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When we started from Delhi for an extensive tour of the north –
eastern states, we did not think of Guwahati as a place of tourist
interest. We assumed it to be a gateway t the north – east and
a starting pint for a visit to the famed wildlife reserves of Manas
and Kaziranga and places like Shillong, Sibsagar, Imphal, Loktak,
Dimapur, Kohima, Agartala. Guwahati could be used as a base camp
since most of the places are well connected with this capital city of
Assam by road, rail and air. So we thought.
With these ideas in mind, we went to
the Assam tourist office for booking conducted tours to Manas and
Kaziranga. However, all seats were booked for the next four days for
both these places. We could either go to these places. We could
either go to these places on our own and face the uncertainty over
transport and accommodation, or wait four days and simply while away
our time rambling in Guwahati and its nearby places.
Not being familiar with these regions
were chose the latter and booked our seats for Kaziranga for the
first available date. When we asked the Assam tourist officer whether
there was a conducted tour for sight – seeing in Guwahati he
said, “well, we had one but it had to be abandoned because we
never got enough people interested in such a venture.” Our
misgivings about Guwahati as a place of tourist interest seemed to be
coming true. This feeling was strengthened when my host said “well,
there is hardly anything to see around in the city. Perhaps, you
could visit Kamakhaya if you have a religious bent of mind.”
Later we discovered he had not visited any of the places in his two
years of stay in Guwahati and was giving opinions on hearsay.
Our delayed reservations to Kaziranga
and Manas came as a blessing. Guwahati which derives its name from
two words, Guwa (meaning, betel-nut) and Hati (meaning, little
market) has much more to offer to tourists than mere sights of
vendors in their traditional attire seiling freshly plucked
betel-nuts.
Exploring Guwahati on your own is not
at all difficult. There are just two principal roads along which most
of the places of tourist interest lie – the first running from
Guwahati Refinery to the airport via the main market and the
University area, covering a distance of about 40 kilometers and the
second, running from Chandmari to Basistha shrine via the zoo and
Dispur, covering a distance of 20 kilometers.
It is customary for anyone on his first
tour Guwahati to first visit Kamakhaya the Mother Goddess, second
only to the mighty Brahmaputra, the river that has an undeniable
presence in the town.
We intended proceeding early in the
morning for this holy place but the heavy rains delayed our departure
and we could move only by 11 O’clock – quite late by
north-east standards because here, the sun rises at least two hours
earlier than at Delhi and other places in the north. In a way this
delay came as a blessing as we were spared the wait in the queue for
the ‘darshan’ of the Goddess about which its is said,
“Guwahati would be like a lost child without its presiding
deity.”
The journey from the city to the temple
is quite refreshing and exhilarating. The road runs along with the
mighty Brahmaputra-literally meaning “ the son of Lord Brahma”
– on one side and blue hills with thick foliage on the other.
The sparkling green water receding into the creeks and crevices of
the not-so-distant blue hills all along the route form the most
striking view.
It is interesting to know why Kamakhaya
is considered to be the centre of Shakti (energy) worship and Tantric
from of Hinduism. It is here that the yoni of Sati, the first wife of
Lord Shiva fell when he was sorrowfully carrying her away for the
last rituals.
The bus left us near the temple which
is crested in the Nilachal Hill. All around the temple, there are
peacocks and several other birds which make the area vivid and
lively. We did not have to wait. We had a quick darshan of the Mother
Goddess and after performing the ritual of “first visiting
Kamakhaya upon arrival to Guwahati,” we were free to visit
places of our choice in any order were felt like.
In the center of the city, with the
magnificent backdrop of the Brahmaputra and atop Sukleshwar Hill
stands the Janardan temple. A special feature of this Shiva temple is
that it also has an image of Lord Buddha which indicates how Buddhism
was assimilated back into Hinduism. The northern side of the temple
has stair-cases leading to the large bathing ghats along the rive
Brahmaputra. The water is sparkling clear, unlike the bathing ghats
of Varanasi or Hardwar. One can take the ritual bath here or simply
sit and observe the mysterious beauty of the mighty Brahmaputra as it
splashes its crystal waters. The hills on the opposite side and the
poetically moving green arched ferries and boats lend an air of
tranquility to the scene. The best time to site here is in the early
morning or evening when the rising and setting sun reflects in the
water and the silhouettes of the fisherfolk against of the red orb
form a canvas.
From the Sukleshwar temple you can get a ferry or a boat which
will take you to yet another temple of Shiva – Umananda which is
on the Peacock Island in the middle of the river. Its picturesque
location is the site for the annual Shivratri festival. It reminded
me of the famed Vivekanand Rock Memorial Temple in the midst of the
ocean at Kanyakumari. The only difference is that the edges of the
Vivekanand temple are splashed by the violent milk –frothy
water, while this tiny island looks like a large emerald lapped
gently by crystal blue water. The other difference is that while the
temple at the southern tip of the country has a chiseled and well
structured building, the temple here is quite old and rugged with
trees and shrubs all around. But this impenetrable wilderness has its
own charm and it brings forth the primeval beauty of this island.
West of Chitrachal Hill is the unique temple of Navagarh
dedicated to the nine planets, as its name suggests. Once a renowned
seat of astronomy and astrology, it is possibly the reason for
Guwahati’s earlier name – Pragjyotishpur. The structure of
the temple resembles the ancient Ahom (Assamese) architecture. Inside
the temple, there ae ageless representations of nine planets along
with the sun as well as statues of them in human form made only
recently by stone-workers called from Delhi. Predictably, Shani
(Saturn) and Mangal (Mars) get the most attention.
To escape from the noisy turmoil of central Guwahati, pop across
to the Basistha Ashram believed to be the hermitage of sage Basistha.
As least half a day is required if one really wishes to enjoy the
charm of this place. It is a popular picnic spot, too. Three distinct
rivulets, namely, Sandhya, Lalita and Kamala flow close to the Ashram
adding to the beauty and grace of the place. It is a place favored by
nature. The gentle sloping hill form a pleasant backdrop. At dawn and
dusk nature can be seen at its creative best, unfolding glorious
sights.
And this is not the end of the list of ancient temples in this
land of immense ethnic and cultural richness, If you have enough
time, it is worth visiting the many classical temples even if you
have no religious bent of mind.
Among the modern temple, Dol Govinda situated near the Guwahati
Refinery is the most popular. It has a well landscaped garden around
it where exotic flowers can be found growing in abundance. It is
situated on a hillock and from here one can get a breathtaking sight.
The crimson blushing sun melting in the distant blue hills. Watching
the clouds and their changing hues cast by the setting sun is a rare
treat you will find difficult to forget. Perhaps you feel Guwahati
has only temples. No, there is much more to this capital city of
Assam. Assam state zoo is not very far from the heart of the city.
Having seen zoos in a number of metropolis and other cities, we
thought it would be almost like them and there was no point in
wasting time.
But on second thoughts we decided to give it a try. The
undulating topography of the zoo three-side open enclosures for the
animals, marshy patches and ponds make the zoo almost like a natural
habitat for the animals. There were several species which we had
never seen before.
After visiting this zoo, I revised my opinion. Every zoo is
unique in some sense or the other. One drawback, however, was that
right in the middle of the zoo, in front of the visitors, animals
were slaughtered for feeding the carnivores.
Guwahati has several museums, repositories of this State’s
ancient culture and tradition. The Assam state museum is the largest
amongst them and has sections on epigraphy, sculpture, natural
history, crafts, ethnography, arms etc. Besides these sections, the
museum has a coin cabinet which bolds more than 4000 coins of
different periods.
The natural history section has some exhibits of unusual species –
ant-eaters, rhinoceros, the crocodile etc. In the ethnography
section, articles of everyday use of different ethnic groups of Assam
and their art-work have been exhibited.
Guwahati is at its best in the early morning. During our four days
stay I enjoyed the morning walks the most getting up at four in the
morning when the sun had not really made up its mind about waking up.
In this half light, the Brahmaputra is a glistening silver and
changes to gold a little late when the sun begins to rise. Faint pink
lines run across the water and the air is full of muted birdsong.
Each day I strolled in a different direction a bit off the main
road and each day my walk took me farther than the previous day.
While wandering in the quaint by-lanes, I never bothered about
whether or not I would lose my way which I did everyday and had t
rely on milkmen to guide me back.
Whichever direction you travel in, the multitudinous greens of
Assam will exhilarate and soothe you – the pale shades of the
fields, the dark glossy green of frangipani and all hues of teak,
bamboo coconut leaves and betel-nut trees and unfamiliar bushes and
thickly clustered shrubs which press close to the road and railway
track. Going for a walk becomes an sort of adventure with discoveries
at every turn – a secluded village pond, used by the villagers
to bathe in and inhabited by fish and a family of ducks, the dark
cool compounds of mud and thatch houses, the textures of coconut
matting and tiles and green light filtering through trees and shrubs,
a milkman in a cricket cap cycling past……
The town planning conceived with an amount of artistry is
discenible even as we see how the hillocks that surround Guwahati
have been used to accommodate buildings while the lower-part of the
city is alive with business activity. But you will rarely find such
buildings or houses on the roadside. What you are most likely to
find is a neat little gae opening into a quaint cobbled path that
runs into a garden and set in the heart of the garden, a house,
asleep within ivy covered walls. Verandahs admit the light and living
rooms sieve it through bay windows covered with light muslin cloth.
The market in the city bursts with a bounty of vegetables, fruits,
flowers, coconuts, betel leaves, betel nuts and a hundred odd things
that are needed by the housewives. There are more than a dozen
varieties of leafy vetetables (saags) – many of which I had
never seen before and when cooked, were a gourmet’s delight.
There is a small, seedless, tender variety of jackfruit which, when
cooked, tastes like a non-vegetarian preparation.
Customers twirling the marvelous revolving cane hand-fans that old
men make sitting on the pavements; bamboo poles balancing an amazing
variety of cane-baskets carrying anything from dozens of eggs to
traditional utensils, old women selling handwoven mekhla-chadars
(Assamese women’s costumes); tribal girls with earnings selling
shawls – these are the sights in the market which you may not
witness in every city.
The most loved drink of the city is the tender coconut water
appropriately referred to a s nectar water because of its various
therapeutic values. There is a special loveliness about the bunches
of the greener than green coconuts hanging on the bicycles. The
coconuts are very fresh and never even a day old. Here, they have a
very special taste because they are grown on the banks of freshwater
resources unlike. In Bombay, Calcutta, Madras of Puri where they are
grown on salty land.
When in Guwahati, don’t forget to savour its sweets and Assam
thali, Chhena (cottage cheese) sweets especially spongy rassogolla,
sandesh and kalakand have a delectable taste. There are also wide
variety of sweets prepared from coconut to choose from. An Assam
thali is a real treat. Perhaps, you will be tasting for the first
time a chutney prepared form succulent pineapple and watery dal
containing leaves of tart, bright-red strawberry shaped tengamara
which give it a delicious tangy flavour. A dinner of Assam-thali
will leave you with a taste that will haunt you for days to come.
Non-vegetarians have an assortment of fish preparations to choose
from.
We were so immersed in savouring the beauty and taste of the city
that we were unaware of time passing and before we knew it our days
wait was over and still several nearby places remained to be seen
Saulkuchi, famous for the Assam silk industry, situated 32 kilometres
form Guwahati; Hajo where religions “meet”; Daranga;
Chandubi lake and many others. We flew back from Guwahati with
promises to come again with some more time at our disposal.
Visiting Guwahati
Getting there
Guwahati is well connected by air, rail and road.
By Air
There are regular air services from New Delhi and Calcutta –
daily morning flights. From Delhi it is a journey of
three-and-a-half-hours.
By Rail
There are rail connections with Delhi, Calcutta and Lucknow. Three
trains daily from Delhi. It is a 36 hour journey.
By Road
Guwahati is 2160 kilometres form Delhi, 3104 kilometres form
Bombay, 2688 kilometres from Madras and 595 kilometres form
Darjeeling by metalled National Highway.
Where to Stay
Hotels: Bellevue, North Eastern, Nandan, Nova, Oberoi (western
style). Mayur, Alka, Apollo, Maruti, Ambassador, Suradevi, Strand
(Indian style).
Other accommodation: Stadium Guest House, Tourist Lodge, Y.W.C.A.
and Circuit House (subject to availability of rooms).
Local Transport
Organised conducted tours for local sight-seeing within the city,
excursions to nearby places of tourist interest, as well as tours to
the famous National Park, kaziranga and the Tiger Reserve and
Wildlife Sanctuary of Manas. There is also a well organized network
of tourist omni buses, tourist taxis, Government tourist cars, a city
bus service and travel/excursion agents.
Shopping
Famous Assamese silk – Muga, Pat and other handloom garments,
shawls, intricately woven gamosas (towels) etc. Handicraft products
of bamboo and cane, brassware and artifacts and curios. Available at
state Emporium, Purabashree, Artfed, Kalpataru and Sualkuchi Silk
Producers’ co-operative stores.
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