Day 9
And here we were already moored off the village of Sualkuchi this morning. We were going to visit the silkweavers of Assam today.
Sualkuchi is situated on the north bank of the Brahmaputra River about 35 km from Guwahati. It has large numbers of the population engaged in handloom weaving for which it is endearingly known as the Manchester of the East. It is indeed the textile center of Assam. Muga Silk along with Eri Silk from this region is famous for its quality. Mekhela Chadors – the traditional outfit for women here – and Gamosas made from this indigenous material is in demand throughout Assam as well as other parts of India. It is actually a registered trademark – Sualkuchi’s. We had seen quite a few shops with Sualkutchi textiles in Tezpur and Guwahati.
Once we reached the shore with our country boat we got on E-rickshaws and first visited a Silkworm Farm which was about 10 min away. They had a sort-of-showroom for us to get an idea about the silk production.
Sericulture – the practice of breeding silkworms for the production of raw silk – is an agro-based industry. It involves rearing of silkworms for the production of raw silk, which is the yarn obtained out of cocoons spun by certain species of insects. Cultivation to feed the silkworms that spin silk cocoons and reeling the cocoons to unwind the silk filament and added advantages like process and weaving are the major activities of sericulture. There are several commercial species of silkworms – India is the second largest producer of silk in the world and 4 kinds of silk are created – Mulberry accounts for 71.8%, Tasar 9.9%, Eri 17.8% and Muga 0.6% of the total raw silk production – 3 of them we got explained – 2 of them they actually produce here.
The silk, Assam is most famous for and which has a beautiful glossy golden colour which improves with age and washing, is Muga Silk or Assam Silk. This silk is never dyed or bleached and it is stain-resistant. The unsusual golden colour and strong nature of the thread are the 2 important features for which this silk is unique. For over 600 years it was exclusively reserved for the royal family in Assam.
The Muga Silkworm – Antheraea assamensis – and Assam Silkmoth as an adult – is a moth first described by T. W. Helfer in 1837 … The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of a silkmoth … just so you know … This one is found only in Assam where 99% of its production occurs. The larva feed primarily on the Som Tree – Persea Bombycina – an evergreen tree of the family also Avocado belongs too – which only grows in Assam.
The Muga Silkworm is multivoltine in nature with 6 broods every year – 2 crops each of pre-seed, seed and commercial. The crops Chotura in March-April and Bhodia in August-September are only seed crops. Jarua in December-January and Aherua in June-July are pre-seed crops and only Jethua in May-June and Kothia in October-November are commercial crops. Only the last 2 are used for production, the other ones are meant only for obtaining the eggs for containing the rearing of the silk worm.
There are several stages of production – the female Silkmoth lays 300 to 500 eggs – the eggs hatch to form caterpillars known as silkworms – they feed on Som leaves. Then – having grown and moulted several times – the silkworm extrudes a silk fibre and forms a net to hold itself. Itm distributs saliva that will form silk – which solidifies when it contacts with air. The silkworm spins approximately 1 km of filament and completely encloses itself in a cocoon in about 2-3 days – the amount of usable quality silk in each cocoon is small – as a result about 2500 silkworms are required to produce 1 pound of raw silk.
The extraction of silk filament from cocoons by employing a set of processes is known as silk reeling. Muga silk is generally reeled by the traditional Bhir reeling process, which we would see on our next stop in the village today.
Then there is also the Eri silk – The common name of the Eri Silkmoth is Ailanthus Silkmoth and refers to the host plant Ailanthus. There is a subspecies – Samia Cynthia Ricini – in India that feeds only upon the leaves of the Castor Bean – Ricinus Communis – and is known for the production of Eri silk. The moth has very large wings with a quarter-moon shaped spot on both the upper and lower wings, whitish and yellow stripes and brown background. The species was first described by Dru Drury in 1773.
Castor leaves are widely used as it can grow very easily and rapidly in the plains and is found abundantly in this region. It takes around one month to complete a cycle of Eri rearing – from egg, larva to cocoon.
The name Eri is derived from the Assamese word era which means castor. The Eri Silkworm is the only completely domesticated Silkworm other than the Mullberry Silkworm. In the show room they also had sometimes worms munching away on their favourite leaves. Mostly those were Eri Silkworms. Domesticated means – they were all kept in special rooms and fed with leaves – rather than letting them live outside in the trees.
Eri silk is also known as Endi or Errandi in India. The woolly white silk is often referred to as the fabric of peace because it is processed without killing the silkworm. For this reason, Eri Silk is known as Ahimsa or non-violence silk. The Silkworm crawls in search of a comfortable place among leaves to spin its cocoon which has an open mouth.
At the right time, the Eri Moth leaves the cocoon on its own. Eri Silk spinning does not involve killing the silkworm as in the cases of other silks like Muga Silk. Mahatma Gandhi was critical of silk production – his attitude was based on the Ahimsa philosophy not to hurt any living thing. He promoted Ahimsa Silk – made without boiling the pupa to procure the silk. Moths leave the cocoon and then the cocoons are harvested to be spun.
The Eri Silk is extremely durable, but cannot be easily reeled off the cocoon and is thus spun like cotton or wool. Eri silk is a staple fiber – unlike other silks, which have a continuous filament. The texture of the fabric is coarse, fine and dense. It is very strong and elastic. Eri silk is darker and heavier than other silks and blends well with wools and cotton. Due to its thermal properties it is warm in winter and cool in summer.
For demonstration purposes they had cocoons in the showroom – and the difference between them was clearly visible. The Muga silk was indeed more brownish-yellowish while the Eri silk was all white and fluffy. Both had – for demonstration purposes – dead larva inside and were rattling when shook.
The 3rd silk we got explained was the Mulberry Silk – the Bombyx Mori is a domestic silkmoth and the closest relative of Bombyx Mandarina, the wild silkmoth. This silkworm’s preferred food is Mulberry leaves. The production of raw silk especially with this silkworm has been under way for at least 5000 years in China. This silk is not really produced in Assam – they specialize in Muga silk and Eri silk. Silk in the Indian subcontinent is a luxury good. In India, about 97% of the raw mulberry silk is produced in the 5 Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Jammu & Kashmir.
It was as always interesting to hear and see about the silkworms. Every time I came here – always in a different month of the year – there were more or less silkworms for us to look at. Once I was even here, when the Muga Silkworms were up in the Som Trees in the yard.
The farm here has approx 650 ha of Som Tree cultivation in the surrounding hills. They have those little baskets full of moth eggs that they hang in the trees. Then the worms hatch and climb up the trees to feed and feed and feed on the leaves. The Muga silkworm is not completely domesticated – it has to be set outside in the trees to feed. There always had to be guards on duty chasing away predetors trying to eat the caterpillars. For show purposes they had a basket with empty egg shells …
Once the silkworms have eaten enough and are near to maturing – the farmers will know the exact time – they will move to a proper place to cocoon. It will crawl down the tree at dusk and that is the moment they get collected and set for cocooning under supervision – placed in a Jali – cocoonage – for spinning of the cocoons. That is easier than climbing the trees to collect cocoons later. Normally 1kg of raw silk can be obtained from 4500-6000 cocoons depending upon the quality compactness and weight of the shell.
All the moths – of the 2 different silkworms they cultivate – they had were dead and dried up. The moths both looked so different from each other and so did the silk worms.
Before spinning, the Eri cocoons are boiled in Khari – an alkali mixed with water – made from the charcoal of the castor stem. After boiling, the cocoons become thin. Several cocoons are joined together to make some sort of cake. These cakes are dried in the sun and are then ready for spinning. The other day we saw a woman spin Eri Silk using a Takri – a spindle made of bamboo. The spinner holds the fibre in the left hand and occasionally rotates the spindle in her right hand. They create a fine balance by which the fibre is twisted into yarn and winds onto the spindle.
In recent years however, pedal driven or even electric powered reeling machines are also used in some areas. They had a couple of those on display in the showroom as well.
Once we had seen and heard everything about silkworm farming, we got on our E-rickshaws again and went back into the village to visit a Silkweavers’ Workshop.
There were many in the village. We went to a family business that let us look at the workshop and showed us the spinning in exchange of the chance to sell some products to our guests. Fair enough. The workshop had about 6 looms set up in close quarters. There was not much space for us to move around. Basically we went in one door and out the other in single file. Sometimes all looms were in operation, sometimes only a couple.
In the village the rhythmic click-clack of the traditional flying shuttle looms was ever present and echoed through the alleys. Weaving in the village is not just a tradition handed down by generations, but a way of life. The majority of the families have hand operated shuttle looms. These are a long step up from the looms we have seen in the villages in the last few days.
Weaving is done by intersecting the longitudinal threads – the warp i.e. that which is thrown across – with the transverse threads – the weft i.e. that which is woven. The major components of the loom are the warp beam, heddles, harnesses or shafts, shuttle, reed and takeup roll. In the loom, yarn processing includes shedding, picking, battening and taking-up operations. These are the principal motions.
Hand weavers could only weave a cloth as wide as their armspan. John Kay patented the flying shuttle in 1733. The weaver held a picking stick that was attached by cords to a device at both ends of the shed. With a flick of the wrist, one cord was pulled and the shuttle was propelled through the shed to the other end with considerable force, speed and efficiency. A flick in the opposite direction and the shuttle was propelled back. A single weaver had now control of this motion and the flying shuttle could weave much wider fabric at much greater speeds than had been achieved with the hand thrown shuttle.
The flying shuttle was one of the key developments in weaving that helped fuel the Industrial Revolution – as was Jacquard’s invention. Here in Sualkuchi they already had Jacquard looms.
Also called Jacquard Attachment or Jacquard Mechanism – it is device incorporated in special looms to control individual warp yarns. It enabled looms to produce fabrics having intricate woven patterns such as tapestry, brocade and damask.
The Jacquard system was developed in 1804 by Joseph-Marie Jacquard of France. Jacquard’s loom utilized the interchangeable punch card technology that controlled the weaving of the cloth so that any desired pattern could be obtained automatically. The machine is controlled by a chain of cards – a number of punched cards laced together into a continuous sequence. Multiple rows of holes were punched on each card with one complete card corresponding to one row of the design. Both the Jacquard process and the necessary loom attachment are named after their inventor. This mechanism is probably one of the most important weaving inventions as Jacquard shedding made possible the automatic production of unlimited varieties of pattern weaving. The term Jacquard is not specific or limited to any particular loom, but rather refers to the added control mechanism that automates the patterning. This use of replaceable punched cards to control a sequence of operations is considered an important step in the history of computing hardware.
Mostly women were doing the weaving here – only once we saw a man. That was rather unusual, though. Weavers get paid not by the hour but by the finished product.
And quite frankly, I think the looms used here in Assam – be it in the villages or here for silk weaving – would be set in museums in Europe. There are textile museums where they use those to show the evolution of weaving. Nobody would use such looms anymore in Europe other than for showing and keeping up the tradition. Here they were in daily use.
Watching the different patterns and colours being woven was fascinating. The women operated the looms with bamboo stick foot paddles and every now and then they had to pull the punch card one step further.
Sometimes they also had to get in and sort out the threads for the patterns if they had gotten entangled or messed up some other way.
There are many different designs used in the silk garments – the sheer beauty of the motivs is amazing. A popular design used in Mekhela Chadars is the Kinkhaap. It is believed that this design has been used since the days of the Ahom Kings and consists of 2 front-facing lions. Other popular designs include those inspired by Assamese jewellery like the Gaamkharu – a wrist band – or Joonbiri – a half moon-shaped pendant – and the Kaziranga design inspired by the wildlife at Kaziranga National Park. These days, coloured silk threads are bought from South India as it is not commercially viable to dye the silks before weaving here.
Here they also showed us how they reeled the silk. The intact Muga silk cocoons – which were bought from the silkworm farm – are boiled in an alkaline solution of soda ash for an hour – killing the silkworm larvae. This helps to soften the natural gum – sericin – which holds the filaments together. Then the silk is obtained by brushing the undamaged cocoon to find the outside end of the filament – the silk filaments are then wound on a reel.
In Assam 2 methods of reeling are prevalent – the traditional on Bhir, which involves 2 persons, and a recent one that employs a fast operating machine with the operator using both hands for reeling. Here they did show us the traditional method.
About half of the silk in each cocoon could be reeled and the remainder – used as silk waste is further processed to spun silk. The productivity of the Bhir is very low – as little as 80 g per day – and the quality of yarn is also not uniform. However, most weavers prefer to use the untwisted yarn produced on a Bhir for weft, which accounts for 60% of the total requirement.
After deflossing, the true end of the continuous filament is found and a number of cocoons are transferred to the reeling basin containing tepid water.
One cocoon contains approximately 800-1000 m of silk filament. The silk at this stage is known as raw silk. One thread of Muga Silk comprises of up to 14 individual silk filaments.
After reeling, the Muga threads are dried in the shade for 3-4 days. We saw that on one of our visits when they had them hung out along the alley way. Following this they are wound into Hanks. In the textile industry, a Hank is a coiled or wrapped unit of yarn or twine. This is often the best form for use with hand looms – compared to the cone form needed for power looms. Hanks come in varying lengths depending on the type of material and the manufacturer.
When the reeling of the cocoon is finished, then the Pupa is left over. But they do not throw those away, either. In Assam, the boiled Pupa are eaten directly with salt or fried with chili pepper or herbs as a snack or dish and gulped down with rice beer.
Some say they taste like prawns – others say they have a crunchy exterior and the taste and texture of mashed potato inside when fresh. For sure they are low in fat, high in protein and are a great source of essential fatty acids – they are high in calcium and have other minerals like Vitamin B1, B2 and B3, Iron, Magnesium and Sodium as well. And no … I did not try them …
Once we had seen everything, of course, some of their products they offered also for sale. They did not have a proper shop in this worlshop, but everything was on display in their living room. And many guests jumped to the opportunity to buy real Assam Muga Silk or Eri Silk directly from the manufacturer.
Leaving the silkweavers we went with our E-Rickshaws to a little village closeby which was inhabited by the Bodo tribe. The Bodo – also Boro – is the largest ethnolinguistic tribe in Assam. They are a part of the greater Bodo-Kachari family of ethnolinguistic groups and are spread across northeastern India. They are politically active and concentrated mainly in the Bodoland autonomous region – though Bodos inhabit all other districts of Assam as well. The Bodo people are recognized as a plains tribe in the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
They speak the Bodo language – a Tibeto-Burman language recognized as one of 22 scheduled languages in the Indian Constitution. The Bodo-Kachari, to which the Bodo people belong, are thought to have entered Assam sometime after Austroasiatic language speakers from Southeast Asia had settled the regions. The Bodo-Kachari were also some of the first people to rear silkworms and produce silk material and were considered to be advanced in rice cultivation in Assam during this time period.
A dance group of students was going to perform traditional dances for us. They were beautifully dressed up in their traditional costumes. The Bodo tribe people are simple dressers who love wearing colorful pieces of clothing that help their inner beauty come to the fore. The most common form of women’s clothing worn is the Dokhona – in general a piece of handcrafted textile in the length of 3 m and width of 1.5 m.
It is worn running down from their chest to the bottom – it is crafted in such a way that it requires just one wrap and is then tied around the waist. Varieties of design – Agor – and different colours are woven for the Dokhona. There are mainly two types of Dokhona – Plain Dokhona & Designed Dokhona. Among all the colours yellow is the main traditional colour and a matha dokhona with yellow colour is used as bridal attire.
All of the girls were also wearing an Aronai – a small green-white patterned scarf, used both by Men and Women. Aronai is the sign of Bodo tradition and is used to felicitate guests with honour, as a gift. In winter it is wrapped around the neck to warm up the body and generally used in the performance of Bodo dance. In ancient period Bodo warriors used Aronai as a belt in the battle field. At the time of the war, Bodo women would weave Aronai within a single night and present it to the warriors as they set out for the battlefield.
The girls showed us their traditional Bagurumba Dance – one of the most attractive dance forms of the Bodo community. It has been inherited from one generation to another generation. There are several Bodo dances that can be found in the tribe, but the Bagurumba has been accepted as main traditional dance of the Bodo people.
There are different symbols in this traditional dance, which are imitated from other natural environment. Like dance of animals, birds, wave of flowing river. This dance form can be performed in any occasion, festival and program. However, Bagurumba is mainly performed by the tribe to mark the Bwisagu Festival in the Bishuba Sankranti or in mid-April just after the hard plantation work has been done.
The Bagurumba dance originated from nature – this dance form is also known as Butterfly Dance, because it resembles the movement of birds and butterflies. It is performed to pacify Bathou, the supreme God of the Bodos and is the most colourful and graceful dance practiced by hopping and swinging with slow steps and outstretched hands.
The performance was in a yard and half the village people – mostly women and children, but also some men – came to watch it. I was not sure, if they came to see the dance performance or if they came to see the foreigners, though. However, they all had fun.
The girls from the dance group later waved us Good bye and of course not only we took numerouse photos but also them. There were plenty selfie requests before we could get on our E-rickshawas and go back to our ship.
Lunch on the ship was as always delicious. While it was always buffet – soup and starter got served on the table. We had a very talented plate decorator on board.
Over lunch we sailed the short distance to Guwahati and docked in Pandu Port which is apparently the main river port in Assam. It’s main days are seemingly over, though. Apart from our ship we never saw another ship on the river other than the ferry boats and a dredger from the Inland Waterways Authotity of India. Also in the port there is not much else going on.
Our afternoon excursion was leading us to the Kamakhya Temple – a Hindu temple dedicated to the Mother Goddess Kamakhya. We took our minibusses for the 30 min ride up Nilachal Hill in the western part of Guwahati city.
The Kamakhya Temple is one of the oldest of the 51 Shakti Pithas – pilgrimage destinations in Shaktism, the goddess-focused Hindu tradition. There are 51 or 108 Shakti Pithas by various accounts. Most of these historic places of goddess worship are in India – but there are 7 in Bangladesh, 3 in Pakistan, 3 in Nepal and one each in Tibet and Sri Lanka as well.
Various legends explain how the Shakti Pithas came into existence. The most popular is based on the story of the death of the goddess Sati. Lord Shiva fell in love with Sati, but her father would not give consent to their marriage. Sati died out of grief and sorrow and Shiva carried her lifeless body on his head, reminiscing about their moments as a couple and roamed around the universe with it. Immersed in grief, Shiva performed the Tandava, the celestial dance of destruction, across all creation. The other Gods were worried and requested Lord Vishnu to intervene to stop this destruction. He flew on his Garuda to where Shiva was and threw his Sudarshana Chakra – a spinning, disk-like weapon, literally meaning disk of auspicious vision – at Sati’s body and thus shattered it into 51 pieces. Those pieces fell on Earth to become sacred sites where all the people can pay homage to the Goddess.
Some of the great religious texts recognize 4 major Shakti Pithas – Bimala (the feet) inside the Jagannath Temple of Puri/Odisha, Tara Tarini (the breasts) near Berhampur/Odisha, Kamakhya (the Yoni – her genitals) near Guwahati/Assam and Dakshina Kalika (her right toe) in Kolkata/West Bengal – originated from the parts of the corpse of Mata Sati. Apart from these 4 there are 48 other famous Pithas scattered all over the present day Indian subcontinent.
The Kamakhya Temple here in Guwahati is an important pilgrimage destination for Hindus and especially for Tantric worshipers. It is always very busy. The true pilgrims walk up the entire hill, but most take a bus or car. However, the last bit is only pedestrian and we also had to walk that part. Only cameras and mobiles were allowed inside, all bags we had to leave in the bus.
Steep stairs led past stalls selling anything a worshipper could need and of course also all kinds of souvenirs. People were enterprising and so there was much on sale here – a lot of kitsch was there as well.
There were also sellers that had prayer beads. The Rudraksha seed is used for that. When they are ripe, rudraksha seeds are covered by a blue outer shell and are sometimes called blueberry beads. The seeds are produced by several species of large, evergreen, broad-leaved trees in the genus Elaeocarpus. The seeds are associated with the Hindu deity Shiva and are commonly worn for protection and for chanting mantras. They can be valued similarly to semi-precious stones. Various meanings and interpretations are attributed to beads with different numbers of segments and rare or unique beads are highly prized and valuable.
Other vendors prepared the small oil lamps for the temple visit. One filled the smal clay lamps with ghee and placed a wick in it. Oil lamps are commonly used in Hindu temples. A lit lamp represents the kindling of the inner light of knowledge. The light of knowledge dispels darkness of ignorance. The altar lamp serves as reminder of the highest aspiration of Hinduism – to awaken wisdom.
At the entrance of the temple we had to put our shoes in storage. A shoe man stuffed them all in a big bag and watched them for us … of course for a fee. Everybody had to leave there shoes there, but there did not seem to be a proper shoe storage place there … or maybe … I saw later … behind some of the shops were shoe rooms … clever … leave your shoes and shop at the same time …
The first epigraphic notice of Kamakhya was found in plates of the 9th century. Since the archaeological evidence too points to a massive 8th-9th century temple, it can be safely assumed that the earliest temple was constructed during that time. Legend has it that at the beginning of the constructions 140 men let themselves be executed voluntarily and their heads were presented to Goddess Shakti on Copper trays.
The current structural temple – built and renovated many times in the period between the 8th and 17th century – gave rise to a hybrid indigenous style that is sometimes called the Nilachal type – a temple with a hemispherical dome on a cruciform base. The temple consists of 4 chambers and is aligned from east to west.
The original temple had been plundered and destroyed by the Mohammedans at the beginning of the 15th centrury. The current structure was then rebuilt in 1565. During that time catacombs with bones were discovered including 140 human remains.
Even today, the temple is a holy place to sacrifice male animals of all kinds. In historic texts it is mentioned that birds, turtles, crocodiles, fish, buffalo, goats, bears, even rhinos, lions and tigers were sacrificed here. Surprisingly, no dogs or elephants were found in those lists … Nowadays also humans and endangered species are not on the list anymore either.
Parts of the temple structure – especially some of the rock carvings – are still original from the 8th century temple. They are well preserved and adorn the oldest part of the structure.
On one side is a very old carving of Lord Ganesha. People worship this by putting the red colour on it and also sticking coins to it for good luck.
Along the side there are several smaller shrines that get as much attention from the pilgrims as the main temple. Particularly one shrine was well visited and coconuts were cracked. Breaking a coconut for Gods and Goddesses is indeed a very common practice in India and hence holds a lot of importance in Hinduism. The coconut fruit is an essential offering in almost all rituals of Hinduism and is a part of almost all Hindu ceremonies. Hindus start all new ventures by breaking a coconut in front of an idol. Whether it is a wedding, a festival or an important puja ritual, a coconut is always a must-have on the list. The coconut in Sanskrit is referred to as Sriphala or The God’s Fruit. It is the only fruit that is used to symbolize God. The coconut is sacred, pure and health-giving. The coconut is broken and placed before God.
To visit the inner sanctum of Kamakhya Temple for a worship, pilgrims line up sometimes for hours. The line starts somewhere to the side of the main entrance and leads through a narrow aisle around the premises until it reaches the prayer hall. In order to have people who do not want to get into the inner sanctum, there is a gate that closes off the aisle. Some pilgrims line up here for 5 hrs or more, depending on the day. On auspicious days there is a much longer line and a much larger crowd here.
During the Ambubasi Mela in June or July – depending on the calendar – pilgrims from all over India come here. It is the end of the world-mensturation … remember the genitals of Sati are lying here inside the holiest of the holy sanctums. They are covered by a white muslin cloth and surrounded by flowers. From a natural well runs water in the sanctum. Once a month that water turns red just like during a woman’s period once a month. Then that cloth seems like stained by blood.
It is likely that this is also an ancient sacrificial site. Devotees come every morning to offer to Shakti. Shakti is known as Kamakhya. The worship of all female deity in Assam symbolizes the fusion of faiths and practices of elements. The goddess is worshiped by offering flowers, but might include animal sacrifices. In general female animals are exempt from sacrifice.
The place for sacrifices was right next to the entrance to main prayer hall. We never actually observed a sacrifice here, though. We only ever saw the animals lined up.
Often nowadays devotees intend to sacrifice but then pardon the animal. Those then roam the temple premises as blessed animals covered in red colour or they get taken back home again and live happily ever after.
If it does get sacrificed, then it has a very quick and painless death by the Guillotine. Only the heads are left for the gods, the bodies are straight away taken back home to the kitchen.
When I visited Bangladesh in 2011 we also visited a Kali Temple and it happened that we were there, when a family had offered a goat to sacrifice. It was a special ceremony and I have to admit that I did not watch when the priest let the sword fall … but I pointed the camera … Nevertheless, the goat had a quick and happy death. It got a lot of worshipping before and a massage and then … it died quickly. And the body is not wasted … quickly it got moved to the temple kitchen and a feast for the offering family and other devotees got prepared.
There was always much going on in the temple. Many devotees at any time of the year were here. Since we were not allowed into the inner sanctum – and we would not want to line up for hours for it anyway – we only had a look inside the prayer hall and the outer sanctum. No photos were allowed there and we were quickly ushered through as well – no standing around gawking!
Whole families had come to the temple to worship. After they had lined up and visited the inner sanctum, they were just like any tourist and posed for photos. Of course, the selfie requests did not stop at the temple entrance. But we were allowed to take photos of them as well.
Other people were praying quietly in a corner or receiting loudly for other devotees to follow. Some were just walking around and worshipping all the many shrines on the premises.
Many shrines were around the main temple. They were dedicated to all kinds of gods. Lord Shiva was often depicted.
There was also a shrine for Vishwakarma – Lord of Architecture and Ancient God of Engineering. He is the presiding deity of all craftsmen and architects, son of Brahma and the divine draftsman of the whole universe and official builder of all the gods’ palaces. Vishwakarma is also the designer of all the flying chariots of the gods and all their weapons.
Walking around the Kamakhya Temple in February we happened to be here on a very auspicious day for marriage. We had already noticed many wedding party decorations in the villages and city. When we came here, we encountered at least 4 wedding couples – newlywed of course – who were visiting the temple on the occasion.
In India, the wedding rituals and clothes of the bride and her groom make the wedding. Both look their splendid best in gorgeous outfits. A bride never steps out without a Mukut along with a veil on her wedding day. The white crown is not just for show, but also worn to bring luck to the couple. The crown is made of Shola – Indian Cork – a very delicate yet elegant looking material.
Not just the couple, but the guests attending were also seen dressed to the nines.
The bride is usually dressed up in auspicious colors – red is considered to be the most auspicious color among Hindus – whereas the bridegroom is dressed to exude a regal aura. The exquisite shirts, coats and jackets are designed with extra care and touch to bring out the magnanimity out of the bridegroom on the marriage day.
The Topor is a customary headgear that is worn by the Bengali grooms. A Topor is equivalent to the safa or turban worn by the Hindu or Sikh groom. The traditional Topor is a conical cap that is a representation of expert craftsmanship. The Topor is made of paper and reef and it has numerous intricate details adorning it.
The entrance of the temple was bedecked with a huge brass lion – This temple being dedicated to Sati, who is the first consort of Shiva – the second being Parvati who is the reincarnation of Sati. The warrior form of Parvati – one of her reincarnations – is Durga who rides a lion. The lion is a symbol of uncontrolled animalistic tendencies – such as anger, arrogance, selfishness, greed, jealousy, desire to harm others etc. and her sitting on it reminds the devotee to control these qualities, so that they are not controlled by them.
Leaving the temple we had to pass through the shopping stairs again and then got on our busses back to the ship. For those guests who were interested we always offered a walk through the quarter around the port. Not everybody came along – most needed to pack their suitcases … That was more important than seeing some more of the country they paid so much for to visit …
We walked from the port through the market and encountered plenty to be in awe of. Markets are always interesting for everybody, because especially here there were things sold that we do not even know exsited – starting from vegetables to tools and snacks and spices …
The photo opportunities were endless. Cycle rickshaws and cows clogged the alleys, people worked in tiny shops making tools and next door there was the meat shop as well.
Walking past a small bakery we were allowed to have a look inside and watch them making cookies. That was really cool to see. In that rather small room they did everything from making the dough, forming the cookies, baking them in a huge oven …
… and then let them sit to cool … and maybe they even lived in that bakery … at least it looked like it … and they also packed them in portions for sale. The hawkers were already outside waiting to put them in boxes on their cycles and go sell cookies in town.
Of course we also bought some fresh cookies to taste from the small shop in the bakery. Very yummy! A combination of sweet and salty.
Along the street we walked there were also a few of the idol making workshops I knew already from visits to Kolkata during our Ganges Cruise. At one time some sort of festival for Godess Kali was ahead and they were making plenty Kali idols.
Kali is a Hindu goddess. Her earliest appearance is that of a destroyer of evil forces. She is the most powerful form of Shakti. Over time, Kali has been worshipped as the Divine Mother, Mother of the Universe, Adi Shakti or Adi Parashakti. She is also seen as the divine protector and the one who bestows moksha – or liberation. Kali is often portrayed standing or dancing on her consort, Lord Shiva, who lies calm and prostrate beneath her.
Shiva’s wife Parvati is typically portrayed as a benign and friendly goddess. To defeat a demon, Parvati merged with Shiva’s body, reappearing as Kali to defeat the demon and his armies. When Shiva addressed Parvati as Kali – the dark blue one – she was greatly offended. Our Indian guides always told us the story – that when they have a fight with their wives … the wife is angry, they say their wife has turned into Kali ….
Some other time the festival for Goddess Saraswati was around the corner and numerous statues of her were being produced. Saraswati is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, wisdom and learning. She is a part of the trinity – Tridevi – of Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati. All the 3 forms help the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva to create, maintain and regenerate the Universe, respectively.
Some Hindus celebrate the festival of Vasant Panchami – the 5th day of spring, also known as Saraswati Puja and Saraswati Jayanti in many parts of India – in her honour. The day is marked by helping young children learn how to write the letters of the alphabet. The goddess Saraswati is often depicted as a beautiful woman dressed in pure white and often seated on a white lotus, which symbolizes light, knowledge and truth. She not only embodies knowledge but also the experience of the highest reality.
The goddess is often depicted with her Veena – an ancient zither-like instrument. A Hamsa or swan is often shown near her feet. In Hindu mythology, the Hamsa is a sacred bird, which if offered a mixture of milk and water, and is said to be able to drink the milk alone. It thus symbolizes the ability to differentiate between good and evil, essence from the outward show, and the eternal from the evanescent. Due to her association with the swan, Saraswati is also referred to as Hamsavāhini, which means She who has a Hamsa as her vehicle. The swan is also a symbolism for spiritual perfection, transcendence and moksha.
Most of the statues were not quite ready yet. They always modelled the body first. The faces were done seperately and later the statue was put together. Our Mohan had much fun showing us the face …
In one of the idol workshops they had a beautiful Ganesha statue. It was very cool … but unfortunately way to big to take home as a souvenir. What a pity …
Further on we passed a metal workshop where much work was going on. Note the occupational safety measures … I am sure shorts and t-shirt as well as the flipflops and the sunglasses do the job here properly …
By the side of the road an old man was manufacturing a wooden whisk by hand … I have seen him every time there at the exact same spot making whisk after wisk. Not sure how long he takes for one, though. And hopefully he never cuts himself with that planer either … But – tell me – who in this world still uses wodden whisks?
In a laundry shop somebody was always ironing … with an absolutely antique charcoal iron, that would actually belong into a museum … Here they still used it in daily work … I passed that laundry shop on several cruises. Absolutely amazing …
The charcoal iron – or ironing box or charcoal box iron – is a predecessor to the modern electric steam iron. It has a shape roughly similar to the modern irons, but with a hollow interior that could be filled with smoldering coals to keep the iron hot. On top of the box, there is a handle which allowed people to lift the hot iron as they ran it over clothing, smoothing out wrinkles. The date when people started to press cloth smooth cannot be precisely confirmed. However, the Chinese were the first to apply heat in the process in the first century BC, using metal pans filled with hot charcoal and it is in China where the earliest examples of charcoal irons were found.
Archeologists have discovered paintings dating back to over a thousand years ago that portray women in early charcoal ironing process. The method was used for centuries and in many different countries. Heated irons appeared in the West for the first time in the 17th century when the Dutch developed the box iron. Its interior contained a slug of real iron that was heated in the fire and inserted in the iron, instead of charcoal. Brick inserts were also commonly used.
On another corner the milk man was selling pot curd and milk in plastic bags. That I had not seen in ages. Way back when, there was milk sold in plastic bags in Germany, too. I remember it as a child. In India this is still common. The milk truck delivered boxes full of milk bags to be sold here.
Also pot curd is a very Indian thing. No, it is not yoghurt … Yogurt and curd are different types of dairy products – yoghurt is created by fermenting milk using bacterias like Lactobacillus Acidophilus … Curd is obtained by curdling milk with an edible acidic substance – such as lemon juice or vinegar – and then draining off the liquid portion. Curd is usually prepared in clay pots of various sizes, because the mineral composition of clay interacts well with the curd-forming giving a silky, thick and delicious curd in the process without having to worry about it going sour or bad. And delicious it is … Often it is only sold fresh in the morning. But here ins Assam – in winter – it was even available in the afternoon. The pots were as usual covered with banana leaves or newspaper …
Vendors had set up their vegetables alongside the roadside. A woman was selling fresh green peppers. All other seasonal vegetables were available, too – all nicely sorted by sizes and neately displayed.
There was a shop for musical instruments – mainly drums – and a man sat outside manufacturing a drum from scratch. He was preparing the skin for the drumhead. The drumheads are made of cow or goat skin and are usually three-layered and treated with a circle of rice paste, glue and iron.
On almost every corner there were snack stalls. Chaat is a savoury snack that is typically served at roadside stalls or food carts and has become immensely popular on the Indian subcontinent. The word derives from Hindi cāṭ – tasting, a delicacy – and from cāṭnā – to lick, as in licking ones fingers while eating- and from Prakrit caṭṭei – to devour with relish, eat noisily. Bhelpuri is a type of chaat which is made of puffed rice, vegetables and a tangy tamarind sauce. Bhel is often identified with the beaches of Mumbai and one theory for its origin is that it was invented at a restaurant near Victoria Terminus. According to another theory, Bhelpuri was contributed by the city’s Gujaratis, who made it by adding complex flavours to the simple North Indian chaat. The recipe has spread to most parts of India where it has been modified to suit local food availability. The Dry Bhelpuri can be a tossed mixture of puffed rice, peanuts, chickpeas, onion, tomatoes, boiled potatoes, raw mangoes, coriander, pepper, spices and lemon juice. This is served in a rolled paper cone and eaten with a spoon.
Of course there were also Jalebi stalls. Jalebi is a very sweet snack popular all over India. It is made by deep-frying flour batter in pretzel or circular shapes, which are then soaked in sugar syrup. This dessert can be served warm or cold and has a somewhat chewy texture with a crystallized sugary exterior coating. We have watched Jalebi makers several times before. Our Mohan is particulary fond of those and always buys a bag full to take back to the ship for the crew.
Like everywhere in India, there were small shrines and temples scattered around the town and residential areas. We passed a nice one for Lord Shiva and Goddess Kali who is often portrayed standing or dancing on her consort Lord Shiva. Next to Kali was a Shiva statue. Here Lord Shiva was depicted in his 3-headed 6-armed form holding several of his attributes in his hands – the japamala rosary beads, the damura drum, the chakra discus, the shankha conch shell, a peacock feather and the kamandal sacred pot of water. His bull Nandi stood behind him.
Above the shrine entrance door was a beautiful image of Lord Ganesha in a swastika. The swastika is a geometrical figure and an ancient religious icon in the cultures of Eurasia. It is used as a symbol of divinity and spirituality in Indian religions – especially Hinduism. The word swastika comes from Sanskrit – an Indo-Aryan language of the ancient Indian subcontinent with a 3500-year history, the primary liturgical language of Hinduism and the predominant language of most works of Hindu philosophy as well as some of the principal texts of Buddhism and Jainism – meaning conducive to well being or auspicious. In Hinduism, the symbol with arms pointing clockwise is called swastika, symbolizing surya – the sun, prosperity and good luck, while the counterclockwise symbol is called sauvastika, symbolizing night or tantric aspects of Kali. In Buddhism it symbolizes the auspicious footprints of Buddha. In several major Indo-European religions, the swastika symbolizes lightning bolts, representing the thunder god and the king of the gods, such as Indra in Vedic Hinduism, Zeus in the ancient Greek religion, Jupiter in the ancient Roman religion and Thor in the ancient Germanic religion. In the Western world, it was a symbol of auspiciousness and good luck until the 1930s when it became – 45 degrees rotated – feature of Nazi symbolism as an emblem of the Aryan race. As a result of World War II and the Holocaust, most people in Europe and the Americas associate it with Nazism and antisemitism. Reverence for the swastika symbol in Asian cultures, in contrast to the West’s stigmatization of the symbol, has led to many misinterpretations and misunderstandings. On every tour I accompany in India I have to explain over and over again the difference of the symbolism to the guests.
In this part of the city there were many cycle rickshaws available – we just took a walk, though. But there were many waiting for customers, others were just locked up, because they were not in demand that much anymore. And also porters with their cargo carts were waiting for customers.
We met many curious poeple during our walk. The foreigners are always an attraction – not only in the villages, but also here in the outskirts of the city. Usually people just watched us from afar and waved or smiled back when we did it first. For our guests the multitude of colours of the women’s sariees was always fascinating. There did not seem to be one saree like the other …
Once we walked past a lottery ticket seller. Not sure what kind of lottery it was, but one of the prices was waiting right there … Maybe the other prices were gone already? Or maybe the chicken was just there as an incentive? Who knows …
Some men were playing a board game that looked very similar to the German Mensch Ärgere Dich Nicht, which was developed in the early 20th century. This game they played here however, was Pachisi – a cross and circle board game that originated in medieval India which has also been described as the National Game of India … probably along with Cricket, though … Well, this one is played on a board shaped like a symmetrical cross. The name of the game is derived from the Hindi word paccīs – meaning twenty-five – the largest score that can be thrown – thus this game is also known by the name Twenty-Five.
Of course we also encountered curious children and interested adults. As always on our cruise – people eyed the foreigners cautiously. After an initial hesitance everybody always started smiling and greeting us, though.
In the market alleys we passed a shrine for Shani who refers to the planet Saturn and is one of the heavenly objects in Hindu astrology. Shani is also a male deity whose iconography consists of a handsome figure carrying a sword and sitting on a crow. He is the God of Justice in Hindu religion and delivers results to all, depending upon their thoughts, speech and deeds. He is worshipped mainly on Saturdays. Shani is the basis for Shanivara – one of the 7 days that make a week in the Hindu calendar. This day corresponds to Saturday – after Saturn – in the Greco-Roman convention for naming the days of the week. The zodiac and naming system of Hindu astrology – including those on Shani as Saturn – likely developed in the centuries after the arrival of Greek astrology with Alexander the Great, their zodiac signs being nearly identical. Consecutively, there is also a possibility that the Greeks adopted the naming convention of the days of the week based on the Indian astrological beliefs, as was being practised in the Indian civilization for time immemorial …
The market was interesting for sure. There were butcher stalls – no beef of course! – and a whole fish section with all kinds of freshwater fish on display – all as fresh as they get. Not to forget there were also spice shops with all kinds of Indian spices on offer. Everything one could possibly need to cook a proper meal was available in the market.
Walking back to Pandu Port we watched the sunset over the subburb … sunsets are always stunning … regardless of the view … even if it is the train tracks and slums of the city …
Back on the ship it was time to say Good Bye! … Unfortunately, our cruise would end the next morning … we would fly back to Delhi to continue our tour with a landprogram in the Golden Triangle – Delhi-Jaipur-Agra … But that will be another story! Tonight it was the farewell from the ship and the whole crew had shown up in the salon to wave us off.
Some of the crew were wearing their traditional costumes. The ship owning company is supporting local communities by giving young people the chance to work and they even train them in the hospitality business. All of them were originating in the North East of India. Many from Assam, but others from the neighbouring states. And those would wear their traditional costumes. That was always a hit with the guests.
Day 10
The next morning the only thing to do was check out and get going … our minibusses brought us to the airport and we were lucky enough to always fly on time back to Delhi. Check in was usually quick since I asked for group check in – meaning first they weighed all the luggage to tally it with the allowance, then they printed all the luggage tags and put them on. Last they printed all the boarding passes and a staff member came with me to the group – I called out the names and they checked the passport. Since our Western names were sometimes hard to pronouce for them, this was always the fastest option. Often we then were requested to pose with the staff for a group photo as well.
The flight was once more uneventful – I had a middle seat and slept most of the time. But I did wake up on point to catch a glimpse of the mighty Himalayas and Mount Everest!
Off to new adventures!
