Assam, North-East India

Apr May 2012

Going to the North-East always fills my mind with fertility. The abundant, overflowing, lush-green landscape, is unlike anything you can see in most other parts of India which is essentially in most parts semi-dry scrubland. Assam is divided right in the middle by the mighty Brahmaputra which in many places feels like a fast running lake.

As we travelled to Balipara, just north of Tezpur, we took the Saraighat bridge and our first break at a dhabha about 30mins after we crossed the bridge. The Saraighat bridge though not very wide and can just accommodate two lanes, one to come and one to go, has a train line running below the roadline! On searching wikipedia, we discovered that it was opened in 1962 and it cost Rs10cr to built. The dhaba was quite a surprise and for somebody from the western fringe of India, the dramatic transformation of peoples faces to Mongoloid features of various types keeps your eyes gazing and reminds you of the amazing varieties of ethnicities that India has in store.

By evening we reached Wild Mahseer (WM), which is a nice resort made up of 5 bungalows in the Balipara division of the Addabarie Tea Estate of McLeod Russell Ltd. At the last leg of the journey from Tezpur to WM, the presence of the Indian army is quite ubiquitous. You can spot CRPFs etc, army trucks, jeeps and also uniformed men moving about.

Nameri

Morning after breakfast we headed to Nameri where we had our first experience at water rafting.  Though just 25KM, it took us more than 11/2 hours to reach near the Arunachal border. The road are filled with potholes and can be a bit risky. This same road goes to Bomdilla and Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.  The poor state of infrastructure, one wonders is India really serious about holding on to these lands gifted by the British Empire (views may differ).  On our way downstream along-side the Nameri National park which has 11 tigers, we were accompanied by two men from the Mishing tribe. Mishing is a tribe which has their own Mishing language and number about a half a million people and have a roman script and are spread over several districts in Assam. One apparent visible trait was their relatively fair skin and mongoloid features.

Visit to Mishing village

By the evening, we decided to visit a Mishing village, which wasn't much primitive as we expected. The house we visited, was a well laid out bricked and well plastered bungalow. The house lady wore an elegant sari and showed us shawls and other stuff they weave. On checking out around their house, they grow stuff like vanila, pepper, cinnamon, haldi etc., and also owned a brick factory at the edge of the village.

Dolphin viewing

It comes as a surprise that there would be any Dolphins in land-locked Assam. But there are 246 dolphins in the Brahmaputra. After an hour long ride back towards Tezpur we took a wooden boat run on a diesel powered antique engine. Our journey upstream east on the swelling Brahmaputra. It took us more than an hour travelling along the picturesque river bank that we managed to track the elusive and shy dolphin. We managed to get only a few glimpses of the dark greyish dolphin and it required a lot of patience. The Dolphin jumps were so quick that it was futile even to attempt to capture them on your camera. The journey back from where we started took us only 20mins, the downstream current right from the middle was quite swift and the water in the river is quite overwhelming. It was getting late in the afternoon and we thought of breaking for lunch at 'Samaroh restaurant' just the point at which took a short detour towards the river. The hotel was quite interesting and was built on bamboo stilts and had about 6-7 tents for families to share an exclusive moment. But we decided to give it a miss. It had 'pigeon' on its menu.

Tortoise Temple

The tortoise temple was actually a Siva temple which had a pond in its backyard with quite a few tortoises who aren't willing to show their faces unless you are willing offer them something to eat. We were told that the main attraction 'Mohan' is now dead and was a large 100 year old tortoise and would come out only if called by the temple pujari.

Tea Factory visit

The Addabarie tea factory had just started on the day we visited the factory. The process is quite simple compared to the metal factories that i've been used to visiting. In simple terms its just a drying process involving removal of moisture. Tea pluckers are given a target to pluck 21KGs in a day. The season starts from May and ends in December. This year owing to drought like conditions the factory has started late. About 960mnkgs of tea is produced in India of which Mcleod Russel is the largest producer (8% share) and largely sells to the likes of HUL, Tata Global etc. It takes 3-4 years for the plants to start giving leaves. Goodricke is another large producer and has about 25000 acres under cultivation to produce 2.6crKGs.

Back home through the south bank

We took the road back from the south bank road via Nagaon. Baring a few stretches, this is a excellent 4 lane highway where one can touch speeds of 120-140KMph.

Visit to the Guwahati Museum

The Guwahati Museum cost Rs5 for entry. The ground floor has a collection of sculptures, coins, garments etc. The upper floors have model villages depicting the lifestyles of the tribals of Assam. One has to keep low expectations for this place, but the collection of sculptures is quite interesting and varied.

Assam Tribune

Did manage to glance through the Assam Tribune, the largest circulated english daily in the North-East which publishes from Guwahati and Dibrugarh. The first page headlines spoke about perception issues of Indian's towards the North-East in general.

The perception of poor safety of travels within the state is coloured by years reinforcement of beliefs and hundreds of anecdotal evidences. But for a traveller to these lands who wish to savour natural beauty, meet humble and hospitable people, the North-East may be among the last frontiers. You not see any of the hundreds and thousands of hoarding polluting the landscapes elsewhere. You will not see highways clogged with trucks. You will not see beggars. You will not see local tourists haggling for the last penny. You will hear the sounds of birds. You will see magical red tilaks worn by temple-going women in white saris. You will see Namgarhs with their lovely architecture and round pillars. You will see a sustainable community lifestyle.