A night after people bid farewell to 2022 and welcomed the New Year 2023 with pomp and gaiety across Guwahati, they thronged temples to seek blessing of the deities in large numbers on Sunday.
Not only temples, people thronged in large numbers at other places of interest in the city that is often referred to as the gateway to the Northeast.
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Meanwhile, a huge crowd was also witnessed at Northbrook Gate on the banks of river Brahmaputra near Sukreswar Ghat. Visiting the enormous structure was not everybody’s first time experimenting.
Some admired the beauty of the British era monument, some chose to take a sip of hot tea on a cold day at the nearby cafeteria, while the children chose to play in the playing area.
Unfortunately enough, nobody wanted to inquire about the background of the 18th century monument standing upright in the heart of Guwahati for several years.
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Who built it, why was it built; everyone seems to be least interested. For everyone, it was yet another monument.
Shravani Prasad, a regular visitor to the place said that she has come to the place to witness the sunset of the first day of the year but unfortunately, even she is not aware about the background of the giant and majestic structure.
“This place is very beautiful, I love to spend time here. It rejuvenates one’s energy,” said Shravani.
Not only Shravani, this reporter asked many people from all age groups about the background of the monument, none could come up with the correct answer.
The Northbrook Gate, was constructed to welcome British viceroy Lord Northbrook who visited Guwahati in 1874. The gate was built near Sukreswar Ghat where the viceroy anchored his ship.
It is the only monument of its kind in this part of Assam and the lone surviving brick architecture from colonial times.
For the last 140 years, it has remained a silent spectator of many developments of Guwahati.
British officials named the Northbrook Gate the “Gateway of Assam”. The Northbrook Gate in Guwahati, located on the banks of the Brahmaputra, was built to mark the arrival of then Viceroy of India Thomas George Baring, better known as Lord Northbrook, in Guwahati on 27 August 1874.
The gate was constructed near Sukreswar Ghat, where Northbrook got down from the ship, which brought him from Calcutta. The gate has since then become an important landmark of the city.
In 1874, when the then Governor General, Lord Northbrook decided to visit Assam, the local administration focused its attention on a grand welcome for Northbrook.
They decided to welcome the Governor General by building an arch at the point of his embarkation in Guwahati which would be named the ‘Gate of Honour’.
Later the place adjacent to the Sukreswar Devalaya, was selected as the spot where the Governor General’s ship would anchor. And construction of the gate started at the location.
The Governor General had arrived on a ship at the Sukreswar Ghat on 27 August 1874. After the gun salute, Lord Northbrook entered Guwahati, through the newly constructed Northbrook Gate. The gate became the landmark of Guwahati.
The same gate welcomed Lord Curzon during his visit to the city in December 1900 with Lady Curzon.
It is said the urn containing the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi was stored near the gate before its immersion in the Brahmaputra.
The British government had decided that the gate would be designed after the famous King’s College Chapel arches in England.
The rectangular structure has a total of 12 arches, five each in the two longer sides and one in each side of its breadth. The gate was built of brick and white limestone.
The structure was enhanced by the simplicity of design and the unusual lack of decorative carving of the arches.
The unique aspect of the gate is that while the arches are of gothic design, the spires on the gate are inspired by Indian temple designs-so the overall impression is of an Indo-gothic architecture.
The gate stands for more than 140 years. From the beginning, it had been restored several times.