The ultimate destination of a human being after death is the place where the funeral rites are performed. Burial is one of the common practices, and cremation is another. More common among them is the custom of burial because the religions of Islam and Christianity have larger numbers of followers. The last rites are carried out according to the custom dictated by the religion one follows. There is another unique way of performing the last rites for the dead. The final journey for a deceased person, according to Zoroastrian belief (known as Parsees), ends at the height of a 25-foot-tall tower. The body of the deceased is placed on a 25-foot-tall structure known as the Tower of Silence. Far from the usual custom of cremating or burying the dead, the Parsees place the body of the deceased atop a tower to be devoured by birds, like vultures and other scavenger birds. This practice, according to them, is meant to save the earth and other natural elements from contamination by decomposing dead bodies because any contact of the dead body with the ground is likely to contaminate it. One such tower exists in the posh Malabar Hill area of Mumbai. The Tower of Silence is called Parsi Bowdi in the language of the community.
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There are more interesting facts related to the practices of final rites for the dead. The ancient rulers of Egypt, known as Pharaohs, were buried along with their favorite items of use under pyramids. There have been discoveries of such items within pyramids, which are the edifices built over the graves of the Pharaohs. In a curious coincidence or strange similarity, the Ahom kings of earlier times followed the custom of burying the dead prior to their adoption of Hinduism, and the Moidams (burial mounds) were the places where the bodies of the kings, queens, or nobles, along with their favorite items of use and food, were placed. Quite pertinently, like many other monuments and places of historical importance in the country, the Charaideo Moidams too have been declared the 43rd heritage site of the world by UNESCO. This place of burial for the Ahom kings, queens, and nobles has turned into a place of interest and tourist attraction, like many other sites in the country. Raj Ghat in Delhi, the cremation spot of Mahatma Gandhi, and Vijay Ghat, where Lal Bahadur Shastri was cremated, are two such examples. Going further back in history, the tomb of Humayun, the Mughal emperor, is another among many others.
Coming home, Guwahati too has a number of crematoria and burial grounds that tell stories of their past. Among many others of its kind, there is Athgaon Kabristan and Islampur Kabristan for the Muslims. Chenikuthi Cemetery and the cemetery near the Guwahati Railway Station are for the Christians. The war cemetery at Silpukhuri tells the story of those who lost their lives during World War II. A very well-maintained cemetery, it is more akin to a park of some reckoning.
At Bhootnath Cremation Ground, Kalipur, located at the foothills of the Nilachal Hills, bodies of the dead belonging to Hindu, Sikh, and Jain beliefs are cremated. There is one cremation ground in the Ulubari area too, but Bhootnath and Nabagrah cremation grounds are most commonly used. The origin of the Bhootnath crematorium dates back to a distant past. It is believed that it was at this chunk of land where tantriks from distant places, on their way to visit the Kamakhya temple, rested and even spent several nights at the premises where a Shiva Mandir and a Kali Mandir are located. It is not known since when the practice of cremation of bodies of the dead started at the place, as no record has been found to substantiate any such date or period. But various facts support the belief that Bhootnath Crematorium existed long before its counterpart, Nabagrah Crematorium.
Nabagrah is one crematorium that can boast of cremating the most number of popular leaders, artistes, singers, and men of letters. The most prominent among them is Bharat Ratna Gopinath Bordoloi. The prominent freedom fighter and a person who fought against vested interest groups at the national level of Indian politics was also the first Chief Minister of undivided Assam post-independence. A bust statue of the revered leader exists at the cremation arena.
Located in the Silpukhuri area of the city, the history of the inception of Nabagrah Shamshan makes for interesting reading. The story dates back to 1907 and has its coincidence with an incident involving the sudden death of a lady who had come to spend a day or two at the residence of Joykanta Bhuyan, a prominent resident of Uzanbazar. The lady, one of the late Bhuyan's aunts, was from Morikolong and had come to spend a day or two in her nephew's house. Unfortunately, she passed away one midnight, and the prevalent custom of the conservative family demanded that the body of the deceased be cremated before daybreak. The Bhootnath Shamshan was too far for the purpose, and, as the landed person that late Bhuyan was, he decided to perform the last rites of his aunt at the plot of land that he owned. The area was later donated by him for the purpose of cremation of the dead.
Dr. Bhupen Hazarika Samadhi Kshetra is one distinct and unique memorial that Guwahati can boast of. Bharat Ratna Bhupen Hazarika, referred to as Sudhakantha (One with a voice laden with honey) and also termed as the Bard of the Brahmaputra, has the unique distinction of having an exquisite memorial in his name. Located at the Gauhati University Campus, the memorial complex is situated at the area where his body was cremated.
The story of Nabagrah Shamshan is heard personally from Late Kumudeswar Hazarika, who is the author of two books on old Guwahati.
(All views and opinions expressed are the author’s own.)
