Guwahati is a sprawling metropolis, hub of Assam's financial world and home to some of Assam's richest archaeological gems.
People go to Guwahati on business trips, thinks my mother. So, last year—some day in October—when I came back home from office and told her that I was going to Guwahati the next morning, she didn't seem to be worried. Instead, she asked me: "Are you going for official work?"
"Yes." I said.
"With your boss?"
"No," I replied, "I'm going with the Junior [boss]."
"All right," she said. "Don't forget to visit your grandad's house."
Every time my mother hears that I'm going to Guwahati, she entreats me to visit grandad's house. My grandad—who moved to Guwahati in the mid-1950s—died a long time ago. However, their two sons—both are businessman—live at Kala Pahar with their families. We haven't seen each other for a long time, and this is the reason why she was pressing me to meet them.
The next morning we started our journey to Guwahati in Junior's car. Being an excellent driver, Junior drove us carefully on the national highway: controlling speed limits on every spot through Kaziranga National Park, coming down Burapahar hill in a low gear, and driving on the four-lane (from Nagaon) at amazing speed. Though it was a long ride—two hundred and eighty-six kilometres—it was quite an adventure for us.
We reached Jorabat at twelve noon. From there we drove on the zigzag hilly road until we reached Khanapara. After a few minutes, we entered the city centre and I could see through the windshield the busy marketplace and the tall buildings; people were busily walking on the pathways; some were gathering around street vendor stalls; on the other side of the road divider, a long line of vehicles—cars, city buses, auto rickshaws, e-rikshaws, and motor cycles—stuck in traffic jam. The whole place was in tumult.
Guwahati city nestles between the banks of the Brahmaputra river and the foothills of Meghalaya. It is a sprawling metropolis and hub of Assam's financial world. Known as the gateway of Northeast India, it has an international airport and shipyards. It is well connected by roads and railways with the rest of India.
Besides of its commercial fame, Guwahati is rich in history. It is home to some of Assam's richest archaeological gems: Kamakhya Temple, Umananda Temple, and Navagraha Temple are a few among them. The city also offers many attractions to tourists: Assam State Zoo, Planetarium, State Museum, Sankaradeva Kalakshetra, Nehru Park, Accoland, Saraighat Bridge, Guwahati Ropeway, and River Cruise on the Brahmaputra.
We arrived at our destination—Bhaskar Nagar—at 1:00pm and delivered our files to some office. We had to collect the files again after two days, so we decided to book in at hotel. Junior helped me to find a good hotel, and he also paid the bill for accommodation and food.
The next morning I got up at seven o'clock and got myself ready to venture outside. After sipping a hot cup of tea at a street vendor stall, I caught a citybus to see the Kamakhya Temple. The bus run for forty minutes on the zoo road via Pan Bazzar and along the banks of the Brahmaputra before reaching Kamakhya Gate.
The Kamakhya Temple is situated on Nilachal hills in the west of the city, on the banks of the Brahmaputra river. It is India's one of the holiest places, a Shakti Pitha and renowned for its Tantric practices. Every day the temple is visited by a great many people. The Ambubachi Mela is celebrated during the month of June, which attracts thousands of devotees from all over India.
The history of Kamakhya Temple dates back to 4th or 5th century AD. Nara Narayan, the king of the Kamta Kingdom, rebuilt it in 1565 AD. However, the temple was known to only fewer people before the Britishers came to India. The temple had come in the limelight—in the 19th century—when Bengali Shakta Hindus started to frequent it.
It took us ten minutes to reach the top of Nilachal hills from Kamakhya Gate on an auto rickshaw. The area is surrounded by shops, hotels, restaurants and residential buildings, and the temple itself atop the hill. As soon as I entered the temple premises, I struck by the majestic grandeur of the Kamakhya Temple.
The temple wasn't crowded with visitors. However, I could see people lined up in long queues in front of the door which leads to the temple's sanctum sanctorum or Garvgriha. I roamed around the temple and offered a puja by lighting earthen lamps and inscenses. Of course, before I made an exit I didn't forget to treat myself with the prasad which the temple volunteers were offering to everyone: a plate full of khichri, papad, dry sabji, and rice pudding. The prasad was truly delicious.
On my way back from Kamakhya Temple, I got off at Pan Bazaar. After roaming into the crowded bazaar for half an hour, I started walking towards the river bank where the Ropeway Terminal is located. The Guwahati cable ropeway has been offering service to people since 2020. It covers 1.8 kilometres over the Brahmaputra river and Umananda Temple, connecting Guwahati city with North Guwahati.
I entered the cable ropeway station, bought a ticket and walked into the lounge where a lot of passengers—couples, parents with their children, groups of travellers, young men and women—were eagerly waiting for their turns to ride on the ropeway. I could see through the window the massive ropeway towers standing in the waters across the river [Brahmaputra], and each tower is connected with cables. A ropeway vehicle was running on it. I felt a bit uncanny seeing the vehicle moving several hundred feet above the water.
We went up in the lift to the ropeway platform which is situated on the 4th floor. After a few minutes an empty ropeway vehicle arrived and we were ushered into it. Immediately, a security guard joined us and locked the door from inside. The vehicle slowly started to move forwards; after a few seconds it crossed the river banks and started to run over the vast water. "Wow!" Exclaimed a passenger who was looking down at the river.
The river was more than two hundred feet below us; and I felt a tingling in my feet. Soon we reached the ropeway tower and the whole Brahmaputra river appeared in front of us. It was a really large and wide river; and I could see the lines of trees and buildings along the river banks stretched into the horizon. Some of the passengers started taking photos with their mobile phones. Then, we reached the Umananda Temple—a small island covered by trees and rocks—which is situated in the middle of the river. The woman in the yellow sari standing nearby me bowed her head with a namaskar to the temple. After a few minutes we literally landed on North Guwahati.
On my second trip to Guwahati—this time I went by bus and returned by train, alone—I visited the zoo. The Assam State Zoo cum Botanical Garden is situated right in the centre of Guwahati city. The zoo is covered by forested highlands and shelters a good many species of mammals, birds and reptiles.
The day I visited the zoo it was densely crowded. Besides, it was a very hot day—thirty-eight degrees celsius. It was the summer vacation, someone told me, which had been encouraging people to visit the zoo.
I bought a ticket and entered the zoo. There were people everywhere, roaming on the pathways from one place to another in search of their favorite animals. I wanted to see my own favorite animal—the tiger; so I started to walk to the direction showed by the zoo map, stopping here and there in front of other animals' shelters. On my way I had seen a group of sambers, two giraffes, a troop of langurs, several herds of deers, one leopard, and one rhino.
After a few minutes I came near a road junction, and I saw a small crowd assembled in front of an iron-barred window, watching something excitedly in the distant. I came near them and quickly glanced over their heads: it was a Royal Bengal tiger. There were two tigers, actually: one was lying on the grass and the other was standing by it. Although we were excited to see the tigers, none of them seemed to be paying attention to us! I gave the tigers a salute and left the zoo.
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