People of different faiths Venerated idols of Aragam Bandipore

 

Legends, fables, cal history accounts, tales of supernatural spirits, heresy stones and stories of tutelary forest spirits etc. are deeply rooted in the traditional historical and cultural opinions of a place or a region. These are passed on to portents mostly orally and form a connecting link between the past and the present times. These sometimes become narratives of a particular place and its people. These may possess elements of divinity and supernaturalism, though these may not be evidenced by documentary and supporting facts. These, usually, have an element of mystery and may possess a legendary pull and fascination for the native people.

In a plain speak, these can be said to be based on diverse emotional offshoots and legacy of centuries of faith and belief .

Aragam is an obscure picturesque village nestled in the lushness of the green foliage, being located about 50 km from Srinagar on the Srinagar-Bandipora route. Now a part of the newly carved-out Bandipora district, it is at a distance of five km from the Bandipora town and about twenty five km from Sopore Aragam, mainly, comprises plain lands and is surrounded by wooded mountains on three sides, locally known as Animbar, Fakhnar and Lung Marg forests. The village derives its name from a river let which flows through the village.

Adjacent to the lung marg forests is a vast stretch of imposing grazing ground called Zia Sun which is a lively ambience of pastoral life. The surrounding mountains support majestic pine and Deodar forests, while as wild walnuts chinar, willow and poplar trees can be spotted everywhere in the village lands. Paddy constitutes the main staple crop of the village though isolated pockets also support maize and oil seeds.

Aragam, also, has substantial stretches of orchards bearing apple, pears, cherry, walnuts, and almond fruit trees The village has about 2,000 households, out of which about ten were Kashmiri Pandit families; the rest being Muslims at the time of exodus. All the Kashmin Pandit families, prior to their forced migration in 1990, were agriculturists and orchardists with livestock forming an additional source of income. Aragam had a high literacy rate with most of the Pandit families serving in Government departments. known as Beem Look, Pathun Loof and Cabal Loot. The Beam' were ferocious war tribe men of the frontier areas. who are said to have resorted to loot and plunder hundreds of years back.

During the Qabali tribal raid in 1947, Kashmiri Pandits of Aragam could save their skin as they fled to the adjacent mountains. But in the nearby Bandipora Kharpora town, nine members of a Kashmiri Pandit family of Sh. Sansar Chand Sadhu (Choudhan) were brutally murdered by the tribal men. They were lined-up in a row and subjected to a hail of bullets. Late Sansarchand, nicknamed Chowdhan, was a well known trader of his time, whose business interests extended up to Gilgit He used to trade in kishmish, dates, hazelnut and cashew nut business and in return would send Kashmir spices to the frontier province.

As per the village lore of Aragam, about two and a half centuries back, a Kashmiri Pandit, namely Sh. Gash Ram lived here and was endowed with spiritual powers. Besides being a known agriculturist, he had about nine hundred livestock He had acrimonious relations with Akal Bhat, who, in order to settle scores with him, invited the professional tribal plunderers called Baer to the Aragam village.

To escape from the wrath, Gash Ram packed off his two daughters and two sons to the neighbouring place, while the remaining two sons, along with their entire livestock, look shelter in the Lung Marg forests. They hid themselves in the mountain cave, which even today is known as Gash Ram's hut Gash Ram was caught and as a punishment, he was suspended from a tree by means of his skull hair tuft chhoag).

Astonishingly he survived the near-death ordeal Later, he was handed over to a executioner for being killed. He bribed him by giving an appreciable part of his cattle and in the bargain got a lease of life. Sh. Gash Ram had five sons-Sahaj Ram, Prakash Ram, Raja Ram, Siraj Ram and Balram. Among them late Sh. Raja Ram and Sh Sahaj Ram had saintly disposition and possessed exceptional spiritual powers. Both of them were ardent devotees of Sagar Raz Bhairav, the protecting deity of the village Aragam.

As per the village lore, both the spiritually-endowed The village has been a witness to three plunders locally brothers would enter into divine communion with Sagar Raz Bhairav off and on during their meditation. The same lore also says that to ensure wrinkle-free smoothness of the turban cloth, both Raj Ram and Sahaj Ram would hold it in their hands till Sagar Raz Bhairav tied the turban on their heads. On special occasions, they would keep offerings of food in a thal for Sagar Raz Bhairav in their pooja room (Thokur kutth. The tall would astonishingly vanish from sight and had to be collected afterwards from the nearby cremation ground obviously after Sagar Raz Bhairav had accepted the offering The village cremation ground (Aazabal was about a hundred yards away from their residence. Adjacent to it was a piece of land where Raza Kath, the sacrificial religious offering of sheep was performed in honour of the presiding deity of the village This piece of land is even now known as Raze signifying the ownership of it to the village Bhairav An attempt made sometimes back, by a native to cultivate it made him bedridden for a couple of months.

It was taken as an expression of displeasure and annoyance shown by the village Bhairav Sagar Raz Bhairav is also regarded as the protecting deity of the villages of Aragam, Galore, Brad, Chittiband, Gunk, Dechan. Tantraypora and a vast area extending night up to the Wular Lake.

The Pandit community of Aragam, also, became the victims of the militants' fury in 1990 when the wife of Sh. Kanya Lal Tikoo, namely Smt. Girja Tikoo (Bablu) was killed zahnar by the militants. She was a laboratory assistant at Govt. High School, Trehgam (Kupwara) At the height of the militancy she was abducted and subsequently killed when she had gone to collect her salary at Trehgam.

On her way back, she had to make a night halt at the Tikker village in the house of her childhood female friend 

Tikker was also incidentally her parental village She was kidnapped and taken to an adjacent electric saw-mill and mercilessly cut into two halves up to her chest by the electric saw Her dead body was later on thrown near a bridge in Tikker This brutal slaying sent a chilling message to the Pande families of Aragam and the adjoining villages, who were left with no alternative but to migrate from their ancestral homes in order to save their honour and skin,

The village Aragam has an ancient temple by the side of a holy spring, which has a Shiving and a stone idol of the Goddess Parvat. The village temple complex has plenty of willow and poplar trees. Another village holy spring called Bran Maji Hund Nag has one kanal of land attached to it, which abounds in majestic chinar trees. The villagers, irrespective of their caste and creed, would offer the milk of their first delivered cows to the holy spring out of reverence for it.

About four kms away from the village Aragam is a hillock known by the name of Shank Paal A hermit of the same name is said to have undertaken hard penance here hundreds of years back. It had a few pious springs in its vicinity, some of which have now dried up. A village lore says that any unholy misdeed committed in the area would result in instant rainfall in earlier times .

A well-known Muslim saint and Sofi poet Lala Sahib Aragami was a native of the Aragam village. He lived up to the year 1984. In one of his Kashmiri couplets, the poet eulogises the virtues of a Kashmin Pandit, tan dearth ….tah zahnar.

In another Kashmin verse, the said poet exhorts a Kashmin Pandit girl to have unrestrained devotion for her God. i.e. enshrined in the stone idol itself .

Bata Koori Vats Kanie Many Chuai Dai 

Karee Pooja Yinal Mushravak Lai

Likewise, being a devotee of the Goddess Parvati, he expresses his reverence for the Goddess 

 "Haran Doh Gale Parana Yast Parvati Lo 

Sonhaer Paap Deeper Trap Late Par

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Courtesy:-   Upender Ambardar   Koshur Samachar 2018, March