Ben: বাঘমারা bāghamārā
‘Tiger Killed’ [Barokar] Town/HQ (South Garo Hills District), Meghalaya
In 1886 Bong Lasker was heroically involved in a fight with a wild tiger that had been terrorising the village and its cattle in which the tiger [Ben: bāgh, ‘tiger’] ‘died’ or ‘was killed’ [Ben: māra]. There is a memorial to Bong in the town centre celebrating his bravery and leadership and the incident appears in the official records.
Barokar or Barodhar [Ben: bārō, ‘twelve’; Ben: dhārā, ‘stream’] suggests feeder streams in and out of the Simsang/Someshwari river.
Baghmara has a unique sanctuary for pitcher plants [Nepenthes khasiana; Gro:: me’mang koksi, ‘demon/ghost basket’]. These are carnivorous plants with modified leaves for trapping insects and dissolving them in a deep cavity filled with digestive fluid. They are very rare and unique to Meghalaya.
Baghmara Town Atongmorot
