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Historic Rangpur,
about a mile south of the present Sivasagar town of Upper Assam,
was the fourth
 capital of the Ahom kingdom. It completed 300
years of its glorious existence in 1999. The old city dotted
with architectural marvels and sculptures, was not only the
capital but also a place of military importance of the Ahom
kingdom for more than 95 years. It was Swargadeo Rudra Sinha who
shifted the capital from Gargaon to Rangpur on 12th of
Agrahayana of Saka 1621 (1699 AD).
According to
Captain Welsh, Rangpur was a large and thickly populated city,
twenty miles in extent. Historians Bhuban Chandra Handique and
Hem Burhagohain said that Rangpur was bounded by the Dikhow
River on the north. The chronicle Changrung Phukanar Buranji
states that in Saka (1621-1699 AD) the city of Rangpur was
started with a number of houses and it was inaugurated in Saka
1629, AD 1707.
It was King Rudra
Sinha's efforts that led to the permanent phase of non-religious
architecture of the Ahoms. 'He was anxious to build a palace and
the city of bricks, but there was no one in his kingdom who
knows how to do this. He, therefore, imported from Koch Behar an
artisan named Ghanashyam, under whose supervision numerous brick
buildings were erected at Rangpur, close to Sibsagar, and also
at Charaideo.' (Gait)
Rangpur possesses
the largest of the secular buildings built by the Ahoms, the
best of which is the popularly known Talatal-ghar (meaning a
house having several storeys). This massive structure is aligned
in a north-south axis with annexes on its either side. The
ground floor of this complex consists of rows of columns and
with semi-circular arches, some portion of which are kept as
stylobates, while some others are enclosed and converted into
chambers. It is said that some portions of the open structures
were used as stables for elephants and horses while the enclosed
ones were the granaries and stores.
Of the seven
storeys, the Talatal-ghar contains three storeys below the
ground level. The underground tunnels - allegedly filled up by
the East India Company during the last century - connect the
Rangpur Kareng-ghar with the bank of the Dikhow river located at
a distance of about one and a half mile from the Talatal-ghar
and the Kareng-ghar located at Gargaon, about ten miles away.
It is gathered
from the scanty references in the chronicles that after his
coronation ceremony, Swargadeo Rudra Sinha constructed the
Joysagar tank and the two temples of Vishnu and Shiva and also
established his royal residence to its north naming the locality
as Rangpur (Satsari Buranji). Satsari Buranji says that the king
also erected a Hewali-ghar (pleasure house) at Rangpur and the
Talatal-ghar (multi-storeyed building) at Tengabari (Ibid.). The
chronicle further states that king Rajesvar Sinha (AD 1751-1768)
made the multi-storeyed buildings at Rangpur and Gargaon
permanent, evidently adopting brick-masonry (Ibid). From the
references it is clear that the Talatal-ghar built by Rudra
Sinha was in the area known as Tengabari and that during
Rajesvar Sinha's reign, Tengabari became Rangpur owing to a
spurt in building activities from Jaisagar to Tengabari,
including the shifting of the royal residence. The old timber
Talatal-ghar of Tengabari was converted systematically into a
brick building.
Of the variety of
architectural forms and the structural engineering established
by Rudra Sinha, which formed the bases of the subsequent civil
architecture of Assam, the most popular was the dochala or the
cottage-type. Though it was originally used as the mandapa
attached to the vimana of a temple, this form was also adopted
for a number of massive secular buildings. The best example of
this specimen is the Gola-ghar or the magazine house located
within the city of Rangpur. The building, a hallmark of skillful
craftsmanship, contain a mukhamandapa or the porch but of
shorter span and height. The well-preserved building exists
axially and is attached to the southern gable-end. This massive
and proportionate structure in the midst of verdant paddy fields
stands majestically as a showpiece among the different edifices
of the city of Rangpur.
Another
architectural grandeur of the city of Rangpur, which can justly
claim the pride of place, is the imposing two-storeyed Rang-ghar
- a unique amphitheater and a symbol of modern Assam. Assigned
to the Ahom king, Pramatta Sinha (1744-1751), the structural
details as well as the outer features of this building speak
volumes of the imitation of the Islamic architecture. Its ground
floor is basically a rectangle with two trapezoidal ends, while
its huge shell-roof gives the impression of its parabolic form.
The structure consists of rows of massive columns and pilasters
with semi-circular arches.
The remnants of
ornamentation and ceilings of this structure are a testimony to
the grandeur with which it was tried to be embellished. The
outer beauty of this unique structure constructed as a royal
pavilion for witnessing outdoor games such as wrestling,
buffalo-fight, falconry, etc, is enhanced by crowning its ridge
with the model of a lengthy pleasure boat with makara endings
and a trefoil arched canopy at its centre. This two-storeyed
structure having lean-to roofing with half-circular eaves must
have been influenced by the impermanent namghars (prayer-halls)
of the neo-Vaishnava satras (monasteries) of Assam. There is no
other secular structure of the Rang-ghar type in Assam.
The fortified
city of Rangpur except for some ruins of uncertain nature does
not contain any other residential building. The only complex
having secular character in the greater Rangpur area is the
Ghanashyam Ghar, popularly known as the temple of Ghanashyam.
The temple is named after Ghanashyam, the chief architect who
was brought from Koch Behar in North Bengal by King Rudra Sinha
(1696-1714). It comprises of a walled area having an
Islamic-type gatehouse, a flat-roofed structure with a verandah
in one of its sides and a barrack with a few chambers. The main
structure is embellished with exquisite terracotta work
consisting of trellises, creepers, flowers and a number of gods
and goddesses depicting different mythological scenes.
Curiously, the structure has a mihrab in its north wall. Except
for the terracotta figures on the outer surface, this building
has the ingredients of a non-religious structure.
Apart from the
Ahoms, the Kacharis built capital and residential establishments
enclosed by massive ramparts of bricks in Rangpur and Gargaon,
not far off from the former.
The Sivasagar
district administration has been organising the Rangpur Utsav
every year to showcase the tourism potential of this historic
town of scenic beauty dotted with exquisite archaeological
marvels.
May 2007
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