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R
aj means
Raja (king) and Mai
or
Mao
means
Mother
. According to
local legend the 8th Ahom
king Swargadeo Sudaipha (1397-1407)
established a pond in the memory of his
mother a few kilometres away from Sivasagar. Gradually the
inhabitants named the place Rajmai. When the tea garden
was planted there, it was called Rajmai Tea Estate. Sarguwa,
the capital founded by Swargadeo Sudaipha, was a part of
Rajmai T.E. The Swargadeo had built a palace made of
Singari wood which was known as Singari Ghar. Although
nothing remains of this palace, some ‘maidams’ (burial
mounds of royalty), farms and old ponds or tanks bear
testimony to the bygone days. (
The Ahom kings were addressed
as Swargadeo as they were believed to have divine origins.
)
Most of the royal ‘maidams’
are located at Charaideo,
about 30 km away from
Sivasagar, which was the
first capital of the Ahom
kingdom established by the
founder of the Ahom
dynasty, Chao Lung Siu-Ka-Pha in 1228.Though the capital
of the Ahom kingdom moved many times in and around
Sivasagar, Charaideo remained the symbolic centre and thus
the final resting place of the royal family.
A small temple called Thawra Dol is situated next to a tank
to the east of Sarguwa. Both were constructed by Alon
Dihingia Borgohain during the reign of Swargadeo
Sivasagar – The Seat of
the Swargadeos
46 July 2016
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Rajdeep’s interest in the history and heritage of his community, the Ahoms, has deepened
after being posted at Rajmai T.E. which is situated just a few kilometres away from
Sivasagar, the Capital of the Ahom kingdom for six hundred years. Relics of the past at
Rajmai bear testimony to the fact that it was very much a part of the kingdom at one time.
Rajdeep also has a keen interest in wildlife and goes bird watching in the neighbouring
Panidihing Bird Sanctuary in winter, when the migratory birds arrive.
~ Rajdeep Buragohain
Rajmai T.E.