Hengrabari (also called and pronounced as "Hengrabari") is located in the capital city of
Guwahati
Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest city of the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the ...
of
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
, a state on the north-east of
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. Densely populated, Hengrabari resembles the character of a small town in the heart of Guwahati. A few decades ago the areas around Hengrabari were covered with dense forest, tall trees and wild bushes. However, with the pressure of increase in population, these forests were burned and cleared, the hillocks were cut down and the plain agricultural land were filled up for building houses and commercial shops.
Etymology
Hengrabari is
Boro __NOTOC__
Boro may refer to:
People
* Boro people, indigenous peoples of Amazonas, Brazil
* A variant spelling for the Bodo people of northeast India
* Charan Boro, Indian politician
* Isaac Adaka Boro, a celebrated Niger Delta nationalist and Nig ...
origin. Hengra means barrier and Bari means forest or village.
Description
Hengrabari has now been divided into two parts, lower hengrabari and upper hengrabari. Borbari which borders upper hengrabari are populated by the indigenous tribal people. With the construction of a national highway road passing through upper hengrabari and borbari, the area has been emerging as a commercial hub.
Thamakitilla is a small hillock on the southern side of the areas bordering upper hengrabari. This hillock is densely populated and consisted of around seventy residential houses. A vernacular high school and a college is situated to the south of Thamakitilla. To the eastern side of Thamakitilla is a low-lying
paddy field
A paddy field is a flooded field (agriculture), field of arable land used for growing Aquatic plant, semiaquatic crops, most notably rice and taro. It originates from the Neolithic rice-farming cultures of the Yangtze River basin in sout ...
s. In the rainy season these low-lying paddy fields remain submerged with rain water, limiting cultivators to grow paddy only on a part of the considerably elevated land.
Culture
An old mythological story runs that the present elevated land Thamakitilla was the divine place where Gods and goddesses were used to halt during their journey. People believe that there exist a divine boat made of stone on the eastern side of Thamakitilla that touches the low-lying paddy fields. On the north-eastern part of the hillock, there is a temple of Goddess Mata Vaishno Devi. It is believed that this place has been a favourite destination of the supreme divine.
A temple also exist on the top of the hillock and people gather there for prayer on various occasions. This temple belongs to the Hindu God,
Lord Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
, the protector of living beings. (inputs from Bharat Prasad, shall provide more..).
A very famous Kali temple is also present in the area which also consist of the temple of lord Shiva, the Sani temple and the Ganesh temple. The temple is said to have a great historical significance and was established during the time when the place was ruled by the Rani or the Queen of Beltola. The main structure of the temple was constructed in the late 1970s and its development is further going on with the help various donations received from the people. The temple celebrates various festivals like the Shivaratri, Ganesh Puja and the Kali Puja being the most significant. During Kali Puja many devotees throng the temple from different parts of the city as well the state to take blessings of Goddess Kali. Apart from these an annual ritual known as "Jagya" in the local language is also performed for the well being of the people belonging to the locality.
There are several Reserved Forests (
Indian Forest Act, 1927
The Indian Forest Act, 1927 was largely based on previous Indian Forest Acts implemented under the British. The most famous one was the Indian Forest Act of 1878. Both the 1878 act and the 1927 act sought to consolidate and reserve the area ...
) in and around Guwahati. The reserved forests within the limits of
Guwahati Municipal Corporation
Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) is the local government in Guwahati, Assam, India. GMC was formed in the year 1971 by the Guwahati Municipal Corporation Act, 1969. The Corporation was duly constituted in 1974 in the first meeting of the el ...
Jalukbari
Jalukbari is a locality in Guwahati, Assam, India, located between National Highway 31 and National Highway 37.
Education
Gauhati University, Assam Engineering College, Government Ayurvedic College, Jalukbari Sanskrit School are some of the e ...
. These forests are under the administrative control of the Divisional Forest Officer, Kamrup (East) Forest Division. The other reserved forests around Guwahati are Rani and Garbhanga RFs. Deepar Beel, which is a vast expanse of water body on the western side of the city is not only a
Ramsar site
A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O)
*** Permanent 8 ha (P)
*** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts)
**
Wildlife Sanctuary
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...
. The forests act as the green lung of Guwahati, but, unfortunately, a large chunk of the area is encroached by unauthorized occupants.
The Rani and Garbhanga RFs have a large population of elephants. Sometimes, wild
elephant
Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...
s visit and damage the paddy crops around the Deepar Beel area. To control the menace, and streamline wildlife management in and around Guwahati, the
Government of Assam
The Government of Assam is the subnational government of Assam, a state of India. It consists of the Governor appointed by the President of India as the head of the state, currently Jagdish Mukhi. The head of government is the Chief Minister, ...