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Day 6

My day started early as usual – I got up early and did some work and writing. The weather was good and today was not as early a start as yesterday. The ship was still docked at Silghat pontoon and at 09:00 we got on our mini busses for a market visit. The ride to the weekly Friday market at Uluoni took some 15 min. The market there is very colourful. Market visits are always special, but just walking around taking photos is  … well … you know, some of the locals do not like to have their photos taken while most of them are totally for it. So, to make the guests interact a little with the locals, to immerse themselves a little in the life of the locals and not just walk around and stare while taking photos, we gave them a special task.

Every guest – including me, haha – had gotten a paper with one vegetable item they had to buy, a shopping bag plus Rs 20 in cash to do so. The English and Assamese name of the vegetable was written there. Now  we had to go to the market shopping and bargaining to get as much as possible for our Rs 20!

It is always hard to explain the guests, that the point of this exercise is not to find out the price for 1 kg of potatoes and that it is also not necessary to know the price of 1 kg of potatoes … the point of the exercise is to get involved with the locals! Basically – ask how much you get for Rs 20 and then bargain to get more! If they want to give your 5 potatoes for Rs 20, ask for 8 and go home with 6 … or something along that line.

Sign language is always working … point and smile … mind you, there is not much bargaining going on at the local vegetable markets, but then again, we had to start somewhere before we hit the touristy shops in Rajasthan next week!  In India, the only way to be taken seriously as a foreigner while shopping is to haggle over prices. Now here on the local market, we really are talking bargaining for peanuts …

At the moment – we were here in November 2019 – for example there was a great discussion in the media about the price for onions. A kilogram of onions had gone up to some Rs 110 or more … that was a big story and really expensive! The price of onion has always been a matter of great concern in India, primarily because of its high usage in domestic households. While the price of the vegetable had reached as high as Rs 70-80/kg in Delhi in 2016, in September 2017 it was being sold at an all-time low price of Rs 15-20 per kg. But prices have again shot up by the end of 2019 due to a shortage, triggered by unseasonal rainfall leading to crop damage in the main onion growing zones in Maharashtra. We took onions of the shopping lists for the guests … No point of coming home with only one onion …

Shopping for the vegetables is always fun, though. I mean, we also make the locals happy … I am sure they come home that night and tell the story of the crazy foreigners again shopping for vegetables to their families and laugh their bums off … Basically, what we did was walk around the market looking for the item we had to buy, either find the seller with the best looking vegetable or find the best looking seller … Often guest prefer to buy from women … but here in Uluoni there are only men selling in the market. Then point at the vegetable and shove the Rs 20 note in their face … When they put a certain amount of vegetable on their scale or in the bag, then add some more … they take some off … we put some on … they laugh and take some off … we laugh and put some on … and in the end, we all laugh and take whatever they grant us.

The Friday market in Uluoni has pretty much everything you may need. The vegetable section is the largest part and has mostly seasonal vegetables. And there are many vegetables that we do not even know about. There are big Indian Broad Beans – botanically classified as Dolichos Lablab – a type of hyacinth bean which grow on thick vines with broad leaves and thrive in tropical climates. They are a green variety grown in backyard gardens and consumed when they are young, tender and slightly flattened, before the inner seeds have fully grown and fill out the pod. While other hyacinth beans contain glycosides, which are toxic when raw and must be boiled thoroughly before use, the Indian Broad Bean does not have to be pre-boiled.

There were so many different types of pumpkin as well. I mean, we know a few pumpkins – the Common Pumpkin or Winter Squash, Red Hokkaido Squash, even the Zucchini is a squash … But when I translate the lunch and dinner menus on the ship, there are always other pumpkins to find a German name for … Bottle Gourd I can relate to and I had it on my shopping list on one of the cruises.

Then there is the Bitter Gourd – we often have it as chips on the lunch buffet. Momordica Charantia – commonly known as Bitter Melon, Bitter Apple, Bitter Squash or Balsam-Pear – is widely grown in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean for its edible fruit. It originated from the South Indian state of Kerala.

The fruit has a distinct warty exterior and an oblong shape. It is hollow in cross-section, with a relatively thin layer of flesh surrounding a central seed cavity filled with large, flat seeds and pith. The fruit is most often eaten green or as it is beginning to turn yellow. When the fruit is fully ripe, it turns orange and soft and splits into segments which curl back to expose seeds covered in bright red pulp. We saw a field of Bitter Gourd on our recent cruise along the Ganges River which had some ripe fruit on the vines.

Different Yams – edible starchy tubers cultivated for consumption in many tropical world regions – were on offer. Piles of the ever present Indian Green Chili – towards the end of the 15th century introduced to India by Portuguese traders, who – aware of its trade value and resemblance to the spiciness of black pepper – promoted its commerce in the Asian spice trade routes. Nowadays, most households always keep a stock of fresh hot green chilies at hand and use them to flavor most curries and dry dishes. And bundles of fresh Coriander – an annual herb also known as Chinese Parsley or Cilantro. All parts of the plant are edible, but the fresh leaves and the dried seeds are the parts most traditionally used in cooking. Many other green leafed herbs were available as well.

There was freshly harvested red pepper, all kinds of different sized baby potatoes, roots and sprouts of all varieties. Of course also sugar cane sticks to chew as a sweet treat.

Then there was the small section with tobacco and paan supplies. In India the chewing of Betel and Areca Nut dates back to the pre-Vedic period Harappan Empire. Formerly it was a custom of the royalty to chew it. Kings had special attendants whose duty it was to carry a box with all the necessary ingredients for a good chewing session. There was also a custom for lovers to chew Areca Nut and Betel Leaf together, because of its breath-freshening and relaxant properties. A sexual symbolism thus became attached to the chewing of the nut and the leaf. The Areca Nut represented the male principle and the Betel Leaf the female principle. Considered an auspicious ingredient in Hinduism and some schools of Buddhism, the Areca Nut is still used along with Betel Leaf in religious ceremonies. In Assam it is a tradition to offer Pan-Tamul – Betel Leaves and raw Areca Nut – to guests after tea or meals. Here the Areca Nut also has a variety of uses during religious and marriage ceremonies, where it has the role of a fertility symbol. A tradition from Upper Assam is to invite guests to wedding receptions by offering a few Areca Nuts with Betel Leaves. During Bihu, the husori players are offered it by each household while their blessings are solicited.

There were several stalls selling dried tobacco leaves as well. According to a survey, around 48 % of all adults in Assam – of whom some 63 % are men and 33% women – either consume smoke tobacco or use smokeless tobacco. It found that 13% of all adults in Assam currently smoke tobacco and 42% of the adults use smokeless tobacco.

Tobacco is the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of the tobacco plant. More than 70 species of tobacco are known. Tobacco contains the stimulant alkaloid nicotine as well as harmala alkaloids. Dried tobacco leaves are mainly used for smoking in cigarettes, cigars as well as pipes and shishas. They can also be consumed as snuff, chewing tobacco, dipping tobacco and snus. The dried tobacco leaves sold in the local market are most probably used to make Beedi – thin, often flavoured cigarettes made of tobacco wrapped in a tendu leaf and secured with coloured thread at one end. I had watched Beedi wrapping on one of the excursions during the Ganga Cruise.

Of course there was also a fish section on the market. I think, those are mostly fresh water fish. They are very fresh – some of them are still swimming in a pot of water and some are flopping on the plastic tarp. The scales get removed and the fish is cut up to order for the interested buyer.

Very smelly indeed is the dried fish section. There are all kinds of dried fish and shrimp on offer. But that section is rather small … luckily … That smell … was overwhelming … but pinching the nose is respectless … so breathholding is the name of the game while passing through!

Right next to the fish and before the meat there was a barber offering his services. Believe it. Those street barbers are always busy – they are even cheaper than the once that have a shack or real shop.

Street barbers are a common sight across India in big cities as in small towns and villages. A broken mirror, a creaky chair, a couple of combs and some questionable water to wet the hair and a barber is born. And when it is market day, they just set up there. They usually all do brisk business at a fraction of what even the barber shops might charge.

Next was the pork section. Apparently this weekly Uluoni Market is the best place to buy pork in the area. Pork is not very common in India. Nothing is explicitly stated about the non-consumption of pork in Hindu texts and scriptures, it is more a custom rooted in Indian culture and beliefs. It has mainly to do with the climate – India being a warm and humid country preserving the meat would be a difficult task. And feeding pigs is much harder and more expensive than letting cows or goats graze. On top of that pigs are considered unhygienic. But some Indian Hindus consume pork. For example, in Goa, pork vindaloo is a popular dish, Karnataka is known for its spicy pork curries and indigenous Northeastern people like the Mishing savour their pork. The majority of the people of the North Eastern Region are non-vegetarian. The number of pigs in Assam is very high, but pork production consists primarily of backyard and unorganised sector producers. Of India’s annual pork production of approx 460000 t – two-thirds is consumed in the North-East.

Watching the pork seller was interesting. He was busy. And he also had a large audience of dogs behind him … every now and again he would throw scraps over his shoulder and the pack fought hard over them.

And then of course there was a section for chicken and goat meat. That meat came as fresh as it gets … the buyer picked the animal and it got butchered right there and sold.

Some of our guests were appalled by that and stated they would not eat meat again during this trip and go vegetarian. A reaction I will never understand. Do they actually think that at home the chicken they buy in the supermarket or the steak they buy at the butcher grows in the fridge? I mean, at least those goat and chicken had a happy life roaming the villages before they got led to the market. And with a little luck they get to go home in the evening and roam for another week until the next market.

I saw this documentary recently on TV at home, where they had experimentally done exactly like that on a market in Germany. They had put the geese for Christmas in an enclosure, let the interested buyer select their favorite for Christmas dinner and prepared it right there ready to be taken home and cooked. That should be a natural thing. But then in that documentary in fact some young vegan woman came breaking out in tears over those 9 geese left in the pen and collected donations to buy them all and give them a life in a sanctuary. Do not get me wrong, I am not against vegetarians or vegans … everybody can live as they see fit … but please, do not interfere with others or force them to live like you.

Maybe she should come to India once … would she buy all those chickens and goats to free them as well? … India is actually a place that everyone should visit once in their lives to get out of their comfort zones and get a different perspective on life. The culture shock in India can be hard to deal with, yes. However, quickly everybody will come to appreciate what they have back home and how fortunate they really are.

Further on in the market there were several Jaggery sellers. The scientific or technical definition of Jaggery is an amorphous form of unrefined and non-distilled sugar prepared from the sap or the juice of plants that contains a considerable amount of sucrose or sugar. It is a traditional non-centrifugal cane sugar made of cane juice and often date or palm sap without separation of the molasses and crystals and is usually on display in large blocks or palm sized pieces and can vary from golden brown to dark brown in colour.

It contains up to 50% sucrose, up to 20% invert sugars and up to 20% moisture with the remainder made up of other insoluble matter, such as wood ash, proteins and bagasse fibres. Jaggery is often used as a replacement for refined sugar. It is produced using traditional methods. The quality of jaggery is judged by its colour – brown means it is higher in impurities and golden-yellow implies it is relatively pure. Sometimes it is also called country sugar, since it is prepared in rural households of India.

Of course there was much more on offer on the market. There was a section for clothes and household items – the most interesting for us there were the Henna Pastes in tubes – Mehendi Art is decoration on the hands, foot and nails by applying a paste made with leaves of Henna tree. And there were also snack stall were various sweets were freshly prepared and sold – here Jalepi, a sticky chewy sweet usually of an orange colour and typically made from wheat flour, saffron, ghee and sugar. And one time there were even little Rabits for sale … I think as pets … because I had never seen Rabit on an Indian menu …

People watching – and being watched – is always a main objective when visiting this market. There is so much to see. Strangely enough, here there are mostly or actually only men selling and also mostly men buying … I am not sure why that is, but many guests have noticed that too. It might be the region … However, everybody has their reusable shopping bags! Only very few plastic bag are being given out … An in Germany we are still discussing why we need plastic bags in super markets …

Once we were back on the ship, the lines were cast off and we sailed the short hop to Tezpur. Of course it was soon lunch time – very important for our guests! Never miss a meal! You paid for it!

Shortly after departure we passed the Kolia Bhomora Setu – a pre-stressed concrete road bridge over the Brahmaputra River. It is named after the Ahom General Kolia Bhomora Phukan, is 3015 m long and was constructed between 1981 and 1987. The bridge stands on 24 pillars – each 120 m apart and ships of up to a height of 12 m can pass below the spans. The foundation of each pillar is 56 m deep and has a 12 m diameter.

The need of a bridge over the river was felt even during the period of Ahom rule. Ahom General Kolia Bhomora Phukan prepared an elaborate plan to construct a bridge for the first time in the early 16th century. He started with site selection connecting Bhomoraguri Hills near Tezpur with Kamakhya Hill of Nagoan District and collected special boulders for his ahead of time plan, started to initiate the project and construction began. Sadly,the General passed away and the project died along with him. After more than 400 years today’s bridge over the river was constructed on the same place proposed by General Kolia Bhomora Phukan and inaugurated in 1987. The bridge was named as Kolia Bhomora Setu as a special tribute to the man who had a dream of connecting people.

Right next to this bridge a new 3 km-long bridge is currently being constructed. The bridge is going to span over 26 pillars and around 600 workers are apparently engaged in this project. We never saw that many working … but then again we only ever saw the closest pillars they worked on. However, the construction is progressing and now already bridge sections were visible on top of the pillars.

After lunch we went on an excursion to Tezpur. The city with a population of approx 102000 inhabitants was formerly called Sonitpur. Its history is deeply connected with the Indian mythology, legends and folklore. Tezpur is also called City of Blood – Tez means blood and pur means city – because of a horrendous battle between Hari – Lord Krishna – and Hara – Lord Shiva. However, it is also called the City of Imortal Romance because of the romantic legend of Usha – the daughter of King Bana – and Anirudha – the grandson of Lord Krishna. Modern Tezpur was founded by the British colonial administration in 1835 as the headquarters of Darrang District, though.

In Tezpur we went ashore at a ghat were below a holy tree many clay statues of gods were left after they have been worshipped and dunk into the river and often people come to worship the river.

We got on our mini busses and drove only a short distant to Da Parbatia – a small village very close to Tezpur. There were significant architectural remnants of an ancient Gupta period temple of the 6th century overlying the ruins of another Shiva temple built of bricks during the Ahom period. Archaeological excavations done here in 1924 have unearthed this 6th-century antiquity in the form of a stone door frame with extensive carvings. The ruins of the temple built during the Ahom period are built over the ancient temple’s foundations and are in the form of a stone paved layout plan of the sanctum sanctorum. When the Ahom period temple was destroyed during the Assam Earthquake of 1897, the remains of the Gupta period temple were exposed but only in the form of a door frame made of stone. Epigraphic evidence and ancient literature found here, supplemented by the ruins seen scattered around the area, also confirms that in the pre-Ahom period Gupta art extended into the early medieval period.

The door jambs or posts measure 1.60 m in height and have high relief carvings in their lower parts while the upper parts have 4 vertical bands or strips carved in different patterns. The human figures carved at the base of the door posts are of the River Goddesses Ganga and Yamuna, which belong to the Gupta period art traditions, and also depict carvings of flying geese.

This architectural depiction is stated to be the finest and oldest specimen of sculptural art in Assam. The goddesses carved in an elegant standing posture are shown with divine halos over their heads with each figure holding a garland in its hands. This type of depiction of goddesses on the door frames was prevalent in the medieval temples. Many smaller figurines are also carved as if in attendance to the main goddess. On the right door post, there are 2 female attendants, one is in a standing posture holding up an umbrella while the second attendant is shown on bent knees and holding a flat tray filled with flowers. The carvings on the right door post are better preserved than those on the left. On the left door post, the 2 figurines standing in attendance flanking the goddess are not distinct. Here, there is also a carving of a naga in a kneeling posture carved to the right of the halo of the goddess and to the left of this depiction there are carvings of 2 geeses.

The vertical strips in each of the upper part of the door posts extend up to the lintel. One strip, starting from the head of the naga is carved in the wavy pattern of a creeper and is filled with decorations of leaves pattern. The other band is like a lotus stem, out of which lotus leaves and different flowers emerge and the stem is supported at the base by 2 pygmy shaped figures. The third strip has embossed panels of human figures fronting ornamental leaves. This band is crowned by a vase with drooping decorative foliage. Decorative rosettees form the last strip.

The lintel spanning over the door posts is 1.14 m in length and is richly decorated with architectural carvings which are placed in a symmetrical form, similar to the architectural features seen in the 5th and 6th century temples in Pataliputra and Varanasi. Five horse-shoe shaped windows are carved in the front face of the lintel – the central window has a Shiva carving flanked by 2 mythical deities called suparna, anthropomorphic figures of a bird and man. In another window is a depiction of a man playing the flute with a hooded snake feature above his head. The window to the extreme right has a carving of Surya, the Sun God, in a cross-legged posture holding a lotus flower.

There was a holy tree nearby where people also worship Lord Shiva with his trident. As per Indian tradition and culture, trees are not just an object of nature, they are holy shrines and considered sacred by Hindus. This one might have been an Audumbar Tree – a Fig Tree – but I am not sure. It is considered to be the most blessed tree by Dattatreya and said to have healing power. Dattatreya is a Hindu deity combination of the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.

Getting back in our mini busses, we drove into the city to Cole Park – nowadays called Chitralekha Udyan – a very picturesque park near the centre of Tezpur. A replica of the famous Bhomoraguri inscription which recorded the ancient plans to build a bridge across the Brahmaputra where the current Kolia Bhomora Setu exists has been created in this park for public viewing – I have to admit, I have never seen or even noticed this one before … I shall make a point of finding it next time I come around!

The park is somewhat of an amusement park and offers paddle boating on the horseshoe shaped pond, a jet-fighter model Valiant MIG 21 – the first supersonic aircraft for the Indian Air Force capable of travelling at Mach 2 –  and a large concrete-made map of India. I never took photos of those, but they seemed to be very popular with the local people …

Cole Park – established in 1906 and named after Alexander Cole, a Commissioner of Assam under British rule, and renovated in 1996 – has some massive ornamented stone pillars and other sculptural remnants and stone carvings dating back to the 9th and 10th century on display.

They all have been found in and around Tezpur when constructions were going on and Cole has collected them. None of them are apparently worth to be put in a museum, but here they found a home and can be seen by everybody. None of the carvings are labled, though, which is a pity. It would be interesting to know where they had been found etc …

Once we were there when an ornamental pillar was erected as a new attraction. It had the faces of different goods on all sides and those were just being painted. The pillar itself was kind of kitsch, but how they did it all by hand sitting on bamboo scafolding was interesting.

Leaving Cole Park we took E-Rickshaws through town. Before we used cycle rickshaws, but even here progress is coming and there are less cycle rickshaws, but more E-Rickshaws. We can put 2 guests on one of them, while on the cycle rickshaw there was only one – the convoy used to be very long … Now the convoy is still very long, but never mind. We also safe time, because the E-Rickshaw is faster.

Since it was the first time we used rickshaws on this cruise, there was always a long photo session first – everybody wanted to have their photo taken in the rickshaw. Mohan, the guys and I were running from rickshaw to rickshaw being photographers. And sometimes I got to sit with a guest and was being photographed as well …

The ride through town was maybe 15 min max, but there was as usual a lot to see. Not far from Cole Park we passed the Ganesha Mandir Gate. We did not stop to visit, but the rickshaws slowed down to have a look and take a photo. The huge and very colourful gate to the Ganesha Ghat and Ganesha Ghat Temple was intricately sculpted and had plenty ornate carvings and statues of various Hindu deities. While Lord Ganesha throned on the top in the center of the gate, the most prominetly featured god was Lord Hanuman – God of strength, celibacy, knowledge and Bhakti, Lord of Victory, supreme destroyer of evil and protector of devotees.

In Hinduism Hanuman is an ardent devotee of Rama and is one of the central characters of the Indian epic Ramayana. The statue of Lord Hanuman here next to the gate depicted his perhaps most legendary act. During one intense battle Lakshmana, Rama’s brother, was fatally wounded and was thought to die without the aid of an herb from a Himalayan mountain. Hanuman was the only one who could make the journey so quickly and was thus sent to the mountain. Upon arriving, he discovered that there were many herbs along the mountain side and did not want to take the wrong herb back. So instead, he grew to the size of a mountain, ripped the mountain from the earth and flew it back to the battle field.

Our rickshaws veered through the busy traffic across the center of town through bazar streets and side alleys with shops of all kinds.

We got off the rickshaws at the ancient Mahabhairab Mandir located at a hillock on the northern end of Tezpur. This temple is believed to have been established by King Bana in the pre-historical times. This Shiva temple was originally built of stone but the present one was renovated and built with concrete.

Just inside the temple premises after the gate on the left there was a sacred tree with a shrine to the Sun God Surya. More common than actual Surya Temples is artworks related to Surya, which are found in all types of temples of various traditions within Hinduism – such as the Hindu temples related to Shiva, Vishnu, Ganesha and Shakti. Reliefs on temple walls, forts and artwork above doorways of many Hindu monasteries feature Surya. Here a beautifully carved sun disk was placed under a sacred Bodhi Fig Tree – Ficus Religiosa – also called Peepal Tree.

The tree was surrounded by a fence with beautiful carvings of goddesses making offerings as well. Bells were hung in the tree.

Cotton threads of red, yellow and saffron were tied around the trunk of this Peepal Tree – that is a ritual especially known in Northern and Western India. It is performed by women especially on the Vat Savitri Puja Day in May or June during which the Banyan or Pipal Tree symbolically represents Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva – the root is Brahma, the stem is Vishnu and the upper part is Shiva. This is performed for the well-being and long life of their husbands.

Of course there are many myths associated with this ritual. The most popular is the one of Princess Savitri who saved the life of her husband by using reverse psychology on Yama, the God of Death himself. Using her intelligence and playing on words, she managed to charm Yama and won back the life of her beloved husband Satyavan. It is believed that Satyavan spend his last moments under a Peepal Tree on the full moon day in month of Jyeshtha. And Yama appeared here and Savitri pleaded with Yama under the tree.

Even the God of Death had to relent and bowed to her love and devotion giving Satyavan back his life. In memory of this event, women go round the sacred tree for 108 times tying threads for the health and longevity of their husbands. The cotton thread represents the fragile nature of life, love, trust, faith – and all things that go on to make up a relationship. A single thread may be weak, but when it is wound 108 times around the trunk it becomes strong. It is no longer so fragile and no longer easy to break. By walking around the tree 108 times, the wife contemplates on these matters. Love can only be strengthened by trust, faith and desire to make it work! With each step, the woman strengthens her relationship with her husband. She prays not just for her husband’s long life, but an enduring relationship that will last beyond this life and into the next.

Archaeologist believe that the Mahabhairab Temple was built during 8th to 10th century by the Kings of the Salasthamba Dynasty, which is evident by the presence of huge stone pillars scattered all around the temple. The original temple was destroyed during the Islamic invasions of the Middle Ages. It was again rebuilt by the successive kings and rulers, until it was heavily damaged by the catastrophic earthquake of 1897. The present structure of the temple was built sometime in the early part of the 20^th century.

There is a statue of Nandi – Lord Shiva’s messenger and the gate-guardian deity of Kailasa – the abode of Lord Shiva. He is usually depicted as a bull, which also serves as the mount to Lord Shiva. The white color of the bull symbolizes purity and justice. Symbolically, the seated Nandi looks towards the sanctum in Shiva temples and represents an individual jiva – soul – and the message that the jiva should always be focused on the Parameshwara – Lord Shiva as the Supreme being.

Mahabhairab Mandir is the temple where King Bana according to the legend was ardently worshipping Lord Shiva. Shiva – the auspicious one – also known as Mahadeva – is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is known as The Destroyer within the Trimurti – the Hindu Trinity that also includes Brahma and Vishnu. Shiva is one of the supreme beings who creates, protects and transforms the universe. He is usually worshipped in the aniconic form of lingam. And inside this temple is perhaps the largest stone-phallus – Shiva Lingam – in the entire world … well … that is anyway what the locals tell and believe. I could never verify that this is indeed the largest one in the world or even India, but it is for sure the largest one in Assam. And according to the legend about this temple, this Shiva Lingam is made of a “living stone”, which slowly grows over the years. Some people believe that King Bana obtained his boon while worshipping in this temple.

It is indeed a very large Shiva Lingam. Like in all Shiva Temples, the lingam is typically present in its sanctum sanctorum and is the focus of votary offerings such as milk, water, flower petals, fruit, fresh leaves and rice.

Linga literally means mark, sign or emblem and also refers to a mark or sign from which the existence of something else can be reliably inferred. It implies the regenerative divine energy innate in nature, symbolized by Shiva. Some scholars however view linga merely as an erotic phallic symbol, although this interpretation is criticized by others. The linga in the Shiva tradition is a symbol of the productive and creative principle of nature as embodied in Shiva and it has no historical trace in any obscene phallic cult.

A priest was offering blessings here as well. The iconographical attributes of Shiva – the serpent, the crescent moon, his Rosary beads, his trident as his weapon and the damaru drum – where all placed around the sanctum.

We could take a walk around and exited on the opposite side. The smell of curdled milk and oil lamps was here overwhelming. Our shoes we had left outside and it was time to put them back on. Apparently here on special days pigeons are offered and released – those holy pigeons leave a lot of … holy blessings on the floor of the temple.

We visited Agnighar Hill next. It was only a few minutes busride to get there from the temple. Agnighar Hill is where the favourit legend of the neverending love between Usha and Anirudha was being made immortal by several sculptures telling the story of King Banasura of the Asura Dynasty, his daughter Princess Usha and her friend Chitralekha. The former Sonitpur was the capital of Bana’s kingdom. The King himself was a follower of Lord Shiva.

There was a beautiful statue of Lord Shiva. It is not often, that you see an actual statue of the god. He is rather worshipped in the aniconic form of a lingam. But here was a great larger than life statue showing him in all his splendor in his meditating yoga pose with his blue skin – since he drank the poison churned up to eliminate the destructive capacity – and with all his attributes – the Third Eye with which he burned the Hindu god of human love and desire Kāma to ashes, the crescent moon on his head which is said to represent Varanasi, ashes representing a reminder that all of material existence is impermanent, comes to an end becoming ash, and the pursuit of eternal soul and spiritual liberation is important, matted hair as his distinctive hair style, his rosary beads typically made of Rudraksha – a seed sometimes called blueberry beads and used as prayer beads in Hinduism – symbolizing grace, mendicant life and meditation, the Tiger skin, the serpents, his Trident and drum.

Even the Sacred Ganga which is said to have made her abode in Shiva’s hair was depicted, of course, as Godesse Ganga.

Agnigarh was a big fortress built on top of a hill and it was surrounded by fire at all times – hence its name Agnigarh meaning residence amidst fire – Agni means fire and ghar means fortress. A spiraling staircase led through park like surroundings up to the top passing the images relating to the legend of Usha and Anirudha.

King Banas daughter was Usha, a princess of unmatched charme and beauty and Goddess of Dawn. She saw in her dream a handsome prince and fell in love with him … in her dream. Her friend Chitralekha was a talented artist and painted his portrait after her description. She also recognized Anirudh – grandson of Lord Krishna, the ruler over Dwaraka – in the dream prince.

Chitralekha used her magic powers and had Anirudha appear in Ushas room, were they secretly got married without her father knowing it.

When that came to the King’s notice he sternly objected and built the fortress to keep his daughter Usha in isolation. Anirudha tried to free Usha and take her away, but King Bana was so furious, he  captured Anirudha ands threw him into prison on top of Agnighar Hill.

Now Lord Krishna of course came to rescue his grandson. King Bana was afraid and called upon Lord Shiva to help him. A horrendous battle between Hari – Lord Krishna – and Hara – Lord Shiva followed leading to a major bloodshed with loss of many lives and the entire city was covered in human blood – hence the name Sonitpour – City of Blood. Lord Brahma had to appear and he inferred to end the battle. King Bana was sent to exile and Usha was forever bonded with Anirudha … and if they have not died they still live on …

Once we reached the top of the hill, there was an open-air platform that offered an amazing view of the river, the nearby bridge and the entire town. We could even see our ship anchored in the distance.

Walking back down through the park somebody spotted a huge colourful spider in its net and I even climbed around the bushes to take a photo from behind. It was a Northern Golden Orb Weaver – or Giant Golden Orb Weaver – Nephila Pilipes – that reins the forests in India. These spiders make largest the orb-webs in the world and have the strongest webs of any other spider species. They are abundant during post-monsoon months and throughout the dry season. They tend to disappear during monsoon and many young spiderlings are seen as monsoon starts waning – not that I want to see those … It would remind me of that one time when I was living on Koh Tao in Thailand around the year 2000 and I was lying in my bungalow under the mosquito net reading, when sand started raining from the ceiling … But wait … the sand moved! I looked up to see where it came from … and a huge fat black spider sat on top of my mosquito net giving birth to millions of tiny spiders! Aaahhhhhhggggg! I was out of my bed in a flash spraying the entire bungalow with insect killer and spent the rest of the night sleeping in the hammock on the porch! Nightmare!

The Agnighar Hill was our last sightseeing stop for today and we were off to the city center with the main bazaar for some free time to roam around and take photos – and photo opportunities there were plenty. Of course, I made also a quick stop at the booze shop …

There was a large market as well. The fish section was inside and rather extensive with a lot of large fish on sale. That late in the day the fish was already somewhat smelly. Usually in the mornings the smell is not so bad since most fish are alive. But later the leftovers start to smell … not the fish, but the cut off pieces and scales lying around the seller, since when the fish is bought, it usually gets cut up and cleaned on the spot …

The chicken section was not much different, but it was in the outside part of the market along the street. Here the chicken was the freshest of the freshest again … choose the chicken and then it gets all prepared right away ready to cook it at home.

There was also one guy that only sold chickens alive. They were all tied by the feet so they could not run away. Funnily enough all the chickens on the market were always quiet … maybe they were afraid? … I like to think they were happy and oblivious to their fate …

That reminded me of when I visited Bangladesh in 2011 and spent a couple days in the tribal region around Ruma which had only homestays for tourists – no hotels or restaurants … My local guide bought a chicken for dinner on the last day of my visit. However, he carried it home alive and then did the rest himself … that night it was chicken for dinner. And if I had ever doubts about the freshness of the food … I never did … but if I have had … all would have been dispelled by then … And that dinner was excellent as were all the dinners there. His wife was a fantastic cook! And there was always so much food for me … I am sure the family ate up afterwards what I could not!

Market visits are always totally interesting. It is amazing how they piled up the vegetables – sorted by size and colour – expertly to pyramids even in the smallest street stall.

And there was a whole section of street taylors using the old style foot powered sewing machines. It seems those can be put up and used anywhere. There was plenty to do for the taylors as well. They can sew everything and anything from fine pants to jeans to winter duvets …

While waiting for the guests to return to the meeting point after their free time to roam and take photos, I found some cool Beer Shampoo. Of course, I had to buy it … And I watched a guy at a snack stall fry chicken.

Once everybody was back we piled back in our busses and rode back to the ghat where our country boat waited. Near there by the sacred tree where discarded idols of gods where deposited  a holy cow was – very unholy – now munching away on the rice straw of Lord Brahma – the creator god in Hinduism and part of the Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva Trimurti – traditionally depicted with 4 faces and 4 arms.

We watched some people perform a Puja on the river bank. Puja is a prayer ritual performed by Hindus to offer devotional worship to one or more deities, to host and honour a guest or to spiritually celebrate an event. The word pūjā is Sanskrit and means reverence, honour, homage, adoration and worship. The loving offering of light, flowers and water or food to the divine is the essential ritual of Hinduism. For the worshipper, the divine is visible in the image and the divinity sees the worshipper. Puja is done on a variety of occasions, frequency and settings. It may include a daily Puja done in the home or occasional temple ceremonies and annual festivals. In other cases, Puja is held to mark a lifetime event such as birth of a baby or a wedding or to begin a new venture.

Before we got on our boat we watched the most spectacular sunset over the river. Did I mention yet, that the Brahmaputra sunsets are almost better than the Ganges sunsets? Well, it is depending on the season, of course … Our November cruise was definitely in spectacular sunset season … Today’s was absolutely mindblowingly beautiful. What a fantastic end to a great day!