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Historic Ma Mahamayadham of Alokjhari remains neglected

By AMBUNATH SHARMA

GAURIPUR, Jan 6 - More than 200 years ago, the historic Ma Mahamayadham of Alokjhari under Tamarhat police station in Dhubri district was established by Raja Prabhat Chandra Baruah of Gauripur Jamindari Estate.

According to legends, the people of Alokjhari village and the adjoining villages believed that while Lord Shiva was carrying the dead body of his beloved wife Sati and was moving from place to place like a mad man with the motive of destruction Lord Bishnu tactfully cut down the parts of the body of dead Sati and consequently the feet of Sati fell at the centre of the Alokjhari hillock.

Raja Prabhat Chandra Baruah had a dream and came to know that a saint named Saschidananda was sitting beside the footprints of Sati and was holding a golden idol of Goddess Durga in meditation. After bowing down to his knees, the Baruah was able to talk and the saint handed over the golden idol of Goddess Durga and directed him to construct a temple over the footprints of Sati lying unworshipped. Accordingly, Raja Prabhat Chandra Baruah built a temple on the hillock of Alokjhari.

Raja Prabhat Chandra Baruah donated 389 bighas of land as �Debattar� property for the daily worship of the Goddess Mahamaya and hired two priests from Nalbari area. People of the area alleged that the Brahmins had occupied more than 108 bighas of land and managed to make mutation in their names. However, daily puja rituals had since been performing without interruption.

The then Congress leader Jadabananda Adhikary of Golakganj area came to know about the plight of the temple and by convening a general meeting formed a managing committee to look after the affairs of the temple in 1974.

As the area is isolated, people have had to go to the temple by crossing the Gadadhar river either by banana raft or by dilapidated bamboo bridge. A big mela called �sat-bisma� is also organised from the sixth day of the month of Bohag and is participated by hundreds of people of the area. The temple is situated 15 km away from the connecting Dhubri-Kachugaon Road (DK Road) and the devotees find it difficult to attend the rituals year-long except for the four days during Ambubachi.

The people of the area have urged the new government to develop the temple area with all modern facilities including a pucca bridge over Gadadhar river and turn the place to a tourist attraction.

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