Disclaimer: This post does not rant on the ignorant attitude of the people. It simply tries to make them aware that coming to straight negative conclusions, based on what their grandfathers told them about Assam, is nothing, but mild stupidity. I am not here to say that this state is the best of all because every place is beautiful and has admirable cultures. But, this place is still underrated and has enough reasons for you to fall in love with. With time, we are trying to establish ourselves in the world!
First of all, I would like to place a few misconceptions/ myths about Assam, which most people from other parts of India carry throughout their lifetimes until death, without visiting the place. There may be more (I have travelled less), but, these are some which I have encountered throughout my lifetime until this point of writing this post.
Misconceptions/Myths:
#1: Assam is all jungles and no civilization: At a time when the Mughals were imposing wild taxes on the Sultanate, Assam was enjoying the glorious rule of the Ahoms. So, the myth is all wrong in the first place. For people who have never visited the state (a visit does not mean that you spend a night or two inside a hotel room in the capital city), and relied on their grandpa's evening tales and political propaganda of Central India, and much more than that, have a hatred for the cultures of East India because they think that theirs are the best, you need to understand that we have more plants to contribute to Ayurveda than you can imagine.
#2: The Assamese and Bengali languages are the same! Just because the alphabets are similar, it does not mean that the languages are same. Yes, I agree and support the fact that we share linguistic similarity with the Bengali language, but, Assamese language has its own grammar forms. Both the languages have unique beauty! Since I can read, speak and write both the languages, I am the right person to address this myth! All Assamese pronunciations have soft 's', which, somehow indicate a pronunciation without the touch of the tongue to the palate (roof of the mouth). In brief, if you wish to speak Assamese, you need to know the use of the alphabets. Doing a crash course in Bengali will only help you in understanding fragments of the language, but not its beauty in entirety. You can simply imagine the difficulty when I say that I had to learn speaking the Bengali language (I love this language), and it took me 1 year to come to an amateur level.
#3: It is not 'Asami'...call it Assamese or Asomiya or Asamiya: See. I understand your familiarity with words which you hear often! But, just like your English classes, where the words, 'herd' and 'heard' sound the same but mean different, similarly, 'Asami' and 'Asamiya' are different. It is 'Asamiya', not 'Asami'. Actually it is 'Axomiya' with a soft pronunciation of the 'x' but we do not mind at all even if you take the pain of saying 'Asomiya' or 'Asamiya' or the 'Assamese'. Do not eat away the 'tail of the word' just because you are lazy or ignorant!
#4: Assam's staple food is momos! Oh! My...my! If I start listing out the foods we, the Assamese, cook, probably, I shall have to bring my mother to write a blog on it. Yes, we love momos, and you will find some of the best momos here, but that is not our staple food. Our staple food is rice, and we produce some of the best qualities of rice with wide variants. We have GI tag for 'chokuwa' or 'komal saul' which is the name for a winter rice variety. The rice is special because you need not cook it. Just soak it in water, and consume it. Good, isn't it? Well, there are better things out here. We have varieties of vegetables and greens, and lot many ways to cook them. For non-vegetable food lovers, you will love the home-style meat varieties of chicken, mutton, duck and pork. You will love the fishes out here, particularly, the freshwater fishes. Have a taste of the 'masor tenga' which is prepared with fish and tomatoes/ tamarind/ 'thekera' (Garcinia pendunculata), and it will eliminate your 'wholesale' ignorance!
#5: Assam means 'terrorism'. I know most of you have in your minds, the old stories of terrorism about this state. My question to you is: Why did you never search for the positivity in the place? The state had incidents of terrorism in the past, but, currently, it is peaceful out here. You can get the feedback from your friends who visit the place, or those who are studying here. After coming out of the disastrous events in the past, the place has tried to catch on with development, and if the people of mainland India possess such mindsets, it will be difficult for the people of the state to progress.
I have finished my list of a few myths about the state. Let us now focus on a few more things which you must not have known earlier! I will not describe things which you usually find on the travelers' guide or the internet; rather, I will pinpoint some of the interesting bits! It will, obviously, not cover everything, but, let us keep the rest for you to discover!
The best Army Cadet at the National Defence Academy is conferred the Lachit Borphukan Gold Medal! Lachit Borphukan was a commander of the Ahom Army and led a handful of Ahoms in the epic battle of Saraighat against the thousands of Mughals, and gave the Mughals a taste of guerilla tactics, diversion intelligence and naval fights! And to add to that, he was sick during the war! While building the famous embankment at Saraighat to restrict the movement of the Mughals, he punished his uncle by killing him because the latter was too lazy to complete building the embankment. His most famous words were "The uncle is not greater than the country!" So, you have a hell lot to cover if you are to know one of the most interesting thriller wars of Indian history. The National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, Pune, has a statue of the Borphukan ['Borphukan' is a title for an Army commander which was conferred by the Ahom king during their reigns.]
Also, the Ahoms ruled for a period of around 600 years, one of the longest reigns at a time when India was invaded and looted.
The Eternal Lamp, as I call it... We have the idea of monasteries (Vaishnavite) called 'Namghors'. One such namghor, the Dhekiakhowa Bor Namghor, located in the Jorhat District in Assam, was established in 1528 by Sri Sri Madhavdeva, a disciple of Srimanta Sankardeva, whose contributions to the Assamese literature and culture, are magnanimous. In this Namghor, there is a lamp which has been burning since its inception in 1528.
Here, I do not like to emphasize on the period/ duration; what I wish to say is: imagine the generations of discipline being passed on, just to keep a lamp burning. That is a symbol of faith- forget religions and the gods- observe the practice; this is what defines a civilization. Discipline! And this teaches us of our ability to thrive on consistency!
A quarter of Makkah, and the Temple of Vishnu! Hajo is a place in the state which is home to a khanqah (a monument for prayers), known as the Poa Makkah (Mecca) and the Hayagriva Madhab Temple. 'Poa' means a quarter, and 'Poa Makkah' refers to a quarter of Makkah. So, it is believed that offering prayers here would gain quarter of the blessings for the prayers at Makkah (Mecca). An epigraph states that it was built during the reign of Shah Jahan in Central India. The Poa Makkah was looked after by the Ahom king even after the expulsion of the Mughals from Assam, and therefore, the preservation of this uniqueness of the place attracts people from all religions in the state.
The Hayagriva Temple, on the other hand, is a pilgrimage site for Hindus and Buddhists. The location, Monikut Hills, finds reference in the Kalika Purana. Interestingly, the temple has a pond (Madhab Pukhuri) which is home to the black soft-shell turtles (declared 'extinct in the wild' by IUCN). People feed the turtles, and consider them as sacred. So, if you can link things to modernity, the temple here not just blesses people, but also, takes part in wildlife conservation! Must have been a news report in the media houses had it been mainland India, isn't it?
Just a reference here: Jadhav Payeng, the man who built a forest: you must've heard of him. Well, he is one man we are simply proud of!
Uddhab Bharali: the man of 'patents'! For those who do not know of this man named Uddhab Bharali, I would like to say that he is our 'Phungsuk Wangdu'. Having over 100 innovations for the masses, this man has been redefining traditional innovation since long. He helps the differently-abled people through his innovations. A simple and visionary Assamese, he deserves more attention than he has got, not for popularity, but to teach our kids what giving back to society means. And he does not hold high degrees and affiliations. He had to abandon engineering due to financial burden of his family, and later created some of the best machines India can be proud of! No doubt, he is a Padmashree!
Folks, did you have enough of Indian folk culture? The Assamese people do not represent a race or a caste or a religion. It comprises of tribes and the indigenous, people from different religions and communities, creating an amalgamation of some of the extraordinary cultural representations under the same umbrella. Bihu is the state festival of Assam, celebrated and observed three times in a year in accordance with the agrarian calendar. You will find much about 'Bihu' on the internet, but you must not be knowing the other folk forms. Assam hosts 'jikir', which are Sufi-like compositions citing the praises of the Almighty. The 'Borgeet' is a similar style of vocals and music customary to the Vaishnavite monasteries and institutions. The 'Sattriya' dance again refers to the dance form born out of these institutions. The 'Lokgeet' which means songs of the people or folk songs in strict translation, are mesmerizing, and will lead you through the beauty of the rural traditions. And believe me, these are performed by people from all sects and religion. You will find people conducting their researches in the universities here on these subjects.
The points I have placed here are only shadow of what the state is like. The common representative elements/ individuals of the state, like tea, gamocha (the traditional garment/ towel), bamboo, one-horned rhinoceros, National Parks, Kamakhya Temple, Majuli, Dr. Bhupen Hazarika, Pratima Pandey Baruah, Zubeen Garg, Papon, Anurag Saikia, Hima Das, and many more are what you will find on the web.
I thank you for reading this post, and wish that you will teach your kids to locate this state on the Indian map, and tell them of the truths here despite the fact that they may not find these in their textbooks!
Have a nice time!
জয় আই অসম | (Hail Mother Axom)
