Puranigudam

Puranigudam (Assamese: পুৰণিগুদাম) is in the Nagaon district of Assam, India. There are several villages in Puranigudam. The main commercial center of Puranigudam, also known as Keyan Patti (most of the shops were established by the businessmen from the Marwar area of Rajasthan, India; who were called Keyans in Assamese. The name Keyan Patti comes from that. Patti means inhabitation) is located closest to Garamur. Rupahihat are to the north, Barhampur and Nagaon in the west, Chalchali in the south and Rongagorah and Samaguri in the east. The river Kolong flowes through the upper half of the area and National Highway 37 runs parallel to the river. The area is almost in the middle of the Nagaon district and situated in higher elevation than the district headquarters.

Puranigudam derives from the Assamese words Purani, or old, and Gudam, or storehouse. During the colonial period, the headquarters of the district was initially established in Puranigudam, as a result of the Kolong river providing easy access to the area. Storehouses were constructed in the river banks, hence the possible reference in the area name. Later the district headquarters was shifted to present Nagaon.

The most notable statue is of the goddess Durga, made from Bael wood. As the folklore goes, more than a century ago, the Durga Puja or, worship of Durga, was celebrated every year in the area and a folk-artist (Lerela Khanikar) used to make the statue of the goddess with mud. After the celebration was over after four days, according to the ritual, the statue was immersed into the river. This made the artist very sad, and so he made the permanent statue with the Bael wood, which would not be immersed after the celebration was over, but a symbol of the statue (a banana tree) would only be immersed. The statue would be used next year again after re-painting. The same statue is still being used for the yearly celebrations, and few years back the statue had crossed 100 years.

The place is also important for its strategic location, strong cultural background and mixed demography. The area is approx 12 km away from the present district headquarters. During the Assam Movement, a company of Central Reserve Police Force was stationed in the Bapuji Bhawan (a community hall established by the Freedom Fighters of Puranigudam, used mainly for cultural activities). The area comes under Barhampur constituency of Assam Legislative Assembly, from which till now no candidate from Indian national Congress had won the general election. Asom Gana Parishad candidates Dr Girindra Kumar Baruah two-times Assam chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta had been winning for this constituency since 1985 general election.

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