Image by Parichay Sen, Unsplash
Assam the land of “Blue hills and Red rivers” is situated in the north-eastern part of India. It's a stunning place with beautiful landscapes. Assam is surrounded by several hills and major rivers like the Brahmaputra and Barak. This beautiful state is famous for its tea gardens, one-horned rhino, scenic beauty, diverse cultures, and the gorgeous Assam silks & Mekhla chadors. I have been lucky enough to visit this magnificent place more than once. I made my first trip to Assam in the year of 2013. There are several trains and flights available to Guwahati from Kolkata. We booked the tickets for Saraighat express, and our booking was confirmed on a 3-tier compartment from Kolkata station. We started our journey in the evening. Generally, it takes almost 18 hours to reach Guwahati from Kolkata. Though our train was a little late, the journey was quite comfortable. After crossing Siliguri the landscape and backdrop changed dramatically. It was all green and hills. It was almost like I am suddenly going through my old drawings copy. I have always loved mountains and this was my very first experience of mountains.
Hills and mountains have their charms; you can't resist yourself to fall in love with them. After all the admiring, finally, we arrived at Guwahati station on the next day, afternoon and reached our destination by the evening. Though we had stayed at my brother’s place, as he at that time was posted there. Guwahati is a busy city with all the hustle-bustle.
For the first time, I heard the Assamese language. Apart from a few differences, it's quite similar to Bengali. I don’t know the exact reason, but Assam felt like home. It was all comfortable and warm. Maybe it was my love for hills.
Image by Santanu Misra, Unsplash
Kamakhya Temple
Assam is full of amazing places and the most famous one is the Kamakhya Mandir. This temple is one of the most famous pilgrimage sites in India. Devotees from all over the country come here for the "Darshan” of Maa Kmakhya. There are many engaging stories behind this Shakti Peeth. It is believed that during the time of “Ambabuchi", a stream of red-coloured water flows from an unknown source inside the temple. Thousands of devotees come here during that time. People believed it was the pure blood of Maa Kamakhya, as the Devi goes through her menstruation. Located on the top of Nilachal hill, this place is the oldest centre of Tantric practices.
On my second trip to Assam, we just came for the ‘Darshan’ of Maa Kamakhya. During this visit, we went to the "Garbhagriha” of the temple. The experience was fascinating. After taking a few steps under the temple in the absolute darkness you'll find the "Shila murti”. Only a small Diya is there and the whole place is dark as night. A strange stream of water flows here. This whole ambience would give you chills. You would be able to feel the intense energy of this place. The only thing that gave me the pain was seeing those goats, waiting for death. This tradition of animal sacrifice is heartbreaking.
Mayong Village
Apart from Kamakhya Temple, there is a village in Assam named Mayong. It is known for being the ancient centre of Tantra kriya. Its located on the bank of the River Brahmaputra and is only 40 km away from Guwahati. This place is famous for its history. In fact, in Mahabharata, this village has been mentioned. It is believed that in ancient times, Tantrics used to perform “Narabalis” ( human sacrifices ) here. Many mysterious stories are heard about this place. Mayong is still known as "the land of black magic and witchcraft".
After the Kamakhya temple, we visited another temple of Tirupathi Balaji. The temple is situated in Guwahati near the District Transport office. This temple is located over a large area and has amazing architecture. It's noticeably clean and very aesthetically decorated.
Another engaging place in Guwahati is the Assam State Zoo and Botanical Garden. This place is located within the Hengrabari Reserved Forest. The zoo is spread across 432 acres of land. It has more than 800 animals and over 100 species of animals and birds. it’s a good place to spend your whole day. Time will flow effortlessly if you cover the whole zoo.
Well, Assam holds many more mesmerising assets for you. The visual beauty of Assam is magnificent. The tea gardens, the Brahmaputra river and the hills have created some sort of magic here.
My Kaziranga Tour
The next place that we visited is the world-famous wildlife destination, the Kaziranga National Park, the home of one-horned Rhinos. By car, this place takes more than 3 hours to reach from Guwahati. So, it took almost a whole day. Kaziranga National Park is declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This place is home to so many magnificent animals like elephants, Bengal tiger, one-horned rhino, swamp deer, wild water buffalos and lots of birds. This park is also declared a Tiger Reserve. Kaziranga is not only a tourist spot but also hugely important for our environment. There are many more tourist attractions in Kaziranga. Many tour packages are available. It's best to stay there for a few days to get the proper feel of this place. Sadly we had to return, as the next we were about to visit Shillong.
The journey from Guwahati to Shillong takes almost 2:30 hours by car. Though many trains are available, we travelled by car. It was a little expensive but the beauty of the journey was nothing in front of it. Here is a warning, if you’re a person who’s not comfortable with hilly roads then go for trains. These stunning roads that go upwards through the hills and greens are the best part of the journey. Shilling is a beautiful city, full of life. We stayed here for one night and two days. We only managed to visit the Shillong Peak and Elephant Falls.
Shilling peak is a beautiful place. The view from here, the road that took us there and the cold breeze; seemed like a dreamy destination. We sat there for a long time and enjoyed hot tea and Maggie noodles. After a while, we went to see the Elephant falls.
It was my first time witnessing a waterfall. I can never forget that sound of water, my mind can play it forever. It was so beautiful that my word can not do justice. I sat in front of it for almost one hour, but still, it was not enough.
On both my trips I got very little time to spend in Assam. There are many places I didn't get the chance to visit but whatever I saw is very much cherishable. I can still feel the dark path that led us towards the ‘Bigraha’ of Maa Kamakhya and still get goosebumps. The chilling breeze and raindrops of Shillong peak still touch my face. Assam holds a fond part of my memory. Such memories never die.
Debjani Dasgupta
Debjani is a writer and travel blogger. She loves to explore relatively unexplored destinations, and share those stories with people. She cares for animals and spend her time with books.
