Nagaon (Assam): These nocturnal creatures may seem spooky and their flight patterns confusing, but bats here run an empire of their own. Call them evil spirits or harbinger of good fortune, these misunderstood mammals need to be pleased before you enter their territory in Nagaon, Assam.
For those who want to explore Baduli Khurung, the kingdom inhabited by millions of bats, in the Kandali hills of Barhampur, do light lamps and pray to appease these creatures and adhere to rituals before entering the caves.
Baduli in Assamese means bats. Baduli Khurung, considered a historical site is situated approximately 21 kilometers from Nagaon Town and can be reached through Nonoi.
Ujjal Bardoloi, secretary of the Baduli Khurung Samiti, told ETV Bharat about the myths attached to the site. Legends have it that in the pre-Vaishnava period, a woman named Pramila ruled the Kingdom of Kandali. At that time, this cave in the Kandali Hills was inhabited by the king's army and queen's spies. The entry of men in the cave where women lived was prohibited as per the queen's orders, he explained.
“But one day, when a sage unknowingly entered the cave, he was caught by the spies and taken to Pramila. Irked, the queen punished the sage by hanging him on a rock. The sage, extremely offended by the queen's behaviour, cursed all the women in the cave to transform into bats. It is believed that since then, the women have been hanging in the cave as bats till date,” he said.
Since then, devotees and locals have been performing puja every year by organising the Baduli Khurung Fair for three days, a day after Shivaratri. Bardoloi explained that, people from different parts of the region come and light lamps, believing that this ritual in the Kandali Hills cave fulfills their desires. The Baduli Khurung Mela is thronged by thousands of devotees from different parts of the state
Bardoloi also informs that the cave spread on a vast tract of the hill, has millions of bats of different species and colours. Next to Baduli Khurung is a temple in stone where people offer prayers to fulfill their wishes.
After getting to know about the mystery of the Baduli Khurung from a historical book, Rahman, a ardent bat lover has been organising the Baduli Khurung Fair in Kandali since 2001. He had then entered the cave with the help of local people and witnessed the bats fluttering all around.
This year being the silver jubilee year, the place is all set to host the festival on a grand scale for four days from February 28.
Since Assamese people are deeply connected to their traditions, including worshipping the bats, they were not worried about staying in close proximity with the flying mammals even when the Nipah virus outbreak cited the origin of the disease to excrement of bats. The Assam health department in 2018 had allayed fears on outbreak of nipah virus in the state and at the same time issued directive to people against eating fruits bitten by bats.
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