HT Correspondent
SIVASAGAR, Feb 19: Thousands of devotees from across the country thronged the historic Sivadoul on the occasion of Mahasivaratri on the first two days of the five-day Sivaratri celebrations here in the mandir township while thousands more visited hundreds of stalls on street sides put up for the big Sivaratri mela all around the streets, Fuleswari school field, and Station Chariali.
The festival organized by the ‘Doul Development Committee’ in association with Sivasagar district administration was inaugurated by the Union Minister for Shipping, Port, Waterways, and Ayush Sarbananda Sonowal on February 17. There was a bee-line of devotees entering the sanctum sanctorum of the historic temple to offer prayers to Lord Siva. The Festival organized every year has over the years become a great confluence of people of diverse faiths and classes of people.
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On the second day on February 18, ‘Panchanan’ the souvenir brought out on the occasion and edited by journalist Anamuddin Ahmed, was released by Nitumony Saikia, Editor-in-Chief, ‘Pratidin Times’.
In his speech, he said that the souvenir is a contemporary history of the people which will be of great interest to the coming generation after a century or so. Saikia said that the people of Sivasagar are blessed ones as the historic Sivadoul exists here as the religious crown of Assam after Ma Kamakhya. He urged the people of Sivasagar to plan for the 300th anniversary of the Sivadoul and the Sivaratri festival which will occur 16 years hence.
It is really a matter of pride that the language of the Sivasagar district was recognized as the real language of Assam even by a British officer a long time ago and Sivasagar is also the forerunner in Assam’s literary and cultural movements, added Saikia.
Anamuddin Ahmed in his speech said that Ahom Swargadeo’s accepted the people’s religion and language and felt proud of editing a magazine for the Shaivite festival.
ATASU (All Tai Ahom Students Union) joint secretary Manoj Gogoi said that the people that took the Sivaratri Festival to an international level should be thanked by all. He added that it is no use for ganga snan when the holy Shivadoul, the famed pilgrimage spot, is close by. Lachit Gogoi also spoke on the importance of the festival. The cultural evening was enjoyed by a large crowd. Young Singers Mayuri Dutta. and senior Bihu artiste Khagen Gogoi were the star performers of the programme.
The chief attraction of the children coming to the mela is the colorful gas balloons and other toys brought to the mela by the 12 families of the gypsy Khari Bagri Community from distant Rajasthan with their children. Jagannath Sing (20), a leader of the community, told ‘The Hills Times’ in the mela on Sunday that it is their passion for traveling and living on a meager income by selling balloons that take them to different parts of the country wherever there is a mela. They cannot afford enough money to go to hotels or lodges and prefer to sleep on the verandas of shops or on the footpaths. In Sivasagar, the group made themselves comfortable on the footpaths near the Central market without asking for any more amenities. It should be the responsibility of the Mela organizers to provide them, the citizens of modern fast developing India, the minimum facilities so that they sleep in the open.
A young group of volunteers collected donations from the revelers and devotees for the treatment of noted flutist Dipak Sarma who is undergoing costly treatment in a hospital for a fatal disease.
