Guwahati Soujourn

The last twenty  minutes of my journey from Bagdogra to Guwahati was breathtaking, peeping from window one can view mighty Himalayas, snow caped peaks and majestic river Brahmputra  traveling from steep to gentle  slopes.

But the moment you approach Guwahati, you find green plains, where small houses covered with tin shades add glamour to the green landscape. Traveling from   Lok Priya Gopi Nath Bardolai Airport to the Guwahati city is not pleasant as the roads are bumpy and traffic is unruly frequent jams. As a tourist you feel that lot has to be done to make this wonderful city full of tourist attractions as an ideal destination. 

Guwahati was  known as  Pragjyotishpura (meaning City of Eastern light) in ancient time and was capital of Kamrup the old name of Assam. Epigraphic sources place the capitals of many ancient kingdoms in Guwahati. It was the capital of the 'mythological' kings Narakasura and Bhagadatta according to the Mahabharata.  The present name Guwahati consists of two Assamese words: 'guwa' (areca nut) and 'haat' (market place). The name used to be spelled as Gowhatty (pre-colonial and colonial), standardized to Gauhati (colonial-British), which was then changed to the present form in the late 1980s to conform to the local pronunciation .It is the biggest commercial centre of the entire north eastern region thus rightly called  "Gateway" of the North East Region. The interesting fact is that the capital of state of Assam is Dispur,  located within the city.

The city has many ancient hindu temples located within the city. Kamakhya Temple, Umananda Temple, Navagraha Temple, Sukreswar Temple,Basistha Temple, Lankeshwar Temple, Doul Govinda Temple, Dirgheshwari temple, Ugro Tara Temple, Rudreswar Temple, etc., are to be named a few. The most respected one is definitely Kamakhya Temple. The ancient Shakti Peeth of Goddess Kamakhya located in Nilachal hill. It is believed that when Shiv took Parvati's  body after she became Sati, pieces of her body fallen on number of places, these places are worshiped by devotees as Shakti Peeths. In olden times, the Peth was shrouded by mystery .   The place is revered by Tantric and Vajrayana Buddhist alike. Old tradition of performing Bali before the Devi is still continued, but the sacrifice place is now outside the main temple.

The city is situated between the southern bank of the mighty  Brahmaputra river with a span competing  with  sagar and the foothills of the Shillong plateau, with  Airport to the west, and the town of Narengi to the east. The city is gradually being expanded as North Guwahati to the northern bank of the Brahmaputra. 

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Guwahati is a major commercial and educational center of North-East India and is home to Institute of Technology (IIT)  Guwahati and other premier institutions like Gauhati University and Cotton College. The city is also a major center for cultural activities and sports in the North Eastern region and for the administrative and political activities of Assam. The city is also an important hub for transportation in the North East Region.

Guwahati and its environs are also rich in wildlife with several rare mammals such as Asian elephants, Gaur, Tiger and primates. The birdlife in and around the city is also rich and diverse. 

 

The ancient and unique astrological temple Navagraha located in Chitrachal Hill, and archaeological remains in Basista and other locations support the mythological assertions of the city's ancient past.

During medieval times between the 12-15th century AD, after the destruction of the Kamata kingdom, the city lost its earlier glory and became mainly a strategic outpost of the Koch Hajo and Ahom Kingdoms of western and eastern Assam. When the western part of the Koch Kingdom (Koch Bihar) fell to the Mughals, the eastern half (Koch Hajo) eventually became a protectorate of Ahom. Although the actual border between both powers (Ahoms and Mughals) fluctuated between the Kartoya river (now in North Bengal) to the Manas and Barnadi rivers, Guwahati remained an important outpost.Hiuen Tsang wrote  that during the greatest Varman king Bhaskar Varman(7th century AD), the city stretched 19 km and was probably the principal base for his strong naval force (30,000 war-boats, with officers who were knowledgeable of the sea-routes from the Indian Ocean to China - Xuanzang). The city remained as the capital of Assam till the 10-11th century AD under the rulers of the Pala dynasty. Excavations in Ambari, and the brick walls and houses excavated during construction of the present Cotton College's auditorium suggest that it was a city of great size with economic and strategic importance until the 9-11th century AD.

The city was the seat of the Borphukan, the civil military authority of the lower Assam region appointed by the Ahom kings. The Borphukan's residence was in the present Fansi Bazaar area, and his council-hall, called Dopdar, was situated about 300 yards (270 m) to the west of the Bharalu stream. The Majindar Baruah, the personal secretary of the Borphukan, had his residence in the present-day Deputy Commissioner's residence (Baruah 1992:200–201).

The Mughals tried to invade Assam 17 times and each time they were defeated by the Ahoms led by the great Ahom general Bir Lachit Borphukan. The Battle of Saraighat fought close to Guwahati in 1671 is the most well known of all those battles, in which the Mughals were over-run due to the strong leadership of Lachit Borphukan and hard work of Brahmaputra, and was an ancient boat yard probably used by the Ahoms in medieval times. Moreover, there are many tanks, temples, ramparts, etc. in the city. The most important archaeological site is the Ambari excavation site close to Dighali Pukhuri. Guwahati means place of sunrise.

A new cantilever bridge across river Brahmaputra has been planned to link North Guwahati, then the congestion of traffic will be eased out.

One of the major attractions of Guwahati is the River Cruise on the Brahmaputra river. To go a cruise on the mighty river is thrilling experience.There cruise vessels like 'Jolporee','Charaidew', 'Alfresco' , 'Baginadi' etc. that will take the visitors on joy rides on the Brahmaputra river.Sitting abroad these luxurious cruise vessels tourists can relax and enjoy the beautiful view of the sunset in the evening hours.

As mighty Brahamputra passes through the city and navigable it serves as  National Waterways , with a terminal at Pandu. It is used for movement of bulk and  amp; general cargo, passenger vessels and tourist vessels.

View of the Brahmaputra River in Guwahati from Kamakhya Devi Temple at Nilachal hill

Umanand Temple is situated on the peacock island in the middle of the Brahmaputra,this temple was built in 1664.This is a Shiva temple.It is believed that Lord Shiva by using his third eye burnt Kamdeva at this place.Every year Shivaratri is celebrated in this temple in great way.This temple island is believed to be the worlds smallest human inhabited island.

This city has seen may facet of insurgency as well as shades of terrorism wide spread in the entire  north eastern region.   The fault lies some where in soft handling of insurgents as well as not promoting  common link of religion and culture between north east and rest of India. With the result most of the people in Assam still feel alineated to the main stream of the country. 

The city has good inflow of tourists specially devotees of Maa kamakhaya, but the administration has not done any thing to create adequate infrastructure to facilitate them. There is no metered autos or taxis in the city, and the tourists are left on the mercy of drivers, who charge very high fares. Traffic jams are very frequent and poses big problem for the city dwellers as well as tourits.

City has all the good or bad thing found in any metropolis, big brands are available but ideally it should be a marketing place for all the north eastern state's handicraft, but little has done in this area.

I should add that the administration has done very little to make a kind of  pleasant experience for tourists.