. authorities had to pay more Kamakhya is just between the attention to the movement of two. The height of Bhubanes­ military traffic than to the wari from sea level is 860 feet, visitors to Kamakhya. But that of Kamakhya is 170 feet even after the termination and of Baraha is 630 feet. The of the war, the railway sta­ length and breadth of the area tion here, has not been re­ are 3 kms. and 1.3 kms. res­ opened. The people of Ka­ pectively. But the area on makhya are pressing for the which houses have been built resumption of the func~ion of uptil now at the top will not this station. They point out be more than halfof one square­ that the number of vistiors to kilometer. The other portions Kamakhya· has increased of the hills are covered with manifold, they should be jungles. Rainfall is' sufficient spared the trouble of travelling and the average annual rain­ to Kamakhya by tax or other fall is 200 centimetres. The costly transport all the way climate of Kamakhya is tem­ from Gauhati. perate and much enjoyable. The summer is of short dura­ There is a radio transmis­ tion and the winter is not. sion centre at Gauhati, and Kamakhya being a part of Inside the three hillg, there' Greater Galuhati is well co­ are several hillocks. Bhu­ vered by it. baneswari consists of' two hillocks. Of the two, Bhu­ '. Bralimap¥tra, the. mighty baneswari is the higheB£. Some Flver of Eastern IndIa, the Asrams(hermitages) have been third largest wafer carrying built at the foot atea of the river in tbe ",hole world, a lower one. ',·There are a few -source of great fear and natural· springs in this area. 10 1!here is no such natural spring they constitute a menace to at the top of Bhubaneswari. the local population and the Except for a few summer days, visitors. In the ju,ngle area high wind generally blows snakes are found. Occasionally, at the top of Bhubaneswari. the king cobra is also seen. Kamakhya consists of three hillocks. It is at the top of the The people of Kamakhya Kamakhya hillock, that the are mostly believed to be of people live. Most of the tem­ Aryan stock. They are ples also lie scattered there. meidum built, healthy fellows. Baraha consists of two hillocks. Generally, they are hard working and time has taught All these hillocks are con­ them to be more active .. nected by ridges. By the northern side of Kamakhya, R~ognition of Kamakhya as the mighty river Brahmaputra Urban Area: is flowing. It has made the climate of Kamakhya tempe­ Kamakhya is now a rate. On the top, there are township. Prior to 1956, it several natural springs and was held in the category a few tanks. But they are not of a village. But this classi­ perennial sources of water. The fication was unreal, because iow of water during the dry no characteristic of the viUage seaSons, is not much. The life was present there. As tanks, except one, dry up. alt present, at the time also the inhabitants were well Agricultural activities can­ aware of all urban habits not be undertaken at aU on and customs, also they always the hills due to the scarcity of came in contact with people land and water': Its woods alo;o from almost all parts of the do not supply any valuable country. timber. Mango, jackfruit and some ot~r indigenous During the Census. of fruit trees grow here. Cocoa­ 1961, the population of the nut trees also grow here and township stood at 4,359. can be perceived as soon as It appears that by now it has one enters the Kamakhya almost been doubled. Temple compound. Town Committee: There is no wild animal in its forest, except some stray A Town Committee was tigers which appear occasio~ nominated by the Govern­ nally. 1,'hey come along with ment of Assam. This body is the flood waterin the Brahma~ now mainly responsible for putra. Monkeys are, however, all sorts ofdevelopmental works abundant in Kamakhya and in and around Kamakhya. Of. 11

course, within the temple wholetime employees. ~ compound, it is the lookout other three are sweepers. They' of the Temple Committee. are part-time employees. :se;.. sides these, some extra swee..i pers are recruited for emer­ Important Public Offices: gency purpose during im­ portant celebrations at Kama­ At present there are only khya. a few public offices like the Town Committee Office, the Post Office, Office of the Doloi The Municipal Body it­ (Manager) of Kamakhya Es­ self is constituted of six. tate, Kamakhya Police Beat members. They include oue House, Kamakhya Samaj Kal­ chairman and one vice-chair-· yan Sanstha, Kamakhya Vill­ man. Uptil now, this body age Defence Committee, Kama­ is being nominated by the khya Food Committee and Government. For several rea­ Kamakhya Co-operative Socie­ sons, which will be discussed ty. Rdevant particulars re­ presently, no tax is imposed garding these institutions have on the citizens of Kamakhya. been discussed one by one. As a result no municipal elec-· tion was hIed at Kamakhya and an elected body has Kamakhya Town Committee : not yet been a possibility.

The Office of the Kama­ The idea of declaring Ka­ khya Town Committee is makbya a township has a. housed in a rented Assam type history which is also notewor­ building. It is situated jUllt thy. The problem of water had outside the Kamakhya Tem­ probably hastened the incep­ ple compound. This Office wall tion of the Town Committee instituted on February 15th, there. It is proposed to discuss. 1956. It carries on all acti­ the problem of water at Kama­ vities which are the concerns khya in a separate section, as of a municipal body. Since it is considered a vital Ilubj(;ct its inception, several deve­ for the life there. Works for' lopmental schemes have been a water treatment and supply executed by this bodY. The scheme began in 1956 and jurisdiction of the Town Com­ simultaneously Work on the mittee is just the area of the motorable road was taken up •. place, i.e. one square-mile. It is in this context that the H includes the top of Kama­ town committee was set up. khya hill and the foot of it. The number of employees Though Kamakhya has· in the office is five. Of them been declared as a town­ one is an assistant and an other ship, the CIVlC life of the is a peon. Both of them are community seems to have; Tenaained paralysed due to cer­ Kamakhya Village Defence tain ba~ic maladies. Firstly, Committee: no municipal tax has yet been imposed, because of the fact This can better be regarded the.inhabitants of Kamakhya as a, peace-keeping organiza­ .are not prepared to pay house­ tion on the top of Kamakbya tax. Though apparently it is Hill. Prior to July, 1967, ·difficult to justify it, the people no such organization was there. of Kamakhya have strong ar­ But various issues which 'gument of their own. Their could 'disturb peace were dealt economic conditions are far with by three societies, viz., from being stable. ' About the Brahman Society, the '98 % of the households prac~ Sudra Society and the Bbakat tically live hand to mouth Society (tbe members of the <>n the basis of the payments last one are the followers oftbe received from the pilgrims. great Sankatdeva of Assam). Again, Kamakhya is a part Tbese societies are believed of G,eater Gauhati. So, to have been in existence, since the inhabitants of the place times immemorial; and these fear that once house tax is are still in exi6tence. In matters introduced, it will be brought of social customs, etc., these at par with Gauhati, which is societies act in mutual co­ impossible to be borne by them. operation. But they are in­ Gauhati is the large6t commer­ effective to deal with the pro­ cial and industrial centre in the blems relating to visitors from whole of the north eastern re­ outside. ' gion of India. On the other hand, Kamakhya is a holy During the great festivals, place where a house is neither some undesirable elements offered nor re

Kamakhya Food Committee: Kamakhya Samaj Kalyan Sans­ tha: (K.F.C.) Before refering to the Ka­ The supply of foodstuff has makhya Samaj Kalyan Sanstha, become a headache in every it would be necessa; y to refer part of India. It is more than to some very olde;' organisa­ a mere headache at Kamakhya; tions which existed before the as it has little food production foundation of thiG Sanstha. :()f its own. For the supply The Kam,akhya Natya Sa­ of all sort of foodstuff, Kama­ mittee, which is belkvcd to khya has entirely to depend be more than hundred years 14 old, carried on all activities vities through a committee, related to social development. the members of which were In the first decade of this cen­ elected annually. The principal tury there was a division in the source of income of the Com­ society. In 1930, some educa­ mittee was the 'toll' collected cated youths of Kamakhya from shops, tea-stalls, etc.~ founded a club which was which were opened during im­ named as Bharat Bandhu portant celebrations. Club and Library. The main concern of the club was to The Samitee had no paid found a big library and at the employees. It continued its same time carryon some ac­ activities till 1956, the year tivities beneficial to the socie­ when Kamakhya was declared ty. Their sincere efforts did a townShip and statutory not go in vain. They gave town committee came into concrete shape to the present existence. Kamakhya Library. More­ over, they were the vanguard It waS believed that the of modernisation among the Town Committee would be people of Kamakhya. In the able to take over all the func­ next decade, a different orga­ tions of the Samaj Kalyan nisation took its shape which Samitee but soon it was found received the support and sym­ tbat a mere municipal body pathy of all sections of the was utterly inadequatel}' equip­ people of the place. The li­ ped to tackle all its problems. brary in the latcr years was The pressing social needs led re-named as Kamakhya Li­ to the creation of another or· brary, the particulars relating ganisation, Kamakhya Samaj to it will be supplied in a sepa­ Kalyan Sanstha in· the year rate chapter. 1960. It waS opened with the avowed purpot.e of taking up Kamakhya Samaj Mangal Sa· welfare activities which did mitee : not come under the jurisdIC­ tion of the Town Committee. Reference has been made to another organization, which The Sanstha has two cate­ was established in 1940 to gories of members. One can carryon various types of social become life member by paying services. This body was mainly a lumpsum amount of Rs. 50- responsible for initiating a or one can become ordinary number of development acti­ member by paying annual sub­ vities, like construction of scription of Re. 1. roads, clearing of water tanks, etc. It also took steps for The Sanstha has an elected· prevention of crime at Kama­ executive body ofthirteen mem­ khya. It carried on its acti- bers, including a President, a 15 Vice-President, a Secretary An important source of in­ and a Joint-Secretary. The come for the Sanstha is the free offices are held for one year. collected from the students. There are also some voluntary The Sanstha manages a pre­ contributions from the public. basic (montessori school), But the main €ource of income a maternity home and crafts­ is .the grant-in-aid received centre. It also maintain from Assam State Social Wel­ a children's park near the fare Board and the Central motor stand on the top of the Social Welfare Board. During hill. 1961 to 1964, it received Rs. 25,000 from the Central Social The Sanstha took the ini­ Welfare Board, it received tiative to organise two holiday of Rs. 8,800 in 1965, and Rs. camps for children. The first 6,600 in 1966, from the source. one waS organised in 1963, It received separate grants from at Tezpur with the parti­ the Assam State Social Wel­ cipation of 50 boys; the second fare Board also. In 1960, it one was organised in 1965, at received a total grant of Rs. Darjeeling with the participa­ 8,000 in two instalments; in tion of 50 girls. 1961, it received a grant of Rs. 3,000. The permanent paid em­ Since 1966, the Sanstha seems ployees of the Sanstha are to be passing through a rough as follows :- water. It has failed to secure (a) Organiser cum Mistress. any grant from the Central (A Montessori trained Social Welfare Board. lady teacher has been appointed) Cultural Institutions and Re­ (b) Ayah. (Female child creation Centres: care-taker) Kamakhya does not have (c) Midwife. any cultural institution worth (d) Craft Instructress. mentioning. Several attempts (e) Music Instructor. were made in the past to esta­ blish cultural institutions and (f) Mali(gardner) recreation centres befitting the (g) Chowkidar(watch-man) reputation of the place. But these attempts have not met It is to be noted that the with much success. The small pay scales of the employees size of the population and of the Sanstha, particularly limitations of fund are un­ those of the music instructor, doubtedly important reasons gardner and watch-man are why cultural and recreational very low. centres of~ny significance failed 16 t() flourish here. But the ge­ them mention may be made neral cultural climate of the of purnananda Gid and his region and the lack of certain disciple Brahmananda Giri minimum facilities; share a who were living dur:ing the greater part of the respon­ rule pf the Ahoms. Among sibility. There is no public the present leaders of the cult hall of Kamakhya where cul­ mention may be made of Pra­ tural performances Can be or­ math Nath Sarma Sastri (de­ ganised. As regard the general boi or manager of Kamakhya cultural climate, it is to be no­ Estate) and Tantricacharyya ted that even at Gauhati there Ramani Kanta Sarma. ' is no cultural recreation cen­ tre except for a few Cinema A notable feature of this halls. Sometime back in a cult is that, it does not re­ feature article in the Illus­ cognise caste or religious res­ trated Weekly of India an trictions. A man of any caste author drew attention to the or religion can become a tantric fact though in the day time by undergoing diksha, (ini­ there could be f'ome sight tia~ion into the CUll). When seeing in and around Gauhati, they worship their def;ired life was completely dull after 'god' or 'goddess' they gene­ the dusk, with no enterainment rally form a chakra (a circle). and nothing of interests. It Normally, eleven members seems that the glorious cultural sit together and when the cir­ past of the region has an effect cle (Chakra) is complete no­ {)f soporific sodf satisfaction in body from outside is allowed the mind of the people and to join it. Inside the .Chakra, there is an all' embracing cul­ there is no difference among tural inertia today, which the the members. All the parti­ youth of Kamakhya find it cipants are equal. difficult to over co_me. Any Tantric can be a life Religious Institutions : member of tbe Union by paying a fee of eleven rupees Kamakhya is famous as at a time. A committee of one of the main centres of the two men consisting of tbe 'Tantdc Cult' a leftist sect President and Secretary per­ of Hinduism. There is a forms tbe executive functions society of the Tantriks at Ka­ of tbe Union. makhya, named Bhairabi Tan­ trik Union. The origin of this Under the auspices of the Union cannot be traced back. Union, various rites related to' the cult are performed. At different periods a num­ Tbe~e rites and practices are ber of veterans of the cult closely guarded secret among lived at Kamakhya,. among tbe members. One may, out 17 qf cu.riOSity jpin the. cult aad send him away. At last out of wisn to d~8Close before the vexation, . he threw a stone world about it. But once one over a heap where all tbe becomes a member, one is seen wastes of Kamakbya were to try to keep the secret. acCumulated and carried on hi's meditation. The goddess failing to drive him away, wished to grant him a boon~ Many of the Tantriks have The monk also wished to written books interpreting punish the goddess. He asked various aspects of· tbe cult. her to carry that stone with Most of these were in manu­ him. The goddess finding no scripts and were lost in course way out, sent one ofber maid­ of time. One Chandra Natb servants with him to carry­ Bh attach al'yya wrote Kali his stone wherever he went. Tantra, Barada Tantra and When it became almost im-· Kaularcban Paddbati. Purna­ possible for the girl to bear the banda Gid wrote . 'Tara heavy load any more, he Rahashya' . Brahmananda brought it back to Kamakhya. Giri worsbipped the goddess and with his own bands, Tara according to tbe Tibetan carved out the image of the customs. Many· legends are goddess Tara. cOnnected with the name of tbis great exponent of the cult. Brahmananda Gid wrote Not a single image of any god 'Saktananda Tarangini'. or goddesses is found inside tbe But along with many other temples of Kamakhya, Save valuable manuscripts this waS. the image of the goddess Tara. lost, when a fire broke out at This image was carved out of Kamakhya in the third decade stone by Brahmananda Giri. of the present century. It is said t}1at originally tbe great tantrik was worShipping At present the Bhairavi the goddess Tara, outside Union is trying to build a Kamakhya, c somewhere inside Tantrik Library at Kamakhya Assam. The . goddess feared and collect all sorts of manu­ that by the strength of medi­ scripts available at the pla~e. tation, he might compel her to Ifit becomes successful, It wIll leave her abode at Kamakhya, be a landmark in the history So she appeared before the then of the Tantric Cult at Kama­ king of Assam (probably some khya. Sri Pramath Nath­ Ahom King) in a dream and Sarma Sastri and Tantricha­ informed him that if he failed charya R.amani Kanta Sarma to drive the monk away, have represented the Union in she would no longer stay in various religious councils his kingdom. Three times held at different places of India. the paiks of the king tried to Save tbe Tantric Institution 18 tb~re is no otber sectarian Mahantas till tbe out-break in.stitution at Kamakbya. of the Second World War. There is of course a· Society They were Mahanta Balgir caUed tbe 'Bhakat Society' and Mabanta Narayan Puri. the m~mb"rs of wbicb are tbe Uptil now none from Kama­ followers of tbe great Sankar­ kbya bas ever become a deV'a of Assam. A mention Mabanta of it. Tbe Mahantas has been made of tbis society were appointed from while writing about tbe Village among the visiting Defence of Kamakbya. monks. After the war, the income from the landed pro­ perty was not enough to DaSDlUQi Althara of Kamakhya : maintain the 'Abbey' and This is not a functional now i t is managed by a com­ imtitution, but Can be regarded mittee ullder tbe Kamakhya as a residence for monks. It is Temple Authority: A few inside the Kamakhya Temple years ago. the landed property compound, and is said to be of the 'Abbey' was given in founded by Sankaracbaryya, aliction by tbe Government the great religious reformer of for the non-payment of the India. There is a stone image of revenue and it fe(ched only a pair of feet inside tbe A:lcbara. three thousand rupees. The They are said to be the feet amount has been deposited witb the State Bank of India, of God Bhairabi Temple :-It from the Kamakhya temple. iii about two hundred yards Itrans on the way to the temple away from the main temple. of the principal goddess. It is situated towards the This is brick structure with soutb of the Kamakhya tem­ a tin-roofed ,shed attached to ple com?ound. 21 (g) Dhumabati Temple:­ Lord Siva. Unlike other tem­ It is the abode of the Goddess ples, it is a cave formed by Dhumabati. The position of a few big rocks. Ther:,: are the temple is in between the several natural springs near Kamakhya and the Bhairabi it. But in dry-season the flow temple. of water is very low on the body of the rock, covering (h) Tokeswar Mandir:­ the front side of the Cave It is one of the five places of there is an image of a cow ca: Lord Siva at the top of rved on stone which is known Kamakhya. It is about three as the Kamdhenu. Reference hundred yarda from the tem­ of this is also found in the ple of the Goddess Kamakhya Kalika Purana (sixty-second and is situated towards the chapter). western part of the place. The main temple of the (i) Kedar Mandir:-This Goddess Kamakhya has two is a temple of Lord Vishnu parts as already stated, viz., situated close to the present the basement made of stone motor stand and only a few the construction period of yarda from the Kameswer and which has not been ascertai­ the Chinnamasta temples. It ned yet and the sikhara, built is very small in height and of brick and mortar by area compared to the other Narnarayan and Chilarai temples of Kamakhya. in the middle part of the sixteenth century. The other (j) Kamaleswar Temples :­ temples were built by Ahom It is also a temple of Lord Kings in between seventeenth Vishnu. One noticeable thing and eighteenth century. is that it is within the Kama­ One thing to be noticed is khya temple compound and that all of these temples are the situation is something pe­ surrounded by 'Prakara' i.e. culiar as Kamakhya is a Sa­ by a compound. They are all kta Goddess and within her made of brick and mortar. compound there is a temple There was no temple for God­ of Lord Vishnu. dess Bagala and she was left under the open sky. In the second decade of this century (k) Siddheswar Temple:­ the Maharaja of Durbhanga This is a temple of Lord Siva visited the Kamakhya Temple situated to the east· of the and it was he who erected a Kameswar Temple. 'tin-~hed' over the goddess. The Maharaja of Durbhanga . (1) Cave of Kauti-Linga :­ had also repaired some tem­ This is one of the places of ples and the Prakaras which 3-2 R.G. India/72 22 remaiU(:d unrepaired since images of Ganesha, of the fall of the AhomG. The Hanumana and !lome other place of the goddes~ Lalita gods and goddesses are very Kanta remained undiscovered attractive. At the eastern and till the fifties of this century the western parts of the main and when it WaS discovered, temple there are two gates she was covered by a tin-shed. known as Singha Duar and The goddess Banadurga and' Bagh Duar. Act-udly thl.; temple Joydurga were also found is surrounded by four gates recently. When Joydurga was but these two are more im­ found she was covered by a portant. The Singha Duar is similar tin-shed and one made of stone, while the Marawary Tradesman erected a Bagh Duar is of brick and modern temple on the side mortar. The Singha Duor is of the goddess Banadurga. three hundred feet below the Many of these -temples have Kamakhya Temple. The wes­ been damaged and they re- tern gate of the surrounding quire huge sums for repair. 'prakara' is called Hanuwan In 1966, the Birla Trust Duar where the image of carried on some repair work6 Hanumana remains on guard of the main temple of the of the Mother Goddess. Goddess Kamakhya. The Another thing that makes one praise-worthy work done by curious is that there is an them is the reconstruction of image of the great Buddha the temple Kamaleswar, the carved on a stone which re­ temple of Lord Vishnu within mains unguarded on the way the compound of the Goddess to the top Qn the eastern part. Kamakhya. Out of these so many relics only three have been classified as protected monuments. One Other Relics of the Past : is atop the Bbairabi temple There are many relics of where there is a stone image the past otber tban tbese tem­ called 'Bala-Bhairabi'. The ples. Tbey remain spread second is a big image of Gane­ hither and thither at Kama­ sha on the way from Pandu. khya. Firstly, some beauti­ The Singha Duar is just. atop fully carved stones, stone­ this image. Tbe third is a Etonc­ pillars are to be found which inscription of King Siva appear to be blown off the Singha at a place called Cutting original temple by the bom­ a few yards from the point bardment of Kalapahar. There where the motorable road to are some stone-images wbich lie Kamakhya and the Assam scattered on the body of the Trunk Road ar,c connected. temple and otber big rocks. Among these tbe images of a The temple ofPandu Nath : 'mother and child', several It is at the foot of the Baraha'· 23 hill. It is a temple of Lord the temple. The time men­ Vishnu. The Kalika Purana tioned is 1759. It was carved sayS that Lord Vishnu killed on the occasion of his visit to the great demons Madhu and the temple. Kaitabha here and the Pan­ (c) davasin their exile wor~hipped The copper inscription oj the Goddess Kamakhya pray­ !

it was dedicated to the God of It was founded with the help the Same name. of one Promod Chandra Roy, a former Excise Superin­ Over and above there are tendent. Now it is run with the a good many copper plates monthly SUbscription of the with many families. Most of desciples of the hermitage. them relate to the land-gifts It cannot provide accom­ to Brahmans and temples by modation to anybody as it kings or their viceroYs. I gave does not have any 'dharam· one such to Dr. Maheswar saJa'. From this Asram the Neog, Nehru Chair Holder, books written by Swami Gauhati University, and he Bhumananda are published. prepared a reading of it. The present Swamiji Praka­ shananda manages the her­ (g) The stone inscription of mitage. It is situated on tM Koch King Raghudev :-The Kamakhya Temple land which son of Sukladhwaj (Chilarai), waS leased out to the Asram Raghudev became the ma6ter of for 99 years. the eastern part . of tbe Rocb Kingdom. He built tbe temple of Pandunath in (b) Umachal Asram:-This the year 1583. It is written in is situated at a distance of this inscription. about two hundred yards from KaJipur Asram. It was Hermitages at Kamaklaya : founded by one Swami Umananda Saraswati in the There are several hermi­ third decade of the present tages at Kamakhya whose century from the donations number at the time of writing of the desciples. It is now this book was five. These managed by the monthly hermitages were founded not subscriptions of those des~ by any man from Kamakhya. ciples. It bas a 'dharamsala' Neither they were established and everybody is allowed to by any Assamese. These five live there. The main objec­ hermitages were established tive of this Asram is to esta­ by some Bengali monks. Their blish a Jogic College. It has particulars are furniShed below: already started a Jogic School and a Hospital. For this (a) Kalipur Asram :-Kali­ purpose, this Asram has pur Asram is situated at the received a sum of Rs. 2,000/­ the eastern side of the foot, by way of grant from the facing Gauhati. It was founded Government. A number of by one Swami Purnananda in books about jogic practices the year 1922. The aim of tbe and exercises have been pre­ Asram is to practise, Joga pared and published by this BrahIUabidya (knowledge of Asram. It is run by Swami the universe) and wisdom. Sivananda ~aswati at present. 25 It is also situated on Kamakhya Tantricism. Khageswar Temple land which waS leased Brabmachari published some to it. books and many saw him selling those books near the (c) Bijoykrishna Asram:­ D. C.'s Court at GaubaU. This Asram is situated to­ After his death the Topoban wards tbe north of the foot was taken over by Umachal of the hilL It was founded in Asram. 1959 (1366 B.. S.) by one Swami Parmananda Saras­ (e) Abhoyananda Asram:­ wati by tbe contributions of This A.sram is situated on land his desciples. He dedicated tbe leased out by Kamakhya Asram in the name of tbe late Temple toit. Unlike the other Bijoykrisbna Goswami, the Asramas, it is situated on religious preacher of Bengal. Kamakhya proper. It was Swami Parmananda Saras­ founded by one Swami Abboya­ wati is still living and he nanda, a Bengali monk. manages the affairs of tbe The exact date of the founda­ Asram. The A.sram site is tion could not be obtained. exquisitely beautiful. The land However, I came to know that forit was leased from Kamakhya it was established in the second temple. Several modern decade of the present century. design R. C. C. buildings have His aim was to provide Shelter beent1rected at the Asram site. to monks and other pilgrims It is managed by what it re­ and it was a sort of 'dbaram­ ceives by way of donations sala'. But after his death a from its desciples and others. section of his desciples got It cannot be said to be a sort possession of it and acquiring of 'dbaramsala', but any body control, they have almost willing to stay there is allowed made it a shelter for a section for few days. Its main aim of people only. is to preach religion. Educational Institutions; (d) Nigam Topoban :-It is situated at a little distance -Kamakhya is not such a from U111achal. The great big place and as such, the hope Jogic-Guru Swami Niga­ for establishing a University mananda lived there. It consists or a College cannot be cheri­ of a hut only. Till recently, shed. It is situated near Gauhati an Assamese monk, Khages­ and is a part of greater Gau­ war Brabmacbari Who waS hati. There are several col­ a desciple of Swami Niga­ ~eges includiI!g. 3;n .Engineer­ mananda lived tbere. He died mg at,W-a ~ ~~~~caJ-,r.C.911~ge five years back. at ~~~>An Engl~J1t.ng Inst~H1fe and an Industrial Swami Nigamananda wrote Tra:1n.ingf~,~lnstitute are also several books on joga and there. Again' "tlie University 26 of Gauhati is itselt situated became an M. V. School. In there. These institutions offer 1918; it was taken over by the opportunity to the students School Board of Assam. Since . of Kamakhya to prose- then an English Section cute their higher studies. WaS opened and in this way However, there are some the School made considerable educational institutions, which progress. In 1960, a High can provide some facilities at School Was established at least at the basic level to the Kamakhya .and after that in . local students. I am going to 1963 the M. V. Section of it give details of them one by one. was abolished. Since then it has been working as a BoYS' Kamakhya Balak Primary Primary School. School (Boys· Lower Primary): It is exclusively a school Till the advent of the British, for boys. The number of there was no proper school students is 230 and that of the at Kamakhya. Nevertheless, teachers is five. They are all there was a kind of 'Home male teachers. It is situated Teacher' (just like the private near the present motor stand tutors of the present day, who at the top and has a building gave regular coaching to young of its own. boys from house to house in 'Kaithali Script' and 'Kam­ Kamakhya Balika Vidyalaya rupy Language'. In 1862, an (Girls' Primary) : Aided Village Primary School was opened with the permis­ Till 1941, there was no' sion of the British Autho­ girls' school at Kamakhya, rities. In 1878-79, the School though from the Eecond de­ was raised to the level of cade of the present century, Higher Primary, teaching some guardians sent girls to students upto standard V. take their first lessons at The' medium of instruction the Kamakhya M. E. School. was Assamese until then and By the end of the third decade, from that time lessons began thenumber was growing consi­ to be given in Bengali. In derably and the need for a se­ 1902, the Educational Autho­ parate girls' school was cities gave an order for in­ keenly felt. Arrangement for troducing A~samese as accommodating the sChool medium of instruction in all could not be made until 1941- the Schools of Assam and it 42. In that year a tin-roofed was only in 1908, that Assa­ wooden house was erected mese was introduced as me­ with the donations received dium of instruction at the from Mis. Badridas Radha­ Kamakhya Higher Primary kishan of Gauhati and a School. In 1915, the School separate girls' L. P. SChool 27 waS a reality. Since then the The staff consists of eleven School is progressing day by male teachers. day. The number of girls The school is runni~ reading in the school at through its ninth' year, It present is 200. The number haS not been brought under of teachers is three. Of them one 'Deficit System' by the Govern­ is a lady. ment on because of departmen­ tal procedural reasons. About Kamakhya High'School : fifty per cent of the students are girls. Before the establish­ As the population increa­ ment of this school, the girls sed, the number of students of Kamakhya did not get any grew day by day. The number chance to carryon their of students completing their studies beYond tbe middle L.P. and M. E. School courses school level. Very few fathers waS adequate for starting could afford to send their girls a High School. Formerly, to Gaubati on foot as Kama­ the students had to go to khya is situated on a hill. It Gauha.ti for prosecuting is estimated that only one per their studies in Secondary cent of the total number of girls and College level. Of course, received secondary education, the students were all boys and and no girl could go upto the the number was small. The Post Secondary Level. Through girls did not get any chance the earnest efforts of for carrying on their studies some persons, a high school as it was not possible for them came into existence at Kama­ to go down to Gauhati al­ khya in 1960. It symbolises ways. In the case of the boys tne spirit of sacrifice of the also, it WaS not an easy thing people of Kamakhya. For the to go down to Gauhati alwaYS construction of 1he buildings to prosecute their studies it received gen0rous donations and for this reason most of from the local people as them became weak-bodied well as some persons belonging and a good number breathed to Gauhati. The Kamakhya their last due to exhaustion. Estate donated a sum of In 1959, the M. E. Section of R6. 50,000 (Rupees fifty the former M. V. School thousand) for the construction wat; separated and was rai­ of the ground floor of a R.C.C. sed ~o High SChool in building and a further sum of 1960, At present, the school Rs. 25,000 (Rupees twenty haG becn running through its five thousand) for the first­ ninth year. Everything can floor of the building. The be said to be complete as re­ people of Kamakhya are gards the Scbool Save some making voluntary contribu­ minor disadvantages. The tions even now for the humber of students is 350. maintenance of the school. 28

Kamakbya Sanskrit To} : students. It is housed in an old, tin-roofed, mud house which was built for it at th~ The study of Sanskrit is beginning. The land was dona­ ne~s~rily a part of the daily ted by a l{lcal man. actlVltle& of the people of l(amakhya as it is a famous llindu Shrine. But there was JibaD Ram BaJikata Durga· no in~titution for teaching Sarobar L. P. School: Sanskrit at Kamakhya till the beginning of the present It has already been stated century. Learners were to that, though the number of begin their first lessons at people living at foot of Kama­ home under ~omeone and after khya was very small in the past acquiring some knowledge, it is quite considerable at pre: they had to go to Varanasi sent. About 20% of the total for higher studies. There are ll.oIlulation of Kamakhya noW lltiH se'veral. men wbo had gone lIve at the foot of the hill. The to Varanasi for the purp()6e. people living there can avail oUhe educational facilities of the town. A Primary school After the first decade of was, however, established at the the present century, the eastern corner of the foot of great Sanskrit Scholar of the hill in the year 1962 has Assam, Dhireswaracharayya been named after name of the came to live at KamakhYa. donator of the land to the lie is popularly known as schoo!' At present 80 pupils 'deo' at Kamakhya. It waS bave been enroUed in the under his supervision and SChool-of whom 41 a~'e boys guidance, that the Kamakhya and 39 are girls. The number Sanskrit Tol was established of teachers is 2. One of them and he introduced the is male and 1he otheris a female. discussion of Panini here. The Scbool receives grants The Institution did not receive under deficit &y5~em from the any grant from the Governnent Government. till recently. The grant at present being received is only a small amount; it is not Shiksbayjka (Kamakllya Tut(loo enough for maintaining the tol rial bome) : at a good standard. Because of lack I)f o:ff1cial patronage Till the middle part of this and also because of the fact year, there was no Tutorial tbat the present generation is Home at Kamakhya. In June more interested in western this year (1968), some edu­ type of education, the tol could cated youths of Kamakbya, not flourish. At present it has wanted to open a Big one Sanskrit teacher with ten Venture School to provid 29 educational aids to such stu­ equipped hospital at Kama­ dents who could not succeed khya, as not only the inhabi­ in various examinations. In tants, but a considerable num­ July 1969, a Tutorial Home ber of vistors require be looked name "Sikshayika" has after here. started functioning at Kama­ khya. It has twenty students After numerous represen­ at present of which 14 are tations, the subsidiary boys and 6 are girls. They dispensary was made a State are all candidates of the High Dispensary in October, 1965, School Leaving Certificate with the following staff. Examination. The classes are held in the evening at (a) One A. S. (grade I) Kamakhya Balak Primary medical officer. School. It has five part-time (b) One pharmacist. coaches including a Sanskrit and a Geography teacher. It (c) One nurse. has not received any grant from the Government uptil There is no medical focial now. worker in the dispensary. On the other hand, as it is not a ,hospital, the nurse actually Hospital and Dispensary: performs tne works of medical­ social staff. There is no hospital at Kamakhya. Other medical There is no para-medical institutions like the Health staff also. But there is one Centre, Maternity and Child chowkidar who helps the medi­ Welfare Centre, etc., are also cal officer and pharmacist in absent. There is only a State various ways. Dispensary at Kamakhya. It was started in 1940 as a Subsidiary Di~pensary. That Statistics of the incidence of was quite inadequate to pro­ diseased treated in 1967-68 : vide necessary medical facili­ ties to all the sections of people. (a) The total number of The public of the place patients treated were 4769. moved State Government None among these died in the several times to allot one fully year of reference. Th6 30 nature of diseases were as follows:-

Disease Number Number ended in mortality

1. Fever 1,188 Nil 2. Dysentery 940 3. Influenza 1,854 4. Diarrhoea 59 " 5. Ear-disease 180 6. Eye-disease 177 " 7. Sprain 244 " 8. Minor wounds 127 "

TOTAL 4,769

Over and above, these, all felt need for family palnning maternity cases, some Cases of centre. In fact 39 out of 178 child disease were treated in married Brahman women of Gauhati. There were four cases of cancer also. They were child bearing age residing on treated in Gauhati, Calcutta the top of the Kamakhya hill and Vellore, of Madras. All have already got themselves these caGer; ended in mortality. sterilised at Gauhati. Reli­ The greatest difficulty of gious orthodoxy did not stand the people of Kamakbya at in the way of adoption of present is the absence of a family control measur(;s. Ano­ Maternitv and Child Guidance ther about 15 women are Clinic. At the time of delivery, reported to follow cit her rhyth­ the expectant mothers are taken down the hill to Gauhati. mic method or other indigenous It is something risky, parti­ practices. On the other hand cularly because no vehicle Can there are about 50 women be obtained during odd bours with more than three chil­ of the day. dren each. If the family plan­ ning clinic is set up in Kama­ Family Planning Centre: khya, such prospective mothers . As the population is in- can be persuaded to limit the creasing rapidly, there is a sitze of the family, 31 Municipal Administration : ment by way of grants. Be­ cause it does not earn any in­ Kamakhya is a small town­ come from other sources ship with about five thousand asit does not have any. Neither people. It has already been it has any property like market noted that Kamakhya was and others. As regards expendi­ formerly held as a village. On ture also, it is not So much February 15th, 1956, it was expanding in amount. Uptil declared a Township. A now the committee has car­ Municipal Committee of six ried out only a limited pro­ members was nominated by gramme. Its principal ex­ the Government. The same penditure is incurred in the committee has been running following items : the municipal administration at Kamakhya as no election (a) General administration. has been held uptil now. The reasons have been observed (b) Public safety. earlier. Tax has not been (c) Drainage and beverage. imposed at Kamakhya yet. For, the inhabitants of Kama­ (d) Conservancy (it does khya have not yet agreed to not, however, inclUde pay the house-tax. Therefore, cleansing and watering no municipal election has yet of public roads and been held at Kamakhya. The latrines ). nominated body have been doing all the activities of the (e) Construction and main­ civic-body. tenance of roads.

Since it is not yet a full­ Except these few, the Town fiedg~d civic-body, its acti­ Committte has not done any­ vities are also limited. As thing remarkable. As regards there is no elected member or public health, water supply, of any special category, land development, remunera-· there is no distribution of tive enterprises, public instruc­ functions between the elected, tion, sewerage, and other, the nominated or members of spe­ Kamakhya Town Committee cial categories. There is no does no have anything to do. paid ,~x,;:cutive also. The Town Nor does the Municipal body Gommittee does not have any has framed any ruics as re­ operative department. The gards publiC-health, control number of employees are five and supplies of food and adul­ which have been already terated stuff, construction of stated on an earlier occasion. houses, latrines, disposal of As regards income also, it has nightsoil and garbages, etc. solely to depend upon what Thus its functions are very it receives from the Govern- much limited. An analysis of 32 its principal nature of functions have been given below: Receipt of the Committee:

Government's grants Year Year 1966-67 1967-68

Rs. Rs. 1. General purposes . 3,500'00 3,500'00 2. Special purposes (it includes grants for urban development, communicadon grants and motor vehicle grants) 7,593'00 3,310'00

The total receiptS excluding the opening balance ...... 11,093 ·00 6,810'00 Total receipts including the opening ba- 28,156'51 19,694'18 lance. Expenditures : 1. General administration 4,824'89 5,109'04 2. Public safety(lighting) 290·48 565·04 3. Drainage and beverage 8,296·60 4,Q22·60 4. Conservancy . 569·94 316·75 5. Construction and maintenance of roads 2,566'50 68·00

,- The supply of water and with boulder and soiling, electricity to the town is measuring 922 feet. The total given by the Assam State length of the roads under P. W. D. and the Assam State Kamakhya Town Committee Electricity Board. The supply is 10.5 Km. approximately. of electricity and water have Thus the achievement of the been dealt in separate chap­ Town Committee is almost ters. Among the notable negligible. . tbingsdone by the Town Com­ mittee, m,~ntion may be In so far as the road light­ made to three under-drains ing, it can clearly be stated with concrete culverts over that it is insufficient. Only the them, the total length of Temple compound and the which is 840 feet and cons- road to it from the motor-stand truction of three small roads I has been lighted. The number 33 of light posts is ten. For each people had to face insur- point the Town Com..m,ittee mountable difficulties. has to bear a monthly expendi­ ture ofRs. 4.80. Still no norms have been set as regards the Since the beginning of the distance between each light­ present century, when the post. Hours of lighting have population was increasing, the not also yet been fixed. Again problem became acute. But it the Town Committee has was difficult to move to action not acquired any land for tbe alien government in tbis future public works. matter. The native princes, zemindars and other wealtby persons who visited Kamakhya Proble~ of water at Eamakhya: as pilgrimage could have done something, but actually they The supply of water is ac­ also did not do much. In the tually a responsibility of the second decade of this century, Town Committee and it should a Society named Kamakhya have been discussed alongside Jalakasta Nibarani Samitee the Town Committee. But was formed. This Society as it is the most vital problem began to raise funds from the of Kamakliya, it would be dis­ local people and visitors to cussed here separately. the Temple. But the fund raised was very meagre for The problem of water at the purpose. In the fourth Kamakhya is not of today, decade, Babu Raja Ram and it is age-old. Form~rly, the Jagannath Prasad of the people did not feel the scarcity Hanuman Cotton Mills, Cal­ of water so much because of cutta, promised to give the two things. Firstly, the num­ necessary sums for the cons­ ber of people living there was truction of a water works very small, secondly, the at Kamakhya. But it never people would not think of materi1;!.lised. The growing machines to supply water scarcity was felt day by day. to Kamakhya. There are Very hopefully, the people several tanks and natural concentrated themselves in springs. Form,erly, water used their drive for fund collec­ to be supplied to the inhabitants tion. Several plans were drawn and hundreds of visitors from up for a water supply scheme, . these sources. The supply of but not one of them became water was inadequate. It was successful. The only subs­ unhygienic and dirty. Many tantial assistance that was people died every year from received, Rs.. 50,000, from water-borne diseases. Again, in Ram Krishna Dalmia, here the dry season these sources of it is note worthy that froin water used to dry up and the Birla Home an amount of , 34 Rs. 11 only was received. consisting of stone, sand and In the )'Car " ., the total alum at diffieren! S{agl!s. For c()llection from the public distribution, there are four­ and the visitors which amoun­ teen sub-tanks which are also ted to Rs. . .. was handed oVer called service reservoirs. The to the Government of Assam. capacity of each of these sub­ The then Chief Minister of tanks is 400 gallons. They are Assam took an active inte­ situated in difr~rent areas and r<:st in the matter and the State from them the supplyofwater P. W. D. was asked to draw is made. A four inch steel pipe up the necessary plan for of two thousand and five hun­ setting up a water works for dred feet form the main con­ Kamakhya. Work for it was duit. The distribution pipes started in the last part of are of various diameters, vary­ 1957 and was completed in ing from three inChes to half the early part of 1960. inch pipes. The total length of tbe distribution pipes is Now the major source of 7,500 (seven thousand and five water supply in tne town is hundred feet) of different size. Kamakhya water works which There is only one pumping is, of course, still run by the station with tbree pumping State P. W. D. and nor by sets of fifty H.P. each. The the Town Committee of tbe duration of water supply is 4 place. The reason for it haB hours, which is generally sup· already been described. But plied in the mor'ning houti;, this water works serveS As the: people have not only sixty per cent of the agreed to pay the house-tax. it total peopl

Eledrification of Kamakhya: But at Kamakhya only Kamakhya has beenelectri­ about 9 % of the houses have fied since 1958. Two years been electrified. The number before that it was declared of connections is only 65. The a township. The electrification rate per unit as given by the of Kamakhya was hastened State Electricity Board Assam by the installation of the is as follows: 1. (a) Domestic light:- first 30 mts. @ 0'40 paise (per kl. Wt. Hour) next 60 mts. @ 0'38.. ., balance @ 0 -36 ,. '. 2. (b) Domestic power :- first 50 mts. @ 0 '21 " .. balance @ 0-19 .. ., Tbe electrified houses at has been collected So far. It is Kamakhya are not concen· stated that if additional people trated in one particular area; are to be served then addi­ these are scattered all over the tional load will be required. town. In tbe year 1967-68, the total consumption of It is to be noted that though electricity. according to the in the villages of Assam, atatistics given by the Gaul1ati electric connection is given to office was 31,000 units. The residential houses on instal­ total charges due for it is Rs. I ment basis, the same facility 11.859.54. Of it Ri. 9,135.59 is not provided to the people 36 of Kamakhya, asitisanurban be included. In that case the area.On theotber hand due to northern part of Kamakhya their poverty most of the ~ople would also be developed. of Kamakhya are not in a Besides this, a part of Ka­ position to meet the initial makhya (the Bhubaneswari cost of extending electric hill) is likely to be developed connections in their houses. into a city park.

Master Plan for Kamakhya : Types of houses at Kama- It has already been men- kbya: tioned that though Kamakhya has been declared a townsbip, According to the census of yet due to some reasons, it 1961, the number of housel> at has not been able to draw Kamakhya is 709. But the any developmental plan for I number has increasd a little the place. The Town Com- since then. As regards type, mittee does not have any it can be said that, like every master plan of its OWn. But other town, all sorts of struc­ Kamakhya is a part of Greater tures from R. C. C. buildings, Gaubati and as such it is to ordinary thatched cottages included in the master plan can be found at Kama­ for Gauhati. In the master khya. Before 1897, the plan for Qauhati, the foot houses at Kamakhya used area of the southern part has to be mainly of mud-waH been shown as general com- and straw-roof. In 1897, a mercia! area. Beside this, severe earthquake destroyed there is no' other develop- most of these houses. The mental plan for J{amakhya number of houses were also as such. It is, however, under- not more than one-third of stood that very soon the the present number. Again, master plan for Gauhati there waS no residential house would be revised and a 'River- at the foot of Kamakhya tben. bank' development scheme New types of houses began would be included in it, in to be constructed from that which the entire bank of the time and the number has also Brahmaputra river from increased. The types of boufleji Gaubati to Pandu would by age are as follows: (a) Number of houses by type of material used in the plinth, wall and roof :- 1. Mud-wall, Kuchha-floor tin roof from 0 to 5 yrs. old 123 nos. 2. Mud-wall ,pukka-floor tin roof. from 0 to 5 yrs. old 168 nos. 3. Mud-walI,Kuchha-floortinroof from 5 to 20 yrs. old 69 nos. 4. Mud-wall , pukka-floor tin roof. from 5 to 20 yes. old 23 nos. s. CemeDt \VaU, pukka-floor fin-loal fR6m oS to' 20 yr&. old 64- NoB. ~. 11 Mud-Wlrn, l)\lkktllloor tin... roof. abdve 20 yrs.ol4 " i. Mud wall, ICuchha-tloortin-roof abeve 30 yn. old 43 " &. R.C. C. baiIdmgs- • • from S to Z6 yrs. old 18 ,.

9. R. C. C. buildings • • above Z(J yrs. old 5 II 10. Thatched cottages • 220 " Out of these, about 150 houses are used for commercia:] hou!>es are- used for commercial purpol!es at the top of Ka­ purposes. But most of them are makhya. Again the houses at concentrated in the foot area, the foot of Kamakhya have specially, the southern por­ been bliilt mostly by outsideu tion of the town. Only 15 on leased lands.

Number ()f bouses by storeys : 1. Single storey · (TIn &tructure) 406 Nos. 2. D't)ublc. stoley (l'instructtlre) 101 " 3. Single storey · (R,.C.C.) 16 ,4. double st'()l:ey (It.C:C.) 1 .. 5. Single storey · (thatthed cobtage) 220 .. 6. Three storey · (tin structure) 11 o. Most of the double storey' like marriage, before any booses at Kamakhya are repair ~ undertaken. Some. wooden structures. Some of times it remains in completely the no1iceable things about dilapidated condition without these houses are that, these any repair. It, however', appeats houses have been built without that some' change-is taken place proper planning, inner roads in tbe attitude of the peopre are very much nartow; the 11'1 this matter. in recent yelns. houses in most cases do not have adequate ventilation and Hotels and Dbarmsalas : sanitary arrangement. The strikingfeature of the charac­ As an important place of ter of the people of Kamakhya pilgriIDa.ge Kamakhya is is that, they do not ~ow to exp~cted to have many hotels repair their houses and once and dharamsalas. Ifut' in fact a house is built, it has to wait thet:e .. is. no hotel on the top for an auspicious ceremony of Kamakhya. It appears 4- 2 R.G. India/72 that there is some inhibition Kamakbya are served by tJjese ~ll1ong the local pe~ple to enter, q,otels. Their daily customers tnto hotel-business. If a visitor are the workers in the Railway wantB to Btay at Kamakhya and some outsiders who fo,I: a few days, he is readily ~nerally <;ome to the ,Railway ac~mmodated by the priests. Head-quarters for some sort of He 16 not charged any thing work: by, WaY of housewrent. From outside, the standard , However, there are a few of sanitation of most of these botels at the foot of the hill and hotels and eating houses does they are mostly concentrated ~ot appear to be very impre­ on tbe southern part of the ~IVe There is much scope fO,r area, facing, the Headquar­ Improvement. ters of the N. F. Railway. All of them are housed in single stor~y, Assam type houses. Dbarmsalas : TheIr total number is six but only two can offer lodging There are two dharamsalas facilities. In one of these the at Kamakhya, One of them is dwellers live on monthly b~ssis. situated 'on the Top of It 'can provide accommoda­ RamaJchya,. on the western tion to fifteen persons. Each side of the Kamakhya Tern­ ]1le. Tbe nllme of this dharam­ dweller h~s to pay Rs. 65/7 sala is Abboyananda Dba­ (Rupees Sl]~ty five) per month for food and lodging. The r~msa.la. •It is situated on other oan provide facilities to small, separate hillock. It only si.x! pen-ons. The monthly was established by one Swami ,charge for each seat is Rs.6/­ Abhoyananda in the second .(Rupees six only). The name decade of this century. The ..of the former is Kamakhya dharmsala cQnsists of six ,Diary and Hotel and that independent quarters. The of the latter is Kamrup Diary. roofs of these houses are ,The remaining four hotels are bu~lt of tin-sheets. They are just eating houses. These are buIlt on wooden pillars. Side not associated with any reli­ walls have been made of gious, linguistic, caste or wooden planks. The flooer of community group. The avera­ every room is pukka. In one ge meal charges are as the side walls have been mad~ follows: .of <;. I. sheets. Each quarter IS blg enough to house a sizable 1. Fish-rice • Rs' 1'75 p. family, At a little distance 2. Mutton-rice • Rs. 2'00 p. there is a six-room brick: 3. Chicken-rice • Rs. 2'50 p. built latrine. A little down towards the south, there is a Of course, Dot more than natural spring flowing by it. one per cent of the visitors to The place is solitary and beautiful and surely a suitable Tea-Stalls: place for a dharamsala. The land of the dharamsala was There are in all 22 tea-stalls, obtained from the temple by a at Kamakhya. Out. of these.. lease agreement. A small sum three are situated at . the top, was donated by the said two at the eastern part of the Swami Abhoyananda to the foot, and the remaining 17 Temple Committee. The in­ are situated at the south7 terest from it would be spent western part of the foot.: in the repair work of the These stalls are only standard dharamsala. tea-staUs. No classification can be made between tbem. But since a few years, a Again, there is no restaurant" section of the desciples of the properly So called. On one of Swamiji got control of it and the sign-boards, it has been the dharamsala has lost its shown . as a restaurant, but former character. it is no better than any ofth6 stalls there. The other dharmasala is situated at the foot of Eastern Among these tea-stalls, Kamakhya. The area is also only the three at the top and known as Durgasarobar. The the two at the eastern part name of the dharamsala is of 'the foot, get out-side Shri Dharmasala. It was 'Duilt customers. The other seven­ by Surajmal Hari Buksh teen at the south-western Agarwala of Gauhati, in the part of the foot serve mostly year 1920. The dharamsala local customers. These stalls ,has two big rooms. The side are not' associated with any walls are made of brick. The particular religious, linguis­ roof is covered by tin-sheets tic, caste or community and the floor is pukka. There group. Everybody is allowed in is a big cooking-shed and these tea-stalls. The average attached temple. For water a daily sale is Rs. 25 to Rs. 30 deep pukka well has been dug. approximately. As regards, The dharamsala is, however, in observations about cleanli­ a dilapidated condition at ness, general sani~ation, .present. After the outbreak of ventilation of rooms, standard the Second World-War, this offurniture, etc. it can be said dharamsala closed its doors that there are sCopes for im­ as no pilgrim dared to stay provement. ,there for fear of life. Sweet ~eat shop: Thus, though there are two dharamsalas at Kamakhya, There are only three sweet ,none of them has been func­ meat shops at the top of ,tioniflg normally for some time. Kamakhya. They aro (>f the same category. Uptil n&W nO' Besides these, there are fOliC" licence has to be obtained for teen shops oolling stationary' opening one, such sweet 8000s. Within the area there, meat shop. They are not are seven Shops selling clotli~ situated in permanent buildings The cloth dealing soops, the' ,,00 are lIDused in sheds within stationery gOQds dealers anQ' the Kamakhya Temple com­ some other ordinary gooot pound. The sweet meat they dealers are mainly situated' offer for sale is not for the in the southern part of the immediate consumption of fODt of the hili. There are at anybody, but it is offered to least twenty ordinary &hop& the gods and goddesses as dealing in vegetables. Food 'bboga' . The genetal sanita­ stuff is mainly supplied from ti\)n' arrangement is satisfac-­ Gauhati, part of the cloth and tory. Though the Hindus , vegetables are also sllppUed generally visit the Temple i .from the markets of Gauhati. and tbe sweet meats are sold Cloth is alsO' obtained fcom to them mainly, yet people of other important centres of the other religions are also al­ country, like Calcutta, Bom­ lowed to purchase sweet :meat bay, Delhi, etc. Vegetables are iituated on the 3. 1>. B. S:lW Mill :-Itis eastern and the sQuthern part Qf owned by a Punjabi Who has the fQQt. All the industries fall made his habitation there,. It within the category of Small is situated near the Manmatha Industries,. 'The tQal number Saw' Miil. The acreage under Qf such industries.is seven.. , it it) 1.0. It has ten wQrkers Among them, fQur are saw-, working under it QfwhQm tw'() mills, twO' are printing 'presses , are skilled. The number Qf and Qne is brass-metal indus- supervisory staff is one and try. Particulars ofUaem have the-admi~stration is done by been-given below: the Qwaer himself. The tQtal ouJ;put in t1;le year is 25,000 1. Kamakhya Sayt Mill:..,..., - cubicfeet~w()()d. It was e6ta.bli&bed.in tile year • 19S2. Its ntain. products 6e ' 4. Shri Ganesh Saw Mill ;­ c.t-wQod of drlfa"eat shapes ~ iIt is situated at the SDuthern ancl sizes. It is situated at·. part of the fQot. The owner Qf the eaqe. of the easter:Q, palit; the mill is a Marwari. The - Qf the Ii"QOt. The numoo.c. acre~ ~nd.er the ~D;li1l it; 1.6. QfworicellS v.acies from twclve [n "lle,l~n pe~EQnS are work­ to sixteell. ApprQximate ~ iDi-lij. the lDiUof wh~m two ar~ 42 ~killed. For f'lupervising there adjacent to Shri Guru Press 1S one pP.roon and the adminis. Its owner is the Radha KiSha~' tr.ation is done by the owner Di~adayal Firm of Gauhati. bimself. The total output in It IS a. small scale industry. the year is·30,OOO cubic feet Its maIn products are brass ofw(lod. circles and brass sheets. It is,: of Course, a seasonal factory 5. Natun AssamiyaPress :_ and remains active only r.t a It is adjacent to the KamakhYa certain period of the year. it Saw Mill. The owner of it is an generally runs for three to six A'>samese. The important daily months a year. The total 'Natun Assamiya' (A6samese) acreage covered by the indus­ is published in this press. Be­ try. is 0.5. The number of sides this,' the press publishes :wor~ers is 16. The total out-. books and other things. The put lU tbe year WaG 56 metric total acreage covered by the tons. press is 0.5. The total number of workers is 69. The total annual income in 1967-68 WaS Employment Exchange Rs. 1,80;880.00 from tbe news paper and Rs.2,S2,681·00 from Kamakhya is a small town advertisemen~. and as it is a part of Greater Gauhati, it docs not have a 6. Shri Guru Press :-It 6cparate Employment . Ex­ is situated at the southern por­ Change of its own. The tion of the foot area. It is big Employment Excbange at owned by the 'famous Dutta Gaubati serves tbe Greater Baruab 'Company of Assam. Gauhati area. Again the job­ The total land covered by it i~ seekers at Kamakhya have not 0.3 acre. The principal work yet fOT!Ded tbe habit of ap-' of it is to print book" and other proachlng tbe Employment thing'). At present a weekly Exchange to belp them in. news-maga·zine named 'Nila~ . finding a job. Whoever is chat' is b.::ing published by ready for some Bort of em-' this press. It has a plan of ployment ceeks direct appoint­ publishing, a daily news paper. ment tbrougb personal con­ The total number of workers tact it was found that most. in the press is 120. The total of the men in search of job output in the year 1967-68 was had not registered their names valued at Rs.. 2,00,000.00. This in the Employment Exchange andlhe Natun Assamiya Press at Gaubati. Of course, edu­ are the two most important cated unemployment is . not presses of Assam. So mucb rampant here at present; but the problem of 7. Statio Brass Metalindus­ uneducated . employment for. try :...... :.It is also situated at the the persons is there. Formerly, . southern part of the foot and any Brahmin boy,. if he failed to procecute higher studief!, from the Govern.tn.ent to put ~ could recourse to :priesthood. vehicle on the road. But this But now, the circumstances is still to be done. ' have completely changed. They are now compelled to News papers and Journals: ' find some other means of As a good part of the popu:' livelihood. A good many of lation ofKamakhya is educated,. -them have taken to shopkeep­ the habit of , reading neWS ing and other such business. papers and other journals It seems that 'the employ­ is very wide spread. The ment exchange authorities newspaper 'Natun Assamiya' have not taken adequate steps an important Assamese weekly ~o make the people conscious is published from the area. of the service that they can Of course, the population of render even in an important Kamakhya consist of mainly place like Kamakhya which two linguistic groups, they are visited by large number of Assamese and Bengali. The persons daily, not a single top and the eastern part of signboard a8 Employment Ex­ th~ town are mostly inha.­ change will be found. People bited by the ASBamese speaking would have easily attracted people and the southern if publicity was better than and the western part ofthe foot at present. are inhabited by the Bengali speaking people. So, English. Transport: Assamese and . Bengali news­ papers and magazines are There is no direct public mostly read in the town. The transport service to the top of .total circulation of newspapers Kamakhya Hill. Buses plying and Magazines is 356. The from Gauhati to Pandu go break up of the same is as via. foot hill of Kamakhya. follows: After reaching there the people Copies _ climb to the top on foot 1. English Dailies 15 or taxi. This causes great 2. Msamese Dailies 68 difilcu}ty to the visitors. It 3. BengaliDailies 44 also serves as a deferrent to 4. HindiDailies • (l. many prospective visitors. As 5. English weeklies - 29 there is an all-weather moto- rable road, it seems that 6. Assamese weeklies -. 67 there _should not be much 7. Bengaliweeldies 23 • difficulty to start a public 8. English monthlies • 12 transport service. Recently, 9. Assamese monthlies 14 the people of Kamakhya have IG. Bengali monthlies • 12 formed a Transport Society 11 .. Others '6 on Co-operative basis, and bave obtained the permission Total 356 A4

p~ ~d Tcqg8lJb emmn.­ .DUtIOD : There is no JIladtet pla.c~.. strictly so called at Kamakhya. I The importDce .of Kama­ The v.egeta&le iiQller§. ,~h • khYA was rec~ed by t,blc sellers, sweet-meat sellers; British an4 a Post Offl~ and the goat 'SeJlers '(he- l was opened at ~makbya in ,goats which are required fer I the early part of this century. ~crifi.ce) sit within the temple! It ':WaS a :branc.b offi~ an<,l in compound. Other 'Shops lare. this status it remained till tbe in the vicinity of temple. At year 1962. Since t'hen it bas the foot areas, tbore is no become a sub-p0St office under fluch plaCe earmarked fer the Central Poet Oftice of JDarket place. However, the Gaubati. Now it ~ regarded ~uthern paN of the foot hills as ,Gaubati-IO. is the main business centre of .the town and it ba.s been ,flhown as such in the Master The numPer of employ.~s 'Plan {or Gauhati. It ffi the jn tbe post-office is four, $eneral commercial area consisting of tbe sub-post­ without any particularity or. master, the post-Ulan, the any special local product runner and tbe packer. Durin.g for sale. The market area festival perioQti extra.,staff is inside the Kamakhya Temple engaged to cope with the componnd is called 'Kama­ volume of work. kpya Bazar'. There is another A statistics of the sale of piace at the we.stern Part of postal stationary during the ,the fo(}twhere there is a cinema year 1967-68 is given below: haU and ordinary. day-to-day· consumption goods .such as. 1. &lie of Postal sta­ v.egetable goods, fish and ti.onary; R!!. 6,768.80 .others are sold there. it is 2. During 1967-.68 alto­ :known as cinema ball marut. gether 13~253 moneY The total n1iliml~r ,of seUers ,orders amountin;g to in both the markets ,'laties Rs. 100,509..65 wqe received. 95,% .oftbese between 40 to 50. b. tbe mo1W,V orders were Kamakhya Market ~e tem­ ,reec.eived from d:itre­ porary tin-sheds have been r~nt places.ilJ. Assam ~rected, an(1 in the :cinema. ;and West ~i; ball market seiters sn 'by tbe only S % were .received from otp,er l'~ts Dr .side of the open street. The I~ . .Most of tp.cse ..hours .pf marketing are generally . ,Wone,)' ;ox4.er.s were ike motning~nd evening. . ~)J.t by ~ 4ev.otees to' tJae prie&ts for \ .by the Sub-post petfol1Bing plilja. .Dur~ ,Office. ing tbe same period The Qther particuiart> 146 money Qr.clers .about the functioni~ amounting to' Rs. of t.he 5Pb-post office 27.907.33 were issued are as fQllows :

Telegrams received 128 Telegrams issued 156 (charges Rs. 249'70) Registered letters issued 3,100 Registered letters received 1;942 ;YPLs recei.ved • 211 VPLs issued • 203 P.arcels issued. 890 Parcels received 690 VPPsissued 27 VPPs received • 170 The number of radio-licencesissued • 37

3. There is no separate In the year 1967~68, .the telephone .exchange at number Qf IQcal calls Kamakhya.lt is ,a part was 901 and the grQSS Qf the Greater Gauhati revenue received frQm telephDne system. the same was Rs. 181.70. The number of The telephQne exchange trunk-calls was 99 anti at Gaubati is an autD­ the revenue received matic Qne with ten from the.same was 'Rs .. thoulland .<;Dnne(:tiQns. 302.80. A ,line has .been exten;' deql·tQ Xamaklnta als.o .. Credit Organisation: But save tbe public-caJI Qffice at Kamakhya, There is 'a 'branch of the nO' priwte cDnnection United CQmmercial BaIJ4c Of has beeR granted uptil India. wit bin the jurisdiction nDW, though there are of'tbe town. at ·the situated outside. It is as members of the Kamrup interesting to note 'that there Mill Maji:lur Sangh. They, are a few indivJduals in the however,· do not have any town Who carryon money separate organisation for lending business with the their unit. Formerly, the agriculturists in the neighbour­ 'Workers of 'Natun-Assamiya ing villages. had a Union called Ramdhenu Natun Assamiya Press Workers' Union. It. however, Domestic Animals and Live­ could not Consolidate its stock: position and was dissolved Though Kamakhya is a sometime ago. It is understood town, still it retains some of the that they are now . trying to characteristics of the village form another union. life. Raising of domestic animals is one of them. Many On the whole the . indus­ households own cows and trial relations in the small goats for getting a regular and medium sized industries supply of milk. A.t present, the located in the town are peace­ number of cows is estimated to ful. No industrial dispute be around three hundred and or strife, worth mentioning that of the goats, one hun­ has taken place, here. dred. But not a single one has been registered either with Clubs, Libraries, Cinema the Town Committee or any Halls, etc. : other similar organisation. At the foot-hill, some Nepali There are several cultural graziers have raised cows for and sports organisations some commercial purpose and they of them are more than hundred 47 years old. Though their acti.. modern dramas. These were vities are mainly limjted within performl~d on ordinary days, the town area, they occa­ witbout any religious asso­ sionally give performances ciation, just for the sake of outside also. recreation.

Among the cultural orga­ Some ofthe sports organisa­ ti tions at Kamakhya are nisa on5, the name of Kama­ also quite old. Among them khya Natya Sl.miti may be m<}n'ion may be made of the mentioned. It is more than Tara-Champion Club, . the hundred years·old. Formflr1y, Modern Comrades's' Club, it WaS ranked among the leading the Free India Club, etc. theatrical organisation5 of Among the newly established AS5am. Of late there ba5 been clubs, K. N. C. Club and the a decline in its standing. the Jolly Zeal Club l are Now the Youngman at Kama­ more impo'rtant, must be khya are 5pending more time for education, their m~ntioned. There arc another occupations have also been eight EportS organisatio11s at KamakhYa, out of which four diversified. Hence they do not are meant for the adolescents have enough leisure to culti­ in their early teen6. vate their skill in the artificial art. Among the other impor- tant cultural organisations Library: mention may be made 6fTarun The most important library Sangha, Godadhar Opera Party, of the town is Kamakhya Durga Sarobar Milit Sangha, Library and Club. It is consi­ etc. In 1960, a few of the dered that it was founded in talented young men of the fi:-st decade oftbe present Kamakhya formed a cultural century, but the actual date organisation called Kaumu- is not known. It is one of the dica Cultural Union. They oldest libraries of Assam. have a plaij. to start an Institu-. , • . . tion of arts and culture at In 1930, some of the youths KamakbYa, of Kamakhya founded another ,library, named, Bharat During the Durga Puja Bandhu Library. By the end of 1968, Kaniakhya Natya 'ofthe decade, the Kamakhya Samitee staged two dramas, Library and tbe Bharat Tarun Sangh and Godadhar 'Bandhu tibrary . merged irito Opera Party I?erformed ~ne one under the name Kamakhya jatra (open aIr dramatl~al Library and Club. . , p~rformance) each. Dunng the Samfl year Kaumudica Once the library had a good Cultural Union staged two stock of many Sanskrit ba(Yks and old manU6cripti. Cillelna flail ltro£essional M{)St of them have been lost 'l'heatre: ~t present. It seems that:due Within ,the town area of to the absence of a trained Kamakbya, tbere is fl ,cinema librarian, the library is not hall named Orient Cinema. being maintained pro~rly. It is located at the foot area of Particularly, the system of the western KamakbYa.1t was built during the se40rid Warid Classification of books and issue War (1943) faT the military of the same is far from satis:­ personnels. After the war, it f~ctory. was purchased by ~ contractor of KamaJ41ya, who flln it for There are about 3,000 books several years. In 1954-, he in the library, of which about leased it out to a Punjabi. Th.e 75 % are in A,ssamese and building is an Assam type Bengali and 25 % are in hall With brick wa,lls and English, Sanskrit and Hindi. R. C. C. frontage. The floor T)le United States Informa­ space is 1,718 sq. ft. and the tion Service has also donated area of the gang-way is 994 sq. a cornerin the Library. Besides, ft. The projection length fTom the Assam State Social the projector to the screen is Education Board' is annually 72 ft. Tbere are four cl;1tegQ­ donating books worth Rs. ries ofseatb, special, first class, 70/- to the library. The library second class, and the third does not have a building of its class. The rates a1}d the nUIQ­ own and is located in a ber of seats in ~ach class Jl,Fe small private house. as follows :_,...

Class Number Rate of seats

Rs. "1. Special 5S 1·40 eXOluHing en- terta1nment ,tax. 2 ..First 232 0-90 Do

3. ~pnd 1114 0,·80 ~o 4. Thrrd S1 0,'0 'Do

The num0er of shows help ofthem:~ 2.~O, 5.pO {lnd $.31) daily are three, the matinee p.m. in theWinte. r. PlJringthe soow, tbe first shoW aruHhe S~r.. ,hows at'e bqJc;l .haJj ileCO'nd shoW. Tbe tinnI\is ~J,');bo\JT ~er t~t.be.e 1!i;1;Qj~. 49

In 1~1-68, about seventy members of different political :films wete exhibited. About partie!.', there is no branch of sixty of them are Hindi and any political party at Kama-­ Bengali films. The remaining, khya. ten are English and Assamese ftlms-. The places, of produc­ Though some areas within tion of Hindi, Bengali and the town are comparatively Assamese films are Bombay underdeveloped there is no and Calcutta. English pictures slum prOp€dy 60 called. Other W€re produced in England and symptoms of social pathology, U. S. A. No film specially like juvenile delinquency, for the cbildren was shown. prostitution, etc., arc not found The total sale proceeding at Karuakhya. , of the tickets eJQ.cluding the taxes amounted to appro­ :x:imately Rs. 2. lakhs. Kamakhya Estate and its: Management: Law and' Order situation : Kamakhya is a very old There is a police beat bouse shrine and it received sytO- in the town. It is under the "pathie€ of all the monarchs of lalukbari Police Station. A Assa:tn. Naraka, the first 'Sub-Inspector of Police is In­ Aryan King of Pragjyotis­ charge of the beat hOllse. pura worshipped the Goddess. Ther!) are one Havildar, one After the reign olthis Naraka Lance-na.yak' and eight Cons­ dynasty, the importance of tables under him. the Goddess was a little te­ duced. This 'Was probably due Duringtheyear 1%7, there to the general deterioration waS no major crime was com­ of Hinduism as Buddhism mitted within the jurisdic­ reCeived royal patronage, in tion of the town. There were most places of India. The only six cases of minot place remained in obscurity thefts and two cases of suicide. till the beginning of tne Koch :But on the 26th January 1968; reign in the western part of when there was some trouble Assam, in the early part ofthe in Gauhati involving some sixteenth century. Since sections of people from out­ then, it is ever growing in im­ side Assam, a few houses at portance. Even the Ahom the foot-hill were set on fire. Kings, after they embraced Hinduism, showed con&ider­ Other particulars of Soeiologi­ able interest in the worsbip ofthe Goddess and in the later caI,~e~ period of their reign, Goddess 'tho'Uih a few. individuals Kamakhya was regarded as, bave, enrolled t~eh'es as tbe state deity. 50 Besides Kamakhya, there During the special festival day, are E;everal other goddesses at listed in the schedule "A' the Kamakhya who are also consi­ Bardeories thigh priests) of dered to the manifestations of the Bura and Deka families the Supreme Goddess herself. alone can perform the wor­ More over there are five places ship of the Goddess Kamakhya. of Lord Siva. There arc shrines of some other gods alE:o. The For the purpose of ('arrying former rulers of As~am, dona­ on the duties of the Bardeories ted to these temples and in a sYftematic manner, they shrines land and other valua~ have 'Palas: or {daily turn for bles for conducting the day-to­ worshipping the Goddess).Each day worship and the special of the Bardeories perform festivals etc. All these consti­ the 'seva' (service) and tute, the Estate of Kamakhya. Puja {worship) of the deity according to his reEpective The structure of manage­ 'pala' (turn), and enjoy the ment of the estate has evolved profit5 obtained on that day. over a period of time. When Over and above the special Naraka came to Kamrup, he festivals, there are some days brought some Brahmans with in the month which are re­ him, evidently for, the purpose garded at> Pancha Pacva6 . . of worshipping the goddess. Tney nave bet;n sbown in tbe Next, the Koch King Bis­ schedule 'B' as well as en a wasingha brought some Brah­ few days indicated in schedule mansfrom Kanj (Kanyakubja). 'C'. On tne Pancha- Parva days The present Brahman com­ as well as on a few days indi­ munity of Kamakhya are cated in schedule 'c' the ·considered to be the descen­ Bardeories of the Bura and dants of the Brahmans who Deka families only are ~ntitled '(;ame from Kanauj. There to worship the Goddefs. :are five main families of tne ;Brahman!'> at Kamakhya. They In addition to worship by are known as Bura Bardeori, turn, there are some functional Deka Bardeori, Hota, differentiations among the Bidhipathak and Brahma. Of different families. Since th~ these, the family of Brahwa time of the Ahom rulers. As became extinct about century mentioned earlier the Bura and and a half ago. Deka families had the prero­ gative of worsnippingtne deiiy. The Bura and Deka bar- This prerogative continues on ·deories were probably of the special days. The right of . same stock. It seems that they performing Homa (fire sacrifice) were the original priest~ of the belongs the High family? the -deity. Even now ~hey enjoy right of counting the number a few special prerogatives. of Homas belonged to the 51 Brahma fami!y, till its extinc­ Bidliipathak6 each. This tion; now it is distributed allotment includes the share among tne remaining families. of Brahma. As regards the During tnis redietribution of 'palas' for the Pancha Par vas, rights, 2J3rd share was given to the Buras and the Dekas per­ the Bura and Deka families form them by rotation n alter­ and 1J3rd snare was giv~n to the native montbE. rest. Toe right of reading the ~riptures (bidhi) pertains to A priest wit pout initiation t_he Bidhi-pathak family. tDiksha) ca:nnot perform worsbip in thr Kamakhya , As indicated in schedule Temple. A new priest should "D\ the Bura and Deka undergo a preliminary trai.n­ families get a larger share of ing before h;} is allowed to the dabhina (fees paid to the perform the worship inde­ :pries~s by the devotees). pendently. When such a 'novice' comes to perfom the The Daily Worshipping of the wOftihip, he is watched by . Goddess: several elderly priests. Again . The daily wonhip of tlje a priest cannot perform tbe Goddess is known as 'Nitya worship during the period of PuJa'. Nit yo Ptlja is divided 'Asouch' (impurities by death into a cycle of ten daYE. Of or birth). ~his ten-day cycle the fir~t lWQ days fall to the Bura, the Schedules: second two days to the Deka, Schedule. 'A.' :-(Special and the third two days to the Brah- highly valued Pujas) ,rna, the fourth two days to the Rota and the last two The Durga Puja, Laksbmi days ~o tbe Bidhipathak. Thus Puja, Durga Deul, Madan the cycle of ten day,> is com­ Chaturali,' Basariti Puja, plete. Shyama .PuJa, Maroi Brat, Punsbaban, Sivaratri, Ratanti Already mention has been Shyama Puja, Janmastami, made of the special pujas and Uttara)an Sankranti (the poncha Parvas. In case, such summer solecistic), Dakshi­ ceremonies overstep the nayan Sankranti (the winter tpala-day', a Rota or a Bidhi­ Salecistic), Jalavishuva Sankra­ pathak has to make room for oti, Mahavishuva Sankranti. a Deka or Bura by taking his 'Pala' shifted to the next Schedule 'B' :-(Pancha Par vas) available day. ACcording to calculation, the total 'Palas' 1. 2 days of AGtami during of the Buras and Dekas come the month, .e. the to 110 days to each in a year eighth day after the and 70 days to the Hotas and full and nt;w-m oon. S2

2. 2 days of Chaturdasl:ti, after the new-mooll)~ Saradiya i.e. me fourreenth.day Navami (ninth day after thf1 after the full and the new-moon), tM. Puban Biya new-mOOil. (the Pungsavan of tba Goddess). 3. The Sankranti, i.e. the last day of the month. Schedule'D' ,

Schedule '(1' : (This scbedul&was observed! during the reign of the Aho.' This relates· to Saradiya Kings. Now, though it is not (Aufumn:tl DUFga Ptlj~) observed exactly, yet Dakshina Saptami (the !';eventh day ispaidin proportion to it).

Rs. anl'l« gancia

J. For performing the puja (Bura· &: Deka) in gald.silvet~ rupee in all. . • . 39 5 31 2. For perfarmi,lgthe Hama (Hota) 9 7 181 3~ Forreading of scriptures (Bidhipathaka) . 21 2 131 4. Fees to Brahma for assisting in tlie per- formance of 'Hama' 6 13 6

:ManagemeIR of tJae Kamakhya for the day-to-day and special Temple: pujas (worships). This supply is,made front the profits of Officers, ShBvaites and other the teIi1ple. Tlteyaretomanage workers i,. the Temple :- the properties of the temple .. realise rents, supervise the A list of the officials con­ duties of the Shevaites and nected with: the temple and alS'o other menials, prosecute suits of their functions is placed of the Estate. below:

1. The Dolois (managers): Remuneration of the Dolois:- There are two dolo is. They By. virtue of being ~ Doloi, are· the highest offioials fif there IS no change In the the temple. original status of a priest. But he gets an additional share The main function of the (Bhag) in respect 01 prasad twoDolois.is to supply articles (food offierings to the deity). 53

Moreowr, they are elltitled the fiv~ families are Bura, to get the following :7~ Deka, Hota, Bidhipathak and Brahma. (&) Two sacrificeQ_ goats per month. 3. Supakara (CQok):- (b) A naibedya (offerings There are a few families whose in kind) of three poas duty is to cook the 'Bhoga' of rice daily. (food offerings) of the goddess. (c) One plate of Bhoga 4. Astaprahari :-'Astapra­ (food offerings). har' me(ins the whole d&y. (d) One pice (now three They are a class workers at paise) per head of the temple whose duty is to pilgrim entering the wait upon the Goddess, for temple. This is known the complete day and night. as 'Matha-ganti' of They also do the bathing of this fifty p.e. goes to the Goddess early in the the Temple fund. morning. (e) Six anna share of the 5. Duary :-Sanskirt term Rajya-Doloi Fund. 'dwari'. They are to be at (Now this fund does gate of the temple round the not exist). clock. (f) Ii anna share of the 6. Panieri :-The etymo­ Naibedya offered by logical meaning of the word is pilgrims. water supplier. Tney are to supply water for the purposes One notable thing is that, of bathing of tne Goddess an4 th~ :Oolois have rio religious cooking offerings for Her. functions to perform. 7. Siteniar :-They are res­ The office of Doloiship ponsible for cleaning the has been a subject of manifold inside of the temple and the controversies in the past, the Bhog-ghar (Cook-shed). particulars of which are furni­ shed at Appendix. 8. Kharidia :-naridia or woo.d supp'Iier upto the, fourth (Priests and ()thers) ; decade of the pr¢~nt century they usel,l to supp~y tljl~ neces­ 2. Pujar~e (Pries,t) :--:;They sary wood, but now-a-days are tqe m~mbers of the five­ they do not ~~ it. families of high pFiest and they wor~hip the Godd~s& 9. Kaur-Khenia :-They aqco!"ding to their tu,rns. As, a(e to drive aw.ay cr()"Ws and already minti~d ~~s of other ugly birds. 5 -2 R.G. Jndia/72 54 10. Gayan :...... Theyare to store of articles, and other sing during the .hours of the things required for worship. worship. 19. Bhander Kayastba 11. Bayan :-On important or Kakati :-He has to pre­ occasions they are to beat the pare various records such as drum and the 'mridanga'. accounts of receipts disburse­ ments etc. 12. Nat :-They were to 20. Mudair or Kha- dance at the time of the wor­ janchy :-Hc functions almost ship. Now the practice has been given up. like a modern treasurer.

13. Dbulia :-They were 21. Kahara-Dhara Tekela:­ appointed for beating 'dhol' He is like a 'body-guard' of (a king of drum-dun-duvi). theDoloi. He has to be along with the Doloi in various 14. Nanan Dewlia :-A works particularly when the number of other priests and Doloi goes to the 'muffassil' 'Astapraharist' are appointed for Collection of rents and for conducting worship and other matters. bathing other gods and god­ desses at Kamakhya. They are It is stated that during the called Nanan Dewlia. Ahom rule there were many other subordinate workers, 15. Bali Kata:-There is whose designations are now a class of people who are to forgotten. It is to be noted that cut the goat and other ani­ the rights of holding tbe above mals for sacrifice. offices pertain to specific families with large number' of 16. Bheru-Sankha badak:­ branches. The individuals They are to blow sankha. belonging to the families concerned take up their work 17. Danda-Chatradhari :­ by turn. In some festivals, the Cha­ lanta Thakurani is taken Properties of the Temple: out for a 'walk' (Bhramana ofthe Devi). Then these men have to hold 'danda' and Kamakhya is enjoying the 'chatra' during her round. reputation of being a wry im­ portant centre of Hindu reli­ gion for several centuries. For Office management : It is stated tbat it flourished even during the reign of . 18. Bharali :'_He is in­ Narakasura. However, in charge of the 'bnandar', i.e. recorded bistory it came into 55 prominence during the Koch Tbe land was donated rule for the first time. Since principally for supplying rice tben it has been receipient to the temple. A huge quantity of royal patronage. Most of of rice is required for tbe day­ the landed property of the to-day consumption. Upto temple was received as dona­ tbe outbreak of tbe Second tion from several Ahom World War, the supply of Kings. It is interesting to note rice was adequate, but since tnat some land was donated by then it is dwindling. tbe Mughal rulers in­ Again a big slice of the landed cluded the generals of Aurang­ property has been taken zeb. During tne course of away by the Northern Fron­ the present study one came tier Railways for construct­ to the notice of tbe investi­ ing the Headquarters and gator. He had given a por­ other offices. tion of tbe water of the Brahmaputra to some priests The General Expenditures of Kamakhya. of the Temple (a glimpse only) The movable and immo­ vable properties of Kamakhya The maintenance of the temple have been estimated Temple is a big affair and as follows: (this assessment more than score of people was made in connection with always work there. Tbere is Aiyar Commission). no paid worker in the Temple. All have fixed sbares in the The total landed property profits of the 'Pala' {the daily of the temple is 22,500 (twenty turn for worship). There is two thousand and five hun­ a custom that if a visitor pays dred) bighas. The value of one rupee to the priest, he this, in terms of money has shall have to pay 0.75 paise been fixed at one lakh rupees. to the 'Dwari' and the The quantity of gold in the 'Astaprahari' . form of ornaments and bullion is ten seers. Other golden Following is an estimate of articles available for daily the expenditures incurred by use is valued at four thou­ the Temple on various occa­ 'Sand rupees. sions: 56 D(lily Expenditures:

Things required for daily Approxi­ worshipPing Quantity mate cost Remarks

2 3 4

Rs. 1. Rice 1 md. 60·00

2. Dal 5 seers S'OO Upto the Second World War, t maund and 11 seers of rice was required per day. 3. Ghee Ii poah 5·00

4. Mustard oil 3 seers 12·00

5. Beetle nut 2 poahs S-OO (180 nos.)

6. Beetle leaf 2 goats 5·00 (about 600 leaves)

7. Dadhi(curd) 5 poahs 2·00 (1,250g~s.)

S. Earthen pots 12 nos. 6'00

9. Salt, spice, etc .. 2'00 10. Gur (molasses) 250 gms. 0·75

11. Incense and others 0-75

12. He-goat 1 no. 20·00

13. Cloths 2 saries 15·00 14. Contingency 10'00

Total 154'50

(Ru.I1ees One hundred fift~ four and Fifty paise only) '57 EiPthdiiJre 1Jij;ff" '1Jij !einWits" ~ Rs. 1. A'ril'bUb8:clii MahaiDCia 3,000':00

2. Debadhwani ~d Maroi brat 1,500'00 3. Durga PUja • • 1;0'00'00 4. Basanti Puja • 7,000'00 5. DurSa :oBol do(j·oo 15. Lakshmi }\Jja 300·00 7. Ratariti 'Shyltma 1$0'00 8. Gopal Dec> I IS0·00

It can easiiy Be rmagine'd Vf$it~rs to ·tbe Temple : that a considerable imfu of money is spertt for nnfots~n There is a sort of lasting exigencies oved.n<:hibove these Jajmahi (patron-client) rela­ expendirotes. Again .scor~~ pf tionship between the priests SUIts are to be filed In 'ddfe- ,~nd the pilgrinis at Kama­ rent courts on behalf of the khya. Each priest maintains Temp~e. Thus the R'Ormgl ex- a record of his clients and penditure of the Tem'ple comes w:ttenever. a pilgrim avails of to abo1:it Rs.80,OOO.00 '(rupees his services •. heputs his signa­ eighty thousAnd) per a'nhum. ture and address in the record A large sum of mbney is book. Thus, 'h, permanent again spent for the dtainte- relation is built up. Later on nance of the Temple. A few if apy family member ofth'at years ago some development client yisits K~makhya he, h' works were also introduced expected to avail of tbe S'er­ by the Temple Committee I vices. of tb:~ same priest. ~c!t for the benefit ofthe 'Shevai- relatIonsbIJ') tends to contI­ tes' (p_riests aid m,enial). nue lor gener~tion~: On great For Instance '~m amoin!t of fesUve occaSIons lIke Atnb'u­ Rs. 50,000' 00: . '(rupees fifty bachi, Du~gapuja, Navaratra, tho1tsand) was granted to etc., the prIest sends tne 'bles­ ](amakhya High SChool tor sings of the diety to his the .construction of a ·It. C. (c. clients. Tnis type 0f perriia­ building, and a· further nent relationship is, however, amount of Rs. 25,000.00 {Cu- is on the decline now-a-tlayk. :pees twenty five thousind) 'Was sanctioned for the cons­ ~~ere are three pCies;tly truction of, the fitst floor faDlllres at Kamakbya WhICh of the sajd building. daim special rights in respect of the N.~pali, PunJabi and ceremonies of Sakti Cult and Manipuri visitors respectively. some other local festivals are But such claims are not ac­ celebrated at Kamakhya. Their ceeded by all. particulars are furnished here. TiIl recently, - duc to bad 1. The Ambubachi Mela of communication, the number of Kamakhya: visitors-to Kamakhya was limited. With the improve­ According to the Indian ment in communication the astronomy, the mother earth number has been increasing attains the period of menstrua­ in recent years .. At present, tion during the fourth pari of the number of visitors on the the star 'Mrigashira' and the average i5 1,000 daily. On first part of the star 'Ardra' Sundays it ranges between (last part of June). As it is 2,000 to 3,000. The number believed that the genital part goes down in the months of of the Mother of the Universe July, August and September. fell at Kamakhya, the period After that, it again rises. The of m-~nstruation if observed largest number of visitors here. Three days are obser­ come during the Ambubachi ved as the period of impu­ festiva1. The size of congrega­ rity and the Temple of the tion is estimated to range Goddess remains closed on between 15,000 to 25,000. The those days. This celebra­ visitors to the Temple is tion . originated from the fact around 5,000 during the Deva­ that jus.t l!-fter the period Matsya- called Devadhwani Mela sukta, Damar, Matrika- takes place. bhed, Barabanal Tantra, Rudra-lamal-Tantra, Maha­ These Debadhwanis are kal-Samhita, Nigam-Kalpa­ sometimes of the nature of Latika, the Devi-sukta and Oracular revealation about the Saraswati-Sukta of the the past or the future. Tnou­ Rigveda and the Sri­ sand of devotees congregate sukta of the Yajur-veda The at meta to ask questions about methods practised at Kama­ them.selves. On this occasion khyaare mostly ofthe Tantrik the goddess 'Manasha', the cult. Except the first three mother of the snakes, is also and the last two books, the worshipped. others depict the methods of worshipping by the leftist cult. 3. Durga Puja: Punshaban or Puman Biya: Quoting the Kalika Puran, Dr. 10giraj Basu, an eminent It is an old Aryan custom Sanskri l SCholar of Gaubati to observe a ceremony called University says that Durga 'Punsbaban' in the eighth Puja or i ginated at Kamakhya. month of the first pregnancy One interesting thing to be ofthe wife. That is a ceremony noted here is that no image welcoming the first child of any god or goddess is coming to them. In the same 60 w~y the Pansbaban ·of tl'ie f6UBd. 'ih tile Ddhldinila MoUn.. r GOddtss isobsetved 1'Ilflttit (Sap tam Patala). at Kantakhya.Itis llctuaUylhe :Pttnshabnn of toe mdth~r earth, ",hich ~ns the 'burp-DeGI : sea:sen. of harvest It is ee:te­ Just as Lord 'Ktikbrla db­ briitedinthelnonth bf 'Poueh' 's~Nea the fc!strval of cblour, i.e. Deoomtlet-JQ"iiafy. On tlie GoMes!; i!; l1eiievetl to the seceJnd and thitd day after obset've the festival of colour the 'fuU-moon or rtew"ntOon, with tht c6}hi~g oftbe spring. when the Star 'PushYa'faJIs, On this oCdasidD a'toUt (fay Uiis f~stival is te~Wi'ated. festival is celetlrat~d at ':ka­ It is a two days 'c6elebtlition. ptakliya ~Dlliieiictiig frbin the Several thousand people, 2nd aay .after tM new~trioon mostly Assamese, gather to to the Sth day Iil the fu6ith witnesS the eelebriltions. ofChaitta (March). 'Oil the Ratailti SbYllmapujll: iitsttwodays Lord Shivaalso pl~ys with . coloUr. On the Tbere i s a legend connected thIrd and the fourth days, ijle wiib tbe fespvaL After kil­ Goddessis'takenoutfor a walk. linS ·ltavalla, Rama waS bragging before Sita what a Bftanti Pilja : great hero he had killed and, therefore, what a great ht:ro he According to Hindu my­ himself was. At this Sita got thology, King Suratba was offended and told him that it the first to wotship the was impossible for Rama to kill Goddess Durga. He pcifotmed Ravana(Sataskandha Ravana the worship in the month of having hundred beads); But Chaitra (March) during 'the seeing the. difticulty of her spring-time. That puja was husband, Sita appearedinthe knowh as Basallti Puja,. The battlefield in the form ofKali celebration of Durga-Puja in and it was because of her help, the autumn was iniroi:hiced that Rama could kill the by Ramchandra, at Kama­ great Ravana. Rama under" khya both Basanti and Durga standing bis ignorance, began Pujas are performed. Unlike toworship the goddess. !twas the Durga Puja lasting for on the fdtttteentb day after frft~n, daYs in the AlI.tUmn, the neW-mMn in the 1110nth ,Bailanli Puja 1$ perfol'1iitd of'Maglla' that the goddess on.ly for three days from the was born. So on that day, sevtmth day after new-moon the goddess is worshipped at, to the ninth-day. in the month Kamakhya, the home oftbe of Chaitra. A great rush of Mother Goddes~ Kamakhya. pilgrims takes place in this Reference of thIS may be festival also. tl ;tJ:it:iitstday o;tli~M\v~ino6n to tHe-tray "l:>N'all.:ni6on in ·the · itadan. i~ sed oflo.ve 0f 'month ,Idf 't:haitra (March). die'india.n mythology 'lKam­ tbe 'Htt:1als aie performed ill d~v) t~~ed to c'1,lauae ti:e mind seclusion, . ~rld the Uhiver~al of Lord Siva ~bo was11n deep Mothe'r (Dlihbaneswari) . or mediatat4m aner-t~ tteatb of -Raj-1itijeswari .as't:hey call it, his wife Sali. ~d Siva being is worsl1ij)ped. dlsturb¢ .by M1if!a.n, was enraged an"- It>oIced towards Madan .with his third eye So,ei"-EcO~ic Challles at and MaGan ~as burnt to Kamakllya: asbes. Then Rati Devi, the Kd:b1akbya bei~ in the 'wife of Madan, ttied to pacify eell.tte of AsSaItlese civiliza­ LordSiva-by .her ptilyers. At tidri sinCe the eatliest days of her sincerity, Lord SiVa was known history, basa dimen­ pleased and wished to grant sion of Changelessness about her a boon. Rati Devi begged it. But it is only apparent. In that her husband b'e revived reality, a lot df cha~es has to life again. _It was by the taken place in the life of boon ofLord Siva, that Madan Kamakbya, evtfu, during the (Kamdev)got back his life in last few decades. For the ptit­ Kamrup and the name of the pose of tbe. stud,}' of the district is supposed to be change at Ka:lJ1akhya, onlyt~e derived from that; In honour people at tbe top of the hill of Madan (Kamdev) a festi­ would be considered in this val, called Madan Chaturali report, the people oft~~ fObt is performed at Kamakhya bill 'itte mostly recent mIgrants every year. This festival is and are not organically rela­ called Madan Chaturali. This ted to the life of Kamakhya. festival is held for three days, beginning from tlie thirteenth Till the thiitees of this day from the new-moon, to the century, the main so~rce ~f day of full.:moon in the month livelibood for all the InhabI­ of Chaitra (April). The actual tants of Kamakhya was 'puja' is held on the four­ Kamakbya, Temple, itself. teenth day from the new­ This is true not only for the fboon. biembets of the Brahman community, but also for tho'Se RajeS'Wari Pu'J'a : of the other communities living at the top of the hill. It is a ceremony confined Here it is to be noted that all to the Tantriks only. The the Brahmans living at the top common public do not parti­ ofKamakbya, do not have siiy Cipate in it. It is celebrated for in the management of tbe fifteen days commencing from temple. Only five families who were brought by the King in Not Qnly .. the· professions , tbe 16th oentury are Connec­ are changing, but along with ted with the. management of the same other social customs ,. the temple. Other Brahmans, gre also .changing.· Formerly, who settled there later on, the; BMhmans of Kamakhya used to earn thei;r livelihood gave more emphasis on learn­ by serving tbe 'pilgrims, The ing . Sanskrit; but now they people ofthe other castesliving are more eager to learn English. on the hill top were mostly Even the girls are being sent to temple servants. The main schools and colleges. Till now factors for change at K~ma­ no Brahman girl of Kama­ khya during tne reCent years khya has taken job outside, are thre~. Firstly, the pilgrims but there is no doubt that at Kamikhya arc not willing soon this will be found in out­ to spend as liberally as in the doorjobs as well. Marriage of past. Secondly, the population the girls before they attained has gone uP. and hence the puberty was the norm even a limited income is to be shared few years ago; as a result to among a larget number of avoid public censure. Some­ persons. Thirdly, a vast t!,act times the parents used to mar­ ofland has .. been acqUIred ry off the girls even with un­ by the Railways and the com­ suitable persons by paying pensation paid has been pro­ high dowry. Now child mar­ ved to b,;:)adequate to prevent riage is no long.;;r in vagU,? economfc dislocation of the and some of the consequented population dependent on social evils have also dis­ landed property at Kamakhy.a. appeared. As a r,,::sult of these changes In the materia! condition, the In case of dr.,:;ss, a marked people are sending thei~ chil­ change is to· be found. For­ dren for better educatJon to merly, the people of Kamakhya amuch larger extent. Now not used to wear only 'dhoti' less than 100 youngmen of and did not put even a shirt. Kam:lkhya, have jobs . of They used to cover their body various nature outSIde with cotton shawls in the Kamakhya. Some have even summer and woollen shawls taken up jobs of electrician, in the winter. They could not mechanic, etc., which were probably dream of wearing considered to below occupa­ trousers and other kind of tions by the Brahmans of modern dress. But at present, Kamakhyain the past. A good most of the young men wear number of persons have also western dress. taken to shopkeeping. There are some families who have A change is rapidly taking alsmost given up priestly place in the bouse-type. The duties. old houses were mostly low 63 roofed buildings without ade­ demanding larger share. Be­ quate arrangements for light­ sides, due to the rapid expan­ ing, ventilation and other sion of Gauhati town and sanitary requirements. Now, establishment of the Railway only a few houses are of this Headquarters at the foot-hills type. The new houses are being land has become scarce. Frag­ built with modern designs. mentation of shares among the rapidly growing population Another important change is also another disincentive has taken place in tne invest­ against investing in agri­ ment pattern. Previously, the cultural land. Some, however, people of Kamakhya used have purchased small plots to invest their surplus mostly of homestead lands in Gauhati in land. But now land is consi­ town. Some have invested to dered to be more of a headache. start a small-scale industry The Brahmans of Kamakhya in Gauhati. Hardly anyone do not plough the lands themse­ has invested his saving to build lves, they get them cultivated up assets at Kamakhya ex­ by others on share-cropping cept for constructing new basis. Now the cultivators are houses or repairing old houses.

APP~NDIX

It· appe&,rs that during the ned to Kamakhya1 Uma Ahom rtile, the Temple was Datta refu~d to vacate the under the direct management post in his favour. They and control of the State. hlld to go into litigation. There was a special officer After-wards faced with an­ of the Crown, caIled Seva­ o{her complication Ganga cholo'wa who used to super­ Prasad made a compromise vise the regular worship ofthe with Vma Datta whereby six temple and look into the dis­ annas share of the profit of cipline and regularity of ser­ the office was given to the vice of the priests and menial latter. employees. This post was crea­ ted round about 1715-16AD, T]?e other complication, as a mark of special honour mentIoned above arose out of for Krishna Kanta Bhatta­ the facts that during the Bur­ charya, who had given diksha meseinvasion, anon-Bardeory, treligious iinitation) to the named Bishnu Dattd was Ahom King Siya Sinlla and appointed as a Doloi of also who was installed as the Kamakhya -Temple, by the Parabatiya Gosai~ llt Kama­ the Barphukan of Gauhati. khya. This post of Sevacholowa S~ortl~~ after this app~inh;nent was continued till the advent Blshnu Datta was dIsmIssed of the British. During the from his office by the Bar­ Ahom rule there was another phukan, wbereupon Bishnu post, namely Doloi or mana­ Datta sought the intervention ger. Towards tbe close oftbe of the Burmese General. Ahom rule, one Ganga There is claim to have confir­ Prasad Sbarma of Bura Bar­ med the appointment of deori family was the Doloi. Bishnu Da\ta as Doloi. After Wben the Mans (Burmese) the Burmese' were driven aWaY invaded Assam, tbe fieei:tlg by the' British, and captaj~ King Chandra Kanta Sinha, Scott, who was in overall asked the Doloi of Kamakhya comlIland of the operation in to accompany him with the Assam, started the settlement Cllalamtu Thakurani (the, of the various claims, he wa~ movable goddess). During his faced with the claims for the absence, his elder brother office of Doloish\p from two Umadatta was appointed as quarters,-one was that of Bur­ a Doloi by the Seva Cholowa, deory family, and the other when Ganga Prasad retur- was that ofBishnu Datta. 65 66 At first Captain Scott de­ his own signature with his cided to recognise the claim own hand, had issued permis­ of the Bardeory family only sion for sending to the First and by a "Sanad" appointed Pancbayat for the purpose of Ganga Prasad and Vma Datta full and complete ascertain­ as Dolois. But as Bishnu Datta ment." persisted in lodging his claim, the issue was reopened by Cap­ The Second panachayat tain Scott. One after another upheld the decision of the two panchayats were appointed first panchayat. But as the by Captain Scott to consi­ parties were not satisfied, on der all the aspects of the an appeal from Bishnu Datta, claim. another panchayat was consti­ tuted in 1833 by Robertson The first panchayat deci­ who had in the m~antime ded in favour of fifty-fifty taken overthe command from share of profit for both the Captain SCott. The mem­ parties. But this did not satis­ bers of the panchayat were fy either of them. So a second Digambar Sharma Deka panchayat was constituted to Barua, Padmadhar Sharma, consider their ~ppeals. The Bidya Bagish and Amritlal. members of the panchayat The pancliayat came to the were Sheristadar Pasupati following conclusion. "That Bhattacharya (Chairman), although the Second Pan­ Baluram Sharma and Kames­ chayat in their own . opinion war Sharma. The issues under have written half share as the consideration were as follows: right of the plaintiff (Bishnu­ Datta). Still this view is not entitled to being acc<3pted as The fact of this claim of the plaintiff, save and except Bishnu Datta originated dur­ the fact of obtaining title ing the rule of the Man (Tbe from the Man Government Burmese). The fact of Babu­ (the Burmese), cannot bring ram Barphukan having ap­ forward any other proof pointed during the while ... whatsoever in regard to his "The fact that how can one claim. And the fact i s that the become a Doloi who was not above named plaintiff has not got even the power of (or been appointed in a completely Office) touching or handling permanent and fixed manner in the Goddess. The desirability the situation of the Shevaity of taking into the 'Kaipyat' andDoloiship, during the Rule of this meaning from reliable of the Man, which was but a persons of this country, he, the few years. And whoever be above Sahib (i.e. Captain SCott) so appointed, cannot thereby going to annual bis own order afford a ground enough and in that suit having torn off reasonable for consideration 67 for the purpose of the ascer­ and Shevaity cannot be con­ tainment and proof of right ferred on anyone else who has and title. And the court has not got even the power of no reliance on the fact of his touching the Goddess. And holding on the 'San ad' of the agreeably thereto, from the Barpukan of the Man, an commencement of the occupa­ occuranC'3 of commotion in tion of the British, former that province, none from Dolois nave been appointed amongst the inaabitants of the from amongst those nve place in such manner as to houses only, in the situation amount 10 a final proof. And of the shevaity have been it is also not possible that continuing performence and d]Jring the time of the Man management (puja etc.). For any body would come to the these aforesaid reason~ the Man for the purpose of ob­ claim oftbe plaintiff does not taining his right and adjudica­ seem just and proper in any tion of the redress. Moreover, manner." Mr. T. C. Robert­ it is apparent from the plaint son, however, gave his con­ of the plaintiff that the Defen­ firmed decision of the First dant Ganga Prasad, who and the Second Panchayats. belong to the five hous·:!s of But Bishnu Datta made an the former Dolois of the appeal to the Governor-gene­ 'Chalanta Thakurani', re­ ral who rderred the case to mained during their own flight the Provincial Commissioner, through fear of the Man, in Mr. Francis Jenkins, Mr. company of the Raja at Jenkins also ordered that one­ Jogighopa. And the truth is half share of the profit of the that people had looted and office of Doloi should be given plundered and put into consi­ to Bishnu Datta. derable disorder many 'Deuls' and 'Dolois', gods and god­ But in 1836, Ganga Prasad desses and ancient places. And and Uma Datta preferred an for this reason, the plaintiff appeal to the Sadar D0wani does not belong to the 'Five Adalat, Calcutta, against the houses' of Brahmans whom order of Mr. Jenkins. the former Raja of Assam had appointed for the purpose of The acting Justice of the performing 'Puja' of the Sadar Dewani Adalat of Kamakhya Goddess; but on Calcutta Mr. John Ross the other hand he is a man Higgs, found no justification belonging to a quite different for the claim of 'Bishnu Doloi. And from the opi­ Datta' and ordered that the nion of tbe said Panchayat, appeal of the apparants be it is also clear that save and decreed and the Respondent's except the aforesaid Five (Bisbnu Datta'S) claim be Houses, the work of Doloiship dismissed and the present 68

Commissioner's (Jenkin's) intervention in relig~ous mat t~rs decision be set <\side. He fur­ and temple affairs, a some­ ther ordered that ,the res­ what modifIed procedure pondent be dispossessed from evolved gradually. It has the other-half share of the already been.' mentioned that 'Doloiship' immediately. during the early part of the (1st August, 183&). British Rule, the post of Seva­ choTowa was abolished. So the At the initial stage, the Bardeories'rose into promi­ East India Company Govern­ nence and were gradually ac­ ment followed tbe practice of quiredmoreand more powers. tbe Ahom rules regarded tbe They as a class became the Kamakbya Temple as a Go­ Supreme 'Trustees' of th~ vernment Institution. But in temple anq the endowment& 1842, tbe Executive Officers and the Dolai were reduced to of the BritiSh Government the position ~ftheir ~an~ger. were directed. not to inter­ The Bard!,!ones \acquIred the fere witn the managements of powers not only to elect a tbe temples and religious Doloi, but also to exercise institutions. It was also decided contr91 OVer him by,enfQtcing tbat disputes relating ~ucce.s­ submission of accounts and sion etc., would be deCIded In if necessary to discharge him. ordinary colirts oflaw. It can also be noted that no In 1854, a dispute Came up Dolai hap. been in past sel~cted before tbe civil court in which from Hota and Bidhipathak the court observed as follows. group, and a dispute arose in 1932, which was decided in "The manner of filling up the Court of Special Sub­ a vacancy being cleaj."ly by Judge for Assam Valley election or nomination which District!!. The court observed under the old Assam Go­ as follows: vernment required the sanc­ tion of the Ruling Power to "the non-exercise of this make it valid which custom right cannot create a spe­ was continued under the cial custom, that a Doloi British Government until must hI'! s~lected exclusively prohibited in 1842." The from the Bura and the Deka court further observed" .. the family. That the fight of rigbt of election belong to the majorjty of the Bar­ Bardeoris." deodes to elect a Doloi from am9ngst the qualified persons Since the assumptiQn of tbe of the 'Panch-Ghar' (the five GoverllJl1ent in Assam by ancient fawilies of high~ the B)"itish, and the declara7 priests) Was never challenged tion by tlie GoverUQ1ent of before," The court decreed India of the policy of non- that anybQdy from the com- 69 petent persons of the .above I management of rhe Bardeor.y five families and the fight to Trustees and that the SUIt be elected a Doloi and to have must be dismissed with costs. a voice in the management of If at any fl!-ture time a suit is the temple. brought agaln~t the Bardeories as defacto and dejure trustees In addition to the contro­ or to supres!> or supercede them versv relating to the visits of Of if a group of Bardeories the d.ifferent Bardeori families come forward to demc.nd a to hold the offiCe of Doloi, Scheme pleading their own controvers has from time to incapacity to deal with the time cropped up about the Temple affairs, then the manner of management of the matter may be tried from an­ affairs of the temple. In 1927, other standpoint." one case was brought by eight non-BardeOrles before the Court with the permIssIon Problems of Kamakhya : of the Deputy Commissioner, Kamrup district (wbo, under Though with improvement section 93, C. P. Code, exer- in the means of communica­ cised the powers ofthe Advoca~e tion, the number of visitors General). The case IS to Kamakhya has gone up, it known as 'Scheme' case of 1927 seems that a sort of loss of and object was to ha'/e a vitality is slowly creeping up 'Scheme' framed for the mana- in the place. This is perhaps gement of the temple and its the outcome of a long drawn affairs and the preservation of historical process. In the pre­ 'Debottar' propert;o;.s, for British period Kamakhya taking of accou~ts of t~ust flourished under the patronage property and tbeIr deallngs of the kings, during the British with the same for the past period rich zemindars and years and for the removal of businessmen did not hesitate the functioning Dolois who to contribute liberally for its were the managers and superin- upkeep. They suppor ted the tendents onhe trust. establishment here; in return, It t k sev~ral years for the I tbey sought shelter from the c e to b~ decided. The decisi n all powerful mother goddess. as ~ 11' 0 The common people were also was as 0 ows . linked with tbe place through "Following the precedence awe, love and devotion for the of the Court Case of Madras mother goddess and the in­ of 1928 and of the Allahabad numerable local gods and Case of 1929, the Judge Came goddesses. But it seems that to the conclusion that tbe with the rise of new social Court will not be justified to forces, away from me1aphy­ intervene in the present sics and heavily leaning upon 6-2 R.G. Indiaf72 70 technology, those at the helm This has caused great nervous­ of affairs of the society, ness among the peopl.;; of felt less and less impelled Kamakhya. To many, it to s,~ek shelter from mol her means not only loss of role, goddess. A process of disen­ but also loss of secure means chantment also perhaps went on oflivelihood. among the general people, as a reac ion to the litigations Next the roads and drainage and internal strifes in which syslem has not improved the establishment has been such. Because it is a hill area, constantly involved. The and the supply of water inade­ qualitative change in the quate, the drainage system is nature of the attraction of improper. The clearing of gar­ increasingly large number I bageisa big problem. Standard of persons commonly to of living is very low and the Kamakhya seem to be another people have not yet learnt factor which has contributed what is decent living. Roads to the muni of the old setting. are very narrow and the muni­ Previously, when communi­ cipal committee haG enacted cation was difficult more law about the construction of pilgrims used to come, out of houses and the use oflands. Nor devotion and dGsire to perform any land has been acquired an act of priests; now more uptil now for future public visitors come out of curoslty uses. and desire for diversion. This is a crushing experience for In the field of education, the perSons connected with the Kamakhya High School the temple, who used to is the only hope. Very few serve the pilgrims from the Can manage to obtain high exalt..~d position of the links education. The girls of between them the world of Kamakhya can prosecute mystery and 1he world of their studies to the secondary mundane existence, but who level, because of the High now serve the visitors as guides Schoo1.. B-l;1t af~er ~he ninth to the places of interest and to year of ~ ts InceptIon, It has not the performance of rituals, been. gIven grants under which may of the visitors agree defiCIt system. The public to do only a matter of good I have been co.ntri~uting a large form. Tne hovering sense of sum to keep It alIve. The Cen­ loss of vitality of the estab- t~a~ 90vernment, after. the lishment is the outcome of a vHnt 01 Mr.~. O. JOS~I: Jt. few other :c.ctors as weI!. There Secretary,. UnIon Mlll1stry . of EducatIon, proposed to IS a rum.our that the Govern- make it Higher Secondary ment mIght I take over the I School, as far our knowledge management of the temple. goes, but why this proposal 71 was dropped, iss t ill a mystery. in such activities because If it was raised to Higher Se­ of the absence of such things. condary Level, the girls sec­ The State and the Central tion of Kamakhya would get Governments have allotted greater benefit; because very large sums of money at many few of them afler passing places for such activities, but High School Leaving C~rti­ Kamakhya has not uptil now ficate Examination, can afford got a single farthing for to Carryon studies in the col­ this. lege.

Again, after the Railways Absence of a maternity­ have acquired the land, many ward and a Child Welfare of the families have been put Centre is another drawback into great difficulties, be­ of the place. Only recently cause these families lived upon the former subsidiary dis­ the income from land. The pensary was made a State Railways should have over and dispensary which is not full above paid adequate com­ fledged yet in many respect. pensation, offer .employment @nly one Asstt. Surgeon gd. facilities to the youths I, was placed at Kamakhya, and those families whose but they can be d%cribed as lands they had acquired. 'migratory' visitors to Kama­ Because what the Railway khya as nobody of them bas had given by way of com­ serv,~d to the expiry of the pcns,:.t ion was not sufficient term. Pr2cctically half of the to acquire permanent assets year goes wi~hou~ a dC?c:or. It by those families. docs no' have any f

The main Kamakhya Temple­ The Dome.

I The his\oric Kamakhya Temple The lower porti on is built of stone. H contains beautiful scuiputure. The exact date of the con3truction of this portion has not been fixed ye t. The upper portion, i. e., the dome is made of brick. This portion was built in the lalier part of the 15 \h century by King of Cochbehar.

The b,r;emen' of lhe main KamakhY:l Temple, built of s: one, wit h b~a uti­ ful cuttings and images, of which the age has not b '}~ll as c e r~ aincd rr0perly. Plate II

The entrance to the Kama­ The wes tern gate of the khya Temple. This is made surrounding compound of the main Kamakbya Tem­ of painted marble. ple. It is known by the name of Hanuman Duar. It is built fully of stone, contains a few stone-cut images. On the right is the famous sculpture of a mother and child.

The southern part of the main Temple.

Fine sculptural work on the Stone images cut on blaek body of the main Temple. stone. on the body of the main Temple. Plate III

Chinnamasta Temple and Kameswar Temple.

The Kameswar Temple, a The Chinnamasta Temple Temple of Lord Siva, within near the present motor the same compound of the stand at Kamakhya hill. Chinnamasta TempJe. On the background the Kamakhya Boys' L. P. School . Plate IV

The Bhubane ~ wa ri Temple on t he Bhubaneswari Hill.

Tile motorable way. On the b3Ckg round- : he Ehubanes­ wari Hi ll. The di la pidated Durb!1unga Building can also b - viewed on the hill­ top.

Bhubanc:; wa ri T

Gauhalt I·own a nd a portico of the mi ghiy Brahn~ a pu t ra a~ view'ed from the ' op ot Bhubaneswari Hil l. , Plate V

,""

The Bllairabi Temp ~ c and t h.e Centre of Rhairabi Tanlric Union.

KllUlle;;war Temple.

The Childl:en's Park with its entrance. On its right is the Kedar T~mp le, a temple of Lord Vhhnu. ' · Plate VI

Temple of the Goddess Tara.

The gate of the Tara Temple. Siddheswar Temple.

The R. C. C. Wing of the Kamakhya School. A portion of the Assam type building is 5een towards the right side. GIPN-S7--2 RoO. India/72-21-2-73-500.