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Namdang Stone Bridge
Located at a small distance of 15kms from the town of Sivasagar, Namdang Stone Bridge stands with all its glory and majesty even after 300 hundred years of its creation. Built by the Raja Rudrasinga in Gaurisagar in 1703, the Namdang Stone Bridge continues to be one of the most important historic constructions in Assam. The Namdang Stone Bridge has witnessed a number of floods and earthquakes. Not only does it stands, but is still potent enough to carry the load of heavy vehicles passing through it each day.
During the rule of the Ahom dynasty, ten bridges were supposedly constructed. Four amongst them still maintain their might in modern day Assam. Namdang is a part of that elite range of bridges and also contributes in the National Highway 37 of Assam. The Bridge is strategically important as it is the main connecting element that links Dibrugarh, Tinsukia and Sivasagar districts to rest of India.
Geography
The Namdang Stone Bridge is situated in the town Gaurisagar in Assam. Gaurisagar is a small place located on the outskirts of Sivasagar. The Sivasagar district shares it boundaries with Dibrugarh and even river Brahmaputra. The town gets its name from the water body that it boasts of. Sivasagar is a plain and is fed by several water bodies. This city was once known as Rangpur and was the seat for the Ahom rulers who single handedly ruled over the area for 6 centuries. Eventually, they were defeated by the Burmese who later lost it to the colonial England. Sivasagar provides an important connecting element as it connect Dibrugarh, Tinsukia to the other parts of Assam. The largely plain area also serves as a major tourist attraction in Assam which is also as it is connected via railways and roadways.
The climate of the areas echoes that of the entire region and Sivasagar has long summers and a sharp winters.
The district is also renowned for producing high quality tea leaves which are circulated from Sivasagar to almost the entire country.
Description of the Bridge
Creation
The Namdang Stone Bridge is also famously known as Xilor Xaaku by the local people. The main facets of the bridge are that it has a total length of 60 meters while is width is a total of 6 meters. The height of the Namdang Stone Bridge is 1.7 meters. Although, people are still unsure about the real architect of the bridge, but people have vividly asserted that Rudrasingh bought the architects especially from Cooch Behar. Ghanashyamuddin is apparently the name of the architect as mentioned by Edward Gait, a famous historian, yet people still debate on the accuracy of the claim.
Curvature
The architects have applied the basics of science perfectly in the construction and have deliberately made the bridge with a slight curve in its shape. This was done in order to enable the load to diverge to the sides of the bridge. The design echoes the style of the A arch bridges. The curved shape enables the bridge to take more and more load without being feeble.
The stone from which the bridge was crafter were specially quarried from a place called Silakuti (Xilakuti) which was a part of the Naga Hills.
Archs
The basic floor of the bridge is a neatly and delicately stamped marvel carved out of a single stone.
Stone Nails and high degree of masonry was applied to form the arches which use slabs of stone as their basic element. Duck eggs, Bora rice, Rice chaff, Black lentil and lime were used to create the required Mortar for the masonry.
Pillars
Ahom Dynasty’s rich culture and artistic value can be estimated from the dull carvings that still continue to survive on the pillars of the bridge. The constant floods in the river are causing a threat to these wonderful pieces of artwork on the pillars as the water is slowly corroding away the imprints carved on them.
Photo Gallery