Shakti Pith 47 the Mahishamardini Mandir of Bakreshwar

8/12/2019 Shakti Pith 47 the Mahishamardini Mandir of Bakreshwar

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Shakti Pith 47 The Mahishamardini Mandir of Bakreshwar

Bakreshwar: A Conflux of Shaiva and Shakta Tradition

Although Bakreshwar (W.B) is primarily renowned for its Shiva temple and

therapeutic hot springs, these attractions tend to overshadow its parallel

significance as a place of power for goddess devotees. As a shakti pith, the

Mahishamardini Mandir draws worshipers of the divine mother to this countrytown, named for its resident male god. At the heart of Bakreshwar, the spiritual

traditions of Shiva and Shakti converge, reconciling the dichotomy of

masculine and feminine divinity in one harmonious temple comple.

!owering shikharas of the Bakreshwar and Mahishamardini mandirs

"istorically a focal point of religious pilgrimage, the ma#ority of "indus

traveling to Bakreshwar come for its famous Shiva Mandir. Although the

presence of a shakti pith and its corresponding mandir ("indu temple)

technically make Bakreshwar a two$temple comple, the veneration of %ord

Shiva o&serva&ly assumes a position of elevated prominence.

'nlike the red vestments typical of Brahmins officiating at temples consecrated

to Shakti, the preferred color of Bakreshwars dhoti (unstitched mens garment)

clad priesthood is white. When asked one of these Brahmins a&out this

idiosyncrasy, he attri&uted it to a &elief that the Shiva Mandir was older than the

temple of Mahishamardini. *iven the lack of an accurate and comprehensive

written record, such a statement could easily &e written off as hyper&ole.

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actual or not, the casual utterance of this claim reaffirms the primacy of Shiva

worship at this temple comple. t is a sentiment that repeatedly encountered

during conversations with many Bengali people who were well ac-uainted with

Bakreshwar as a seat of Shaiva tradition, yet unaware that it was also the

location of a shakti pith.

eviating from typical Bengali style, the Bakreshwar Mandir, with itsdistinctive curvilinear shikhara (rising tower a&ove the sanctum sanctorum),

and the surrounding comple evince a strong /rrisan architectural influence.

!he inner sanctum, which houses the lingams associated with Shiva and the

sage Ashta&akra, is accessed through a roofed, tunnel$like corridor. A steel

guardrail runs along the center of this passage, effectively separating it into two

pathways, and thus making it easier to manage occasional larger crowds. An

assortment of &rass &ells are chained to this divider and00coupled with the

resonant properties of the tiled cham&er00can &e heard echoing throughout the

day and night, as they are periodically rung &y devotees entering and eiting the

gar&hagriha (Sanskrit for 1wom& cham&er23 the inner sanctum).

!he name Bakreshwar is a compound of two words4 &akra, meaning 1curve3 or

1deformity,3 and ishwar meaning 1lord.3 According to local legend, it was in

the vicinity of the Bakreshwar Mandir that a crippled sage, named Ashtabakra

(ei!ht "urves#$ Muni% intensely meditated upon %ord Shiva for +5,555 years.

6rofoundly moved &y this ardent display of penance, %ord Shiva not only cured

his &eloved devotee of physical deformity, &ut further declared that those who

visited Bakreshwar and venerated Ashta&akra &efore him would &e graced with

a surplus of &oons. 7orresponding with this myth, there are two lingams housedwithin the Shiva temple. !he larger lingam is referred to as Ashta&akra, and the

smaller one is called Bakreshwar. Although specified with different names,

&oth of these lingams are perceived as physical manifestations of %ord Shiva

which, &y etension, function as conduits of spiritual power through which the

god can &e communed.

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6artha 6aitandi seated &efore the Ashta&akra lingam (the smaller Bakreshwar

lingam cannot &e seen)

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Bakreshwars inner sanctum is a small enclosure having :$walls which are tiled

in white ceramic and a floor of mar&le sla&. n the center of this room, a

concave yoni (Sanskrit 1vagina,3 sym&olic as creative source) is set more than a

foot &elow floor$level. !he yonis interior is gilded with a &rass$like metal and

where it meets the floor it is framed with segments of mar&le. t is constructed

to slope in a slight descent toward a drainage hole in the northern wall.

6ro#ecting upward from the center of the yonis rounded lower half is the sacredlingam of Ashta&akra. !his stone formation is sheathed with a fitted cylindrical

covering made from the same metal which lines the yoni.

was informed &y a temple Brahmin that this is in fact a special alloy known as

ashtadhatu00an amalgam of eight sym&olic metals4 gold, silver, copper, ;inc,

lead, tin, iron, and mercury. 7rafted &y the same artisan, this very specific

composition was also used for casting the Mahishamardini murti which is

enshrined in the neigh&oring goddess mandir. Analogous to the crippled &ody

of the legendary saint, Ashta&akra, the stone lingam which is concealed here is

said to &end at eight different points along its length. <isitors do not get to see

the unsheathed lingam, &ut was told that its covering is periodically removed

for ritual &athing of the stone. As this is a highly$cherished lingam, it receives

regular o&lations in the form of flower and &ael leaves, li&ations of water and

milk, as well as incense and candles which are lit and placed around the yoni.

Such a profusion of offerings easily o&scures the much smaller Bakreshwar

lingam which is directly ad#acent to Ashta&akra.

nitially, had wrongly assumed this to &e a one lingam temple and thought that

the encased lingam was Bakreshwar00an easy mistake to make during a firstvisit. t was while offering a pu#a (ritual offering ceremony) in this mandir that

learned of the coeistence of another lingam. uring the ceremony, was

instructed to touch &oth of the lingams with my right hand. 6ro&a&ly sensing

my confusion, my Brahmin friend 6artha continued to intone Sanskrit mantras

while &rushing off a pile of marigold flowers and &ael leaves that had &uried the

sacred stone. !hen he took my hand and guided it inside the yoni, toward the

&ase of the Ashta&akra lingam, where touched a smooth, rounded stone.

Bakreshwars eponymous lingam is a small, polished rock formation that &arely

pro#ects outward from the &ase of the yoni in which it is nestled. /ver the

course of centuries, an incredi&le amount of tangi&le power has manifested

through this ostensi&ly hum&le em&odiment of the divine. !he Bakreshwar

lingam is the foundation upon which this etensive temple comple has

developed and, &y etension, the pivot of an entire township consecrated in one

of Shivas holy names. =ot only have diverse spiritual seekers from every

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corner of the su&continent &een attracted to this place of power, &ut foreigners

like myself come here from distant countries around the glo&e.

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evotees ritually &athing in the Shwet *anga

&ot S'rin!s

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Bakreshwar is the site of several geothermal hot springs, some of which are

&elieved to have healing properties. !hroughout its history, people suffering

from a spectrum of afflictions have sought relief &y coming here to &athe in

these mineral$rich waters. Many of the smaller springs are &ounded &y concrete

retaining walls, in a -uasi$rectangular configuration resem&ling a styli;ed yoni,

with descending steps on one open side permitting access to the water. !he two

largest stepwells are surrounded with a gated wall and function as the primary1pu&lic &aths3 of Bakreshwar. !he uni-ue geothermal activity not only effects

the enclosed springs, &ut much of the water found in this area. %ocals and

visitors swim in the lake on the comples southern side throughout the cool

season as its water remains continuously warm. uring my first night at

Bakreshwar, waded across a creek (always advisa&le when in an unfamiliar

place@) and was surprised to find the water pleasantly heated, despite the air

temperature &eing cold enough for me to see my &reath. A painted sign on the

main temple gate lists the following eight springs4

+. Agni und 8. har und 9. Bhoiro& hund :. Shou&haga (udh) und

>. Shur#o und ?. Shwet *anga . 6apohora *anga C. Di&otsha (Amrita) und

/n the northern side of the comple, directly in front of the Shiva mandir, is the

Shwet *anga. /ne of Bakreshwars larger pools, it is rectangular in shape and

walled round with red &rick. !his is a highly$fre-uented kund as it is routinely

used &y pilgrims for ritual purification &aths prior to entering the mandir for

pu#a. !he water of the Shwet *anga is not only perfectly lukewarm, &ut

remarka&ly clean since it is not stagnant. *rates &uilt into the walls of this kund

allow the water to freely flow through it.



Steps leading down to the udh unds color$changing water

!wo other kunds will &riefly comment on are referred to as the udh und

and Agni und. !he word dudh means 1milk3 and the water of this smaller

kund has the uni-ue -uality of taking on a pale white color during the early

morning hours &efore sunrise. was not a&le to determine eactly why this

phenomenon occurs, &ut suspect it has something to do with the interplay of a

high o;one concentration and minerals present in the water.

Another remarka&le spring is the Agni und, or 1ire 6ond.3 ts water is very

hot, reaching temperatures that approach 855 degrees ahrenheit. !he steps of

this kund have &een sealed off and a protective wall surrounds it. A temple

priest told me that as a &oy, he once witnessed the removal of a scalded, dead

human &ody from the Agni und. Apparently, this kund has &een the site of

occasional suicides where people have leaped over the wall and plunged

directly into its &oiling depths. Ad#acent to the Agni und is a &uilding which

houses a government$run la&oratory. 'pon in-uiry, learned that fluctuating

concentrations of various gasses in the water are monitored &y this la&, and the

resultant data is used to detect seismic changes. uring my daily visits to theMahishamardini Mandir, would walk past the Agni und where regularly

o&served a man fetching water from it using a length of rope attached to a metal

&ucket. !his pail was then &riefly put aside, allowing the water to cool &efore it

was poured into one of the plastic &ottles he had arranged on a folding ta&le.

7alling out to passers&y, he offered draughts of this water for a few rupees per

drink. =aturally curious, asked him what the purpose of drinking this water

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could &e. Eu&&ing his stomach, he informed me that it was an invigorating tonic

for the whole &ody and implored me to try a sip, free of charge. espite his

enthusiastic endorsement of this water as a salu&rious eliir, had no way of

knowing if it was indeed safe to consume, and respectfully declined his offer.

When stayed at Bakreshwar, the two main &athing springs were undergoing

renovation. Although did not get to see them in action, entered this privatearea and walked around while construction was taking place. !he ground is

paved with decorative tile and terracotta frie;es depicting health$related themes

drawn from "indu religious sources, &eautify the surrounding walls. !here are

designated entrances for men and women, who &athe in separate kunds. urther

enhanced with amenities such as shower stalls, changing areas, and pu&lic

restrooms, these hot springs are &eing developed into an attractive focal point of

Bakreshwar tourism.

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Many crum&ling lingam mandirs are scattered throughout the surrounding area

ther Pla"es of )nterest

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=ow a relatively modest temple comple, Bakreshwar once received royal

patronage and this prior state of affluence is evident in its surroundings.

Scattered throughout the vicinity are hundreds of small concrete temples,

housing in$&uilt Shiva lingams, which have fallen into varying states of

decrepitude. !he etensive range and num&er of these mandirs suggests that a

si;a&le priesthood was once employed here, charged with ritual veneration andmaintenance of these shrines when they were still active.

7lose to the main mandir is a panchamukhi asana (seat of five skulls), an area

specifically constructed for the performance of tantrik sadhana (ritual

practices). Although appearing to &e a nondescript red concrete platform,

underneath of it the skulls of five different animals, including one human, are

&uried in a carefully arranged manner. According to tantrik &elief, the power of

sadhana is increased when performed on a panchamukhi asana and was

strongly cautioned against casually sitting here.

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Basude& Mission nternationals white mar&le 1lingam of fire3

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Bakreshwar is also home of the Bashude& Mission nternational, a philanthropic

religious institution founded &y the highly$esteemed Bengali

Shaiva sadhu, Bashude& 6aramahamsa. n the missions courtyard, a

magnificent 1%ingam of ire3 towers at nearly eleven feet tall and weighing

around C tons. t is carved from a single mass of imported white 7arrara mar&le

and em&ellished with flames containing styli;ed yoni shapes.

!hroughout its long history, Bakreshwar has &een regarded foremost as a place

of healing. 6eople suffering from diverse ailments have #ourneyed here, seeking

physical respite in the hot springs and divine grace through the temples. With

an imminent renaissance on the hori;on, Bakreshwar is now entering its own

state of convalescence. Gnhanced &y etensive renovations and developments,

the influ of religious pilgrims coupled with a &lossoming health$conscious

tourism industry will &ring with it increased interest and funding. ifficult work

lies ahead, &ut a feeling of ecited anticipation permeates the air as Bakeshwar

&egins a phase which local residents hope will not only restore, &ut eclipse its

former glory.

Mahishamardini Mandir

%ocated close to Bakreshwars preeminent Shiva temple, the Mahishamardini

Mandir is discerni&le &y the &right orange shikhara towering a&ove it. !his

mandir can &e reached from the main entrance of Bakreshwar Eoad, which first

&rings you to the Shiva temple. rom here, a short walk heading west along the

#agati (raised platform upon which a temple rests) will take you to the goddess

temple. f you wish to go straight to the Mahishamardini Mandir, there is also

another entrance located on the southern side of the comple, which providesdirect access. !here you will ascend a flight of steps and enter the orange and

yellow gate which leads to the platform directly in front of the mandir and

darshan with its south$facing murti.

!he temples wooden dou&le doors are nota&le for &eing ornamented with si

hand$carved frie;es. %akshmi, Saraswati, *anesha, and artik are separately

depicted in each of the upper four sections. Below these, the tripartite

assem&lage of coconut and palm tree in a water pot, &roadly connoting 1good

luck,3 is rendered as a matching pair. !his three$fold sym&ol is simply called

ghatam, meaning 1pot.3 n Bengali iconography, the goddess urga is often

accompanied &y this cluster of four deities who are commonly referred to as her

1children.3 Mahishamardini is one of many names for urga and although the

murti which is enshrined here depicts her unattended, the presence of her

typical retinue is acknowledged with these carved images.

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!he sacrificial harikhat

A few feet away from these doors is the temple harikhat, a sacrificial device

employed in the immolation of goats. !he harikhat is essentially a wooden fork

into which a goats neck is placed and secured with a pin. !he animal is then

easily decapitated with a single chop from the khadga (ritual sword) in the

sacrificial rite known as &oli. !his harikhat is painted &right red, the color of

shakti00or feminine power.

!he name of the goddess revered here, Mahishamardini, is a well$known epithet

of the goddess urga. t is composed from the Sanskrit words mahisha,

meaning 1&uffalo,3 and mardini, 1the slayer.3 !his particular appellation thus

refers to the goddess mythological role as destroyer of the &uffalo demon

named Mahishasura or Mahisha. Within the gar&hagriha of this mandir, a small

shrine, carved from mar&le, rests atop a rectangular pedestal and houses the

sacred image of Mahishamardini. !his murti is a cast metal sculpture in high

relief depicting the goddess, accompanied &y her lion vahana (animal vehicle),

thrusting a spear through the heart of the demon Mahisha.

!he goddess is ten$armed, sym&olically epressing the omnipresent nature of

her power2 &ut aside from the spear wielded with one hand, she is otherwise

without her typical assortment of weapons. "oles in the nine remaining

clutched fists allow visiting devotees to add a personal touch to their pu#a &y

placing a miniature tin weapon00availa&le in the near&y shops on Bakreshwar

Eoad00in one of her hands as an offering. !he murti itself is not very large,

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perhaps standing a&out three feet tall altogether including the attached &ase and

&ackground. According to a temple Brahmin, this murti is ashtadhatu00made

from an alloy of eight metals that have astrological significance.

As with every shakti pith have visited, gave offerings to the local goddess as

a gesture of gratitude. With the assistance of my Brahmin friend, 6artha

6aitandi, gave a lengthy and thorough pu#a at Bakreshwar2 &eginning first withthe two sacred lingams of the Shiva temple, then the local 1protector3

Botuk&hairav, and finally to Mahishamardini. 6artha recited Sanskrit mantras as

we ritually offered the goddess an assortment of incense, flowers, sindoor (red

pigment powder), decorative &angles, fruit, and li&ations of water. !he evening

&efore this pu#a, was asked to choose a weapon to place in one of the goddess

hands as a sym&olic offering. or me, this was an easy decision4 chose the

khadga (ritual decapitation sword), preferred weapon of my ishta devi (patron

goddess), ali, which through various synchronicities has &ecome a personal

sym&ol of my spiritual path. A photograph of Mahishamardini holding the

khadga offered her accompanies this essay.

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Ashtadhatu murti of Mahishamardini

Shakti Pith

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!he temple dedicated to Mahishamardini is not only the home of an asthadhatu

murti, &ut the forty$seventh shakti pith traditionally listed in various

manuscripts such as the Mahapithanirupana. %ike every other shakti pith that

have visited, the presence of the locally$revered goddess at Bakreshwar is

epressed in a two$fold manner4 revealed and concealed. While most of the

religious pilgrims visiting this temple come to venerate the ashtadhatu murti,

there is more to this place than what initially meets the eye. t is within the pedestal upon which the murti rests that the source of this locales designation

as a shakti pith resides.

Within this mandir, a metal gate creates a &uffer where the Brahmins can

perform their rites in front of the murti while separated from the throngs of

devotees who periodically arrive in large num&ers2 either on holidays, or as

groups completing a temple circuit. uring periods of relaed temple activity,

or upon special re-uest (often accompanied with &aksheesh00an encouraging

monetary tip), one can enter the gar&hagriha and approach the murti.

Since stayed in Bakreshwar during an 1off season3 while the hot springs were

undergoing renovation, temple activity was relatively la and was a&le to enter

the inner sanctum on several occasions. !he first time visited this mandir, a

Brahmin led me through a side door and directly into the gar&hagriha. While

was offering pranam (salutations) to the murti, he directed my attention to a

circular hole, a little over a foot in diameter, on top of the mar&le pedestal. !his

hole provides direct access to the adi rup (original form) of the local goddess4

&y placing a hand inside, one can touch the goddess &hru moddo, or the space

&etween her eye&rows. Eeaching in, felt a stone formation2 its outer surface issmooth, round, and wet from the li&ations regularly poured into it. n the center

of this hollow circular space, the rock #uts upward. Sliding my hand along the

surface of this pro#ection, was a&le to discern that it resem&les a crescent with

rounded edges.

n many popular images of "indu goddesses, the place &etween the deitys

eye&rows is ornamented with a lunar crescent. !his is not merely an aesthetic

em&ellishment emphasi;ing the goddess transcendent &eauty, &ut also

sym&oli;es the power she wields over time itself00attri&uta&le to the moon

appearing as a crescent shape throughout its repeating cycles of waing and

waning. !he o&vious correlation &etween the shape of this adi rup and the

recurrent moon motif leads me to &elieve that such commonly heard claims as

this temple housing Satis 1third eye,3 1forehead,3 or 1mind3 are the result of

misconceptions pertaining to a relatively o&scure &ody part. My tactile

eperience confirmed that the designation of 1portion &etween the eye&rows3

found in the Mahapithanirupana is correct. Within the Mahishamardini Mandir,

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a stone formation corresponding in shape to the ornamented portion of flesh

&etween the Mahadevis eye&rows, her &hru moddo, is enshrined and venerated.

*A+ MA SMAS&A,A -A.)

The Cremation /round

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A narrow, unpaved road &eginning near the main temple comple guides you

along a winding path flanked on opposite sides with a motley arrangement of

grave markers. As you approach the cremation grounds main entrance, a small

roadside temple presents itself. !he phrase 1DAH MA SMAS"A=A A%3

(<ictory to Mother ali of the 7remation *round) is written a&ove its doorway

in &right red Bengali script. "oused within this shrine, a murti of ali depicts

her standing upon her hus&and00%ord Siva00in characteristic pose, &randishinga sword and holding a severed head with her left hands while her right hands

give the mudras (sym&olic hand gestures) of a&haya (fear not) and varada

(conferring &oons). Although essentially depicting the dark mother goddess in

her popular form, a few maca&re em&ellishments have &een added here to

emphasi;e the particularly fierce nature of her smashana (cremation ground)

aspect. Wavy red lines, flowing from the corners of her mouth around her

cheeks and down her neck, have &een painted to represent oo;ing &lood. /n

alis left and right sides, two semi$nude female shaktis (human em&odiments

of transcendental feminine force) ga;e upward toward her as they dance, &oth

of them smeared with gore and feasting on human flesh.

Bakreshwars sacred &urning ground is separated from the surrounding area &y

a &order of tom&stones and a &rook running along the side of it. 7remation here

differs from others have o&served in that a network of connected trenches is

employed to contain the improvised wooden pyres. !he resultant fire, &urning

at ground level, is thus easily managed &y the om who use &am&oo poles to

manipulate the wood and &reak the &ody down as it is slowly incinerated.

6ieces of wood which have not &urned away are removed, put aside, then later

incorporated into fresh pyres.

!o &e cremated at Bakreshwar is considered particularly auspicious, so it

follows that this &urning ground is a highly active one. ead &odies routinely

arrive, not #ust from the local community, &ut also from various locations

throughout West Bengal, and even as far away as the neigh&oring states of

Bihar and Dharkhand. uring my daily visits, often witnessed up to five pyres

&urning at the same time. !he soil here is permeated with ash, imparting it with

an overall gray cast, and where the river runs directly alongside the cremation

ground, its water is almost &lack.

Much of my time at Bakreshwar was spent interacting with the local om who

seemed #ust as eager to hear stories of my life in America as was to learn

a&out their uni-ue occupation. !he cordial hospitality of the om contrasted

with the immediate gloomy environment. While seated amidst &la;ing funeral

pyres crackling all a&out, found myself regularly &eing offered tea and snacks.

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!ogether, we would also fre-uently indulge in the more ill$advised pleasures of

smoking &idis (to&acco$leaf wrapped cigarettes) and gan#a (Sanskrit word for

canna&is), as well as -uaffing copious amounts of &angla00a local rice$&ased

moonshine. have many fond memories of the Bakreshwar smashana2 despite it

&eing a place of death, mostly recall the friends made, along with the

laughter and good times we shared.

An event in particular still stands out in my mind as &eing one of the most

distinctive eperiences of my travels thus far. Garly one morning, visited the

smashana where encountered a small group of om gathered together near a

single &urning pyre. /ne of the men greeted me and was ecited to find could

converse in Bengali. "e &rushed off a tom&stone and offered me a seat &eside

him to talk. A chai wallah (tea seller), standing near&y with a kettle in his hand,

was immediately called over. My new friend then pointed at the funeral pyre

(with a clearly recogni;a&le human corpse &urning on top of it), said a few

words, and the tea pot was placed directly into the fire. As we chatted over that

warm cup of chai, thought of how &i;arre this entire scenario would seem to

most folks know &ack home. eath is an inescapa&le aspect of life which

people generally confront only when forced to do so. or most of us, it remains

safely hidden away until it ultimately appears00seemingly out of nowhere00to

rear its ugly head &efore once again returning to the shadows. or the om

however, there is nothing at all unusual or shocking a&out the atmosphere of the

cremation ground. ealing directly with the grim reality of death is #ust another

day on the #o&.

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1Would you care for some teaI3

When reflecting &ack on the time spent at Bakreshwar, will always

remem&er orno, a twenty$one year old young om man who &ecame close

friends with. /ver the course of my stay in ndia we forged a &ond that

suspect will last the rest of my days. t was &ecause of orno that was a&le to

eperience as much of an inside view of om life as could &e hoped for duringa &rief stay. A tantali;ing angle for pursuing further research into the mysteries

surrounding ali crystalli;ed during an afternoon gan#a session we shared near

the cremation ground.

/n this day visited the smashana and found it surprisingly empty, a rather

infre-uent occurrence allowing the om free time to en#oy some respite from

their work. While wandering a&out, chanced upon a group of om sitting with

a !antrik (practitioner of magical arts) and was asked to #oin them. As a freshly$

packed chillam (cylindrical clay pipe) was passed around, we were discussing

more mundane matters when orno asked me if everyone in the 'SA followed

7hristian dharma (ancient word referring to universal order, used here in the

common sense as 1religion3). eplained that while the ma#ority of Americans

are 7hristian, there is a miture of spiritual &eliefs reflecting the diverse

population. "e then asked if was a Dishu &hakta (literally 1Desus devotee3) as

well. When responded to this -uestion &y stating that am a &hakta of ali,

the group &ecame visi&ly elated. Waving his hand in a circle, orno

enthusiastically proclaimed that everyone in the group was also a &hakta of

ali. "e then added with a friendly smile, 1ali is one of us, she is a chandala@3

!his word 1chandala3 comes to us from Sanskrit, originally as a designation for outcaste people whose occupation is the disposal of corpses. n modern times, it

is commonly used as a pe#orative to slander people as low, filthy, or generally

despised.

n all of my encounters with the om, have invaria&ly found them to &e

devotees of the archetypal dark mother goddess ali, or the closely related Ma

!ara. As a liminal deity associated with the social periphery and cremation

ground, ali would seem a fitting patron for the om00mem&ers of a

stigmati;ed caste traditionally considered 1untoucha&le3 &y mainstream society.

"owever, it appears counterintuitive that within a patriarchal and caste$oriented

social system, the image of a low$caste female would &e widely venerated as

the ideal anthropomorphic representation of the cosmic matriarch. ali the

mother, as we know her today, is a multifaceted deity who undou&tedly

developed through the synthesis of myriad indigenous goddesses whose roots

reach &ack into prehistory.

8+



t is not unreasona&le to assume that the modern om descend from a tri&al

group who were su&#ugated at some point in the distant past. Eelegated to the

lowest rank of society, such a van-uished people would naturally take their

patron goddess with them as they moved a&out, engaging in occupations

determined &y their caste. Although the origins of ali may forever remain

o&scured &y an impenetra&le veil of mystery, &elieve that a key to shedding amodicum of light upon her shadowy evolution lies within the seemingly parallel

saga of the om. My own eperiences have consistently affirmed that a

profound connection eists &etween the &lack mother and this stigmati;ed caste

which venerates her. t is an intriguing relationship that feel o&liged to

investigate and make the focal point of future research. !hrough photography,

field recording, and writing, hope to share some of my discoveries and

revelations as the outward, tangi&le reflection of an essentially internal, spiritual

#ourney while dedicate my life to eploring the ali mythos00wherever she

may guide me.

*roup portrait of the om

A =ote on the Eecordings

My eperience of Bakreshwar was greatly enriched &y the generous assistance

of 6artha 6aitandi, a Bakreshwar Brahmin. uring my stay, 6artha guided me to

sacred sites throughout the town while eagerly sharing his etensive knowledge

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of Bakreshwars rich history. We &onded through our mutual love of music and

when eplained to him the nature of my Sha&da Brahman pro#ect, he offered

his enthusiastic support.

/ne evening, 6artha surprised me with a trip to the near&y town of !atipara,

famous for the production of silk. Shortly after arriving, was introduced to a

man named Bappi Sinha. A school teacher &y profession, Mr. Sinha is not onlya refined connoisseur of music, &ut a talented artist himself. 'n&eknownst to

me, he had arranged for a group of musicians to gather at his !atipara home

where was treated to what turned into an inspired house concert which lasted

well into the early morning hours. A tremendous amount of fun was had &y all

and this event was un-uestiona&ly the highlight of my stay. !he ma#ority of

recordings am sharing here were made that night.

!his musical ensem&le consisted of the following individuals4 Bapi Sinha 0

<ocals J "armonium, alipada Sen 0 <ocals J "armonium, Su&al as Baul 0

<ocals and hamak, hanan#oy Bhattacharya $!a&la, Somnath 7hakra&orty 0

"armonium, Sohode& Bauri 0 lute, and Dhantu Bauri 0 6ercussion. Many

thanks goes to these men2 their generosity is greatly appreciated.

*oats la;ing a&out on Bakreshwar road

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Documents

Shakti Pith 47 the Mahishamardini Mandir of Bakreshwar