Ambubachi Mela To Be Celebrated In A Low-Key Affair; Know 5 Lesser Known Facts About It

Guwahati: The Ambubachi Mela will not be celebrated in an extravagant manner as it is done every year and will instead be a low key affair during this year owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Assam Tourism Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah on June 16 took stock of the temporary camp at Sonaram Field and old jail campus at Fancy Bazaar in Guwahati.

He payed a visit to the camps, where he said that this time around, the Ambubachi Mela will not be celebrated with its former glory and fanfare as a result of the pandemic.

The Assam Tourism Minister said that the VIP culture will not be allowed this time and everyone will be treated in the same way. The VIP and the common public can visit Kamakhya Temple together.

Pilgrims will not be permitted to take vehicles beyond the main entrance of the Kamakhya temple.

No camp will be there on the premises of the temple for the pilgrims but camps will only be set up for the police.

Jayanta Malla Baruah informed that cultural events of any kind will not be allowed to take place during the Ambubachi Mela and no pass will be provided for the vehicles, thereby doing away with the VIP culture.

Meanwhile, the sacred Ambubachi Mela will take place from June 22-26, 2022 at Kamakhya Devalaya after a gap of two years.

The public will not be allowed to visit the temple due to Ambubachi rituals and this will come into effect at 8.16 pm on June 22 and will last till the morning hours of June 26.

Certain guidelines, which need to be followed during the Ambubachi Mela, have been issued by the temple authorities.

The temple authorities went on to inform that no provisions of food and lodging will be there this time for the pilgrims who will come from other states.

It further informed that the temporary stalls will remain closed in the Nilachal Hills during the four days of the Mela.

Here are some lesser-known facts about Ambubachi Mela:

1. The Ambubachi Mela is held annually during the monsoon in the Kamakhya Devi Temple in Guwahati, Assam. This is a time when the river Brahmaputra may be called 'mighty' in the actual sense.

2. The celebration is said to acknowledge the yearly menstruation course of the Goddess Kamakhya, or celebration of feminity in the real sense of the term.

3. The occasion is also named as Ameti or the Tantric fertility festival mainly due to its close association with the Tanaatric powers mostly prevalent in eastern parts of the Indian sub-continent.

4. During this period, the Goddess is considered to be extremely powerful, thereby cleansing and revitalizing the entire Earth, which in practice is her body itself. On the 4th day, the deity is bathed to reclaim limpidness and various rituals are performed.

5. The main attraction for the devotees is the unique "Prasad" or the offering to the deities that comprises small bits of red coloured cloth supposedly moist with the menstrual fluid of Goddess Kamakhya. The Prasad is considered highly auspicious and thought to attract good luck and charm. 

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