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With
this as the background, I venture to perform
my journey, probing the world of Bodo creativity
which no doubt had been sustaining the living
identity of this Great people through out
the centuries amidst the universal condemnation
of the times, the moulder of all destinies.
In 1951, just before the year I was to proceed
to Santiniketon for study of art courses,
I happened to visit Halflong, Maibang, Silchar,
Khaspur, Dimapur etc. The fragments of historical
remains of the Khasari Kings, the life,
art and culture of the Boro-Khasaris I encountered
during the visit and studies, the Dimasa
language I first heard with my ears, the
people above all with their coustumes in
rich colourful fabric designs, Musical instruments
etc. etc. etc. made me struck dumb. The
relationships and the identical characters
in almost every thing between the Bodos
and the Dimasa Khasaries made unmistakably
sure that the two peoples were one and the
same entity who were but separated from
each other through the conspiracy of history.
When I visited the Gidingpur village near
Maibong accompanied by my friend late Nityalal
Daolagupu, the cup of my surprises were
full to the trim. The roofing of the hut
belonging to the Hadungra (village headman)
of Gidingpur was arched with both sides
sloping gradually downwards. This was the
pattern in the indigenous architecture of
the Bodos we had been encountering since
our childhood. Now, when the same style
and pattern I saw in the Dimasa huts perpetuated,
my joys and exhilaration knew no bounds.
The same style and pattern. I saw in the
gate carved out of stone at Khaspur capital,
Ranachandi temple also carved out of single
piece stone at the bank of river Mahur near
Maibang, I also must add that this pattern
and style of roofing were also perpetuated
in the Kamakhya temple and the Ranghar at
Sibsagar. If I were not mistaken, this constituted
the only and singular style of indigenous
architecture in Assam. When Sir Edward Gait,
the famous historian saw this sloping style
of roofing perpetuated at the Gateway at
Dimapur, he mistook it as Muslim architecture,
imported from Bengal. It was apparently
clear that arches in Muslim architecture
could not have penetrated to the Khasari
capital at Dimapur so early when the same
held sway from the 13th century to the end
of the 16th century in those days of communication
intractability and when the Khasari kings
were in perpectual warfare with the Ahoms,
Further the Khasaris, basically orthodox
in their approach and practice of religious
beliefs and other socio-culture activities
that they were, could not probably have
recourse to applying Muslim style of architecture
in the Gateway to their capital city. Any
connoisseur of art, architecture on visual
objects could compare the sloping arches
of Bodo-Khasari and Muslim architecture
and easily find the incompatibility of both.
If it were otherwise, the image of a Boro
Khasari hut referred to above would bring
to mind the picture of a Muslim architecture.
This was far from being so. So, this was
undoubtedly the clear specimen of a characteristic
Boro-Khasari architecture.
Though the Bodos were formally coverted
to Hindu Vaishnavism during the period of
their reign at Khaspur in 1790, practically
the Bodo Kings and the nobility practiced
Hinduism since their Maibang period. Along
with Hinduism came Brahmin priest's Sanskrit
scholarship, Bengali language, artisans,
blacksmiths, potters so on and so forth.
Then came Hindu architecture from Bengal
which in fact had Muslim arches and sloping
arches in the style that could be profusely
witnessed in Terra-cotta temples in Bengal.
This very style of roofing also could be
witnessed in the roofing in the Ranachandi
temple at Khaspur capital.
This sloping and extremely delicate rhythm
in the Bodo architecture was an ingenius
quality of the Bodo Serja or Serenja a stringed
musical instrument. It was designed in the
form of a human heart frontally and in its
profile and back, it looked like a human
torso. No doubt the sound it produced when
played along with the musical narration
of the legendary tales of the heroes like
Maoriyashrwn Jwhwlao. What it brought forth
was the mellowed past of the Bodo ancestry.
Traditional Bodo house or hut was consisted
of two divisions, called ishing and okhong;
the presiding deity was installed in the
"ishing" i.e. inner chamber where
members of the other clan could not enter.
For the purpose of entry and exit there
was only one door in front of the "okhong"
i. e. outer chamber. In the rock-cut Ranachandi
temple on the bank of the river Mahur, we
have the exact and direct replica of the
typical Bodo house or hut. It demanded the
acute and most delicate sense of a connoisscur
to appreciate, and write or elucidate about
the design, proportion, balanced weight
length and breadth majesticity the rhythmic
sloping of both side of the roofing and
above all, the proportion of the arched
entrance. In short this is an example of
rare excellence in the architecture during
the period (extremely delicate carved lines
in Bodo architecture. Dimapur gate serja,
rice pouding implement, Khaspur stone (5)
gate etc) of Bodo - Ahom rule.
The Bodo kings held sway at Dimapur during
the period from the 13th to the end of 16th
century. At the time, they were engrossed
in their indigenous religious faith, the
worship of the Bathou or Shiva. The famous
monoliths of Dimapur, unique and unparalleled
in their form, concept and stone carving
skill, though still not within perview of
the connoisseurs as such, had ever been
producing an enigma and mystery as regards
their purport and probable significance
of execution undoubtedly, and adventurous
and ambitious project for the times when
there was no stone quarry near at hand and
with hardly a suitable conveyance system
for transhipment of the monoliths in finished
forms or unfinished block. Conjecture and
conclusions point out to one singular motive
behind all this monumental hardships- some
spiritual or religious urgency behind the
inspiration. From this point of view, comparisons
might be drawn between these monoliths and
the stone henge at Salisberry G. Britian
where the scholars had to opine that nothing
sort of religious or spiritual inspiration
could induce the power that be for achieving
such astounding and superhuman endeavours.
Suddenly these monoliths along with their
counterparts at Kashomari and other stray
instances of stone carvings elsewhere in
the region placed the Great Bodos in the
same category within the Neolithic civilization
and culture, Sir Edward Gait considered
these monolithsas ''Victory monuments.''
Though there is little reason to approve
or disown his opinion, I personally feel
there was stronger reason to say that these
were but decorative symbols or representations
of the Shivalinga or phallus, the regenerative
male organ. Because, siju tree being the
symbol of Bathou, the Shiva was worshipped
by the Bodos. Equally, the top of a Kind
of Siju tree had the roundish form identical
to the top of a male phallus. Further, the
overall form of a Dimapur monolith recalls
mind the form of a male phallus, the Shivalinga.
As such, it was but appreciable that the
worshippers of Shivalinga, the Bodo in their
zeal to propitiate their presiding deity
the Bathou or Shiva could experience divine
inspiration to erect the monoliths in rows
in their new capital at Dimapur, of coure
not without embellishments of artistic designs
and symbols carved out in the solid voluminous,
stately upright monolithic forms. The details
were such worked out that the original,
in herent uprightness massive quality; majesticity
and formal strength of the monoliths remained
undisturbed.
The highest of the monoliths was of 12ft
or more; the diameter would be about 6ft
or more. Each of them was divided into normally
three parts; the top one being roundish
in the shape of a phallus somehow forming
a semi-circle. The other two parts below,
from the ground upward were worked out with
details. Shapes of mythical animals, bird,
flowers, leaves, daggers etc. were incorporated.
Circles, semi-circles, straight line, profuse
use of straight lines in different types
of space divisions were liberally utilized.
All the monoliths were identical in forms
and details, but not one punctiliously imitating
the others. The principle of "Similarly
dissilar and dissimilarly similar"
followed in Indian art and architecture
was also conspicuously present here. Each
of the monoliths was a masterpiece in itself
as a work of sculputure. The execution was
very much liberal and the sculptor had full
command in use of the chisel. It could but
be deduced that there was some sort of workshops
for carvers or masons which alone could
have acheived the scale of performance as
withnessed in Dimapur monoliths.
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