People and Culture
Since time immemorial, Koch-Rajbonshies (belong to Indo-Mongoloid ethnic group of people) have been the living in this area now known as Abhayapuri. These people are the original sons of the soil and their existence can be traced back to the "Kiratees" of pre-vedic epic age (Mahabharata). These Kiratas of dim past are also mentioned in Kalika-Purana and Yogini Tantra and also in histories written both by native and foreign scholars.
Yogis,Kalitas, Kayasthas and older Muslims are also indigenous who settled in this part of land prior to the advent of Britishers in North East Region. Some of them settled in the area centuries before the advent of Britishers. In a much later period, people from different parts of Assam migrated to Abhayapuri.
Among major festivals, Diwali, Holi, Durga Puja, Swaraswati Puja, Lakshmi Puja, Kalipuja, Shivaratri are celebrated by the Hindus of Ahbayapuri. Those of Islamic faith celebrate Idd and Muharram. Besides the religious festivals, Bihu, the agricultural festival of Assam is celebrated by all Assamese, irrespective of caste, creed or religion.
The people of Abhayapuri have long been known for their interest in culture and education. The 44th conference of The Asam Sahitya Sabha was held in Abhayapuri in 1977 under the presidentship of Syed Abdul Malik, a big name in the history of modern Assamese literature. The area where the conference was held is still known as Sahitya Sabha Path (Road).
Read more about this topic: Abhayapuri
Famous quotes containing the words people and/or culture:
“In this world, only those people who have fallen to the lowest degree of humiliation, far below beggary, who are not just without any social consideration but are regarded by all as being deprived of that foremost human dignity, reason itself—only those people, in fact, are capable of telling the truth. All the others lie.”
—Simone Weil (1909–1943)
“Culture is the suggestion, from certain best thoughts, that a man has a range of affinities through which he can modulate the violence of any master-tones that have a droning preponderance in his scale, and succor him against himself. Culture redresses this imbalance, puts him among equals and superiors, revives the delicious sense of sympathy, and warns him of the dangers of solitude and repulsion.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)