54 │ │ July 2019
done before monsoon because according to locals, the
vegetation on the hill is favoured by tiger-leeches.
Culture and Conservation
Social gatherings, like festivals, are conceptualized
by communities to preserve their culture. Although
what ‘culture’ actually means and whether it remains
static is highly debatable, but in most cases, preserving
culture brings people closer to nature. Baokhungri
festival is no different. It is interesting to learn that
the hill owes its current appearance to the efforts of
the locals and the Tourism Department. A few years
before the official inauguration of the festival, the hill
had lost most of its green cover and the biodiversity
was in danger.
Prafulla Hazoary, Secretary, Bodoland Territorial
Council has been climbing the hill for a long time.
He started even before the festival started. Back then,
only a few people from the town, who knew about
the tradition, would climb to the peak every Bwisagu.
‘When I first started coming to this place, the hill looked
almost empty with no trees and vegetation.’ But with
the help of locals and the Tourism Department, the hill
is now home to approximately 150 different species of
plants. Hazoary sees the festival as the outcome, and
also the reason, for revival of the vegetation cover.
‘Many people know about sacred groves in different
parts of the region. This hill is a sacred grove for the
people of this locality.’ Nowadays the hill climbing
tradition known as ‘Baokhungri Hajw Gakhwnai’ (To
Climb the Baokhungri) sees hundreds of participants,
young and old, every year.
This kind of festival is like a window to the culture
of the community. But as more and more people
from outside the region make their way to the hill,
it has given rise to corrupt practices and scams. For
instance, it is not uncommon for fake priests or sadhus
to roam the hill nowadays and earn money by fooling
unsuspecting visitors. Also, it has been felt that people
participate in the festivities without knowing the
significance. The hill climbing practice is gathering
attention more as a recreational activity instead of a
religious one. In fact, many people still don’t know
the story of princess Deeplai, as was apparent during
the quiz competition held on the second day of the
festival.
But despite the lack of awareness, Prafulla
Hazoary along with the rest of the Bodo community,
are hopeful that the festival will give people a chance
to experience the local culture, and slowly, visitors
will start to see how the Baokhungri festival is much
more than climbing a hill to test your endurance.