I have
a quick breakfast and our car leaves on highway 37 to west, to stop
almost immediately near a cluster of shops selling Kaziranga
souvenirs; tee shirts, little wooden rhinos and key chains. I buy a
couple of tee shirts for the kids at home and a small wooden rhino
that can be painted. Our Kaziranga stay may be over, but we have yet
to visit an important landmark of Assam, its famed Tea gardens. Assam
is the single largest tea-growing region in the world. With 300000
hectors area under tea cultivation, it produces more then 500
million Kgs of tea annually. The low altitude, rich loamy soil
conditions, ample rainfall and a unique climate help it to produce
some of the finest orthodox leaf teas. In the areas near Kaziranga,
tea bushes grow so easily that one can see tea bushes even in yards
around homes.
We
stop near a tea garden, Amalgated plantations, who have their own
retail shop near the entrance. I take a stroll in the garden, which
has a jeepable dirt track in the middle, that seems to be going
forever. On both sides of the track are neatly planted rows of tea
bushes, along with rows of tall trees planted at regular intervals.
Black pepper climbers are also cultivated and all the tree trunks are
seen studded with the leaves of this climbers. Tea gardens, in a way
are monotonous, as they look exactly the same everywhere. I remember
someone saying something similar about US villages, looking exactly
similar, wherever they may be.
I
return to the entrance and buy some teas and tea bags from the retail
outlet for gifting and my own use. Asaam tea is known for its rich,
deep-amber colour and is famous for its rich, full-bodied cup with a
brisk, strong and malty character. Now its time to say good bye
finally to Kaziranga and our cars speed along. I see a huge tea
factory on my left, where tea leaves are fermented, dried and later
packed for the world to consume. On way, we stop for a cup of tea. On
each of the tables in this restaurant, I see a bowl full of green
chillies and salt. Its a local specialty and diners prefer to eat
green chillies along with their food. By early afternoon we reach
Guwahati.
I
spend rest of the day wandering around in the city markets, where
produce from all the seven northeastern states is marketed. Sleep
comes easily as I am quite tired by end of the day.
Next
morning, after breakfast, we check out and leave for Guwahati's star
attraction; the Kamakhya Temple. The temple is located on a hillock
known as Nilachal hill in western part of the city. There are
supposed to be 10 temples on this hill, but Kamakhya temple is the
main one. There is a weird legend about different body parts of a
Goddess thrown on earth. The 51 spots, where these body parts fell
are known as “Shakti Peeth” or power centers. Kamakhya temple is
supposed to be the spot, where genital organs of the Goddess
fell.
In the
Indian subcontinent, there is a long tradition of people worshiping
the male phallus and a woman's body as symbols of divine power of
fertility. The people of Indus-Sarswati civilization worshiped female
figures as Goddess of fertility. The tradition continued even later during
Jorwe-Inamgaon habitats and recently similar idols from around first
century CE, were found at Kondapur near Hyderabad. This ancient
tradition, later took more sophisticated forms of Shiva-Linga and Goddesses
identified with mother Goddesses such as Durga, Kali. Though, a woman's body
without head, known as “Lajjagauri” is still worshiped by a few
people. In the modern context, male phallus worshiping has taken the
common form as God Shiva's worship. However, Kamakhya temple must be
the only place left in modern India for female genital organ
worshiping now. Everywhere else, the original Goddess of fertility
has been substituted by more sophisticated idols of Mother Goddesses like Ambadevi or Mataji.
Our
cars climb up the hill and drop us near the entrance to the temple.
Winding steps paved with stones take me to the entry gate of the
temple complex. The gate structure is constructed as a stone wall
with a door in the middle. On both sides are two lionesses bas-relief
panels in wall recesses. Above the door, in an arch shaped recess, I
can see two lionesses facing each other. After entering through the
gate, I see a circular pathway around the temple and the back side of
the Sanctum Sanctorum. This means that to enter the temple, one has
to go round and enter from opposite side. The Sanctum has a
cruciform base with adjoining stone pillars touching each other
instead of walls. The pillars have recesses in which several bass
relief panels are sculptured. Above the sanctum is a hemispherical
dome and on top of it, a three stepped pinnacle. A golden “Kalasha”
or peak, shines brightly in the morning sun above the pinnacle. The
temple has three chambers lined after each other from the sanctum
itself in east west direction.
In the
easternmost chamber, an idol of the Goddess in a more conventional
human form, has been installed for the votaries to worship as the
sanctum is cave like and small, dark and reached by narrow steep
stone steps. I have a feeling that the original female regenerative
organ shaped place of worship may not be very palatable for the
modern crowd of votaries, consisting of ladies, families and children
and that may be the reason for more conventional Kali Mata alike idol
being placed in the outer chamber.
Since
I am rather constrained about time, I decide to give up visiting the
inner sanctum, as there are long queues of votaries, who want to
worship the idol in the inner sanctum. I can see many newly married
young couples with ladies wearing gold ornaments and bright yellow
sarees.
Wikipedia
describes the inner sanctum in these words;
“Inside
the garbhagriha cave there is a sheet of stone that slopes downwards
from both sides meeting in a yoni-like depression some 10 inches
deep. This hallow is constantly filled with water from an underground
perennial spring. It is the vulva-shaped depression that is worshiped
as the goddess Kamakhya herself and considered as most important
pitha (abode) of the Devi.”
To the
west of the outer chamber, is a place where animal and bird
sacrifices are still carried out. I see a water buffalo, goats, some
chicken and doves. I do not know whether these have been brought for
sale or brought in by some votary. On one side wall is a shed where
devotees light oil lamps, which I feel is clearly a Buddhist
influence, because such oil lamp lighting sheds are not seen in
temples in other places in India.
I take
a round to see the bas-relief panels on the walls of Sanctum. Most
of them are of Shiva with a few depicting his wife Uma or Gauri.
Shiva is shown with four hands, holding various objects such as a
trident that are attributed to him. On the friezes there are several
female figures shown worshiping, inter-spaced with lotus symbols.
There is also a museum but it mostly consists of butchering knives,
besides some old broken stone fragments.
I walk
back to the car, the authorities have provided an over bridge which directly
connects to the parking area. As we speed towards the airport, I
realise that our northeast tour is coming to an end. For last 12 days, I
was so busy travelling but now there is an emptiness in my mind. True! that the experience has been so richly fulfilling, so wonderful, that
memories are going to stay with me forever. Northeast is just
wonderful, a traveller's heaven.
(Concluded)
19th
January 2014
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