Searching for the past in Chennai

During a recent visit to Chennai, a walk along the Marina beach took me to the ancient Parthasarthy temple and to a search for a long-lost childhood friend. This post is about that walk and my search.

My childhood friend

Nani (Narayan), my childhood friend, used to live in a multi-story building inside the area known as NPL, while we were living in Double Storey flats in New Rajendra Nagar in Delhi. His family home was in Chennai, which I had visited a few times.

The last time I had met him was in Delhi, probably around 2001-02, when I had come to India. He had just shifted back to Delhi from Chennai. Since then we had lost contact. Partly it was my fault - I had not looked for him during my visits to India. I had lost his old telephone number and I didn't have his email. I looked for him on facebook but didn't find him. Every now and then I wondered about him.

A memory from the past

Few weeks ago, I was back in Chennai after more than 20 years. One afternoon I was looking at the Google Map when I noticed "Parthasarathy temple" that was not very far from my hotel. The last time I had visited Nani's house in Chennai must have been about 30 years ago, but I was sure that it was right in front of the Parthasarathy temple. I remembered the name of the temple because it was also his father's name.

Parthasarthi temple is the oldest temple of Chennai, built around 8th century CE. Nani's family house in front of it, had also looked very old. Once I had stayed in that house for a few days and remembered its intricately carved wooden doors and a wooden balcony around the central courtyard.

As I remembered my old visit to that house, I decided that I will go to that temple and see if I could find his old house. Perhaps some neighbours will be able to give me news about him, I thought.

The walk at Marina Beach

I took an auto to the Gandhi statue on Marina beach. It was sunset time and the beach was crowded with people.

I started my walk towards the Parthasarathy temple with the help of Google Map on my cellphone. I passed in front of the Vivekanand house, the house where Swami Vivekanand ji had stayed for some time after his return from the US.

I am an admirer of Vivekanand and would have liked to explore that place and its museum but it was becoming dark, so I decided to continue my walk.

A short walk brought me to the Anne Besant street with her statue in a small park at the street corner. Parthasarathy temple was nearby according to the Google Maps.

Reaching the Parthasarathy temple

A small side street brought me to the temple pond. Though I had visited that place and even stayed there right next to that pond, I had no memory of it. I even had difficulty in recognising the temple. The Gopuram of the temple seemed much taller compared to how I remembered it. All the area in front of it, including an long entrance with a row of pillars was surrounded by an iron grill, looked completely different. There were small shops all around and it was full of devotees and visitors.

In my memory it was a quiet street, there was no long covered entrance in front of the temple, there was just an old broken wall. At that time, there were no shops on that street, but just old houses on the two sides. I went all around the temple a couple of times, but could not recognise anything. I tried asking to some older looking shopkeepers, but no one could tell me anything.

After about 15 minutes of looking around, I was almost ready to give up. So I went inside the temple and even inside it seemed different from how I had remembered it. They used to have a rath-yatra with hundreds of devotees filling that street, I remembered.

While coming out of the temple, I had a flash of memory about the address of the old house. It was hiding somewhere there in my head. I checked the numbers on the houses. Number 25, my friend's house, was there but now it was a marriage hall. It looked completely different from the house of my memories.

Outside the marriage hall, I saw a board on the side, with a telephone number. I thought that I will talk to the hall owner and ask him, perhaps he would know about the previous owners of this house. However, my call went unanswered. Dejected, I thought that it was time to go back to my hotel.

Call from the marriage hall owner

I was near the temple pond, looking for an auto, when my telephone rang. It was the hall owner calling me back.

"When did you buy that house?" I asked him.

"Who are you? Why do you want to know?" He asked me suspiciously.

So I explained that it was the house of an old friend and that I was looking for him.

"I have Nani's telephone number, he lives in Delhi", the hall owner told me.

"Wow!" I had found my friend, I was overjoyed, "Can you please SMS me his mobile number?"

The man promised to send me the number and then while closing the phone casually mentioned, "Nani's father still lives in that house, there is a small residential part on the side of the marriage hall, he has a room there."

"What? Uncle is still alive?" I was flabbergasted. Uncle had retired in the 1980s, so he must be more than 90 years old, probably closer to 100 years.

Meeting Nani's father

The hall owner had explained and this time I had no difficulty in finding the small grilled door on the side, leading to a corridor and to a few rooms. My heart thumping with excitement, I went to uncle's room. His door was open and he was sitting near the TV, busy watching it. I knocked on the door, went inside and touched his feet. "Uncle, you remember me? I am Sunil, Nani's friend."

He looked at me and smiled, "Yes, I remember you. Come sit here."

He remembered me! Suddenly I was laughing and crying at the same time, feeling like a child once again.

We talked about old times. Nani has a son and a daughter. I had seen his son Ravi as a baby, but I had never seen his daughter. My friend's elder brother, Cheenu, was no more, he had died six years ago. Cheenu's wife and daughter now live in Hyderabad.

Uncle called Nani on his mobile and we spoke. He lives in NOIDA. When I go back to Delhi, I am going to see him.

Finally

Some times crazy ideas lead to good things. I am so glad that on that day when I saw Parthasarathi temple on the Google Map, I decided to go and search for my friend's old house.

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Exploring the many splendors of Bundelkhand

Last year I visited some beautiful places in Bundelkhand in central India. However, you won't find "Bundelkhand" on the map of India since it is not a defined geographical area. Instead, it is a socio-cultural region, characterised by its linguistic, social and cultural traditions.

This region has some of the most beautiful forts and temples in India, though many of these are relatively unknown except to the locals. The erotic temples of Khajuraho are a UNESCO World Heritage site. Other important towns known to tourists are Gwalior, Jhansi and Orchha. The image above is from Orchha.

This post is an introduction to the Bundelkhand region. I hope that it will contribute to raising awareness about this region and discover some of its hidden treasures.

Geography of Bundelkhand

The northern part of this region lies in the state of Uttar Pradesh (purple in the map below) while its southern part lies in the state of Madhya Pradesh (green in the map).

Bundelkhand lies between the Gangetic plains and the Vindhyachal mountains. It is marked by a barren hilly terrain. Its highest point has an altitude of 600 meters. Its isolated hills rising abruptly from the ground have been the sites for the forts of the local kings. Its rivers flow in a northeast direction to join the Yamuna River.

It is a Hindi speaking area. The Bundeli language is the most common of the Hindi dialects spoken in the area. It in turn consists of several sub-dialects.

A Brief History of Bundelkhand

Oral histories and legends of the region describe it as the ancient reign of king Luv, the son of Lord Rama. In the Pre-Buddhist period, this area came under the kingdom of Ujjain.

In the Buddhist period (around 500 BCE), this area was known as Chedi Janapada (literally "Ruled by the people") as shown in Thomas Lessman map of 500 BCE.

Some centuries later, this area was also called "Dasarna" (the land of ten rivers) as shown in the Thomas Lessman map of 100 BCE below. Its principal rivers are the Kali Sindh, Betwa, Shahzad, Ken, Bagahin, Tons, Pahuj, Dhasan and Chambal. The Kali Sindh river marks the western boundary of Bundelkhand.

In the 6th century CE during the Gupta empire, Huns from central Asia had come to this region. An inscription in Gwalior describes a sun temple built in the Gwalior fort by the Hun emperor Mihirakula. Till around 9th century, Bundelkhand was part of Pratihara kingdom which ruled from Kannauj.

Chandelas arrived here in the 9th century as the feudal lords of the Pratihara, however soon they became independent. They ruled Bundelkhand for around 300 years. Initially they ruled from Khajuraho and then shifted to Mahoba. They built the famous Khajuraho temples in the 10th century, and the fort and a few artificial lakes in Mahoba in the 11th-12th centuries. In late 12th century, as their power weakened, a part of Bundelkhand came under the Khangar dynasty, who took over the Jingarh fortress of the Chandelas and renamed it Garh Kundhar.

In early 13th century the Chandelas were defeated by the sultan of Delhi, Qutubuddin Aibek, who was of Turkish origins. After almost two centuries, in the 16th century, for a short period the Chandela dynasty rose again, but it could not last and during the reign of Akbar, the region passed under the Mughal empire.

As part of the empire, Bundelkhand was ruled by Rajput kings, who recognized the Mughal sovereignty.  (Below, Thomas Lessman map from 1500 CE showing the Rajput states). These kings are known as Bundela kings and this was the period, when the region got its name Bundelkhand. Bundela kingdoms started in Orchha, moved to Chattarpur and then to Jhansi.

In 18th century, parts of Bundelkhand came under Maratha rule and in early 19th century, it passed under the East India Company till India's independence in 1947. After independence, the northern parts of Bundelkhand were made a part of Uttar Pradesh (UP) while the southern parts joined the state of Madhya Pradesh (MP).

Temples, Shrines and Dargahs of Bundelkhand

The region is predominantly Hindu. Earlier temples attest to the strong presence of Shaivism in the region with a number of Shiva temples. The image below shows an old Shiva temple in the lower parts of the Jhansi fort.

The rise of Bhakti movement in the medieval period contributed to the spread of Vaishnav stream of Hinduism in Bundelkhand. For example, out of the 20 surviving temples of Khajuraho, 6 are dedicated to Shiva and 8 to Vishnu.

Mahavir, the thirthankar of the Jains, was a contemporary of Buddha. Jainism has been very strong in Bundelkhand since ancient times with a large number of important temples. For example, the breath-taking Jain rock-temples (image below) near the Gwalior fort were sculpted during 5th-15th centuries CE.

Bundelkhand is also important for the Muslim Sufi shrines, such as the dargah of Hazrat Gous-e-Gawliori and Khawaja Khanoon Sahib in Gwalior, dargah of Sadan Shah in Lalitpur and dargah of Sundar Sain in Orchha (image below).

In the Sufi tradition, there have been different Muslim poets in Bundelkhand, who wrote in Hindi and promoted a syncretic Hindu-Muslim culture. These included Miyan Tansen and Kare Beg Fakir in the 16th century, and En Sain and Mehboob in the 18th century. For example, Tansen wrote different poems about Krishna and Ganesh.

Forts of Bundelkhand

Bundelkhand region is full of ruins of magnificent fortresses and temples, many of which are known only to local persons and to academics.

For example, according to Dr Ramsajivan who wrote a PhD thesis on this theme in 2006, there are 41 important fortresses in Bundelkhand - Kalinjar, Ajaygarh, Rasin, Madfa, Sherpur Sevda, Rangarh, Tarhua, Bhuragarh, Mahoba, Sirsagarh, Jaitpur, Mangalgarh, Maniyagarh, Baruasagar, Orchha, Jhansi, Garh Kundhar, Chirgaon, Airch, Urai, Kalpi, Datiya, Badhoni, Gwalior, Chanderi, Chhattarpur, Panna, Singhorgarh, Rajnagar, Batiyagarh, Bajawaor (Jatashanker), Beergarh, Dhamoni, Patharigarh (Patharkachhar), Barigarh, Gaurhar, Kulpahar, Talbehat and Devgarh.

The descriptions of some of these forts, hardly visited by the tourists, are beautiful. For example - the ruins of Ajaygarh fort are located on a verdant hill and are difficult to reach while the Rangarh fort, built on a picturesque hill on an island of Ken river near Pangara, is surrounded by thick forests. Finding information about these places and reaching them is difficult.

Building of the forts followed guidelines given in India's ancient architecture texts of Vaastu Shastra. These forts had thick high walls and were surrounded by moats or natural barriers such as rivers. The image below shows a branch of Betwa river that separates the Orchha fort from the town.

Inside, these forts usually had ponds at different levels, both above and below, for their water supply. The ponds were usually accompanied by a temple. The image below shows a beautiful small pond from the Gwalior fort.

Conclusions

Bundelkhand is not an easy region to visit. Being at the border of two states, many towns of the region are not well connected. It is a drought prone area and one of the poorest parts of India. Except for Gwalior, Jhansi, Orchha and Khajuraho, most of its rich history and monuments are ignored and neglected.

I hope that this post will stimulate some of you to visit and document some of its lesser known places and monuments.

Let me conclude this post with an image (above) of the beautiful Shiv Sagar lake built under the Chandela dynasty in Khajuraho.

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The unfinished temple of King Bhoj

An 1100 years old unfinished Shiva temple is the testimonial to the legendary king Bhoj of Malwa in central India. Last year, on my way to the incredibly beautiful caves of Bhimbetka, I had visited this temple in Bhojpur. Though it was just an unfinished temple, it intrigued me.

The Shiva temple of Bhojpur provides information about the traditional Indian temple architecture techniques. The image above shows the statue of king Bhoj in the Bada Talab lake of Bhopal.

Ancient kingdom of Malwa

Central part of India had different ancient kingdoms, each with their own culture and traditions. In 1947, with India's independence, the ancient kingdoms were merged in different states. The ancient kingdom of Malwa was located in the volcanic uplands in the north of Vindhya mountains. Today, most of Malwa lies in Western Madhya Pradesh while its northern part is in Rajasthan. The most important towns of this region are Bhopal, Indore, Ujjain and Sagar.

King Bhoj

From the 9th to the 13th centuries, Malwa was ruled by the Parmar kings.

Bhoj was the 9th king of the Parmar dynasty and his rule started around 1000 CE. He ruled for about 55 years. His capital was in Dhar in western parts of Malwa. He is credited with the construction of Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh. 

The town of Bhojpur, 28 km to the south and east of Bhopal was another area where king Bhoj carried out significant constructions including the building of dams which resulted in the creation of a big lake.

Bhoj is famous both as a warrior and as a lover of art, culture and books. He is credited with a large number of books on a wide range of subjects, including medicine, astronomy, poetry and grammar. His popularity and prestige is still remembered by the people through the proverb "Kahan raja Bhoj aur kahan Gangu teli" (literally it means "where is king Bhoj and where is oil-merchant Gangu" and is used to underline the huge difference between two persons).

The Unfinished Shiva temple of Bhojpur

The temple has massive outer walls and is built on a raised platform.

An entrance gate and stairs take you to the temple platform 4 meters above. The walls have decorative balconies carved from sand-rock stone.

The old part of the temple has the inner cell at a lower level (garbhagṛha) that holds a massive Shivalinga, 5.5 meters tall, and carved out of a single rock. The structure is supported by massive pillars, along with an elegant dome. In the image below, the comparison of the person seen at the bottom on the right side with the Shivalinga can give an idea of the huge structure.

The outer walls and superstructure of the temple were never built. However, outside the Garbhgriha, on the platform, simple Shiva shrines have been built.

The temple seems to be remarkably well-preserved. This is because of a massive repair and reconstruction carried out in 2006-07 when a fibreglass roof  was built and one of the missing monolithic pillars was added.

Temple building techniques in India in 1000 CE

The Bhojeshwar Shiva temple was never completed. It appears that the construction work was stopped suddenly. It could have been because of a natural disaster or war. Since its roof was missing, some people feel that the planning was not proper and the roof was too heavy, so it caved in and the temple construction was stopped.

The area around the temple has sandstone quarries where line designs engraved on the stones show the architectural plans for the temple construction.

According to these designs, a huge temple complex was going to be built here. Stone marks show that 1300 masons were working for the temple construction. The names of some of them are engraved on the stones.

There are finished and unfinished statues scattered around, to be used for the temple. These were left in the quarries where the sculptors were working, when the construction was stopped.

Behind the temple, there is a large earthen ramp which was used to carry the large stones to the higher parts of the temple. The ramp, built of sandstone slabs, is covered with soil and sand. It is almost 100 meters long, and slopes upwards to a height of 12 meters.

The dams on river Betwa

The Shiva temple is located close to the river Betwa. Ruins of some old dams have been discovered in this area. The dams were built in the eleventh century, when the Shiva temple was being constructed. Due to those dams an enormous lake had formed in this area. It seems that the dams were destroyed a few centuries later, when the area came under the Tughlaq dynasty.

I was wondering why did king Bhoj decide to build this new city, the huge temple and the dams in a place so far away from his capital in Dhar? The legends say that King Bhoj had sworn to block nine rivers to create a lake and this was the reason why he had come to the eastern part of Malwa region since here the curves of river Betwa were ideal for building the dams and creating the lake.

Jain temples of Bhojpur

Not very far from Shiva temple is an unfinished Jain temple with a 6 meter tall statue of Shantinath and two smaller statues. An inscription near the statues specifies their construction in 1157 Vikram Samvat (1100 CE).

Legends also say that in the last years of his life, King Bhoj had become Jain, while others say that even though he was a devotee of Shiva, he also respected Jains and Buddhists. I did not visit this temple.

Temple Ruins in Ashapuri

6 km away from Bhojpur, in an area called Bilota in the Ashapuri village, ruins of more than 20 temples have been found. Due to lack of time I did not visit this area. However, the descriptions of the ruins show that this must have an important sacred area for the people. These temples are also from the same time period of the reign of Parmar dynasty. I am not sure if these ruins were linked with the Shiva temple of Bhojpur.

Legend of Raja Bhoj and Gangu Teli

Though I was familiar with the name of king Bhoj from my childhood, I was not aware of the legend that had led to the proverb comparing him with the oil merchant Gangu. The legend says that king Bhoj had sacrificed the wife and child of Gangu for the construction of a fort.

Thus the fame of king Bhoj has been challenged by Dalit activists who see him as an oppressor king, who sacrificed the lives of poor commoners for his glory.

I was horrified when I had heard this story. I wonder how did he become so popular among the people if he was someone who sacrificed women and children.

Conclusions

The Bhojeshwar Shiva temple, though more than a thousand years old, is part of the living religious traditions of Malwa. People from far away places gather here for the Mahashivaratri festival. At the time of festival, the state government organises an annual cultural festival called the Bhojpur Festival.

It is a nice temple. However its special importance comes from being one of the remaining testimonials of a famous king and from the line engravings in the quarries explaining the architectural plans of the temple construction.

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Guwahati Walking Tour – Riverside Temples of Uzanbazar

Uzanbazar is an important social, cultural and historical area of Guwahati, spread around the Dighalipukhuri pond. This second part of the Uzanbazar walking tour will take you to the different places on the northern side of Dighalipukhuri, the part towards the Brahmaputra river. You can also look at the first part of this tour focusing on the southern side of Dighalipukhuri.

The image below shows the Brahmaputra river seen from Kachari ghat in this part of Uzanbazar. The swirling water of the swollen river and the monsoon clouds painted in broad brush-strokes by the nature, make it a fascinating place. I remember sitting there and passing hours looking at the passing boats and people.

This walking tour will start from the west at the Northbrook gate and cover three important temples – Shukreshwar, Umananda and Ugratara, as well as some other buildings such as the high court, planetarium and the cricket club.

NORTHBROOK GATE

Northbrook gate was built in 1874 to welcome the British Governor General of India Lord Northbrook, whose ship was anchored here. He had come here to announce that Assam province will have its own high commissioner. After 1850, as the British import of tea from China had declined, Assam had become important to the empire for its tea gardens. After his visit, for 40 days “Gowhatti” had become the capital of British Assam, before the capital was shifted to the cooler hills of Shillong. At that time the city population was only 11,000.

British called this gate the Gateway to Assam. It is located on M. G. road, where the road leaves the Brahmaputra river and turns inwards.

It is a simple gate made of 12 arches, 5 in front, 5 at the back and 2 on the sides. In 1897, there was a big earthquake in Assam with widespread damages in Guwahati. Northbrook gate was one of the few buildings that had survived this earthquake.

In 1919, poet Robindranath Tagore had rested here before going to nearby Jublee park for a public meeting. In 1949, the urn containing the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi was placed here before their dispersion in Brahmaputra river.

From Shukreshwar ghat near the Northbrook gate you can hire private boats for visting the Umananada temple and island in the middle of the river. However, if you do not want a private boat but want to use the public ferry for this visit, you need to walk to Kachari ghat (explained below).

Beginnings of modern Guwahati: The lower half of Assam came under the British rule in 1826. British author William Robinson in his 1841 book "A descriptive account of Assam", explained that at that time the city covered an area of about two and half miles on the south bank of the river. He wrote that this area had one of the old chowkis for controlling entry into the city – the Lattasil chowki or Pani Chowki. At that time, the ruins of some of the old gateways to the city were still visible, though the city had lost its ancient importance and its numerous spacious tanks were choked up with weeds and jungle.

Thus,when British arrived in Assam, the ancient city of Pragjyotishpura of the Kamrup empire was in decline. The new city of "Gauhati" (also called Gowhatti) took birth around Uzanbazar, especially in the areas near the Northbrook gate.

SHUKRESHWAR TEMPLE

This temple is situated close to the Northbrook gate and was already there when the British had arrived in Guwahati in the 19th century.

The Shukreshwar complex hosts many temples, including a famous Shiva temple on the top of a small hill where the inner walls are covered with hundreds of flowers. Since this temple is dark inside and the use of flash is not possible, I do not have a good picture of this temple, but it is really worth a visit.

The courtyard of the Shukreshwar temple complex is full of colourful statues, including the Vishnu statue presented below.

The temple complex overlooks the Brahmaputra river, where the rocks have some 1500 years old rock-cut sculptures. You will find some more information about these rock-cut sculptures in a separate section further down in this post.

HIGH COURT, CRICKET CLUB, LATASIL GROUNDS AND PLANETARIUM

As you will walk further down the M. G. road you will see the Assam High Court building and Guwahati Ashok hotel, followed by the Cricket club grounds (Judges' field), which used to be the officers' club during the British period.

Near the Cricket grounds are the the Latasil grounds, whose name remembers the old chowki with its gateway (Lattasil chowki or Pani chowki) which had once marked the entrance to the medieval city of Guwahati.

Latasil grounds are a popular venue for the different city festivals including the Bihu celebration (Bihu dance and a pani-puriwala at Latasil grounds at the Megh Bihu fair are shown in the two images below).

Across from Latasil grounds is the Guwahati Planetarium, which has daily shows in Assamese, English and Hindi to learn about the stars and the cosmos. Near the planetarium there is small white marble temple while on the other side of the Latasil grounds is the well known Dighalipukhuri mosque of Guwahati. (Planetarium of Guwahati in the image below)

KACHARI GHAT AND BAZAR

The road next to the Planetarium will bring you to the river and to the traditional market of Kachari bazar and ghat. The name of this area "Kachari", means court and makes reference to the high court.

Kachari bazar is a simple market with small shops and tin roofs, but it is famous because you can find a wide variety of traditional Assamese vegetables and plants that are not available in other parts of the city.

The market has a small but beautiful Kali temple.

Steps near the Kachari market take you down to Kachari Ghat where you can get the public ferry for Umananda temple. The grounds of Kachari Ghat are a popular venue for cultural events like the annual kite festival and the celebration of chhath festival by the Bihari immigrant community of Guwahati (in the image below).

UMANANDA TEMPLE AND THE PEACOCK ISLAND

Umananda temple is one of the ancient temples of Guwahati. The 1841 book of Britisher William Robinson already mentioned above, said about it: “In the centre of the river, opposite the station, stands a little rocky island called Umananda. According to the Hindu legends, this island was formed by God Sib (Shiva) with the dust that marked his forehead. It presents a very picturesque object, clothed as it is with trees and crowned with temples.”

The Indian Railway association was formed in 1845 and the first train journey in India took place only in 1851, so I think that the “station” mentioned by Robinson in this paragraph refers to a local boat station, perhaps near Kachari ghat or near Shukreshwar ghat?

The image below presents the Kachari ferry dock with the river island hosting Umananda temple in the background. From here you get the public ferries for visiting the temple.

The return ticket on the public ferry boat to Umananda temple on the peacock island costs only 20 Rs. The temple is located on the top of a hill and requires a bit of a climb. The image below shows one of the temple priests.

The Umananda island is also home to a group of Golden Langur monkeys. Usually you will find them on the trees, if you take a walk going towards the back of the island, below and behind the main Umananda temple, on the path facing the north bank of the river. (A golden langur in the image below, eating a cake given to her by some visitor).

The island is also home to a group of friendly geese who might follow you around and even ask you with their quack-quack to share your food. They have learned that people do not hurt them, so they seem completely fearless.

The views of the other river islands with their pristine white sands, visible from the top of the Umananda hill if you look towards the north bank of Brahmaputra, are breath-taking.

UPPER STAND ROAD

The road along the river going east from Kachari ghat towards the Kharguli hills and the Governor's house has many traditional old Assamese houses. Vivekanand Cultural Kendra, one of the cultural centres of Guwahati, is located at its corner, just opposite Kachari ghat.

Upper Stand road is home to some exclusive boutiques selling traditional Assamese silk dresses for women (Mekhla Chador), including the Fab India Handicrafts store of Guwahati.

Across the road, is the fish market of Guwahati that is ideal to buy fresh river fish, early in the morning. The image below shows one of the traditional Assamese houses on Upper Stand road.

UGRATARA TEMPLE

The same road that goes towards Kachari ghat along the planetarium, if taken in the other (southwards) direction will pass along the boundary of Latasil grounds and then take you to Lamb road and the unassuming Ugratara temple.

It is one of the ancient temples of Guwahati built during the medieval Ahom kingdom.

Behind the temple, there is a big pond, Jorpokhuri. A road was built here which divides this pond into two. The pond is famous for its large number of geese.

Like the friendly geese of Umananda, these Ugratara geese are also aware that people and vehicles will never hurt them so they are completely fearless. It is not unusual to see a gaggle of geese walking in the middle of Lamb road while all the cars and autos, try to pass around them without hurting them.

ANCIENT ROCK-CUT SCULPTURES IN UZANBAZAR

Guwahati area has many bas-relief rock sculptures, rock-cut sculptures (carved into the rock) and rock sculptures. According to Prof. P C Choudhury (The History of Civilization of the people of Assam till the 12th century A.D., 1959), the rock-cut sculptures are from 5 to 12 century CE.

However, it seems that the actual archaeological dating of the rock-cut sculptures has not yet been carried out. According to a recent article in the Ancient Asia journal, “A number of scholars have highlighted on the rock sculpture and iconography of the region but no work focusing on the rock art and engravings of the region have so far been reported.”

The visit to Uzanbazar will give you an opportunity to visit two important sites of rock-cut sculptures in this area.

One group of rock-cut sculptures representing Vishnu (with adjoining figures of Surya, Ganesh, Devi, etc.) is present in the rocks facing the Brahmaputra river behind the Shukreshwar temple. These are locally known as Vishnu Janardan and are protected under the Archaeological Survey of India.

A second group of ancient rock-cut sculptures representing Ganesh are located on the island of Umananda temple, near its western tip facing the Neelanchal hill and Kamakhaya temple. Near by a path goes down towards the river, with some more sculptures. These sculptures look much older than many of the Umananda temple buildings.

CONCLUSIONS

I think that Uzanbazar is one of the most culturally vibrant area of Guwahati with a lot of places to visit.

All the places mentioned in this post are located close together and you can easily walk to them. Reaching Uzanbazar through public transport is easy and you can get down at the Kachari bus stop.

If you do not have time to visit all the places mentioned in this post, make sure to visit at least the Umananda temple and the island. The visit to the temple by the public ferry will require at least 3 hours. If you have less time, take a private boat from Shukreshwar ghat near Northbrook gate (BTW, don't try asking people about Northbrook gate, hardly anyone knows this name. However, most people can point you to Shukreshwar ghat.)

You can also look at the first part of this tour presenting other places to visit on the southern side of Dighalipukhuri, towards Cotton College and Paltan Bazar railway station.

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