Service Installation Manual - Heritage Parts: Fill & Download for Free

I have been in the USA (California) from Italy for 18 years so obviously I like it, so please don’t start the hate reply, but here we go. Please note these are generalizations and do not apply, for the most part, to everyone.General ignorance about geography, art, history and literature, which for us in Europe is part of general ed. People can be very intelligent and educated, but they seem to be knowkedgeable only about their field of study, mostly finance, IT, economics, real estate, business.Obsession with money and business. People identify themselves with their career and bank accounts, and in fact they use the liner “what do you do” as an introductory line. In Europe that is considered rude and irrelevant. In fact, many Europeans marry outside their class, which goes against the notion that we are classists and Americans are not. At parties, a common topic of conversation is business ideas and career achievements.Obsession with blood heritage. I really don’t care if your grandfather was Irish and your grandma Italian. You are American. And when Americans say that they were raised Irish and Italian, I have to roll my eyes. Even if your grandmother was from Italy, the fact that she moved here where she was 5, that your other half is “Irish”, that you never lived in Italy and don’t speak Italian, that does not make you Italian. As a matter of fact, we Italians are all ethnically mixed, I have Austrian and Phoenician in me, yet I don’t say that my mother is 1/20th Lebanese. Please. Stop saying you are Irish too. The only Irish you have is the O with an apostrophe.Legal mafia. I come from the land of mafia but at least we fight it. Here the mafia is embedded in the pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies (more so before ObamaCare), casinos, and all the major corporations.Corporations run the country. Should I add more? Little merchants have no chance. The service and product industry is in the hand of oligopolies who dominate the market in all its facets.Advertising. Can I get a break? Watching movies the ads are disguised in the plot, going to the forest they install billboards on the oath, hiding in a bathroom the ad is on the door, the ads are always watching you.Lack of privacy. Besides the rumor that you are being monitored by Big Brother Sam on the phone or your computer, marketers call you all the time. The government is f@kking with you with the ridiculous NoCall list, which does not work. Blocking numbers on your phone doesn’t work either. The internet in the USA is a vast public forum for shame and bullism, impossible to put a restrain to.Fake façade anti discrimination laws. It is great that so many laws are in place to prevent discrimination. We don’t have as many in Europe. But these laws are hard to prove, and only a handful succeed in using them, that is why you hear about them in the news. Are you ready to spend thousand of dollars on a lawyer and ruin your reputation in your industry?No concern for workers. Because of “at will” laws, anyone can get fired with no warning, and no obligation to have a real reason. You will be escorted out of the office the same day, with no warning, often with no severance pay. Also, they will not tell you the real reason why you are being let go for fear of lawsuits. They will always blame a lost account, or a restructuring. If you are offered a job across country in the USA, unless you have a contract (meaning, you are a high level executive), don’t think it’s forever, and you might want to reconsider it before you uproot your whole life.Over-the-top mindedness. The very great thing happening lately is the fight for women’s rights, acceptance, diversity, et al. The flip side is that now obesity and ridiculous clothing and annoying skin conditions are being celebrated as if they were just great, and called for being featured in magazines. I am all for people not being shamed and for accepting themselves, but when I had acne I certainly didn’t want to hear scream to me: you are so beautiful, love that acne, keep eating junk food, we want you on the cover of Vogue, girl! On the same line, denigrating men, in favor of women’s intelligence. Men are so confused in America: should they be cavalier? Should they open the door? Should they pay check? Should they offer a compliment? Anything can now be perceived as machismo or sexual harassment. And yet this is the country where women expect men to pay on dates, perform circus acts while proposing, buying $10,000 engagement rings. Explanation and manuals needed.Using euphemisms for everything, and bulking when a deeper conversation creeps in, with opinions. Americans like to keep it light, and don’t want to expose themselves just in case someone interprets their thoughts as racist.Afraid of human vicinity (don’t stand too close) and uncomfortable with real expressed emotions. See above. Asking “How are you?” doesn’t mean they care, it’s like saying “Hello!”. If you start bashing your frustrations and concerns with Americans, most likely they will politely change the subject to neutral ground.Using old fashioned (or untrue) stereotypes for other countries. Both in the movies and real life. No clue what other countries are really like. Many Americans will go abroad and even if they see the real thing they still expect to see their preconceived notion, so they will hang on to that. In Italian and French-based movies, you always hear the same old fashioned country style music, with girls in floral dresses, washing in raised bath tubs, and whistling testosterone driven heavily accented gorgeous men going Gaga over American tourists or expatriate blonde women looking for excitement. France and Italy are not a 1930’s play!!!! We are over the war.Thinking their way is THE way, no open to viable alternatives. There is so much patriotism here that I will probably get killed after this post. Always saying how this is the best country in the world, the land of the free. True in the beginning, but guess what: there is the EU, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and some more. Only Americans cling so much to an old constitution as if it were written by god. They also have a hard time getting convinced that they need more socialist structures to achieve less class divides. Unfortunately in the USA very few can make it big. You can make a lot of money and strike gold, but the majority of people are just hard working employees, not entrepreneurs. The homelessness is rampant. You can lose all your savings just by getting seriously ill. A great nation cannot be measured solely on the few lucky business moguls.Being reminded all the time that Americans freed Europe from the nazi. That is great, and the Marshal Plan was fantastic for European economies, that is true. How come, then, until the 1960’s Americans still segregated African Americans? How come they interned Americans of Japanese descent after WW2? how come native Americans are still living a life of segregation, poverty, alcoholism, and nihilism in everyday’s american life and politics?Thinking they are the planet’s leaders and everyone should cater to them. Expecting English when they travel, as well as the ice water and the air conditioning.Tipping. This is my absolute pet peeve, and all Americans defend it to their deathbed. I don’t care if the rent is expensive, I don’t care if their employee benefits are expensive. Not my problem. I don’t subsidize my dry cleaner’s salary, so why should I pay part of the salary to a waiter? The restaurant can still raise its prices to make its profit but at least I can decide whether I want to eat there or not. Many restaurants in LA add a tip to the bill to European patrons because they know we don’t tip that much. That is robbery. Also, we don’t care if the server’s name is Heather, I am there to have a date not to chit chat with a stranger. And we also don’t care about being asked 3, 000 times how the food is, when I haven’t even finished chewing. All this happens while a bus boy actually does the work. Busboys don’t exist in Europe, the server does the work and even cleans bathroom, all for a decent salary, imagine that.Constant positivism. Being convinced that you bring bad luck to yourself by being negative. It’s great to feel positive and confident, but when you are suffering a disgrace after another the last thing you want to hear is: this is your fault, it’s your attitude. You are causing your own misery. Europeans like to complain a lot, and Americans don’t like that. Americans in the eyes of Europeans are go getters, not complainers.Please do not view this as bashing. There are many reasons why I love Americans, which I list below. I have heard americans give detailed observations about Europeans, and that is all part of what travel is all about. It’s about looking, hearing, processing, enjoying, comparing, and ultimately learning.Love reasons:Law abiding and respectful to their landmarks. Americans love their country and that shows in how they dedicate themselves to their economy, politics and general welfare.For the most part it’s safe in America, and Americans actually do come to your rescue if they see you in trouble. In Europe they ignore you, especially in bigger towns.Extremely funny. I love Americans’ Sense of humor. Best comedians in the world, and they know how to put on a show.Welcoming and generous. I never felt like an outsider in that sense. They are very curious about foreigners and will welcome you as a friend right away. Europeans are more guarded at first. When I am with Americans and we encounter other people they immediately introduce you: this is my friend xyz. And the person will say: nice to meet you xyz, how do you know ABC? Forget that in Europe.They are resilient. This is a land of colonies after all, they know how to make it happen, fall back and stand up again, all by themselves. They see problems as opportunities, they don’t blame their circumstances onto outside factors. They think complaining is a waste of resources.Optimistic. They see the light at the end of the tunnel, they are not fatalistic. It’s nobody’s fault. They make mistakes and they find solutions to make it better.They are great with money. It’s related to the points above.They are so gracious because I criticized their country in this post and none of them has told me to go back to the airport and return to Europe. Instead they debated with me, even when they disagreed. That’s class.The USA is huge. Americans are so different. I lived in Texas and I found people there extremely warm. I lived in Chicago and I loved their sense of family. New Yorkers can be pushy or intellectual or both. In LA, the real natives are very nature oriented and simple in a good way (the imports are what makes the city a cliche for movies).In the end, I have lived in 8 countries during my life. I can make generalizations between somebody from Milan and Bologna, so close and yet so different. I can tell you what the Iraqis are like, the English, the Egyptians, the Moroccans, the Saudis, the Venezuelans, the people from curaçao and so forth. What I do know is one thing: if you can communicate on a deeper level from people from wherever they are, we are at the core all the same. That is why it’s important to travel and to learn of other culture, and to make an effort to learn at least another language. My observations are for the most part about the society. About the people you can always find good things to say, regardless of where they are from.There are bigots all over the world. People who think their way is the way. People who don’t have the means to travel so they just don’t know. I think that when you are a global trotter you tend to criticize everybody but the real gift is: you get to know everyone and you get to connect and you get to spread the world. I am a globe trotter. When I am in Italy I get stopped on my tracks often by people saying: you don’t live here anymore, what do you know? I get the same in America. But you know what? I have lived in almost all continents, not as a tourist. I am bound to observe. I dine with the aristocrats, i chat with the homeless, everywhere. We are just humans who got the bad luck or the privilege to grow up in a certain place or to have a certain lifestyle. Never stop learning. We are all related to Lucy.

Some Interesting Facts about GuwahatiDighalipukhuri: Dighalipukhuri is a part of the glorious heritage of Guwahati and Assam as well, even though the exact history of this century-old water tank is yet to be unearthed. It is commonly believed for the past two centuries that Dighalipukhuri was earlier connected with the Brahmaputra as a part of the river and wetland network on the southern bank of the mighty river.It also served as a base for the naval forces of the Assamese armies for centuries, because of its links with the Brahmaputra, Solabeel, Bharalu and the Deepor Beel. Deepor Beel was connected with the Brahmaputra through the Khandajan (Khanajan) near Dharapur by the Mughals when Guwahati was under their occupation, prior to the Second Battle of Itakhuli.Eminent historian KL Borooah believed that Dighalipukhuri was originally a natural wetland and it was used by King Bhagadatta as the venue for the swayambara (choosing a groom by the bride from the list of suitors) of his daughter Bhanumati. Bhanumati was won by Karna, the first son of Kunti, who was the mother of the Pandavas, in a competition of arrow shooting. But later on, Karna handed over Bhanumati to his friend, Duryodhana, the eldest of the Kauravas.Because of this matrimonial relation, Bhagadatta took part in the battle of Kurukshetra to support the Kauravas.During the days of the Barphukans, Dighalipukhuri was used as a base for the naval vessels for its advantageous location.Many leading writers, like late Sahityacharya Atul Chandra Hazarika, archaeologist Murari Charan Das and sculptor Jugal Das, among others, believe that in the days of yore, Dighalipukhuri was a part of an international river route.However, all historians and writers are of the view that the Dighalipukhuri acquired its present shape after the advent of the British rulers, when they started shaping Guwahati as a modern town. They gave it the name – Long Tank, which later became Dighalipukhuri for the local residents in their own language.Whatever may be the case, it is a fact that Dighalipukhuri is not an ordinary water body. It is a part of the glorious heritage of Guwahati, as well as Assam, said Hazarika.Nagkota Pukhuri: The Nagpota or Nagkota Pukhuri and the Durga Sarovar Pukhuri are very old tanks of Guwahati, erstwhile Gauhati. Nagpota is located on the Motilal Nehru Road, erstwhile Shillong Road, at Panbazar and the Durga Sarovar Pukhuri is located between Bhutnath and Kamakhyagate on the southern side of the rail line. Swargadeo Pramatta Singha had built the Sukreswar Temple in 1744-1751 AD (1666 Saka). On the very date of its inauguration, it is said that a snake of immense size was sacrificed and following this, snake worship was performed at the site of the Nagpota or Nagkota Pukhuri. Finally, the sacrificed snake was buried at the site. Thus the tank became popular as Nagpota or Nagkota. It is believed that the Sukreswar Temple and Nagpota Pukhuri are interlinked.Latasil Pukhuri: Today it simply sounds unbelievable that there was a tank at the site of the present Latasil playground. Around this tank, one of the three oldest markets of Gauhati during the British era was located. It was known as Chawk Bazar, the first market in the Uzanbazar area of Gauhati. The other two markets were Sadar Bazar, which is now known as the Phansi Bazar, and Dalangghat Bazar near the Bharalu Bridge where the West Guwahati Puja Mandap is now located. The Latasil Pukhuri was filled up between 1898 AD and 1900 AD to develop the Latasil playground at the initiative of the late Manik Chandra Borooah.Sakuntala Pukhuri: Kanwachal Pahar is virtually the eastern part of the Navagraha Pahar. The original name of Navagraha Pahar was Chitrachal Pahar. According to popular belief, the ashram (hermitage) of Kanwa Muni (sage) was located at Kanwachal Pahar. His daughter Sakuntala, after being abandoned by her husband king Dushyanata, used to stay there. A tank is located there and it is named Sakuntala Pukhuri. However, many people today believe that the tank has no links with Sakuntala or Kanwa Muni and it was dug in the early 20th century AD. This tank acquired the name Sakuntala Pukhuri only a few years back.Majinder or Padum Pukhuri: This tank was dug during the Ahom era to supply water to the residence of the Majinder Barua, which is now popularly known as the Guwahati SP’s Bungalow. Its original name was Majinder Barua Pukhuri. Later on, between the early 1920s and the 1980s, it became a lotus tank and came to be known as the Padum Pukhuri.Bus service in GuwahatiCity bus service in Guwahati started in and around 1949. The route was stretched between Pandughat and Uzanbazar Jahajghat. The buses plied to and from Pandughat and Uzanbazar Jahajghat via Phansibazar (‘Fancybazar’ by the Hem Baruah Road running in front of the old Guwahati Central Jail), Sikh Mandir, Kamarpatty, Panbazar, Cotton College and Latasil, said noted writer Kumudeswar Hazarika. Late Prabin Choudhury, a former minister of the State and son of another former minister of the State late Rohini Choudhury, launched the city bus service in Guwahati under the banner of his South Kamrup Transport Company.However, some sources contradict this, claiming that late Subha Barua of Uzanbazar was the man responsible for launching the city bus service in Guwahati. Significantly, the year of launching the city bus service in Guwahati remained the same – in and around 1949 – in this case also.Another person, late Benudhar Sarma of Silpukhuri area, who was originally from Nazira, also operated a bus service between Guwahati and Dhupdhara before the World War II. He also used to drive his bus himself. He had a shop named Assam Cycle and Motor Company at Kamarpatty. He had a plan to shift his shop to Tokobari AT Road. But he died a premature death. For quite a long period, the abandoned chassis of his bus was lying on the GNB Road, in front of the plot on which the SBI Silpukhuri Evening Branch is located now. This chassis was later sold by his family members as scrapped iron.Two Assamese Muslim gentlemen launched the Guwahati-Nagaon Bus Service before the World War II. They lived in the western part of Guwahati.The Guwahati-Shillong Bus Service was initiated by Abdul Gaffur, a prominent businessman of Shillong in the 1920s. The Guwahati stand of that bus service was located at the site in which the Cotton College New Arts Building and Sudmersen Hall are now located. The old building of the Sudmersen Hall used to serve as a godown of that bus service.Since the 1930s, the Shillong-Guwahati Route Bus Service was the monopoly business of the Commercial Carrying Company (India) Ltd. This was a Calcutta (now Kolkata)-based company. After Independence, the Assam Government took over the service and thus, the Assam State Transport Company was launched by the State Government.In the mid-1930s, the State Government acquired the Panbazar bus stand area of the Shillong-Guwahati Route Bus Service to build the New Arts Building, New Physics Building and Sudmersen Hall of Cotton College and the bus stand was shifted to the present Paltanbazar site of the Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) complex.First fast food outlet in cityAround 1947, there was a roadside gumti shed put up by a person, who came to Guwahati as a refugee from East Bengal and was affectionately called Burha Da by all those who knew him, to sell pakora. Burha Da, whose real name was not known by the people, came to Guwahati from the Chitagong district of East Bengal after the partition of India in 1947. He put up his shed near the Cotton Collegiate Boys’ High (now Higher Secondary) School Hostel on the road, which also led to the Assam Railway High (now Higher Secondary) School. He used to run the stall single-handedly and it was a popular destination for many Guwahatians in the evening hours till the early 1960s.Just a few metres north of it, the Guwahati office of the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA), was located . Many famous artistes of the country like late Balraj Sahni, late Hemanta Mukherjee, late Hemanga Biswas, late Salil Choudhury and late Dr Bhupen Hazarika used to visit the IPTA office whenever they were in Guwahati during that period. And for them, Burha Da’s pokora was a favourite item.During that period, Ram Swarup’s ‘Saru Kachuri’ was a popular item particularly for the residents of Uzan Bazar area. It was a must item for many of the Uzan Bazar residents, irrespective of their age. Some of them used to enjoy its taste even while taking walks on the streets.In the 1950s, Jilika Ram Das’ Ananda Bhandar made bundia- bhujia popular. Many used to chew it even while on walks, like chanachurbhaji.Delight was the first modern restaurant in Guwahati and it was run by a sophisticated Bengali lady. It was set up in the 1950s at the present location of the Kalpataru, in the Assam Valley Trading Corporation’s now obliterated Assam Type building at Panbazar.In the real sense of the term, the first fast food outlet was set up in Guwahati in 1972 by Bandana Baruva Hazarika. It was named ‘B’s Pekoe.’ Bandana Baruva Hazarika is the daughter of noted poet-lyricist Late Parbati Prasad Baruva and wife of Amal (Bhaimon) Hazarika.B’s Pekoe was first located at the present location of the Silpukhuri branch of the UCO Bank. Later, it was shifted to Chandmari.First water supply scheme of GuwahatiThe first water supply scheme of Guwahati came up in 1890 with its treatment plant located atop the hillock where the old Deputy Commissioner (DC) Bungalow of Kamrup was located in Panbazar area of the city.This scheme became too small to quench the thirst of all the Guwahatians of that time. Therefore, a new and big water supply scheme was taken up. The new scheme was located at Satpukhuri, near the present day Raj Bhawan. And around 1903, this scheme was completed.At that time, public taps, besides the individual household taps, were installed by the side of some important roads.In the 1930s, abundant amount of water was made available by the municipal water supply schemes to the residents of Uzanbazar, Panbazar, Fancy Bazar, Lakhtokia, Machkhowa and Bharalumukh areas. This led to misuse of water and the authorities were compelled to install water meters for the household consumers.But there was a dearth of competent meter readers in the municipality and hence the meters became redundant after about two years, that is – around 1932.While talking about Guwahati water supply scheme, the name of late Lakshminath Das, the father-in-law of renowned poet Nabakanta Barua, comes up automatically. Late das, a first class MSc in Mathematics from Calcutta University and a DABS Scholar, was the first Indian superintendent of a Guwahati Water Supply Scheme. He served the Guwahati Water Supply Scheme as its superintendent between the 1920s and the 1970s.The Jubilee Park water treatment plant of the Panbazar Water Supply Scheme was completed in the early 1960s.It needs mention here that when the East India Company occupied Guwahati in 1824, there were around 300 small and big tanks and many individual households had kutcha wells. Those tanks and wells wee the sources of water required by the then Guwahatians to meet their domestic needs. However, the East India Company official found the tank and well waters of Guwahati to be very unhygienic and hence they had done away with the dirtiest tanks, said the noted writer.First photo studio of GauhatiIn the early part of the 20th century, that is around 1910, the first still photography studio of Gauhati, nay the present-day Assam, S Ghosal and Co, was set up by a Bengalee Brahmin, late Sasadhar Ghosal. The studio, set up on (Tyagbir) Hem Barua Road, in front of the present-day Panbazar Khadi Bhandar, is still there. The grandsons of Sasadhar Ghosal are still running it and they live in the Athgaon Someswar Choudhury Road locality of the city.Curzon Hall was built with people’s moneyThe Curzon Hall, which was later renamed as the Nabin Chandra Bordoloi (NCB) Hall and Library, was built at the cost of Rs 6,000 saved from the fund raised from the people of the State to accord public reception to the then Viceroy of India Lord Curzon, who visited the State in 1900 to take stock of the post-1897 earthquake situation.The Curzon Hall was the first public hall of the State, noted scholar and former Cotton College Principal Late Ramcharan Thakuria wrote in an article (Guwahati Aru Manik Chandra Barooah) published in the first volume of the Paurabichitra published in 1978 (Saka 1900) and edited by Ramesh Chandra Kalita.This Assam-type building was later handed over to Cotton College, then the lone college of the State, for using it as its library. After about 10 years of constructing the old building of the Curzon Hall, a new building was constructed at the site on the bank of Dighalipukhuri, at which the NCB Hall and Library now exists, to use it as the new Curzon Hall, said Thakuria. The money for constructing this building was provided by the Government, he said.Thakuria also said that the proposal for construction of the Curzon Hall was first mooted by the Honourable Manik Chandra Barooah at the meeting of the reception committee formed to accord reception to Lord Curzon. The proposal said that Assam is poor and hence there should not be any pretention that its people are rich. It said that money should not be wasted on festivity, rather it should be used to build a public hall in Lord Curzon’s name, which will not only make the memories of his visit to the State permanent, but will also remove a long-felt need of the people.First Durga Puja celebration by individual families in GuwahatiRegarding Durga Puja celebration by individual families in Guwahati, the first known family Puja was started by Ahom prince Yuvaraj Ghanakanta Singha at the Uzanbazar Rajbari in 1889 AD. Some historians like late Sadananda Chaliha, are of the view that the Uzanbazar Rajbari Puja was started by Yubaraj Ghanakanta’s father Swargadeo Chandrakanta Singha in 1821 AD. Chandrakanta Singha was in Gauhati then because of the political turmoil in Upper Assam. But, this belief is not substantiated by any historic records, said Hazarika.However, it is a fact that the oldest family Durga Puja in Gauhati started at Uzanbazar Rajbari. In course of time, the royal family became unable to bear the expenses of the Puja and it was handed over to the people. Thus, the Puja came out of the Rajbari and finally reached the Uzanbazar Barowari Puja Mandap in 1930. And Barowari is still its venue.Another royal family Puja in Gauhati was held by the family of the queen of Luki, a tributary state of the Ahom kingdom near Boko in the undivided Kamrup district, inside her Panbazar Ranibari area residence. However, this Puja was started by the Luki queen during the early 20th century. This Puja is now held by the local people of Ranibari, the place which got its name after the settlement of the Luki queen there.Some century-old family Durga Pujas are there in some of the Guwahati families. But, which one of them is the oldest is yet to be ascertained. Of these family Pujas, Lakhiprasad Baruah’s family Puja at Uzanbazar is one of the old family Durga Pujas of Gauhati. However, when it started in Gauhati is still not known. The family used to hold this Puja at their Teok Janjhi native place since the Ahom era. The family migrated to the present-day Nalbari district during the Burmese (Myanmarese) invasion. Later it was shifted to Gauhati. Lakhiprasad was the grandfather of late Natyaprabhakar Satyaprasad Baruah.Babu Chunilal Dey, one of the four first-batch Cotton College teachers, started holding Durga Puja in 1901 at his Panbazar residence opposite the Nagpota Pukhuri.There are some family Durga Pujas in Guwahati, which were started about 100 years back. Among them are the Ulubari GS Road Deb Kutir Durga Puja and the Manipuri Basti GS Road Bhadra family Durga Puja. The Deb Kutir Durga Puja was started by late Suresh Chandra Deb. The Bhadra family’s Durga Puja is more known as the Bijulee Mill Durga Puja.The family Puja started by Srimanta Sen, father of Rai Bahadur Kalicharan Sen at their native village Palang in Faridpur district of present-day Bangladesh, was shifted to the Panbazar Danish Road Senbari in 1907. It is another old family Durga Puja of Guwahati.The family Puja of the Bishayas of Uzanbazar, which was started by late Baradakanta Bishaya, attained the age of 87 this year. Baradakanta was the father of noted businessman-cum-social worker and lyricist late Kshirodakanta Bishaya and great grandfather of well-known actress Barasarani Bishaya, said Hazarika.First sanitary latrine came up in 1938The first sanitary latrine in Guwahati was constructed in 1938 by Tarun Chandra Barooah, nephew of Deshahitoishi Manik Chandra Barooah, at his residence Fatick Kutir at Barowari. Fatick Kutir was a beautiful Assam-type building and on its sprawling campus today there stand three RCC multi-storey apartments. The site is bang opposite the Uzanbazar Barowari Naamghar.It perhaps needs no mention that Manik Chandra Barooah towards the end of the 19th century, led the movement to set up the Cotton College. Sanitary latrines were made compulsory by the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) in the mid-1970s. It also discontinued with its manual scavenging services for collection of night soil from the kutcha latrines around that time. But even after lapse of around 42 years of being elevated to a city, Guwahati still lacks a sewer treatment system.The kutcha latrines came into being in Guwahati around 1850. The British rulers banned open defacation, which was prevalent in Guwahati then, and imposed fines on that practice of defacation. This made the Guwahatians go for constructing kutcha latrines in their backyards and the night soil accumulated in those latrines were removed by the authorities by engaging scavengers brought from outside the State. Guwahati got its first municipal board in 1853.The scavengers brought from outside the State, were housed in colonies and the first colony to house them was set up in Chenikuthi area on Bail Road, which is now known as Manik Chandra (MC) Road. This colony was shifted to Marashali area just by the side of the present-day Nehru Stadium in the early 1920s. On the original plot of the colony at Chenikuthi, now the Kamrup Academy Higher Secondary School, Chenikuthi Primary School and some private residences are located. A part of this land was procured by noted poet ‘Pratimar Khanikar’ Chandra Kumar Agarwalla at an auction. He then sold the land to some individuals for construction of their individual residences."Most of the facts are collected from the interviews of noted Historian Kumudeswar Hazarika published in local dailies"

Some Interesting Facts about Guwahati(Assam)Dighalipukhuri: Dighalipukhuri is a part of the glorious heritage of Guwahati and Assam as well, even though the exact history of this century-old water tank is yet to be unearthed. It is commonly believed for the past two centuries that Dighalipukhuri was earlier connected with the Brahmaputra as a part of the river and wetland network on the southern bank of the mighty river.It also served as a base for the naval forces of the Assamese armies for centuries, because of its links with the Brahmaputra, Solabeel, Bharalu and the Deepor Beel. Deepor Beel was connected with the Brahmaputra through the Khandajan (Khanajan) near Dharapur by the Mughals when Guwahati was under their occupation, prior to the Second Battle of Itakhuli.Eminent historian KL Borooah believed that Dighalipukhuri was originally a natural wetland and it was used by King Bhagadatta as the venue for the swayambara (choosing a groom by the bride from the list of suitors) of his daughter Bhanumati. Bhanumati was won by Karna, the first son of Kunti, who was the mother of the Pandavas, in a competition of arrow shooting. But later on, Karna handed over Bhanumati to his friend, Duryodhana, the eldest of the Kauravas.Because of this matrimonial relation, Bhagadatta took part in the battle of Kurukshetra to support the Kauravas.During the days of the Barphukans, Dighalipukhuri was used as a base for the naval vessels for its advantageous location.Many leading writers, like late Sahityacharya Atul Chandra Hazarika, archaeologist Murari Charan Das and sculptor Jugal Das, among others, believe that in the days of yore, Dighalipukhuri was a part of an international river route.However, all historians and writers are of the view that the Dighalipukhuri acquired its present shape after the advent of the British rulers, when they started shaping Guwahati as a modern town. They gave it the name – Long Tank, which later became Dighalipukhuri for the local residents in their own language.Whatever may be the case, it is a fact that Dighalipukhuri is not an ordinary water body. It is a part of the glorious heritage of Guwahati, as well as Assam.Nagkota Pukhuri: The Nagpota or Nagkota Pukhuri and the Durga Sarovar Pukhuri are very old tanks of Guwahati, erstwhile Gauhati. Nagpota is located on the Motilal Nehru Road, erstwhile Shillong Road, at Panbazar and the Durga Sarovar Pukhuri is located between Bhutnath and Kamakhyagate on the southern side of the rail line. Swargadeo Pramatta Singha had built the Sukreswar Temple in 1744-1751 AD (1666 Saka). On the very date of its inauguration, it is said that a snake of immense size was sacrificed and following this, snake worship was performed at the site of the Nagpota or Nagkota Pukhuri. Finally, the sacrificed snake was buried at the site. Thus the tank became popular as Nagpota or Nagkota. It is believed that the Sukreswar Temple and Nagpota Pukhuri are interlinked.Latasil Pukhuri: Today it simply sounds unbelievable that there was a tank at the site of the present Latasil playground. Around this tank, one of the three oldest markets of Gauhati during the British era was located. It was known as Chawk Bazar, the first market in the Uzanbazar area of Gauhati. The other two markets were Sadar Bazar, which is now known as the Phansi Bazar, and Dalangghat Bazar near the Bharalu Bridge where the West Guwahati Puja Mandap is now located. The Latasil Pukhuri was filled up between 1898 AD and 1900 AD to develop the Latasil playground at the initiative of the late Manik Chandra Borooah.Sakuntala Pukhuri: Kanwachal Pahar is virtually the eastern part of the Navagraha Pahar. The original name of Navagraha Pahar was Chitrachal Pahar. According to popular belief, the ashram (hermitage) of Kanwa Muni (sage) was located at Kanwachal Pahar. His daughter Sakuntala, after being abandoned by her husband king Dushyanata, used to stay there. A tank is located there and it is named Sakuntala Pukhuri. However, many people today believe that the tank has no links with Sakuntala or Kanwa Muni and it was dug in the early 20th century AD. This tank acquired the name Sakuntala Pukhuri only a few years back.Majinder or Padum Pukhuri: This tank was dug during the Ahom era to supply water to the residence of the Majinder Barua, which is now popularly known as the Guwahati SP’s Bungalow. Its original name was Majinder Barua Pukhuri. Later on, between the early 1920s and the 1980s, it became a lotus tank and came to be known as the Padum Pukhuri.Bus service in GuwahatiCity bus service in Guwahati started in and around 1949. The route was stretched between Pandughat and Uzanbazar Jahajghat. The buses plied to and from Pandughat and Uzanbazar Jahajghat via Phansibazar (‘Fancybazar’ by the Hem Baruah Road running in front of the old Guwahati Central Jail), Sikh Mandir, Kamarpatty, Panbazar, Cotton College and Latasil. Late Prabin Choudhury, a former minister of the State and son of another former minister of the State late Rohini Choudhury, launched the city bus service in Guwahati under the banner of his South Kamrup Transport Company.However, some sources contradict this, claiming that late Subha Barua of Uzanbazar was the man responsible for launching the city bus service in Guwahati. Significantly, the year of launching the city bus service in Guwahati remained the same – in and around 1949 – in this case also.Another person, late Benudhar Sarma of Silpukhuri area, who was originally from Nazira, also operated a bus service between Guwahati and Dhupdhara before the World War II. He also used to drive his bus himself. He had a shop named Assam Cycle and Motor Company at Kamarpatty. He had a plan to shift his shop to Tokobari AT Road. But he died a premature death. For quite a long period, the abandoned chassis of his bus was lying on the GNB Road, in front of the plot on which the SBI Silpukhuri Evening Branch is located now. This chassis was later sold by his family members as scrapped iron.Two Assamese Muslim gentlemen launched the Guwahati-Nagaon Bus Service before the World War II. They lived in the western part of Guwahati.The Guwahati-Shillong Bus Service was initiated by Abdul Gaffur, a prominent businessman of Shillong in the 1920s. The Guwahati stand of that bus service was located at the site in which the Cotton College New Arts Building and Sudmersen Hall are now located. The old building of the Sudmersen Hall used to serve as a godown of that bus service.Since the 1930s, the Shillong-Guwahati Route Bus Service was the monopoly business of the Commercial Carrying Company (India) Ltd. This was a Calcutta (now Kolkata)-based company. After Independence, the Assam Government took over the service and thus, the Assam State Transport Company was launched by the State Government.In the mid-1930s, the State Government acquired the Panbazar bus stand area of the Shillong-Guwahati Route Bus Service to build the New Arts Building, New Physics Building and Sudmersen Hall of Cotton College and the bus stand was shifted to the present Paltanbazar site of the Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) complex.First fast food outlet in cityAround 1947, there was a roadside gumti shed put up by a person, who came to Guwahati as a refugee from East Bengal and was affectionately called Burha Da by all those who knew him, to sell pakora. Burha Da, whose real name was not known by the people, came to Guwahati from the Chitagong district of East Bengal after the partition of India in 1947. He put up his shed near the Cotton Collegiate Boys’ High (now Higher Secondary) School Hostel on the road, which also led to the Assam Railway High (now Higher Secondary) School. He used to run the stall single-handedly and it was a popular destination for many Guwahatians in the evening hours till the early 1960s.Just a few metres north of it, the Guwahati office of the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA), was located . Many famous artistes of the country like late Balraj Sahni, late Hemanta Mukherjee, late Hemanga Biswas, late Salil Choudhury and late Dr Bhupen Hazarika used to visit the IPTA office whenever they were in Guwahati during that period. And for them, Burha Da’s pokora was a favourite item.During that period, Ram Swarup’s ‘Saru Kachuri’ was a popular item particularly for the residents of Uzan Bazar area. It was a must item for many of the Uzan Bazar residents, irrespective of their age. Some of them used to enjoy its taste even while taking walks on the streets.In the 1950s, Jilika Ram Das’ Ananda Bhandar made bundia- bhujia popular. Many used to chew it even while on walks, like chanachurbhaji.Delight was the first modern restaurant in Guwahati and it was run by a sophisticated Bengali lady. It was set up in the 1950s at the present location of the Kalpataru, in the Assam Valley Trading Corporation’s now obliterated Assam Type building at Panbazar.In the real sense of the term, the first fast food outlet was set up in Guwahati in 1972 by Bandana Baruva Hazarika. It was named ‘B’s Pekoe.’ Bandana Baruva Hazarika is the daughter of noted poet-lyricist Late Parbati Prasad Baruva and wife of Amal (Bhaimon) Hazarika.B’s Pekoe was first located at the present location of the Silpukhuri branch of the UCO Bank. Later, it was shifted to Chandmari.First water supply scheme of GuwahatiThe first water supply scheme of Guwahati came up in 1890 with its treatment plant located atop the hillock where the old Deputy Commissioner (DC) Bungalow of Kamrup was located in Panbazar area of the city.This scheme became too small to quench the thirst of all the Guwahatians of that time. Therefore, a new and big water supply scheme was taken up. The new scheme was located at Satpukhuri, near the present day Raj Bhawan. And around 1903, this scheme was completed.At that time, public taps, besides the individual household taps, were installed by the side of some important roads.In the 1930s, abundant amount of water was made available by the municipal water supply schemes to the residents of Uzanbazar, Panbazar, Fancy Bazar, Lakhtokia, Machkhowa and Bharalumukh areas. This led to misuse of water and the authorities were compelled to install water meters for the household consumers.But there was a dearth of competent meter readers in the municipality and hence the meters became redundant after about two years, that is – around 1932.While talking about Guwahati water supply scheme, the name of late Lakshminath Das, the father-in-law of renowned poet Nabakanta Barua, comes up automatically. Late das, a first class MSc in Mathematics from Calcutta University and a DABS Scholar, was the first Indian superintendent of a Guwahati Water Supply Scheme. He served the Guwahati Water Supply Scheme as its superintendent between the 1920s and the 1970s.The Jubilee Park water treatment plant of the Panbazar Water Supply Scheme was completed in the early 1960s.It needs mention here that when the East India Company occupied Guwahati in 1824, there were around 300 small and big tanks and many individual households had kutcha wells. Those tanks and wells wee the sources of water required by the then Guwahatians to meet their domestic needs. However, the East India Company official found the tank and well waters of Guwahati to be very unhygienic and hence they had done away with the dirtiest tanks, said the noted writer.First photo studio of GauhatiIn the early part of the 20th century, that is around 1910, the first still photography studio of Gauhati, nay the present-day Assam, S Ghosal and Co, was set up by a Bengalee Brahmin, late Sasadhar Ghosal. The studio, set up on (Tyagbir) Hem Barua Road, in front of the present-day Panbazar Khadi Bhandar, is still there. The grandsons of Sasadhar Ghosal are still running it and they live in the Athgaon Someswar Choudhury Road locality of the city.Curzon Hall was built with people’s moneyThe Curzon Hall, which was later renamed as the Nabin Chandra Bordoloi (NCB) Hall and Library, was built at the cost of Rs 6,000 saved from the fund raised from the people of the State to accord public reception to the then Viceroy of India Lord Curzon, who visited the State in 1900 to take stock of the post-1897 earthquake situation.The Curzon Hall was the first public hall of the State, noted scholar and former Cotton College Principal Late Ramcharan Thakuria wrote in an article (Guwahati Aru Manik Chandra Barooah) published in the first volume of the Paurabichitra published in 1978 (Saka 1900) and edited by Ramesh Chandra Kalita.This Assam-type building was later handed over to Cotton College, then the lone college of the State, for using it as its library. After about 10 years of constructing the old building of the Curzon Hall, a new building was constructed at the site on the bank of Dighalipukhuri, at which the NCB Hall and Library now exists, to use it as the new Curzon Hall, said Thakuria. The money for constructing this building was provided by the Government, he said.Thakuria also said that the proposal for construction of the Curzon Hall was first mooted by the Honourable Manik Chandra Barooah at the meeting of the reception committee formed to accord reception to Lord Curzon. The proposal said that Assam is poor and hence there should not be any pretention that its people are rich. It said that money should not be wasted on festivity, rather it should be used to build a public hall in Lord Curzon’s name, which will not only make the memories of his visit to the State permanent, but will also remove a long-felt need of the people.First Durga Puja celebration by individual families in GuwahatiRegarding Durga Puja celebration by individual families in Guwahati, the first known family Puja was started by Ahom prince Yuvaraj Ghanakanta Singha at the Uzanbazar Rajbari in 1889 AD. Some historians like late Sadananda Chaliha, are of the view that the Uzanbazar Rajbari Puja was started by Yubaraj Ghanakanta’s father Swargadeo Chandrakanta Singha in 1821 AD. Chandrakanta Singha was in Gauhati then because of the political turmoil in Upper Assam. But, this belief is not substantiated by any historic records.However, it is a fact that the oldest family Durga Puja in Gauhati started at Uzanbazar Rajbari. In course of time, the royal family became unable to bear the expenses of the Puja and it was handed over to the people. Thus, the Puja came out of the Rajbari and finally reached the Uzanbazar Barowari Puja Mandap in 1930. And Barowari is still its venue.Another royal family Puja in Gauhati was held by the family of the queen of Luki, a tributary state of the Ahom kingdom near Boko in the undivided Kamrup district, inside her Panbazar Ranibari area residence. However, this Puja was started by the Luki queen during the early 20th century. This Puja is now held by the local people of Ranibari, the place which got its name after the settlement of the Luki queen there.Some century-old family Durga Pujas are there in some of the Guwahati families. But, which one of them is the oldest is yet to be ascertained. Of these family Pujas, Lakhiprasad Baruah’s family Puja at Uzanbazar is one of the old family Durga Pujas of Gauhati. However, when it started in Gauhati is still not known. The family used to hold this Puja at their Teok Janjhi native place since the Ahom era. The family migrated to the present-day Nalbari district during the Burmese (Myanmarese) invasion. Later it was shifted to Gauhati. Lakhiprasad was the grandfather of late Natyaprabhakar Satyaprasad Baruah.Babu Chunilal Dey, one of the four first-batch Cotton College teachers, started holding Durga Puja in 1901 at his Panbazar residence opposite the Nagpota Pukhuri.There are some family Durga Pujas in Guwahati, which were started about 100 years back. Among them are the Ulubari GS Road Deb Kutir Durga Puja and the Manipuri Basti GS Road Bhadra family Durga Puja. The Deb Kutir Durga Puja was started by late Suresh Chandra Deb. The Bhadra family’s Durga Puja is more known as the Bijulee Mill Durga Puja.The family Puja started by Srimanta Sen, father of Rai Bahadur Kalicharan Sen at their native village Palang in Faridpur district of present-day Bangladesh, was shifted to the Panbazar Danish Road Senbari in 1907. It is another old family Durga Puja of Guwahati.First sanitary latrine came up in 1938The first sanitary latrine in Guwahati was constructed in 1938 by Tarun Chandra Barooah, nephew of Deshahitoishi Manik Chandra Barooah, at his residence Fatick Kutir at Barowari. Fatick Kutir was a beautiful Assam-type building and on its sprawling campus today there stand three RCC multi-storey apartments. The site is bang opposite the Uzanbazar Barowari Naamghar.It perhaps needs no mention that Manik Chandra Barooah towards the end of the 19th century, led the movement to set up the Cotton College. Sanitary latrines were made compulsory by the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) in the mid-1970s. It also discontinued with its manual scavenging services for collection of night soil from the kutcha latrines around that time. But even after lapse of around 42 years of being elevated to a city, Guwahati still lacks a sewer treatment system.The kutcha latrines came into being in Guwahati around 1850. The British rulers banned open defacation, which was prevalent in Guwahati then, and imposed fines on that practice of defacation. This made the Guwahatians go for constructing kutcha latrines in their backyards and the night soil accumulated in those latrines were removed by the authorities by engaging scavengers brought from outside the State. Guwahati got its first municipal board in 1853.The scavengers brought from outside the State, were housed in colonies and the first colony to house them was set up in Chenikuthi area on Bail Road, which is now known as Manik Chandra (MC) Road. This colony was shifted to Marashali area just by the side of the present-day Nehru Stadium in the early 1920s. On the original plot of the colony at Chenikuthi, now the Kamrup Academy Higher Secondary School, Chenikuthi Primary School and some private residences are located. A part of this land was procured by noted poet ‘Pratimar Khanikar’ Chandra Kumar Agarwalla at an auction. He then sold the land to some individuals for construction of their individual residences.Some Interesting Facts about Tezpur(Assam)Situated on the north bank of the Brahmaputra, Tezpur is a beautiful and multifaceted city of Assam steeped in mythology and history. The city abounds in archaeological sites, hills, lakes and gardens.The name Tezpur is derived from the Sanskrit words 'Teza' (meaning blood) and 'Pura' (meaning town or city). Legend has it that the original name of this place was 'Sonitpur' ("sonit" in Sanskrit also means blood!) but when the battle between Krishna's army and Banasura's army fought for the rescue of Aniruddha (who was the grandson of Lord Krishna, according to legend) there was so much bloodshed that the whole place was stained in red.The doorframe of Da – Parbatia is the finest and oldest specimen of sculptural art in Assam and its carving is characteristic of the style of the Gupta school of Art. It dates back to 600 A.D. The figurines of goddesses Ganga and Yamuna on the Jambs of the door frame are enchanting.The sculptural remains of Bamuni hills date back to 9th Century A.D. A cross- shaped bracket lintel ornamented with horned Kirtimukha panels contains the figures of 10 incarnations of Vishnu.The Bhomoraguri stone inscription of the Ahom general Kalia Bhomara Barphukan and Harjjar Varman’s 9 line inscription are located near Tezpur .Agnigarh hill is the site of the legendary romance of Princess Usha , the daughter of King Bana and Aniruddha , the grandson of Krishna . King Bana kept Usha on this hillock surrounded by fire. A landscape garden with exquisite sculptures, soft illumination and a cascanding waterfall welcome thousands of tourists to this memorial of eternal romance. The hill top provides a spectacular view of the Brahmaputra and the Kalia Bhomora bridge.Tezpur is considered to be the cultural capital of Assamese culture. Being from the core Assamese cultural region, the town has produced many stalwarts such as Dr. Bhupen Hazarika, Founder of Assamese cinema Jyoti Prasad Agarwala (1903–51), Kalaguru Bishnu Prasad Rabha (1909–69), Phani Sarma (1909–70) and Ananda Chandra Agarwala (1874–1939).The famous temple of Mahabhairab located atop a hillock on the northern part of Tezpur town is a magnificent landmark and adds a magnetic charm and beauty to this enchantingly beautiful town. The history of this temple, which is visited by devotees from all over India, can be traced back to the age of the Puranas. Legend has it that Banasura, the demon king, who had his capital at Tezpur, first introduced the linga worship. Inside the temple of Mahabhairab there is perhaps the largest stone-phallus (Shiva Linga) in the entire world which is said to have been set up by Banasura. The archeologists, however, believe that the temple was built sometime during 8th to 10th century A.D. by the kings of the Salasthamba dynasty. That originally there was a stone temple is evident from the huge pillars scattered all around the temple. But the original temple was destroyed by the ravages of time. It was however, rebuilt by successive kings and rulers, until it was heavily damaged by the catastrophic earthquake of 1897.During the Sino-Indian War of 1962 the Chinese army came up to the Tawang city, which is located at Arunachal Pradesh and for that purpose the Tezpur town had to be evacuated. All jail gates were opened and prisoners were released.