|
About Assam
Assam the land of the Red River,
the Brahmaputra, and the Blue Hills flanking it. Assam - the
land where you find flowers that are exquisitely beautiful,
animals that are rare, and a beleagured people that are proud
and inviting. In ancient times Assam constituted a part of the
land known successively as Pragjyotisha or Pragjyotishpura,
and Kamarupa. Asom (Axom) or its anglisized version Assam is a
comparatively modern name. Opinions on the root of the name
vary with one view ascribing its origin to the Bodo word
Ha-Cham which means "low or level country" and a second view
ascribing it to the word Asama, meaning "unequalled" or
"peerless", and used to denote the Ahoms, a Shan tribe which
ruled the land for six centuries from the 13th Century
A.D. The State harbours a virtual bonanza of attractions for tourists of every kind.
There are the
historical monuments and structures which speak of a glorious
past of high architectural achievement. The shrine of Kamakhya
is there for the religious. So are a hoard of other places of
religious significance including the Vaisnavite Sattras which
provide the visitor a glimpse of the unique form of Hinduism
propagated by Sankardeva and his deciples. It is however none
other than Mother Nature which transforms the State into a
haven of tourism.
The flora and fauna of famous wildlife
sanctuaries such as Kaziranga, places of unsurpassed natural
beauty such as Haflong and Chandubi ensure that the visitor
goes way with a lasting impression. Then there is the added
attraction of a colourful people with exotic customs and
exquisite art and handicrafts to match. Assam is a mini-India
if not more.
>The human landscape is as colourful as
her physiography. This land has been the meeting ground of
diverse ethnic groups and cultural streams since time
immemorial. Throughout history, people of different stocks
have been migrating into this land and merged into a common
harmonious whole in a process of assimilation and
fraternisation not to be seen much elsewhere in India.The
principal migrants have been the Austro-Asiatics, the
Dravidians, the Tibeto-Burmans, the Mongoloids and the Aryans.
The Austro-Asiatics, who were one of the earliest to
arrive, initially lived in the Brahmaputra Valley, but were
later pushed to the hills by the subsequent waves of migrants.
The Khasis and Jaintias of present-day Meghalaya are said to
be the descendants of this stock. Next to come were the
Dravidians, and the ethnological conjecture is that the
Kaibarta and Bania communities of modern Assam are descendants
of this group.
The hills emerge from the heart of Assam
like a chorus of silent hymns and rise up to the sky like
crescendo of music. The sportive clouds play around the cliffs
like gleeful children.The limitless green rolls away to
distant horizon in a beautiful rhythm Hilly Assam is a land of
sensuousness. A heaven to the senses where one touches the
sweetest dream with one's fingers. The mountains float in the
distant sky. The clouds descend and snugly.
It is a
blue and green all around. The fragrant breeze silently
embraces you and whispers love to the beautiful springtime
flowers. The summer rains drench the hills and spread and
unfathomable mystery. The playful Sun showers its gold from
behind the imposing Barail range and warms up the wintry dawn.
The autumn midday has its seista in errie silence. Exotic
wildlife haunts the jungle of night and plays and howls around
the sleepy villages that dot the luxuriant green.
Land & People
The small and
serene villages shelter the lovely people warm and fascination
and as colourful as the land itself. Their intoxicating
environs bloom into equally intoxicating body breaks, steeps
and sounds. They robe themselves in the choicest cloths which
are blended on their looms.
Forest & Wildlife
Dense
forests keep you company all the way, and at times even tend
to cover up your path in sportive jest. The mirthful hollock
gibbons play hide and seek with you. Elephants err in to the
roads. It can even be his Majesty having forty winks and
basking in the sun. The cascades bring rare times for angles.
The ornithologists have busy time spotting the little
miniverts pheasants, magpies and laughing thrushes that
twitter in the hill all the
year.
|