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Steeped in history

Purobi Menon

Think Assam and the immediate connection is with that much- favoured beverage, that leafy concoction most of us can't do without -- yes, you guessed it -- tea! In this verdant green belt of undulating tea estates lie many sleepy little towns. Mere punctu ations, really, similarities being thrown up approximately every 60 km from each other. But Sibsagar can't be classified as such. It's a historical footnote as I discovered.

Every year on Shivratri, this town comes alive. Traffic is brought to a standstill, crowds throng the place and vendors don't miss an opportunity to place dancing puppets on your way. All roads lead but to one place -- the Shiva Dol located on the banks of the tranquil Sibsagar tank. But all tranquillity is kept at bay on this festive day as the town lives up to its name of `the ocean of Lord Shiva'. I kept my place in the queue to view this Ahom monument. The Birlas have done a good job of renovating i t, a responsibility entrusted to one of their gardens.

The Ahom Queen, Ambika Kunwari, wife of King Shiva Singha erected this temple in 1733 A.D. The highlight of this temple is its gold-plated apex, 1.5 m high, kept company by four smaller shikharas with tridents. It is the highest Shiva temple in the count ry, standing tall at 37 m. The temple walls are stark red brick with the trident as the only symbol.

Located on the banks of the Joysagar lake are a set of temples built in an earlier period during the reign of Rudra Singha (1696-1713 A.D.). The most well-known of these is the Joy Dol. It has the typical architectural stamp of the Ahom style -- that of a dome culminating in an apex supported by circular spirals in diminishing circumference. The walls of the Joy Dol have interesting frescoes -- of dancing maidens, of animals and of courtly life but nothing so riveting as Khajuraho. The Joysagar lake, sp read over 318 acres on the edge of Sibsagar town, is the largest man-made lake in India.

The Ahoms were a race who fled to Assam from Burma across the Patkai ranges to set up dynastic rule for over 600 years from 1228 A.D. to the early 19th century when the British took over by the Treaty of Yandaboo in 1826. It must be recalled that they as similated Hinduism into their culture. As a fleeing tribe engaged in constant skirmishes, it is interesting to note that the architectural programmes of the Ahoms were organised under an officer called Changrung Phukan. They had their own techniques of m aking very thin but hard bricks and preparing durable plaster with materials such as pulses, molasses, a variety of sticky rice, fish, lime and resin. All their monuments are characterised by the same dull brick facade.

At Rangapur, within the town area is Ranghar, which dates back to 1744-1751 A.D. This two-storeyed, oval-shaped pavilion was built by King Pramatta Singha, son of Rudra Singha. Ahom royalty viewed elephant and buffalo fights from this vantage point. It i s 10 m in height, 11 m in breadth and 27 m in length. On the smooth rooftop, on either side is an interesting reptile emblem.

About 6 km from Sibsagar is a seven-storeyed palace known as the Talatal Ghar or the palace with underground cellars. The interesting fact about this structure is that there are two secret tunnels here, leading to the Kareng Ghar or the Gargaon Palace, 1 3 km east of Sibsagar. This enabled the Ahom kings to give their enemies the slip. Built by Rajeshwar Singha, this monument was commissioned to a Muslim architect from Bengal who converted to Hinduism.

At Charaideo, 28 km from Sibsagar, lies the old capital of the Ahom kings, built by Sukapha, founder of the Ahom dynasty. Around here can be seen the burial vaults of the members of Ahom royalty.

Around 4 hours away from Sibsagar is the Kaziranga National Park. Established as a forest reserve in 1908, it became a national park in 1974. The park covers 688 sq. km of marshland, grassland and tropical semi-evergreen forests on the southern banks of the Brahmaputra. Kaziranga was created for the protection of the Indian one-horned rhinoceros, one of the rarest mammals on earth, when only a dozen of this species were left. The park now contains about 1,000 one-horned rhinoceroses!

Mihimukh is the starting area for the park and elephants can be hired from here to enter the sanctuary. On a clear day, from the vantage point of Shambu's back (our carrier tusker), I got to see some magnificent swamp deer and a couple of rhinos cavortin g and wallowing in their muddy haven. Other denizens here are the hoolock gibbon, the hog deer, the capped and the golden langur and the badger. The golden langur and the pigmy hog are to be found only in Assam.

Despite the problems that continue to haunt Assam, a visit to this north-eastern State is like discovering a dewdrop on a leaf, a real treasure in nature.

Fact file:

How to get there: Indian Airlines, Jet Airways and Sahara operate flights to Guwahati via Calcutta and Bagdogra. The Rajdhani takes one to Guwahati in 28 hours from New Delhi. Package tours are available from Guwahati to Kaziranga every Monday, Wednesday , Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. The departure is from Guwahati Tourist Lodge at 9 a.m. with an overnight halt at Kaziranga Tourist Lodge. To get to Sibsagar one can hire a cab for a day at a cost of Rs. 1,000. Contact the Directorate of Tourism, Guwahat i. Tel: 0361-547102. Wild Grass Tourist Lodge at Kaziranga, tel: 0377-65437.

Best time to visit: October to April

Where to stay: Wild Grass Tourist Lodge at Kaziranga. Sibsagar is a day trip.

Pic.:The Ranghar pavilion -- note the interesting reptilian emblems on the gently sloping rooftop.