Assam & North East
Journey to north east
From the heights of Aizawl, after only a short break for sweet chai at the CIJW canteen at Vairangte, we plummeted to the nether world of Silchar- reaching shortly after 6 pm on a dark shandy evening, teeming with shoppers, who wouldn't budge an inch even in view of the big bus bearing down on them. Goodbye mountain air, free people and lofty views, we seemed to be trapped in the sub terrain.
A long drive through the commercial hub of Cachar took us to a seedy hotel in Vakilpatti. Nothing remarkable about Silchar except the Barak which was pretty impressive and the omnipresent posters put up by various Tarun Mitra clubs exhorting all and sundry to vote for local hero Debojit who is a finalist in the popular TV show. Amazing how this has seemed to bring the local pride back to this dusty commercial town. There were plenty of interesting and rather typical local stories about the MP and the mafia during the dusty and back breaking drive into the hillocks of Cachar. But none of that here.
A quick detour to Agartala- a far more cultured city, a capital, which unfortunately is dealing with its own set of problems of ultras. The youth are equally proud of the Palace as they are of the new Cricket Stadium but there is an underlying palpable sense of disquiet and violence, even if the State has been 'developing'.The city's youth , who don't support Debojit as much as their Assamese neighbours, do, however, love the Kashmiri icon Qazi. What an amazing country this is!!
Onward to Guwahati, aw, I don't need to write about it. Kamakhya was HER gracious self even amidst the filth which abounds. And the Brahmaputra, he can only evoke vivid impressions of Bhupenda, where even Begum seems to lose her hold over me. Missed going to Diphu due to the Karbi Anglong tangle, which seems to be poised for further trouble. Kaziranga, ah! I had neither the tools (a mere mobile camera) nor the skills (I have a terrible tremor, which gets worse every time I try to "Steady"!) to go clickety-click, so just find your pics elsewhere. It was awesome though! And all my words and my pathetic pics wouldn't do justice to the Elephant safari. It was something to be experienced by the senses- the early morning feel of the cold and then the warmth of the rising sun, the sounds, the sights, the smells, esp. the smell! ;)
Onto Meghalaya. Didn't get to visit Shillong at all. And quite relieved for it cuz the traffic was most annoying. Stayed at a lovely lakeside resort at Bara Pani, on the outskirts of Shillong. The starry sky, the long lonely walk in pitch darkness, the sharp nip in the air... Early morning, I walked down to the lake and sat and watched till the fishing boats came back. Long day ahead with visits to some really far out, interior villages in the East Khasi hills, one of the milestones saying 'Sylhet 36 miles'! Did Cherrapunji but was absolutely enthralled by the karst topography at Mawsmai. The mighty stalagmites and the impressive stalagtites were really worth more than the missed lunch. Coudn't make it to Tura, which is a hotbed for all kinds of tribal trouble now.
Everyday was packed with a lot of tough travel through troubled areas, lots of work and yet was FUN!
Seher Hone Ko Hai
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