Stories of the 1950's Assam Earthquake by Obja Borah Hazarika

Stories of the 1950's Assam Earthquake by Obja Borah Hazarika https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi Unearthing an earthquake through oral narratives en-us 2021-08-05 14:38:05 UTC 2025-09-30 02:03:14 UTC hello@padlet.com It is an conversation with my grandma 85 years of old living in Dibrugarh. She narrated her story of experienc e of the 1950 earthquake while she was around 14 years in her village named Majopara( Rahmoria). It was during the the days of working in paddy filed and after went back from field she cooked meal for the members. While they were eating they heard a sound and the house started trembling suddenly. Grandma and all other members run out of the house and experience the trembling around 1 to 2 hours. When they felt stopped of the trembling entered the house but couldn't sleep that night as that was the first experienced of her.There was not a much destruction in the village as the houses were not puccaa and no-one died in that village. In the next morning when they went to paddy field they seen that the all the plantation of rice they plant were not in a proper position and they again used to plant the plantation. She said that they experienced the trembling around six days but the first day shaking was greater than the others. As there was a river named 'Digholi' near the village next day they heard that a large number of trees and a number of dead animals floating in the river. Moreover the digholi nodi change its course and submerg it with river Brahmaputra since then. There was no such destruction of the earthquake in the village but it is true that after the 1950s earthquake and submerged of several rivers to mighty Brahmaputra river, Rahmoria ( Majpara is one village) experienced soil eroison from then. There were no such victims of earthquake of 1950s but after 1950s the people of Rahmoria suffering a lot till date. https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1671692890
Susmita Baruah
2nd semester ]]> 2021-08-07 14:06:46 UTC https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1671692890 I would like to share a curious talk with my mother's uncle (i call him Koka)about the 1950's great destructive earthquake. https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1671969408 2021-08-08 08:41:22 UTC https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1671969408 https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1671989175 The experience of the 1950’s earthquake is narrated by my 81 years old maternal grandmother, Mrs. Rupohi Baruah. She was approximately 10 years old when the earthquake was occurred. She belonged to a village named Ghanhi Gaon,at Dhakuakhana sub-division of Lakhimpur district in Assam.In the evening ,she said, when her mother was busy in cooking ,they felt a very strong tremor and a loud sound. Suddenly their house started trembling. After realizing that it was an earthquake,her parents brought her and her siblings and run outside their home.She said that they could feel the tremblings many days after the earthquake. The aftershocks were too strong that they were afraid to return their homes. People of her village decided to gather in the ‘Namghar’ (temple) located inside their village and hold the big pillars (which have been traditionally constructing under every Namghar of Assam) so that they could not fall down. They had to stay there without food because they went to the Namghar in hurry and afraid of returning to their homes because their homes were made of bamboo and roof which were more weaker than the Namghar. The people of her locality were poor at that time and their main source of earning was agriculture. Due to the earthquake, the villagers of my grandmother's village could not go to the fields for 2-3 days.During that period the people of her village used to drink water from ‘Charikariya' river. After the earthquake,the water of the river were full of mud and they could not drink that water. It was very devastating situation according to her . People of her village pray God inside the Namghar to heal the situation. She still feels the terror of that period when someone asks her about the situation. No one died in her village in that earthquake but they were frightened. After the earthquake, the ' Charikariya' river changed its course.

Deeplina Baruah
PG 2 nd Semester
Dibrugarh University]]> 2021-08-08 10:03:43 UTC https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1671989175 Here,it is one of my neighbouring grandmother's experience during the time of 1950's devastating earthquake.When I asked her about the experience regarding earthquake,she tells me that during that time she was just 14 years old,lived in Tamulisiga,Bhajani gaon,Jorhat with her family.Her name is Premalata Bhajani(Saikia).According to her,the very first day of the earthquake she was working in their paddy field along with her parents as well as the native villagers.Suddenly they all who were working in that place,feeled a unexpected shaking around them.At that moment they had seen the field path in front of them just like a zigzag way.All the animals were shouting very loudly.After that when they went to their house,they see that the every pillar of their granary house were broken.The water of their public village pond was to flow over.Also,the water entered into the houses of some neighbouring villagers.Most importantly my neighbouring grandmother says to me that during that time a pregnant woman feels her labour pain.So,the family members took her inside the granary of their house and there she birth a baby boy;he is still alive and interestingly because he was born during the time of earthquake,his parents given his name as"Bhumi".Even in an another family when they tried to go outside from the house unconsciously a small boy of the family was leaving inside the house and suddenly a huge gap was occuring in the middle of the courtyard of their house,but immediately the gap was filled up and the family rescured the boy.Then she said that there was a very small river 2 km far away from their house.Due to this earthquake,the river water spread across the surrounding paddy fields and the river was fully covered with sand.She stated that this earthquake was happening around 7 days.But during that period there was not any kind serious destruction occured. https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1672080986 Mallika Monjuri Saikia
2nd Semester]]> 2021-08-08 15:22:33 UTC https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1672080986 This is an narrative shared with the aid of using an seventy nine years man named Chandeshwar handique,belong to the ghatapara village ,Lakhimpur district of Assam, regarding the 1950 Earthquake.He stated that in1950 he turned into handiest eight year,was lying in his bed then all at once the earth commenced trembling, the pond close by his residence filled with water, the floor turned into commenced cracking, he and his own circle of relatives do now no longer even recognize what's happening.But they by hook or by crook managed to made a ship from the banana tree(known as 'Bhu' in Assamese language),a few have been sheltered upon the residence.The jolt have been felt to 3 week letter additionally wherein many have been had headspin .As an concequences there have been flood too. sudden flood across the place,For which one helicopter turned into arrived to that place to rescue people.He stated there have been no humans or animals injured in the course of the earthquake. ..and The schools have been stay closed for weeks.They even could not go to the school even for weeks as there have been common jolt s ..When I ask him about approximately the health centers then he stated that there have been no Doctors to be had withinside the health center in the course of that point even after the calamity..the compounders have been offering fitness centers withinside the Dhakuakhana civil and additionally in Ghilamara civil health center....He stated that there have been no such mentionable step taken with the aid of using government to coverup the disaster. https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1672094656
Bharati konch
4th semester]]> 2021-08-08 16:03:20 UTC https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1672094656 Stories of the 1950s Assam Earthquake pranjalgogoi676 https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1672610616 The experience of the 1950s Earthquake is narrated by one of my neighbouring 91 years old grandfather, Mr. Handipani Bhuyan also known as Gapash Bhuyan. He belongs to the Bawli konch gaon, Dhemaji Assam. He was around 20 years old when the earthquake was occured. It was during the days of working in the paddy fields. In the evening, he said that when he was busy in cooking with his family they heard a sounds and the house trembling suddenly and the animals were shouting very loudly. Grandfather and his other family members run out of the house also all the people of the village gathered in the 'Namghor' (temple) located inside their village and started praying the god. In the next morning when they went to the field, they seen that the river water spread the paddy field and the river was covered with mud and sand. There was a lot of forest on the side of the village where many kind of animals like deer, bear, tiger, etc. were found. After the earthquake, a lot of forest went under the soil, that's why this animals was never seen again there. In the village the houses were made of bamboo and no one died in that village. At that time they didn't have any hospital facilities in this area, they used to use homemade medicines. They didn't get any kind of help from the government at that time. According to the legends and myths of that time the earth is over the tortoise, when sin grows on the earth, this tortoise shakes the earth, that's why the earthquake was happend. During that period there was not any kind of serious destruction occurred. But after the 1950s the people of this village suffering a lot for many years.

Pranjal Gogoi.
M.A. 2nd semester 2021.

]]> 2021-08-09 07:25:38 UTC https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1672610616 Experience of 1950 Assam earthquake khatunshehnaz955 https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1675616045 As we all know that the 6th biggest earthquake of the 20th century was the 1950 Assam– Tibet earthquake, also known as the Assam earthquake. It occurred on 15 August 1950 evening at 7:39 pm and had a magnitude of 8.6 on the Richter scale.
The experience of the 1950s Earthquake is narrated by one of my friends grandmother , Swarna Dutta. She belongs to Sasoni, Naharkatiya, Assam. She was around 4 years old when the earthquake was occurred. It was when she was sleeping with her parents and suddenly something happened which shake her whole house. She said that at that time people gave "Uruli"(a sound made by the women by rolling the tongue inside the mouth) so she with her entire family started giving "Uruli". When the earthquake happened she don't understand what it was, she was so scared and started crying. Everyone of her family started giving "Uruli" and her father was shouting loudly "Dhoroni Dhar.. Dhoroni Dhar.. " the house trembling and the animals were shouting very loudly. She along with her brother, mother and father started Chanting the name of lord Krishna. She remembered how in front of her eyes the floor of her house started splitting into two parts then she with her other family members run out of the house also all the people of the village gathered in the 'Namghar' (temple) located inside their village and started praying god by chanting "Krisno" "Prabhu". At that night they stayed in Gohaign ghar. In the morning they went to their places and she saw her house in a very bad condition infect the whole village was in a very bad condition. After the earthquake, a lot of forest, some parts of fields went under the soil, some animals died and some villagers get injured. As at that time the houses were made of bamboo thus no one died in that village. At that time they didn't have any hospital facilities in this area, they used homemade medicines. She remembered one of her friend saying that this happened because the earth is over the tortoise, when sin grows on the earth, this tortoise shakes the earth, that's why the earthquake was happened. During that period there was not any kind of serious destruction occurred. But after the 1950s the people of this village suffered a lot for many years and Live in fear for one year as sometimes earthquake shake. She never forget this incident of her life.

Shehnaz Khatun
MA 2nd Semester
]]> 2021-08-11 15:24:27 UTC https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1675616045 About the 1950's devastating earthquake in Assam.Here are the opinions of the experience holders :1. Name : Premadhar Neog. Age. : 86 Address: Moran, Sivasagar.Occupation. : Ex. D.F.O He is my maternal grandpa. Today morning, I asked him about the shivering experience of the 1950's earthquake. Grandpa tells me that, in that period, he was a boy of eight stranded. Approximately, in evening time like around 8:00 p.m the earthquake came and When grandpa and his family were sleeping after dinner. After that, continuously the crashing sound and the shaking had been coming. According to him, the place of the origin of the earthquake was downstream of the Himalayas. He tells me that the trembling could feel many times, but not remembering the exact period. When the terrible sounds happened he and his family emergently running outside. He also says that, in Khowang, Dibrugarh District, the land was creaking very badly, and India's prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru came and observed in that area.2. Name Putoli Borah. Age. : 84 Address. : Modoijan, Jorhat.Occupation: Retired teacher. She is my relative Grandma. As I asked her, what is her experience regarding the 50's earthquake. She tells me that, during that time she is a girl of nine or ten years old. According to her, the measure of trembling is too large, for that she and every family of her village can't stay inside their home. The chap was very big and from the chap coming out many sand. She also tells me that, some houses are inside the land and some are coming out from the land. When the time trembling, she and her family were napping, and suddenly her father carries her and goes to the courtyard. She tells me that that trembling turned into one of her villager's home ponds. 3. Name Bijoy Saikia. Age: 75 Address. : Selenghat, Jorhat.Occupation: Driver. He is my father's uncle and my Grandpa. I also asked him about the experience of the 50's earthquake, he narrated to me that, at the time of the '50s earthquake his age was almost three or three and half years old. He can not recall the whole shivering environment. But he only remembered that he was in his mother's hand and only hearing zaghareet(uruli) from every side. For several times, they stayed in the courtyard. Thank you. sukanyagargieesaikia https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1676668871
Sukanya Gargiee Saikia.
M.A 2nd semester.
Dibrugarh University.

]]> 2021-08-12 10:34:55 UTC https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1676668871 sukanyagargieesaikia https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1678864542 Mrinalmalla Patwari.
Sarthebari.

Here is the talk of 15th August 1950. I'm a student of lower primary school. After fishing, I was sitting at my study table and my aunt standing beside me. Suddenly, we feel a trembling. Aunty shouting, "Vikup" is coming, please come out. Our big family gathered in the courtyard. One time the trembling was stopped and also stopped the shivering noises. Then every villager gathered in the meeting place of historical Sarthebari and asked each other about the deficit. After thirty minutes again we feel the same trembling and the shivering sounds. Again start the dreaded atmosphere. Almost several earthquakes were coming around that week. That earthquake destroyed our area very badly. The cottages were broken, the water wells were damaged, and the Paddy field turned into drought land. Later that earthquake, numerous woods has been flowing in the Brahmaputra. The people of Sarthebari collect many kinds of wood from River. Among the woods, flowing one type of wood more, the wood is known as "Uwe". The people collected wood continuously for four/five days. As we remembering that earthquake, one side is happening anonymous destruction, and on another side, people became economically self-reliant through the selling of woods.

*(Source : Asomiya Protidin Newspaper, 14/08/2021, page : 4)

Sukanya Gargiee Saikia.
2nd Semester.
Dibrugarh University.

]]> 2021-08-14 05:37:11 UTC https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1678864542 As we all know Earthquake of 1950 was one of the major earthquake in Assam. It had a magnitude of 8.6 on the Richter Scale. I discussed about the earthquake of 1950 with my paternal grandmother, Sushila Bhattacharyya. She said a lots of fascinating facts about the incident. She was around 12 to 13 years old during 1950 and lived in Meleng gaon of Jorhat District. Earthquake was occoured on 15th August, 1950. On and around 8.00pm, they experienced a strong tremor and loud sounds. Everyone came out from their houses and pray to God. The ground shaking was continued for 20-30 minutes. They experienced shaking throughout the night at regular interval. People used to gathered on streets and open field and spend the whole night. She said, in some places large number of people and animals were killed due to massive cracks caused due to shake. Some rivers were completely dried up, where in some places grounds are cracked and the cracked places released mud water. Lots of animals and fishes were died, houses were destroyed and a lots of people became homeless. bidisha12bhatta https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1679008953
Bidisha Bhattacharyya
2nd semester
Dibrugarh University

]]> 2021-08-14 13:25:18 UTC https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1679008953 borahbhaswati08 https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1679056050 The fattalic 1950 Earthquake of Assam had occured on 15th August with a magnitude of 8.6. I talked about the incident with a survivor named Mrs. Nalini Saikia and came to know about her experience. Her son works with my father. I went to their house and she narrated to me about the happenings during the incident. She told me that the earthquake of 1950s was much more strong than any other quakes that she has experienced till now. She was 14 years at that time. She used to stay at Nagaon at that period. There were suddenly loud sounds in the evening and they all got scared. She was returning home after playing with her friends at the neighborhood. There were many aftershocks after so many intervals. It kept coming the whole night. They could not sleep at night. Everyone gathered and stayed at an open field the whole night. She recalled that fishes overflowed from the rivers and ponds and those were dead fishes. Later they came to know that the Earthquake originated in Sadiya. It's repercussions were so deadly that she can recall it even now. After the 50s Earthquake, Assam had swept away by flood many more times.

Bhaswati Borah
2nd Semester
Dibrugarh University.]]> 2021-08-14 15:01:24 UTC https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1679056050 Narrator's name: Prafulla Saikia Age: 82 Location: Vill- Jarabari, Narayanpur Dist- Lakhimpur Designation: Retired Principal of Pichala Guri Higher Secondary Collected by: Paridhi Saikia The earthquake of 1950 popularly known as "Bor Bhuikop". It is the most destructive earthquake till today. One can not imagine the devastating condition of the country at that time. I was an 11 years old kid. With 4 of my brothers, I was fishing (jur kota). The water level was upto my knees. My 2 elder brothers would catch the fish and we were deciding to help them out. During that time, dense forest covered the village, wild animals roamed in their and they also hunt the domestic animals. We crossed the paddy field to catch fish there. It was approximately 7 PM, my mother would start cooking at this hour. She was just setting the fire alight to prepare meal for the family, the tremor started. Thinking about the sound made by the earthquake my body quivers. A devastating condition was created. Though our village was not a flood prone area, but water started rising. The water from the pond in front of our home rose. The land started cracking in our backyard and water arouse like volcano eruption. We were still near the fishing area and my brother started screaming us to go to a safer place. But we were not able to get out of the water. For us the situation was too bad because the water rises upto knees. After the earthquake stopped we went to home. For a long period of time the earthquake continued. For one month, per day 12-15 times we faced tremors of high as well as low scales. We almost considered that our earth has no future, but due to god's willing the tremors started reducing after so many days. The situation was very traumatising. But the people were not injured much, a few people were only injured or died in our area as most of the houses were constructed with mud. The road connecting Lakhimpur and Tezpur was destroyed. An area was completely destroyed in Narayanpur. Bihpuria also faced a lot of destruction. A bungalow which was constructed during British rule was destroyed. The Pichala river also changed its route. Dikrong's flow was affected and it caused flood. Ranganadi faced a lot of destruction due to landslides and the river's flow was stopped. The people who lived near the riverside were affected. The lives of Miching community was disrupted as they mainly lived near the riverside. In Dhemaji there is a place called Bordoloni, in that place the 'Doloni'(its like a big pond) started changing. The depth of the 'doloni' became shallow. River Subansiri changed its route and due to this flood occurred in many areas. Many people shifted to another place. But the government was not able to take proper initiatives, so the people had to work on their own. A lot of damaged was faced by Sivsagar, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Kachar, Sonitpur, Kamrup, Nagaon, Goalpara, Dhuburi. As the government didn't take any measures, so the common people had to undertake certain activities to save them from the situation. paridhisaikia18 https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1681513719 2021-08-17 03:59:02 UTC https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1681513719 jintusaikia1999 https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1681634559 Assam earthquake 1950.
By- Jintu saikia, M.A 2nd semester.]]> 2021-08-17 05:35:58 UTC https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1681634559 In 1950 the Assam and its neighbouring regions experianced the most devastating earthquake which magnitude was almost about of 8.4. I take a version of my friend grandfather who live in jorhat. He clearly narrate the whole incident which he considered as the most darkest phase of his life. When I asked why you tell this incident as the most darkest part of your life? He recalled the past moment with hidden tears, that in this earthquake he lost his most lovable cow he forget his cow name but he deeply recalled and replied ' lachit' ' lachit' i was feeled his attachment with his cow. Than he said that the morning of the day was sunny. But suddenly weather condition became detoriated and the domestic animals behave unaccordingly. But noone gussed that such a havoc is going to be happen very soon. Unfortunately a huge shaken shake the earth as well as the life of million people. At evening time ( HE NOT CLEARLY MENTIONED TIME) everyone heard a terrific sound all the people come out from their home and sheltered in a safe place. Even some small shake continued till one week with some time gap. The water of the pond overflowed ( BASICLLY BECAUSE THAT EARTHQUAKE WAS HAPPENED IN SUMMER SEASON) he said people used to prepare their meal out of their home. I said why with immense curiosity , he replied that at that time houses were made by bamboo and other materials available in nature this types of materials is flammable so everyone feared that if a big earthquake happen again there had a possibility of catch fire in their houses. They tamporarily made there houses with the support of bamboo tree because bamboo tree have deep root. Atleast he reamrked a very heart touching sentence he said if we act against nature, nature will take revenge as a result we have to pay huge repercussionsSiddhartha protim dutta2nd semesterRoll no 68 duttasiddhartha69 https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1681987442 2021-08-17 11:37:33 UTC https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1681987442 EXPERIENCE OF 1950 EARTHQUAKE OF ASSAM sukanyabhuyan777 https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1683560150

The Assam–Tibet earthquake of 1950, also known as the Assam earthquake, struck on August 15, with a magnitude of 8.6. The Mishmi Hills served as the epicentre. The earthquake, which struck on a Tuesday evening at 7:39 p.m. Indian Standard Time, was devastating in both Assam (India) and Tibet (China), killing approximately 4,800 people. The earthquake is notable for being the largest recorded quake caused by continental collision rather than subduction, as well as the quake's loud noises, which were heard throughout the region.

The experience of the 1950 earthquake is narrated by my grandfather Bholaram Bhuyan. He belongs to Balisapori, Adi Elengi Satra, Majuli, Assam. By profession he was a high school teacher and a Satriya-cultural artist.

He was around 5 years old when the Earthquake was occurred. “It was evening time when I returned from the paddy field,” he says. “ After that, I sat down to study and drank some tea. For the first time, my house trembled harshly. We had a ‘kaccha' house at the time. He went outside and noticed that our village's female members had begun to give 'uruli.' Everyone was terrified. The river's water level rises to around 20/25 feet. The cows were yelling, the houses were trembling, and people were crying and shouting in terror. This was the first time we'd ever felt trembling like this. We were at a loss for what to do. The first vibration persisted for another 15 minutes, and we felt the same trembling several times. And we felt minor vibrations for the next 15 days.”

Villagers claimed that the god became enraged with them, and that everyone was about to disappear into the earth. They are chanting "hari naam" and pleading with God to save their lives. They are completely oblivious to what is going on. They believed that only God could save them at this point.

He went to the riverside on the second day. In the Brahmaputra River, he noticed a new sand dome. Thousands of fish were jumping along the riverbank, which we termed "ujaan." Fish were automatically jumped on the boat when people were boating on the river. Another interesting event occurred when people witnessed huge numbers of trees floating down the river. A massive tree sat afloat in the river. People used to only see woods on the river over the Brahmaputra at one point. Woods was managed to capture which they used for making furniture or other household activities.

He experienced for the first time and never see anything as dangerous as 1950s earthquake.

Sukanya Bhuyan

MA 2ND Semester.

]]> 2021-08-18 05:42:56 UTC https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1683560150 Experience of 1950 Earthquake of Assam romanchburhagohain https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1684557619 I have a conversation with one my grandfather regarding his experience of 1950s Assam earthquake. According to him in that time he was around 9 years old and he experienced everythnig which led by the earthquake. He told me that it was "Bhado Mah"( 15 augest) when the earthquake was occurred and its being continously almost for seven days. It was evening time around 7.30 to 8 pm when the earthquake was occurred. He was just setting and enjoying his food while they suddenly felt the earthquake and he left his food and run to his mother. In that time his parents ,his two brother and one sister was in his family. His sister was so much frightened and started crying and his father tried to convinced her. His mother gives "Uruli" and thrown out "hairbrush" as that time people believed that it hepls to ending earthquake. They prayed to god for quit the upcoming devastation. The villagers started making noise and gives Uruli specially by the women.There was occurred some changes as a result of the earthquake,like up and down of some area, some river got little bit of changes. There was not seen much destruction in his area because that time people used to lived in Bamboo and wood made house. The "Subansiri River" made flood and affected its coverage area as the "Gerukamukh Pahar" landslide impact on the river and made some difficulties.

(Narrated by Haliram Gohain,
Age: 81
Address: Dighala Goan, PO: Dhakuakhna, Lakhimpur)

Submitted by
Romanch Burhagohain
2nd Semester]]> 2021-08-18 17:49:38 UTC https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1684557619 Around 7 in the evening it started. As a child she did not know what earthquake was. The ground was shaking and she could hear the tin roofs make a lot of noise- Everyone was running outside in the chaos- Nearby was a cinema hall where people rushed out in panic climbing over each other- After a while they came in back to the house hoping it has ended. However it started again so they came out of the house again- This cycle repeated around 4 to 5 times- Hence the people(the neighbors etc) decided to stay outside for the night- Food was cooked outside, simple stuff like khichdi etc. The kids who were oblivious to the situation were having a good time playing outside.- The ladies were singing naam kirtan- People slept outside in tripals- The water from the ponds(bor pukhuri) all fell out and entered homes.- The ground was shaking throughout the night- When my grand mom as a child realized the actual danger of this she felt scared for her sister who at that time was in Shillong- The golden-dome of Sivasagar Sivadol fell to the ground and the atmosphere was apocalyptic- The earthquake kept happening for a month coming to and fro, although decreasing in power and frequency.- There were severe cracks on the ground. There was word going around that people had their leg stuck in the ground although my grandmom did not see this.- In Jorehaut there were old large houses was flattened- My grand father was in a club in Jorehaut during the first shake, they rushed outside, the shake was so bad that people were barely able to stand while running out. sukanyagargieesaikia https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1689001119 2021-08-21 14:45:05 UTC https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1689001119 Experience of 1950s earthquake of Assam alisharahman1501 https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1714798546
To find out what exactly happened almost a century ago and to present a brief description of the devastation caused by one of the most powerful earthquakes recorded in human history I collected information from 3 survivors.
1.
At first,I asked questions to my grandfather about the great earthquake that ravaged Assam in 1950. He who just turned 90 this year was 19 then. Even though he couldn't present a clear picture of the devastating disaster,he tried to exclusively share his experiences from whatsoever little he remembers. He was in Jorhat at that point and it was one of the districts that suffered the most damage in Assam.He told me that there was a celebration going on in the town as it was Independence Day. That very evening a very strong earthquake struck the area. Aftershocks occured throughout the night and some of those aftershocks were fairly strong and even mentioned that these aftershocks continued for more than a week. The ground cracked and fissured and the houses went under the ground. There were also cases of subsidence and crumbling of houses reported from the nearby area in Jorhat. Although,a few houses got submerged, destruction and death of people caused by the collapse of houses were less as there were mostly Assam-type houses and fewer RCC buildings in the locality. The earthquake cracked grounds at many places along the Brahmaputra river. River beds stilted up. He vividly remembers how a river in his district was wiped out and buried under the land. Water gushed through the Earth.The earthquake thus resulted in devastating floods with muddy water. The resultant of the drastic flood were the cause of most of the fatalities aftermath of the earthquake.The devastation thus caused was unprecedented,he told.
2.
Debakanta Goswami who stays in Ushanagar,is a resident of Tezpur from whom I collected information. Even though it's been 70yrs since the earthquake yet the moment I mentioned the The Great Assam-Tibet Earthquake it brought back spine chilling memories. He told me that there was panic and mayhem everywhere as the earth began to shudder violently and objects fell off from their position . When I asked him if he knew what caused the earthquake,he told me that people then had very little knowledge and thus they tried to explain such natural phenomena through stories and myths. He mentioned a myth that people then and a few now still believes i.e a few elephants hold up the land and when they move or one of them grows weary and lowers and shakes it's head;the Earth trembles. Talking about the immediate reaction of the people,he told me that everyone rushed outside and gathered in the streets as soon as the rumbling noise broke out and since people didn't understand why such events occurred everyone immediately turned to God. He mentioned that the duration of the vibration lasted for about 7-8mins. Although there were no major destruction of property as in those days there were mostly Assam-type houses which were more capable of resisting earthquakes, however, there was destruction in the hilly areas. The 1950s quake had led to many landslides, portion of hill breaking and falling into the river thus blocking the river. Besides, the trees suffered severe damage too, there were breakage of the main trunk,side branches and roots. Large trees eventually fell into the river thus changing its course. From what he recalls the people living in the nearby area got preoccupied with collecting firewood. He thus gave a very vague detail of the entire thing.
3.
Another survivor of the five biggest and severest earthquakes known to history.
Name- Ramnath
Present Address- Rupai Tea Estate, Doom Dooma
District- Tinsukia(Assam)
He was 10yrs old during the time of the 1950 Assam Earthquake. He used to live close to the Dhola River Ghat. His family had huge acres of land where they used to cultivate but as a result of soil liquefaction,sand volcanoes he lost almost everything. He mentioned that the sand volcanoes were about 6-10ft high. He lost his mother and after a week they found her dead under the sand. Focusing on fatalities and destruction,he mentioned that incalculable damage was done. The remains of cattles were found and also they could no longer continue farming as the land was not suitable as it used to be for cultivation. Many areas irrigated by river water became dry. He thus had to move to Talap Tea Estate which was about 15kms away from his place as he had to find means to sustain. Even, the Maguri Motapung Bill located a few kilometres away from famous Dibru-Choikhowa Natural Reserve which is an unique natural habitat for aquatics and numerous birds species lost all its beautiful species.The habitat had undergone a radical transformation after the great earthquake of 1950. In short, unrepairable damage was being caused to the Beel as well as human lives and livelihood.

Submitted by,
Alisha Rahman
2nd Semester

]]> 2021-09-03 07:08:41 UTC https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1714798546 Experience of the earthquake in 1950 https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1727274484 I reached out to my maternal grandfather who was a teenager studying in 6th standard during the earthquake. When asked about the incident even after decades he clearly remembers the date of the earthquake. 15th August he said the day of independence in 1950, it occurred during the evening. He remembers the violent shake which lasted for a minute or more. Although his memory is a bit hazy so he does not remember the rictors scale nor the epicenter of the earthquake. But the emotions and the experiences are still vivid. He says when the earthquake hit all the people in their neighborhood came out to the streets to save themselves. My grandfathe lives next to the DTP dyke at the bank of the Brahmaputr and he remembers the rising waves that came along with the earthquak. The waves were huge enough to drown people and even small boats. He recalls that at that time there were no Rcc buildings in Dibrugarh so there was less damage to property as compared to the modern days. But the Ranghar cinema hall at HS road had a huge wall which collapsed due to the earthquake. When I pressed him more to recall if there was anything else that he remembers, he thought hard and mentioned about the aftereffects of the earthquake. He said that after the main earthquake occurred they experienced after-shocks of less Rictors scale for maybe over a month and all the people would leave what they were doing and come out on the road. This aftereffect lasted for a long time however he couldn't recall the time period. He then adds that one of the major aftereffect was the 1953 land erosion where Brahmaputra took away huge chunks of land and changed the map of Dibrugarh. And this led to him recalling how he lost half of his home to Brahmaputra and how his school went down the river. Here my grandmother also chimed in and said she was just 3 years old when the 1950 earthquake happened and that she doesn't remember much of it. But one sight that is very clear in her head is how cups and utensils used to shake after the earthquake occurred. The aftershock were frequent and she says when cups were set down for tea they would shake. She also blames the 1950 earthquak which eventually led to the 1953 land erosion and it is a painful memory for her because she saw her entire house collapse and get swallowed by the mighty Brahmaputra.

By, Uzma Anam Rahaman ]]> 2021-09-09 06:59:14 UTC https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1727274484 EXPERIENCE OF 1950’S ASSAM EARTHQUAKE In order to find out about the happenings and experiences of one of the most devastating earthquake that occurred in Assam in 1950s,I conversed with both of my maternal and paternal grandmothers who were young at that time and have some unforgettable memories of that horrific day. 1. When asked about the memories of 1950’s earthquake to my paternal grandma, she said that she was of 19 years of age at that time and was washing dishes near the tubewell in her home in Tarajan Kakoti Gaon of Jorhat when the earthquake occurred. The trees were swaying, moving like upside-down pendulums and everywhere there were sounds of “ horibol” and “uruli”. Grandma, her parents and her siblings came out their house and started chanting “horibol”. One event which she sadly recalls is that one her Aunt ( Jethai) who stayed in front of their home felt in one of the cracks that occurred on the roads due to the violent earthquake on her way back from the bazaar. Thankfully she was lifted and rescued from the crack but was in a unconscious state ( later when she was taken to the hospital, the doctor advised her to drink fish soup for speedy recovery to which she straightforwardly refused saying that she being a Brahmin widow is not allowed to eat non-veg). Lastly, my grandma told me that they were very scared by the violent trembling that occurred at intervals from morning to evening (the intensity being greater in the evening) and also continued for many days with varying intensities. 2. My maternal grandma was 10 years old at that time. She was a resident of Khowang of Dibrugarh District. When asked about her experience of that day she clearly recalls of how she was sleeping on the bed due to high fever and how she suddenly woke out of shock when the trembling occurred. She told that the bed on which she was lying tilted to one side as one of its leg broke due to the violent shake. Unable to move due fever and weakness she was dragged out of her bed by her Uncle (Khura) in a hurry. Everyone in her family went out of the house in the open where other people in the neigbourhood were gathered too. The violent shakings continued for a long period and occurred at intervals. She told me that her paternal grandma who stayed with them was sick and bedridden at that time so my grandma’s father who owned a truck turned it into a temporary house where the entire family stayed for almost a week. He did it because as both my grandma and her grandma were sick, staying inside the house was found to be risky as at anytime they may require to rush to the hospital. One more event which she distinctly remembers, although she doesn’t remember the date , is that it was Assam’s first Chief Minister, late Gopinath Bordoloi’s “Shraddha” on that very day , 1st narrator: Sushma Sarmah 2nd narrator: Kamala Baruah . Submitted By: Joyashree Devi, M.A. 2nd Semester, Dibrugarh University https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1762281524 2021-09-23 07:33:52 UTC https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1762281524 Experience of 1950s Earthquake as narrated by Mr. Nagendra Nath Sarma, a resident of Beltola. https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1816408955 "At the time of the 1950s earthquake, I was at my village Koithalkusi in Nalbari district and I was a 6 years old boy. It was the month of June or July and we were sitting at the yard with the elders of the household in the evening. Around 7 or 8 pm the ground started
shaking a lot. It was so strong and lasted for around 3-4 mins. We all along with the elders were so scared. While the ground was shaking a fountain of water spurted from the ground in the yard and our yard flooded with water. It didn't stop. The helper at our home was ordered to make a banana raft and we all got on it. The next morning we saw a lot of water, even more than the previous night. We went to the back orchard to excrete. There was no water since there were no tubewells at that time and all the ponds and wells that were there were underwater. However, the water didn't go inside the house. The water level was still the knees at our compound and on the roads, the level was above the knees. We could not walk as the roads were uneven and went to see water on the raft.

There were no natural rivers or streams in our village but a 50 KM. the artificial stream was created from Pagladia to Burhadia. Since there was no embarkment around the water bodies the water did not stay for long. After 3-4 days the water dried out as soon as the nearby water bodies dried. The cows ran out from the shed breaking the tether and behaved unnaturally. In our village, no houses were damaged and no people or household animals died. According to me, both men and women in my family suffered the same because of the earthquake.

From a brother who stayed at Guwahati, we got to know that the Brahmaputra was flooded with fallen trees as if one could cross the river by walking on the trees. There was no difference between roads and the river. The roads became like rivers. The dead fishes in the river carried a foul smell.

The government was not much active in these works during that time since India just got independence and we didn't get any support from the government at the time of the 1950's earthquake."

~Interviewed by Prayashi Goswami, Dept. of Women's Studies, Gauhati University

]]> 2021-10-14 08:27:20 UTC https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1816408955 Experience of the 1950s earthquake as Narrated by Mr. Prabin Sarma, a resident of Beltola https://padlet.com/obja/lfd4320km9nllefi/wish/1820976560 "At the time of the 1950s earthquake, I was a 16-year-old boy and I was in my hometown Sipajhar. The earthquake was very strong and it shook a lot. We thought that our houses will get damaged but surprisingly there was no damage and no one died in the area. There was no river in our surroundings. But we had a pond beside our yard and while the ground was shaking very strongly, the water from the pond came out and flooded the yard. But it didn't stay for long. People from our place didn't face any harm and damages. The people were scared and the animals and the birds behaved very unnaturally.
When I went for my higher studies to Palashbari, I heard incidents of the effects of the earthquake. There was a place called Palashbari in the Kamrup district, but the actual or physical space of the place is nowhere now. It was immersed under the Brahmaputra in the earthquake because of landslides. But the name of the place remained and the famous bazaar of Palahbari was relocated to Bijoynagar, near Mirza. Since the old Palashbari was immersed under the Brahmaputra and the road that went through the old Palashbari to other districts was also damaged. While I was studying there some American tourist went by that broken road and unfortunately met with an accident and died.
I travelled some places during the years of my service and in Goalpara, people said that the Goalpara town was double in size and now half of it is under the river. Similar to Palashbari, the old Sadiya town is nowhere to be seen and is now underwater. The Sadiya administrative division was relocated to a different place but the name remained. I saw a house in Sadiya's Sapakhowa ghat which was under the ground and if we measure it with our hands only one hand is visible. I saw the remaining posts of the water tanks in the south bank railway station of Sadiya, which were almost under the ground and only approximately 3 feet were visible.
I heard from the people there that a whole tea garden in the Lakhimpur district got vanished because of the earthquake, though I forgot its name.
Since there were no damages and harm in our village I am not aware of the steps taken by the government. I haven't heard any folk tales related to earthquakes as well."

~Interviewd by Prayashi Goswami, Department of Women's Studies, Gauhati University

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