The ancient stories of Howly — a visual journey through the place, people, rivers, institutions, faith, culture and memories that shaped this historic town.
The Ancient Tales of Howly is presented as a pictorial book exploring the historical significance of Howly and the stories preserved around it.
ASHIM DAS · 2024This website turns the ideas and historical threads of হাউলীৰ পুৰণি কথাবোৰ into a long-form digital introduction. Instead of depending on the original PDF at runtime, the page carries its own text: key facts, historical threads, chronology and short book-derived descriptions are built directly into the HTML.
The book discusses the view that the name developed over time from “Rajhauli”, associated with Chandi Narayan Barua. It also traces the older place-names recorded around the region and the four towns associated with Koch king Naranarayan’s period.
Howly is presented through its geographical setting: Bhawanipur to the east, the Beki River to the west, Shimlaguri to the north and the Chaulkhowa River to the south. The book connects landscape with the evolution of settlement.
The narrative repeatedly returns to the devastation of the Burmese invasions and the great earthquake of 1897, while showing how settlements, institutions and communities re-emerged afterwards.
The book portrays Chandi Narayan Barua as a powerful historical figure connected with the old Rajhauli and Barnagar tradition. He is described as a Vaishnava, a yogic practitioner, a brave warrior and a man of great physical strength. His final confrontation with the Burmese forces in 1822 becomes one of the central human stories of the book.
Rajanikanta Bordoloi’s Monomoti, published in 1900, is treated as an important literary record of the region. The book notes that its references to Howly and nearby places preserve memories of the landscape and society surrounding the Burmese invasions.
The ancient Kaljhar Satra is presented as a significant centre of the Mahapurushiya religious tradition. The book traces its foundation to Gopal Ata in 1589 and records its connection with scholars, devotees, Bhattadeva and the samadhi of Gopal Ata.
One of the book’s striking historical threads is the relationship between Ramananda Dwija, the spiritual head associated with Kaljhar Satra, and Lachit Barphukan. Ramananda is described as Lachit’s religious teacher, a connection the book argues deserves greater historical attention.
Founded by Gopal Ata across the Palla River, the satra is remembered for its religious traditions and Dol festival. The book records a long continuity of the festival after the 1897 earthquake and describes the movement of the institution through periods of destruction and rebuilding.
The historical Manah River appears as a witness to Howly’s past. The book discusses its changing course, its role as a boundary in historical conflicts, and the effect of the 1897 earthquake. It also raises concern about the river’s present condition and encroachment.
The book places the Howly Hat at the centre of everyday economic life, tracing its origins to around 1900. Wednesday and Saturday market days once drew large crowds, and the cattle market is described as particularly important within the wider region.
The later chapters follow the growth of schools, theatre groups, magazines, cultural organisations, music and sport. Milestones include the Shankar Sangam theatre group, Howly Adarsha Vidyapith, Ramdhenu and other cultural initiatives.
The book records Howly as an important centre of activity during India’s freedom movement. Its transport links helped make the area useful for communication, and a secret organisational office operated there during the struggle.
The book connects this period with the establishment of Barnagar, Nawanagar, Bhawanipur and Kaljhar after Naranarayan’s campaign and return with artisans and skilled people.
Gopal Ata is described as establishing Kaljhar Satra with followers, creating an important centre of religious and literary activity.
The death of Chandi Narayan Barua during the Burmese conflict becomes a defining memory in the book’s account of Howly’s older past.
After the Treaty of Yandabo, the book records the construction of the North Sadar Ali through Howly and a dak bungalow beside the road at Halapakura in 1840.
The establishment of the Rakhal Gosain Than at Howly village is cited as evidence of settlement before the great earthquake.
The earthquake transformed the settlement pattern. Several satras shifted from their earlier sites, while new villages and paras emerged as society rebuilt.
The book places the publication of Monomoti and the approximate emergence of the Howly Hat around this period.
Schools, theatre, electricity, magazines, art organisations, sports groups and the centenary celebration of Monomoti mark the later development of Howly.
The total population of the Howly municipal area stated in the book, based on the cited 2023 municipal Household Assessment.
The total number of households stated for the Howly municipal area in the same assessment.
The book provides household counts ward by ward, creating a snapshot of the town’s administrative and demographic structure.
The figures above are reproduced as stated in the supplied book. They are presented here as book-derived historical/administrative information rather than independently verified current statistics.
The original book contains a wide-ranging sequence of historical subjects—from names and satras to rivers, markets, education, music, independence and the modern town.
The book says “Howly” is not found as an old place-name in earlier historical records. It presents the possibility that the modern name developed over time from “Rajhauli”, associated with Chandi Narayan Barua.
Koch king Naranarayan is described as returning from his campaign with artisans and skilled workers and establishing four towns in the Kamrup region: Barnagar, Nawanagar, Bhawanipur and Kaljhar.
The book proposes that Chandi Barua established a Rajhauli at Nawanagar and that the name gradually evolved into Howly.
Ghilangar, Bijaynagar, Barnagar, Kaljhar, Bhawanipur, Nawanagar, Yugirpam and Sathijana are among the older names discussed in the historical landscape.
The book traces his lineage, his role in old Barnagar and Rajhauli, his religious identity and his final resistance during the Burmese conflict.
His tol is described as a centre where scholars gathered for literary and cultural practice.
The book describes him as courageous, religious, a yogic practitioner and an exceptional wrestler and warrior.
During the third Burmese invasion, he fought alone to protect his country. He was eventually captured and killed at Moinbari; the book notes the historical epithet “Mane Kuta Barua”.
Published in 1900, Rajanikanta Bordoloi’s Monomoti is presented as a major literary work depicting Assamese society during the third Burmese invasion. For the book’s author, its value is also local: it preserves names, places and memories associated with Howly.
The novel mentions Howly alongside Halapakura, Yugirpam, Nagarjhar, Baruabari, Ghilajhar and Barbarijhar.
The book notes that Bordoloi had opportunities to observe Howly, the old Chandi Barua capital and nearby sites connected with the conflict.
It also records the argument that the novel’s historical events cannot be treated as pure invention for Howly residents, because descendants of Chandi Narayan Barua still exist.
The book describes Kaljhar as an ancient centre of the Mahapurushiya religious tradition, established by Gopal Ata in 1589. Its history is intertwined with religious teachers, scholars, manuscripts, migration and the survival of institutions after the 1897 earthquake.
Gopal Ata, described as a beloved disciple of Madhavdeva, arrived with followers and established the satra.
The book records that Bhattadeva spent time at Kaljhar, reading the Bhagavata and participating in a wider intellectual and devotional environment.
Gopal Ata is said to have passed away at Kaljhar in 1611. His samadhi remained neglected for decades and was recovered in 1978 and subsequently preserved.
The book argues that the history of Lachit Barphukan is incomplete without remembering Ramananda Dwija, the satradhikar associated with Kaljhar Satra and described here as Lachit’s religious teacher.
The historical Manah is one of the book’s strongest landscape characters. It witnessed conflicts, carried people and timber, and helped shape the boundary and settlement pattern of the region.
The book notes that the river was used in agreements between the Mughals and Ahoms to define territorial boundaries.
The great earthquake changed the river’s course and strengthened the Beki, contributing to the division of the old Barnagar region between Howly and Sarbhog.
The book describes the present dead Manah as being under pressure from encroachment and warns that losing the river would mean losing an important part of Howly’s historical inheritance.
The book estimates that the Howly Hat began around 1900. Farmers and producers from surrounding villages brought raw goods for trade, while Wednesday and Saturday market days created a major gathering place.
Wednesday and Saturday are described as the traditional weekly market days.
The cattle market is highlighted as especially large and significant within Assam.
The sound and crowds of the market form part of the book’s memory of everyday Howly — a place where villages met.
The later chronology records the establishment of educational institutions, including Barbarijhar P.C. Pathak M.E. School in 1968 and Howly Adarsha Vidyapith High School in 1972.
Howly’s first travelling theatre group, Shankar Sangam Natya Gosthi, is recorded in 1970. Later milestones include the Jayanta Memorial Art Council and Ramdhenu.
The book remembers local performers, directors, composers and singers and treats Howly’s musical history as part of its cultural identity.
Its chapters move through satras, namghars, temples, Dol traditions, Ras and other community practices that helped shape the town.
The chronology and later chapters record the development of organisations and sporting life alongside education and culture.
Electricity arrived in Howly in 1977; magazines and newspapers such as Bindu, Aranya, Amar Desh and Langching are also recorded in the book’s modern timeline.
The book describes Howly as an important centre for freedom fighters in the Barpeta region. Transport and communication advantages helped make it a useful location for secret organisational work during the independence movement.
After the Treaty of Yandabo, the British built the North Sadar Ali from Sarbhog through Jaipur and Howly. A dak bungalow was built beside it at Halapakura in 1840.
The book recalls earlier movement by river and road and the role these routes played in connecting Howly with surrounding settlements.
The administrative section identifies Barpeta Road as the nearest railway station and records the major highway connection through Howly.
Howly is presented in the book as a historic and culturally active town associated with old settlements, satras, markets, education, theatre, music, sport and the wider history of Barpeta and Assam.
The book describes Chandi Narayan Barua as a historical figure associated with Rajhauli, old Barnagar, Vaishnava practice and resistance during the Burmese invasions.
Kaljhar Satra is described as an ancient centre of the Mahapurushiya religious tradition, associated with Gopal Ata and a long history of religious and literary activity.
The book treats Rajanikanta Bordoloi’s Monomoti as an important literary record that preserves references to Howly and surrounding places during the period of the Burmese invasions.
The book says the earthquake transformed settlement patterns, affected satras and contributed to the emergence and movement of several villages and paras.
The book presents the Manah as an important historical landscape feature connected with boundaries, transport, settlement and the environmental history of Howly.