A DAY IN NAMKHOLA (LOCAL-MARKET)

This hut or house belongs to one of my fav.lady in Namkhola...her name is HEMO.....she is a very simple village woman,always ready and eager to help others....immensely talented .Her financial condition is not so good.......she desires to own one KHAAL(LOOM) and one DHEKI(A TRADITIONAL WOOD GRINDER)  one day....maybe Sunday was a lucky day for her
Glimpses of LOCAL HAAT ........

MAGNIFICIENT MILES...PART 2

What's cooking for lunch ?............pukhurir maach(fish from pond) .This is a common sight in an assamese village .

Lonely,old,bald,busy Mr. STORK(BORTUKULA and in our village it is called HARGILLA-means the one who swallows bone)
HANUMAN'S IDOL....KHOTORA MANDIR
KHOTORA MANDIR.....a very famous temple ,people from nearby villages too visit here....the rush is heavier during Magh Bihu and Bohag Bihu.
Being a Sunday less bus-services..so that comes to this.

MAGNIFICIENT MILES......GUWAHATI TO NAMKHOLA ON A SULTRY SUNDAY

We never leave a chance to visit our little village whenever one is in the scene.The journey is very interesting always ...here are some pics which i will keep on posting for few days

These yellow and red flowered trees were so beautiful.....no leaf was visible ,they  were heavily bloomed.......yellow one is called SONARU and the red  one KRISHNASURA.
This BUDDHA is visible from the road....i wish i clicked it in its original size..its huge..we were in a hurry so just settled for this view from  the moving car.
This is such a pretty sight...the off white flowers looked beautiful and the pond and rock complete the picture.
Another interesting shade.Below is this knotted tree i always notice,actually there are two of them in a half km. distance....other one is even better but as i said we were little late.

MANIPURI DANCING DOLLS....RADHAKRISHNA

These Manipuri-dancing dolls (RADHAKRISHNA) are perfect example of great manipuri handicraft....these beauties are completely handmade and good ones are hard to find these days.

My dear friend Romita gifted me these about one year back.

The dolls shown here are richly and colorfully decorated.The costume shown here is modeled on

the one the Maharaja Bhagya Chandra(1763-1798) saw in his dreams.Lord Krishna always wears saffron color dhoti and Radha's costume is always green....her costume is called POTLEI.

The lehenga or skirt Radha is wearing is called KUMIN which is made with mirror and zari work.A rectangular belt KHANGOI is worn over the choli,veil is called ODHNI.

MARTYR'S MEMORIAL PATHARIGHAT(ASSAM)

On our way to Namkhola our village we cross this Martyrs Memorial:Patharighat Ran was a benchmark in the history of I ndian Freedom Struggle.
THE INSCRP. READ AS FOLLOWS.....

                                                      On 28 Jan. 1894 ,as a retaliation against the exploitative increase of land revenue there was a farmers' agitation t Patharighat.Unarmed but resolute they fought the British Military might .
In a desperate attempt to curb the agitation British Authority massacred people,140 people achieved martydom and 150 were injured.The martyrs irrespective of their cast and creed were buried in a mass grave here.They gave their lives for the freedom we breathe today.

MIGRATORY BIRDS ...IN ASSAM

These pictures i captured from my car as we were travelling to our village during Magh Bihu time i.e. mid Jan.......every year we witness lots of migratory birds arriving here in Khotora a very small village in Assam.

HAPPY IN HAMMOCK.......GUWAHATI ROADS(WIRELESS ROAD GHY)

This is Appan who sells hammocks(plastic ones) on roadsides.....every year as the summer arrives i see him selling these colorful things.They are termed as JHULNA here.

I always doubted its durability until i saw him yesterday enjoying swinging....i stopped my car had a brief interaction with him.He belongs to Andhra Pradesh and every summer he comes to Guwahati for selling these.I too bought one for 40 rs.....not even a dollar.

MY' ARTIST NEIGHBOUR' JAYANTA BHATTACHARYA

Our neighbourhood is very lucky,we start our day with watching beautiful art work created by Jayanta......him working on different arts is a common sight.This particular painting is going to adorn the wall of St. Mary's Convent School once completed....till then we have the privilege to enjoy this beautiful work.Jayanta grew up in a small tribal village of Tripura .He grew up at a time when Tripura was passing through turbulent times due to the community clashes between the tribals and bengalis of Tripura.The continuous riots,curfews and violence had a profound affect on him who was then only a child .He has several exhibitions to his credit.I dont have the ability to write about him and his work.......need you want to know more ,this is the link to his web....www.geocities.com/mithubhatta UNTITLED

THE ROAD /BLACK PITCH AND METAL

METAL WORK

KALPANA MAHANTA'S...VIOLIN GROUP

My daughter wants to learn to play violin....Kalpana her teacher happily agreed to help me to pick up a good violin for her.Today when i knocked her door to get the violin, i was in for a nice surprise....a group of DPS kids were busy in learning the instrument.Kalpana told me that her group is a unique one as there are very few gp.like hers in NE region.This group participates in a lot of cultural events.All of them were surely having fun.I am glad that such things are happening in my city Guwahati.....my daughter has shown a keen interest in joining them..why not?

Traditional Assamese Jewellery -Part One

Disclaimer : I am in no way involved in making/marketing/selling of these jewellery ,nor do I own any boutique .Because of ever increasing no of queries regarding the contact details of this shop owner I am including her phone no ......9864023446 .

On my way to work I always noticed this shop. Today I stepped into this jewelery boutique to have a look around.I was completely enamored by their collection. Mrigakshi Bora ,the owner and the lady behind all these beautifully  designed jewellery has been into this field for quite sometime.It all started as a hobby which slowly and steadily turned into a full time business.Jewellery designing is her passion and this is further very strongly supported by her husband Minup Bora an artist(a product of J.J. School of Art ,Mumbai) .She has spent a lot of time and effort in researching this field.My post today is based on conversations between Mrigakshi and me . Assam's tradition of making jewellery dates back to many centuries. In medieval Assam during the reign of the Ahom dynasty the manufacture of gold ornaments  was a flourishing buisness. Gold dust was abundantly found in the sands of different rivers of the state . Gold-washing on the banks of the Subansiri was a major profession of the Sonowal Kachari. Subansiri which means "flow of gold" is one of the major tributaries of the Brahmaputra.
-

Dugdugi

While most of the designs depict flora and fauna of the region some are inspired by elements of Assam's culture .Each piece has a name which describes and indicates the shape and decorative work done on it .Many of the designs are exclusive to this state only.

Lukapar

This piece below is called Lokapar which is an ornament with two sets of twin pigeons placed back to back in gold, mina or ruby .It was originally worn by high profile dignitaries of the royal Ahom dynasty.

 

 Lokapara, Lang Keru, Thuria, Dighal keru, Bakharna Keru, Uka keru, Titakaria keru, Jangphai keru, Kanthasa, karnaphul are the names of  some of the ear ornamentsGam-Kharus are broad bracelets with clasps previously worn by the males only but now very popular amongst females. There were other bracelets such as Epatiabala, Dopatia bala, Muthi, Satjuri Muthi, Sonkhatowa Kharu, Rupar Kharu, Eptia magar Khatowa bala, Uka Kharu, Chheo etc. The rings of various designs were Jethineguri Angathi, Patia Angathi, Babari phulia Angathi etc.

Click here for Part 2