Travelogue Part B

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Here are details of our visit to different places of historical importance in the district of Aurangabad in Maharashtra.

(1) Visit to Ajanta caves: On the 14th, at 0800 hrs., I and my friend Asu started for Ajanta in our rented car. Ajanta is about 100 Kms from Aurangabad. We moved along Aurangabad-Delhi Road for quite some distance and then diverted for Ajanta. The road was excellent, and the roadside views eye-catching. On the way, we had our breakfast in a roadside eatery. The car took us to a point at Ajanta from where we had to avail of the bus services run by Maharashtra Road Transport Corporation for a distance of 4 Kms or so to get to the riding point for the caves. No other vehicle was allowed in this stretch of the road. The bus fare was Rs. 15 per head. One has also to pay Rs. 10 extra for the amenities provided within the Ajanta base area. There are 30 caves altogether in Ajanta. These are located quite high in the hills, and one has to climb through steep stairs to view them. The dolis (a device to carry people on the shoulders) with porters to carry old and infirm to the caves are available at Rs. 1000 per Doli, the rate fixed by the ASI. We, at our age, could not climb those many stairs; we hired two Dolis. It was a unique experience to be carried on a Doli on the shoulders of four persons through steep stairs, circuitous at places. Every moment, you would have the dreadful feeling of falling off. Little off from the stairs on the side opposite the caves, you would have an awe-inspiring sight of the deep gorge beneath through which flows the river Waghura. This river Waghura is in high spate in monsoon, but its bed remains dried up in winter and summer. Due to the steepness of the stairs, the Doli becomes almost vertical at some points, and it is at these points, in particular, you would feel engulfed in horror and curse your decision to ride on a Doli. Despite all these dreadful feelings, we completed our adventure successfully and returned safely, as did other doli-riders in the past and doing in the present.

Of the 30 caves, we had visited 16, the others being incomplete, of lesser importance, or inaccessible to us due to their height and steepness. There was no way for Dolis to move to the areas where some of these were located. The caves we visited were Cave nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 10, 12, 16, 17, and 19.

Out of 30 caves in Ajanta, five caves are chaityas (temples), while the remaining 25 are Viharas or monasteries. These are all Buddhist caves and date back from the 2nd century BC to about 480 or 650 CE. The caves are cut into the steep face of a deep rock gorge. Cave no. 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, and 30 are the earliest Hinayana caves, while the rest are the Mahayana caves. In the Hinayana cult, the Buddha was never represented directly; he was always represented by a symbol such as the Stupa, the Bodhi tree, footprint, or wheel of the law. In the later stage, the Mahayana cult started worshiping Buddha's images directly. In Ajanta, we have rock-cut architecture, sculpture, and paintings. Paintings are of two types, ceiling painting, and wall painting. The ceiling paintings are purely decorative in nature, subjects of the paintings being flowers, plants, fruits, birds, animals, mythical animals, and semi-divine beings. Wall paintings, generally called Mural paintings, are narrative and religious in nature; they depict the Jataka tales and all the important events and legends related to the life of Lord Buddha. The paintings and sculptures of Ajanta have been described by ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) as the finest surviving examples of Indian art particularly, the paintings, which are masterpieces of Buddhist religious art, with figures of Buddha and depiction of Jataka tales. Flashlight photography is not allowed inside the caves, as this causes damage to the sculptures, and particularly, the paintings. It is therefore extremely difficult to have distinct pictures of these artefacts. Let us now peep into some of the caves particularly, those we had visited, to have a glimpse of the treasure hidden there.

Cave No. 1: This is a Buddhist monastery of the Mahayana cult. Architecturally it is said to be the finest monastery amongst the rock-hewn temples of India. The columns of the veranda are adorned with beautiful sculptures of the Buddha and the celestials. In the veranda, above the columns, there are numerous friezes depicting scenes from the life of the Buddha, the animal fights, and the hunting expeditions. Most importantly, this cave has a seated Buddha in dharmachakrapravartana Mudra (preaching attitude) in the sanctum and world-famous painted depiction of Padmapani and Vajrapani. Besides, it depicts Sibi, Samkhapala, Mahajanaka, Maha-ummagga, champeyya Jatakas, and the scene depicting the temptation of Mara.

Cave no. 2: This is also a Mahayana monastery. This consists of cells, sanctum sanctorum, and two pillared sub-shrines. Seated Buddha in dharmachakrapravartana mudra is enshrined in the sanctum. The side sub-shrines contain two Yaksha figures (popularly known as Sankhanidhi and Padmanidhi) to the east and Hariti and her consort Pancika to the right. This cave is famous for extensive ceiling painting. The Jatakas painted here are Vidhurapandita and Ruru and miracle of Sravasti; Ashtabhaya, Avalokitesvara; the dream of Maya.

Cave no. 4: This is the largest monastery cave at Ajanta, supported by 28 massive pillars. It consists of the hall, a sanctum sanctorum, and a pillared veranda. The door frame is exquisitely sculptured. On the right is carved the famous image of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara as the reliever of eight Great Perils. In the interior part of the central hall (Sabha Mandapa), the ceiling preserves a unique geological feature of a lava flow. In the shrine, Buddha's image in padmasana is elegant. The cave was once painted, fragments of which can be noticed.

Cave No. 5: The monastery is an unfinished one. It has, however, a richly framed door frame. The main entrance is also lavishly painted with amorous couples and beautiful maidens of the doorkeepers, called Salbhanjkas.

Cave No. 9: This Chaiyta or prayer hall is one of the earliest Hinayana caves at Ajanta. It is dated back to the 2nd century BC. The facade is beautified with a horseshoe-shaped chaitya window. The chaiytagriha consists of an entrance door, two side windows, and a central hall flanked by two side aisles (pradikshana) on either side separated by a row of 23 pillars and a non-ornamental stupa, the object for worship. The chaityagriha exhibits reproduction of wooden architectural style, in the form of inward tapering octagonal pillars, evidence of fixing wooden beams and rafters, etc. At the frontage, the standing images of the Buddha flanking the chaiyta arch seem to be later Mahayana additions and indicates the great influence of Gandhara School of Art. Inside the chaiyta is seen two layers of paintings, the earlier dating back to the second half of the first century B.C and the latter to the 5th - 6th centuries A. D.

Cave 10: This is the oldest Hinayana Chaitya. In 1891 John Smith, a British Army Officer, noticed the huge arch of this cave from the viewpoint which ultimately led to the discovery of Ajanta Caves. This cave has the highest facade of 45 ft; A Brahmi inscription in the facade dated to the 2nd century BC reads, "Vasithiputa Katahadi".

The cave is similar in design to cave no. 9. Like the other chaiyta, it, too, consists of a large central hall and is flanked by two aisles (pradhikshana) on two sides separated by 39 octagonal pillars. The ceiling is vaulted (arched) and was originally fitted with timber rafters. There is a huge stupa at the centre, which had been the object of worship of the earliest Buddhists. The cave is adorned with paintings of two periods, the earlier belonging to 2nd century BC and the later to 4th - 6th century A. D. According to ASI, two Jataka stories of the earlier period have been identified. These are Sama (or Shama) Jataka and the Chhaddanta Jataka. The later period paintings contain Buddha in various poses, mainly on the pillars.

Cave No. 12: This Hinayana monastery consists of a hall the front wall of which, has completely collapsed. It has twelve cells arranged on its three sides. An inscription on the back wall of the monastery records the gift of this cave, by one merchant Ghanamadada, and palaeographically datable to 2nd - 1st century B. C. possibly, slightly later than cave 10, says ASI report. The cell frontage is decorated with chaiyta window motifs above the door opening.

(2) Visit of Ellora Caves & Aurangzeb's Tomb: On the 15th morning at 9 am Asu, and I started by the rented car of yesterday, this time for Ellora. The scenic beauty of the road to Ellora was magnificent. There were luxuriant trees and hills all around. At places, one could also see a range of hills when one drives through this route. The roadside trees form beautiful natural arches here and there as their branches from opposite sides come together at the top.

After about 2 hrs, we came to Grisheneswar temple at a village called Verul. This temple is an ancient pilgrimage site revered as one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Shiva. This Jyotirlinga is, in fact, the last or the 12th one. The temple is in proximity to Ellora. The temple is an illustration of the pre-historic temple traditions and the pre-historic architectural style and structure. The inscriptions on the temples are a source of much attraction to ardent travellers. The temple, built of red rocks, is composed of a five-tier shikhara. It enshrines the Shiva-Lingam and a marble image of Parvati. This Jyotirlinga is said to be self-oriented. Being short of time for Ellora, we did not enter the temple. The restrictions on carrying cameras inside the premises also discouraged us from entering. Behind the Grisheneswar temple, there was an old edifice, which, too, I had visited and photographed. We had also visited a new temple on our way to the edifice.

We reached the base of the Charanandri hills (belonging to the Sahyadri range of the Deccan) on the vertical face of which the caves of Ellora have been excavated. It's a world heritage site and represents one of the largest rock-hewn monastic temple complexes in the entire world. Ellora is also world-famous for the single largest monolithic excavation, the great Kailasa (cave 16). At Ellora, one can have a glimpse of channels (near cave 32) through which the volcanic lava had once flowed. These channels, due to overheating, have a characteristic brownish-red colour. Similar rock was used in the construction of the Grishneshwar Temple nearby and also utilised for the flooring of the pathways of Bibi-Ka-Maqbara (source: ASI).

Ellora is located directly on the ancient trade route from Pratishtana via Aurangabad, Ellora, Pital Khora, Patne, Nasika (modern Nasik). The location of Ellora on the ancient trade route did not, however, induce any activity during the Satvahana rule though there were brisk activities at other places, including Nasika falling on this route. However, as the multiplication of religious establishments occurred all around Maharashtra, the ideal location of Ellora could not but attract attention. Thus grew on the largest cave excavations at Ellora, that, too, of three different religious dispensations viz., Buddhism, Brahmanism, and Jainism. These caves are datable from the 6th - 7th century AD to the 11th - 12th century AD. There are 100 caves in all on the hill range, of which 34 are famous and visited. Of these 34 caves, twelve (Cave no. 1 to 12) are Buddhist, seventeen (Cave no. 13 to 29) are Brahmanical, and the rest five (Cave no. 30 to 34) are Jaina. These caves are spread wide apart. We hired an auto-rickshaw to take us around. Our visit started from cave no. 29 and ended with cave no. 16. In some of these caves, we went inside, had a detailed view, and took photographs of sculpture and architecture. For, others being incomplete or being not of much importance, we had an exterior view only, and had photographed the facade. The caves, which we had viewed in detail, were Cave nos. 29, 30, 32, 33, 10, 11, 12, 21 & 16. In the other group were, cave nos. 7 & 8, 9, 13, 14, 20. Brief descriptions of the caves we viewed in detail are presented below:

1. Buddhist Caves: The Buddhist caves at Ellora somewhat resemble those of Ajanta. These caves include 11 Viharas (Monasteries) and only one chaiyta (chapel).

Cave no. 10: "Viswakarma" or Carpenter's cave is the only chaiyta cave in the group. It follows the patterns of construction of cave no. 19 and 26 of Ajanta. At the front of the chaitya, there is a rock-cut court, which is entered through a flight of steps. On either side are pillared porticos with chambers in their back walls. The pillared veranda of the chaitya has a small shrine at either end and a single cell in the far end of the back wall. The corridor columns have massive squarish shafts and ghata-pallava (vase and foliage) capitals. The main hall is apsidal on plan and is divided into a central nave and side aisles by 28 octagonal columns with plain bracket capitals. In the apsidal end of the chaitya hall is a stupa on the face of which a colossal 3.30 m high seated Buddha in vyakhyana mudra (teaching posture) is carved. A large Bodhi tree is carved at the back. The hall has a vaulted roof in which ribs have been carved in the rock, imitating the wooden ones.

Cave no. 11: Known as Do Thal (two-storeyed), it had a third storey discovered in 1876 at the lowest level, being a veranda with a shrine and two cells at the back of it. The middle level has eight pillars at the front and five rear cells, of which only three at the centre are completed and decorated. The upper level has a porch opening into a long corridor hall with a Buddha shrine at the rear. Images of Durga and Ganesh suggest that the cave was later used by the Hindus.

Cave no. 12: Tin Thal (3-storeyed) has cells for sleeping (stone benches) on the lower floor. The second storey consists of a big hall. The third storey of this cave is very important There are fourteen impressive images of Buddha, seven in preaching attitude and the other seven in meditation attitude. The rows of seven Buddhas symbolises the belief that he appears on the earth every 5000 years and has already visited it seven times.

2. Hindu Caves: The Hindu caves were constructed between the middle of the sixth century to the end of the eighth century. As per available information, the work first commenced in Caves 28, 27, and 19. These were followed by the two most impressive caves constructed in the early phase - Caves 29 and 21. Along with these two, work was underway at Caves 20 and 26, and slightly later, at Caves 17, 19, and 28. The caves 14, 15, and 16 were constructed during the Rashtrakuta period. The work began in Caves 14 and 15 and culminated in Cave 16. All these structures represent a different style of creative vision and execution skills. Some were of such complexity that they required several generations of planning and coordination to complete.

Cave No. 29: This, the second-best cave next to Kailash is called, "Dhumarlena and Sita Nahani (Bathroom of Sita)". It is similar to the caves at Elephanta island in Mumbai in concept. There are three entrances to the cave guarded by seated lions. Dating back to the seventh century, this cave was excavated in the Chalukyan period; it was cut out in such a way as to have enough sunlight coming into it. It has 26 beautifully carved robust pillars. The cave has figures of Siva in different forms like killing the demon Andhaka, as Nataraja, and in Padmasan Mudra, and the figure of the goddess Yamuna riding a Tortoise, etc.

Cave No. 21: Close to the last temple, and behind a fine large platform, is a lofty, and interesting Saiva temple with an attractive facade. It is locally known as 'Ramesvara'. With portraits of beautiful women, this cave is excellently carved and belongs to the earlier phase at Ellora, dating from the sixth century Kalachuri period. In the court before it, on a lofty pedestal with bas-reliefs on the side of it, couches a Nandi; in a chapel on the north side with two pillars in front is Ganapati, and between it and the pilaster is a gigantic female standing on a Makara, with dwarf attendants. On the south side is a similar figure on a tortoise. A screen wall, half the size of the pillars, connects the front ones. The capitals of the four in front are carved in the representation of a kamandala with plants growing out of it and drooping over on each side. To this are added struts carved with female figures standing under foliage, with their attendant dwarfs. The frieze above is carved in compartments of arabesques divided by fat ganas.

The hall in which we landed on entering the cave was a large one having a height of 16 ft and an area of 69 ft. by 251 ft. It had a chapel at each end cut off by two cushion capital pillars. Each of these chapels was surrounded by sculptors, depicting Hindu Gods and Goddesses in various activities. Amongst these, one could see the following:

(a) On the left is Siva dancing, eight-armed, while Gods, riding on peacock, elephant, ox, eagle, etc., appear in the clouds over his shoulders. Parvati and musicians look on below, and a small Bhringi dances behind Siva’s legs.

(b) Marriage of Shiva: Brahma acts as a priest and sits with fire before him while a bearded figure is seated on the other side of it. Behind him are two males, one carrying a box. Then comes Parvati with a female behind her and a male with a round jar. Siva takes Parvati’s hand; in front is a small figure of Ganesha, while behind Siva and four other attendants, one with a conch.

(c) Shiva and Parvati are sitting on the Kailash with their attendants, while Ravana with five heads trying to shake the Kailash.

(d) The shrine consists of a square pedestal with a water-rotted linga in it. A wide and lofty circumambulatory surrounds it.

(e) Beautiful ornamentation and figures of women and animals could be seen on the body of massive pillars supporting the cave.

Thus completing the visit of the caves in Ellora, we went to the Zainuddin Shirazi's Darga and the Hanuman Temple on our way back. There is not much to mention about Hanuman Temple, which is of recent origin. In the Zainuddin Shirazi's Darga, we visited tombs of Aurangzeb and his son Azam Shah besides the mausoleum of Sayyed Zain Uddin, a Mohammedan saint, highly revered by the Muslims. Aurangzeb's tomb is at the southeast angle of this courtyard. Facing it is a long low building similar to the one in the other quadrangle, and in the north, there is a small room containing the pall and decorations of the tomb. The grave lies immediately to the right of the entrance and is remarkably simple in keeping with Aurangzeb's wishes. The grave lies in the middle of a stone platform raised about half a foot from the floor. The tomb was covered with a white sheet, and there were only flower petals offered by devotees on it.

While revisiting Ajanta and Ellora, we decided to visit other interesting historical sites in the district of Aurangabad. These other sites included Daulatabad Fort, Bibi-Ka-Maqbara, Aurangabad Caves and Jama Masjid. We had stayed overnight at Manmad, an important railway junction on the Delhi-Mumbai route, on our way to Aurangabad. There is a renowned Gurdwara at Manmad, which, according to local information, was the third biggest Gurdwara in Asia. We could not afford to miss it. Below are the descriptions of these places with their importance and historical background highlighted, followed by an electronic album of the photographs taken in the course of our visit. The album also includes photographs of some of our places of stay, railway stations, which we used for embarking or disembarking in the course of our journey, the interior and exterior views of these stations as also wayside sceneries.

(b) Daulatabad Fort

On the way back from Ajanta, we had our lunch in a roadside Dhaba. The food was not to our taste. We somehow managed with it and then proceeded to Daulatabad Fort. This fort was built by Yadava King of Bhilama V in the 12th century A. D. This fort was previously known as Devgiri. After the conquest of Devgiri in 1296 A. D. by Alauddin Khilji, it remained a principal stronghold for many years. In 1327 A. D. Sultan Mohammad-bin-Tughlak moved his capital from Delhi to Devgiri and renamed it "Daultabad' or 'The City of Fortune'. The fort stood on a conical hill at a height of about 200 meters. Much of the lower slopes of the hill were cut off by the Yadava Kings, leaving 50-meter vertical sides to improve defences.

The defence system that made Daulatabad virtually impregnable comprised fortification by double or even triple rows of massive walls. The entrance through the outer wall is by a strong horn-work consisting of a succession of gateways and courts. It has very thick and lofty walls convoluted on the outer faces and is defended by large bastions both without and within the courts. A barbican of later date, the entrance to which has been broken away, stands in front of this horn-work. On the right of the entrance gateway is an enormous bastion. The face of the gateway above the door has been pierced with three large openings for artillery. The entrance from the barbican to the first court is through a lofty vaulted passage with a turn midway and two-leaved door at the entrance, a large recess for the guard on the right, and a stairway to the parapet wall over the gate on the left. The doors at the main entrance were made of wood of such strength that these did not decay over the centuries and remain almost intact even today. All these doors were fixed with closely spaced iron spikes of appropriate girth to resist elephant attacks by enemy's elephantry brigades. The doors were further strengthened by heavy batons behind spaced at short intervals. The doors are further secured when closed by a square timber bar drawn out from a long socket in one jamb, passed behind the door, and fitted into a socket in the other jamb. The iron spikes are arranged in horizontal rows up the face of the door.

The next gateway is defended by strong towers and an embattled parapet. There is only one two-leaved door here, but it is of the usual heavy constructions and armed with iron spikes. Within the doorway are two guard rooms, each of two vaulted bays. In the next court, facing the second gateway is a large conical tower that has lost its upper part, and from this tower, about midway in its height, projects a covered balcony supported on sculptured corbels. To reach the following gate in the horn-work, one must pass diagonally through the court exposed to attack from all sides. This gateway, closed only by a single two leaved-door, is much narrower than those already passed.

The second curtain has a simpler entrance with a still narrower gateway, and the entrance is defended from within by a guardroom on either side of the passage at issue. This fortress enclosed an area occupied by the ruins of Tughluq and later days. The outer part has also numerous ruined buildings – palaces, temples, and mosques.

We could not negotiate beyond this and to the citadel due to the steepness of the way and the stairs.

Besides the fortifications, Devagiri @ Daulatabad contains several notable monuments, of which the chief are the Chand Minar and the Chini Mahal. The Chand Minar is a tower 210 ft (64 m). high and 70 ft (21 m). in circumference at the base, and was originally covered with beautiful Persian glazed tiles. It was erected in 1445 by Ala-ud-din Bahmani to commemorate his capture of the fort. The Chini Mahal, or China Palace, is the ruin of a building once of great beauty. In it, Abul Hasan Tana Shah, the last of the Qutb Shahi kings of Golconda, was imprisoned by Aurangzeb in 1687.

To cover this fort, we had visited it on two consecutive days, the 15th and the 16th of January 2015. Regrettably, due to our age and ailments, the steepness of the path, and the height at which the citadel is situated, we could not reach up to it. The citadel had the most important aspects of the defense system of the fort, as I had found in different writings on this. A huge palatial construction of stone and lime, called BARADARI, a favourite summer resort of the Kings, and the Moguls was also situated here. Besides, there is a heavy canon of 18th century, sixteenth-century foot mark of Janardan Swami, the bastion with Durga Tope made from an alloy of five metals, etc. Sadly, we could not have the view of these as we did not venture up to the Citadel due to the reasons already stated

(c) Bibi-Ka-Maqbara:

After Daulatabad, our next place of visit was Bibi-Ka-Maqbara. We reached there at around 1730 hrs. The sun was on its way down, and the setting was perfect for clean photography. Bibi-Ka-Maqbara, the replica of the Taj Mahal, is the only example of the Mughal architecture of its kind in the Deccan Plateau. It is a beautiful mausoleum of Rabia-ul-Daurani alias Dilras Banu Begum, the wife of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb (1658-1707 A. D.). This mausoleum is believed to have been constructed by Prince Azam Shah in memory of his mother between 1651 and 1661 A. D. An inscription found on the main entrance door mentions that this mausoleum was designed and erected by Ata-ullah, an architect, and Hanspat Rai, an engineer, respectively. The marble for this mausoleum was brought from mines near Jaipur. According to Tavernier, around three hundred carts laden with marbles, drawn by at least 12 oxen, were seen by him during his journey from Surat to Golconda. The mausoleum draws its inspiration from the world-famous Taj Mahal of Agra (constructed between 1631 and 1648 A. D.), and hence it is rightly known as the "Taj of Deccan". It is made mostly of sandstone and has plastered walls and a marble dome. The pavement leading up to the mausoleum is flanked by rows of trees, and an oblong reservoir with a row of fountains, dividing the pathway. The reservoir was dried up when we visited.

The mausoleum is built on a high square platform with four minarets at its corners, approached by a flight of steps from the three sides. The mortal remains of Rabia-ul-Daurani lay buried below the ground level, surrounded by an octagonal marble screen with exquisite designs, and could be approached by a descending flight of steps. The roof of this chamber that corresponds to the ground level of the mausoleum is pierced by an octagonal opening and given a low barricaded marble screen. Thus the tomb can also be viewed from the ground level through this octagonal opening. The mausoleum is crowned by a dome pierced with trellis works and accompanying panels decorated with flower designs.

The mausoleum was intended to rival the Taj Mahal, but the fault in architecture and calculation of proportions of the structure had resulted in a poor copy of the latter. Even this decline cannot stop one from appreciating the setting of the tomb complex in a garden environment mountain ranges as a backdrop. A huge ‘U’ shaped gap between the hills behind provides the perfect harmony in which the mausoleum is blended. Here are a couple of photographs of this splendid work. Rest will be found in the electronic album at the end of this narrative.

(d) Aurangabad Caves:

A few Kms off from Aurangabad exist 12 caves carved out of the hillside. These are known as Aurangabad caves. All these are Buddhist caves, excavated between the 3rd and the 6th century, AD and present a fine piece of architecture. These caves are divided into two groups, western and eastern. Cave nos. 1 to 5 belong to the western group while cave nos. 6 to 12 constitute the eastern group. A major chunk of these caves is Viharas. Of these twelve caves, we visited cave nos. 6 & 7 only, others being not of much importance and being not accessible to us due to their heights. Let us now see what the two caves we visited had inside them.

Cave no. 7 consists of a pillared veranda with a pillared chapel on each side housing Hariti and Panchika in the right chapel and a panel of six goddesses in the left, flanked by Padmapani on the left, and Buddha on the right. A central door leads to a square hall and a shrine with a circumambulatory passage. To the left of the central door is seen a large sculptured panel of Avalokitesvara in the attitude of the saviour of Eight Great Perils of fire, robber, fetters, shipwreck, lion, snake, elephant and demon. The walls of the sanctum, rich and exquisitely carved, are the best specimen at Aurangabad Caves. The central image is a colossal seated Buddha in preaching attitude. The entrance of the shrine is guarded by a sculptural panel with a goddess, probably Tara, at the centre, flanked by the female figures. The sidewalls of the sanctum have two more interesting compositions. The right wall has probably the figures of Lokesvara and Tara, both standing, while the left has a beautiful and superb composition of a dancing female amongst six seated female musicians playing different musical instruments. The cave is regarded as the most interesting, as it has the figures of women, scantily clad and ornately bejeweled, indicating the rise of the Tantric influence on Buddhism.

Cave No. 6 has a sanctum, a pillared porch, and a veranda having cells on either side. Apart from the central sanctum, which houses the Buddha image, it has three cells on either side of the sanctum, Two of these have an image of Buddha on either side of the sanctum.

(e) Manmad Gurdwara:

Manmad is an important junction station, which also falls on the Kolkata-Mumbai route. We stayed here for a night on the way to Aurangabad. That was January 12-13, 2015. We came to know of the existence of a well-known Gurdwara here. In the morning of resuming our journey to Aurangabad, we made it a point to visit this Gurdwara. The Gurdwara was a big one with dormitories for devotees attached to it. It was learnt that the langar (a common kitchen/canteen where food is served to all visitors without distinction of background for free) here runs 24x7. Historically looking, one would find amazing facts about this Gurdwzara. Guru Govind Singhji brought two royal prisoners from Satara Fort by air route here by holding the stirrups of his horse. The names of the prisoners were Balarao and Rustamrao. There was then a dense forest at the place of Gurdwara. Sant Baba Nidahan Singh Ji started Karseva here by clearing the dense forest with the help of his people. Hidden Bauli (well) was found while constructing the Gurdwara. After cleaning the well, it was noticed that the water of the well is divine and sweet. Because of this hidden well (Gupta Kuwan), the Gurdwara was later named Gurdwara Gupatsar Sahib.

I had been feeling an urge to visit Assam in 2015 from around the last quarter of 2014. The purpose for this visit was three-fold (i) to meet someone special, (ii) to visit important places I could not cover in my last trip, and (iii) to revisit Kaziranga for big games and migratory birds which flock in winter, the priority being in that order. Accordingly, I planned for a visit to Assam in Feb 2015, well ahead and simultaneously with arrangements for the Aurangabad trip of January 2015. My friend, Mrinal, had also a programme in Assam in February; he was to leave Kolkata on the 6th Feb. I drew up my programme for visiting Assam in such a way that we could meet at Jorhat. Mrinal, however, had cancelled his programme later when I was already in Assam.

I left for Guwahati by Saraighat Express on the afternoon of Feb 3, 2015. I did not remember when I had last travelled to Assam by train. It must have been decades back. Naturally, I was full of excitement to see a lot of new things around. There were, of course, changes along the route. It was now a broad-gauze line all along. Wayside stations were neat and clean, and station buildings were painted with eye-catching colours. The scenic beauty, as usual, was attractive. Saraighat Express itself was a good train running on time and reached Guwahati at the scheduled hour at 09:30 am on Feb 4, 2015. I had my reservation in Assam Tourism's Tourist Lodge "Prasanti", where I checked in on arrival. Had lunch and rest. Went out at 4 PM. Visited tourist spots like Deeghal Pukhuri, High Court, River Front Park, etc. Walked some distance to visit Guwahati Rajbhawan but it was still afar; I could not walk further, and turned back. Took some pictures with my mobile phone, failed to take some due to insufficient light. Prasanti Udyan around Deeghal Pukhuri was wonderfully lighted in the evening. Took some snapshots and returned to the Lodge.

The next day, the 5th of February, I left the tourist lodge at 08:30 am. Had my breakfast at the nearby food villa, took a few pictures of nearby locations, and boarded a bus for Vasista Temple. Changed bus at a crossing called Vasista Charali and reached the Basistha Ashram at around 10:30 am. The Ashram was believed to be the house of the famous sage Vasista. It was situated in the outskirts of Garbahnga reserve forest, which had an ample population of elephants. There was a temple inside the Ashram complex. It was a Shiv Mandir constructed by the Ahom King Rajeswar Singha in 1764. The King had also made a gift of 835 bighas of land to the Ashram. According to the legend the Ashram was founded by the great saint Vasista. Visited the temple. Down below, inside the temple, was a Shiva Lingam, and a little above the Lingam was a stone slab. The priest said that saint Vasista had done meditation sitting on that slab of stone. There was an outer hall at the ground level where at the time of my visit, marriage was being solemnised. I took a photograph of the proceeding.

By the side of Vasista temple, there was another temple, this one of Lord Ganesha. Visited that temple too and took photographs of the temples and surroundings. Photography inside was not allowed. There was also a waterfall within the Ashram complex.

Next, took a bus to the Assam State Zoo. Spent an hour and a half in the zoo, took photographs of animal, birds and reptiles. The entry fee to the zoo with a camera was Rs. 50. Left zoo at around 1:30 pm, took a bus first to Ganeshguri and thence to RBI. The fare at each of the two stages was Rs. 5. Returned to the lodge at around 2 pm. Had lunch and rested.

Went out again at 3:30 pm, visited Brahmaputra River Front Park, the entry fee for which was Rs. 10. Took a few photographs of the Park and the river in the setting sun. There were a good number of lovers in pair here and there in the park. Though there were notices every few yards for maintenance of decency, the way the lovers behaved did not indicate that they gave much importance to these notices. Walked out of the park, continued walking for some distance, took some more photographs of roads and houses around, including the residence of Chief Justice of the Guwahati High Court. Then took a bus and returned to the lodge.

On the 6th of February 2015, I checked out of Prasanti Lodge at 07:15 am. Reported to the AST bus depot at Paltan Bazar, from where was taken to ISBT to board the Deluxe bus for Kaziranga. At Guwahati, the strap of my slinging airbag snapped, and I had difficulty in carrying it. Anyway, the bus started from ISBT about a quarter of an hour late. It, however, reached Nowgong at the right time at 11:30 am. Had my lunch in the restaurant at the bus stand. Got a strip of plastic rope from a local shop owner at the bus stand after much persuasion. Tied up the snapped strap of my airbag and made it usable. Post-lunch, the bus resumed its journey and reached Kohra (Kaziranga), situating the Assam Tourism complex at 1400 hrs. I had described the scenic beauty and important places on this route from Guwahati in my last visit to Kaziranga in March 2014, and hence I do not consider it worthwhile to repeat it here. As usual, there was no porter or transport to carry the luggage from the National Highway to the Tourism complex through a distance of 1.5-2 Kms. Negotiated with the driver of a local standing jeep and got a lift to "Aranya" tourist lodge on payment of Rs. 50. Checked in at the tourist lodge where I had my accommodation booked from Kolkata. Took a few photographs around and rested.

During my last visit to Kaziranga in Mar 2014, I had undertaken both an elephant ride and a jeep safari and had viewed a good number of rhinos, as also, wild buffaloes and deer. My purpose of visiting Kaziranga again within a year was to look for other big games and the migratory birds which flock in the winter. For this, a jeep safari would be most purposeful. With that end in view, I arrived at the departing point of cars for Jeep Safari in Kaziranga National Park area at 07:15 am on the next day of my arrival here (Feb 7). I had decided to go by shared car; I was not ready to spend thousands on a trip I had made only the last year. I had to wait for up to 08-30 am for co-travelers when a young couple accompanied by husband's brother arrived searching for a shared car. We teamed up. A jeep was arranged to take us through the Central Range of Kaziranga on payment of Rs. 2300 to be equally shared by four of us. The last time I had undertaken a Jeep Safari in the Central Range itself: I would be happier if it could be some other range like the Western or the Eastern this time. But there was no taker for any of those ranges, and I had to be satisfied with what I had. We started at around 08:40 am and returned at 11:30 am. During the trip, we could see a couple of wild elephants in the grassland forest, some hog deer, 2/3 sambar deer, a good number of Russian birds, and tortoises enjoying the sun on the logs in the water channel passing through the National Park. We could also see several fresh pug marks of a tiger but missed the opportunity to see the big animal. On the whole, I was satisfied with what I saw around though it was my second visit in quick succession to the first.

On the 10th of February, I had a programme to visit Sibsagar. I got up at 06:30 am, readied myself, and left for the bus stand. I took a bus from ISBT at 08:30 am, reaching Sibsagar, a distance of 55 Kms from Jorhat, at 11:00 am. It was a private bus and picked up passengers all along the route. The bus was jam-packed, and passengers were hanging on the footboard, reminding me of Kolkata city buses. Visited historical and religious places in Sibsagar. These were Shiv Dole, Devi Dole, Joy Dole, the great Shiv Sagar Tank, Joy Sagar Tank, Kareng Ghar, Rang Ghar & Namdang Stone Bridge. The importance and the historical background of these places are described below.

1. Shiva Dole: Located at the heart of Shibsagar town, this is the tallest Shiva Temple in the world. Built 300 years ago, it is a centre of attraction for all tourists for its gigantic architectural and religious values. Maha Shivaratri is the most celebrated puja of this temple. Thousand of devotees assemble here at that time. Shivaratri was due within a couple of days of my visit. Renovation of the temple for the great festival was underway at that time.

The word 'Dole' means temple in Assamese. All the three temples here were built by Queen Ambika, wife of King Shiva Singha, in the year 1734. It is not only one of the most sacred places in North-East India, but also a place with beauty beyond words having three temples, standing tall by the bank of a large pond 'Sivasagar Tank'. Shiva Dol is 180 feet tall and 195 feet in diameter. It is caped with seven feet high large Golden Dome, called 'Kolosi', on the topmost part of the dole. The walls of the temple are sculptured with statues of numerous Hindu Gods and Goddesses.

2. Devi Dole: It is located adjacent to Shiva Dole and Vishnu Dole. It is the temple of the Hindu Goddess Durga, and Durga Puja is the main festival in this temple. This temple symbolises the Hindu Goddess of Power. It is 60 ft in height and 120 ft in diameter. There is a special space called, Bolisthal or a place for animal sacrifice. This is used only during Durga Puja and Kalipuja. There is another temple, 'Vishnu Dole' on the same campus.

3. Shiva Sagar Tank: Located at the centre of Sibsagar town, this tank dug by Ahom Kings three centuries back creates a beautiful landscape with three tall temples on its bank. This large tank was built by Queen Ambika, wife of King Shiva Singha, in the year 1734. The queen named it after her husband. The tank is built on an area of around 130 acres. It was originally 64 feet in depth. The embankment of this tank is artificial and raised the surface of the water to a height of around 40 feet from the surrounding plain. According to historian Mills, this tank was built in one night! The water level of the tank testifies to the advanced hydrology of the Ahom period; the level of the tank never changes and remains above the level of the town all the time. Currently, this tank's bank is the centre of district administration. Apart from the temples, the bank has also a Church, a Buddhist Monastery and a Masjid, almost assimilating people from all the religions into it. The Sivasagar tank, also known as 'Borpukhuri' is one of the important habitats of migratory birds during the winter season. I could see hazy profiles of such birds quite far from me in the tank.

5. Kareng Ghar: It is situated at Garhgaon (Gargaon), which is around 15 kms away from Sivasagar Town. Garhgoan was the principal seat of the Ahoms for more than four centuries. According to the chronicle sources, Suklengmung, the 15th Ahom king, established the capital at Garhgoan and constructed a palace with wood and other impermanent material in the year 1540 AD. Later, king Pramatta Singha constructed a brick wall and masonry gateway in the capital complex. Later a multi-storied edifice was built by king Rajeswar Singha in 1752 AD. The fort and the royal complex were badly damaged and disfigured due to the stealth of raw materials for building from the monument. The structural remains in the fortified complex stand as a mute testimony of the Ahom kings of the bygone days. The monument was a four-storied building arranged in gradually receding tiers. The top floor had a dome-like roof with a chamber. Only two stories exist now, as I saw during my visit. Several canons of older days were preserved here and displayed at the entrance to the premises.

6. Rang Ghar: It is just 3 Kms away from the centre of Shibsagar Town. It is an amphitheater built by Ahom Kings, who used this as a platform for enjoying sports.

It is a double-storied royal pavilion of Ahom kings with unique architectural features. The central unit of the ground plan is rectangular and annexed with small structures of trapezoid ends, making the entire ground plan like an octagon. The roof of the structure is parabolically supported by rows of massive columns and semi-circular arches. It shows Islamic influence in architectural features. A unique pleasure boat with a Makara ending marks the outer beauty of the structure, and a trefoil arch canopy rests at the top of the structure. The building also bears testimony to the use of local building materials, like Bora Chaul (a special variety of rice, sticky in nature), and eggs, used by the Ahom Kings. The grains can still be found in their original form even after hundreds of years of construction. The present building was built by Ahom king Pramatta Singha (AD 1744-1750) for watching various games by families of royals. These included many of Assam's indigenous games like birds fight, buffalo fight, etc. Remarkably, this monument was a unique structure built for this specific purpose in the whole of Asia at that time.

7. Namdang Stone Bridge: The three hundred years old Stone bridge on Namdang river is one of the architectural marvels of the Ahom Dynasty of Assam.

Situated 15 km west of the Sivasagar, the stone bridge on the river Namdang near Gaurisagar was built by Ahom King Rudrsingha in 1703. During its three hundred years of life, the bridge has witnessed several calamities like devastating earthquakes, floods, etc. But the stone bridge is proudly standing intact and still taking loads of tonnes of vehicles everyday. It is indeed a great architectural achievement of the Ahom dynasty. The river over which situates the bridge was, however, dried up now as I saw it during my visit

13th was the day for the commencement of my return journey. Got up early and completed morning activities. Last night, there was a thunderstorm accompanied by rains. The morning sky was still cloudy. Checked out of the lodge at 11:30 am and went to my niece's house. Had a light breakfast and later lunch. Meanwhile, there was a heavy shower. Accompanied by niece's husband left for the Railway station at 01:20 pm. The train departed in time; friend Malu did not turn up as he had promised. Reached Guwahati at 09:30 pm and checked in at Prasanti Lodge. Had dinner and retired. Could not sleep well during the night. There was discomfiture in my stomach; I was feeling hot inside. Got up early and found the head reeling. Went to the Railway station, bought a bottle of Sprite, and drank it. Later had some biscuits. Did not take any medicine or food. Checked out from the lodge at 1100 am. Left for the airport by a shared taxi. Reached the airport well ahead of time.

During security check suddenly found the boarding pass missing. Got nervous, brought back the briefcase already passed through the security check to see if the boarding pass had been mistakenly put in there. Did not find the pass there. Contacted check-in counter personnel for the duplicate boarding pass. While the request was being processed, suddenly found the pass in the inside pocket of my coat. The situation was saved. Got into the plane, which departed in time, and landed at Dum Dum at the scheduled hour. While in the air, took some photographs of white clouds in the higher sky. The clouds looked like cotton wool. On the left is one of those pictures.

Commencement of journey & Arrival Day at Siliguri

Wife Swapna had not visited her childhood places in North Bengal for a long time. I thought I should take her to those places before my visit to Assam contemplated in February next. North Bengal had a special attraction for me, too, because of its natural beauty and my association with it for many years during my service assignments. We had one difficulty in moving out together. We could not be away when our grandson's school remained open, as we looked after our grandson after his school hours on school days. I, therefore, planned a short trip to the area at the year-end when the school of our grandson would remain closed. My daughter had also planned with her husband to take their son for a visit to forest areas in Madhya Pradesh at that time. Accordingly, I made necessary arrangements for accommodation and movement in North Bengal well ahead of the commencement of the trip.

I and my wife left for New Jalpaiguri by Padatik Express late in the night on the 25th of December, 2015. I had booked tickets on the 4th of September, 2015 i. e. 104 days ahead of the journey and had given preferences for the lower berths, mentioning clearly that both of us were senior citizens, being aged 72 years and 69 years. But on entering the coach, we found that both of us have been allotted side upper berths. I still could somehow climb up to the upper berth, but it was impossible for my wife. She almost fell in attempting to go up. A co-passenger was kind enough to exchange his lower berth with my wife's upper berth and saved her from trying the impossible. The train, however, maintained the schedule and reached us in New Jalpaiguri at the scheduled hour of 09:45 am. We were picked up at the station by the car we had hired for our journeys in North Bengal. We went to Viramma Guesthouse in Siliguri, where we had our accommodation reserved for a night's stay. The guest house was beautifully located in a serene environment. After lunch and rest, we went to Sukna Forest and took a few snapshots in the Sal wood. In the evening, we visited the market area of Siliguri. We halted at the guest house for the night.

2nd Day: Mekliganj - Arrival & Stay

The next day at around 11 am, we started for Mekliganj. On the way, I had found a lot of changes since my last visit in 2002. There had come up a wide bypass road from Siliguri for traffic to Maynaguri and ahead. Maynaguri-Mekliganj road, which was a narrow strip earlier, had been widened as a National Highway. I learnt from my nephew-in-law accompanying us that it had been developed under the Asian Highway Programme to connect Bangladesh through the Changrabandha border of the Mekliganj subdivision. We reached Mekliganj at around 12:30 pm after travelling a distance of 108 Kms. We put up in my brother-in-law's house in Mekliganj.

As I have stated in my life story, I had been in this place, Mekliganj, for more than four years. Naturally, I was eager to see the changes the place had undergone since those days. I also had emotional bondage with the house I had last lived in here and its surroundings. To satisfy my craving, I went out in the afternoon with my wife and some of her relations to visit the court area. I found that the quarters I had lived in, at that time, and its adjoining other official quarters had remained more or unless unchanged in appearance though, the signs of wear and tear of time were visible on some of them. Some of these quarters, including the one I had stayed in, appeared to have been abandoned. The vacant land in front of the quarters I lived in no longer existed; SDO's office building had been constructed on that plot of land, entirely blocking the front view of the quarters. Further, the residential quarters of a Judicial Officer had come up in the vacant space that existed on the left of this quarter, where we used to play Badminton in winter at our times. This had also reduced, on the left, the compound of the quarters I had lived in, as a portion of it, seemingly, had been added to the newly constructed quarters.

It took me to the time I had stayed here and aroused in me, a mixed feeling of pleasure and pain though, I did not have that feeling at that time. With emotion running high in me, I moved ahead to the market area. Here was that wretched Dakbungalow, where I had lived for the first half of my stay here and of which I have spoken elaborately in my life story. It was a great surprise for me when I reached the Dakbungalow. Though the main structure of the bungalow remained more or less the same, there had been lots of changes in its layout and amenities, as could be assessed from its exterior view. I enumerate those below for proper appreciation at later times.

• 1. A covered front veranda with a grilled door had been added. The veranda was half-walled and half-grilled.

  2. The two rooms on the two sides of the dining space had been provided with spacious doors from the veranda at one for each. In place of small windows of earlier times, the rooms had now standard windows by the sides of their outer doors.

  3. Service commodes of my time had been replaced by sanitary toilets.

  4. More surprisingly, the Bungalow had been provided with Air conditioners, while it did not have even electricity in earlier days.

The marketplace opposite the Bungalow had undergone a total changeover. I could not find any resemblance of it with its older version.

Next, I went to have a look at the river Teesta passing by the town. I was walking on the embankment, which stood there for years to save the town from the onslaught of floods. There had been changes here too. Some huts had been built randomly on the riverside of the embankment. One or two additional spars had also been constructed to strengthen the embankment. I stopped at a particular place where I had some sweet memories from the past to reflect on. I took a few photographs of the area and then returned to my place of rest for the night.

3rd & 4th Day (part): Falakata & Jaldapara

On the 28th morning, we left Mekliganj for Falakata, where we were to stay for the night to visit Jaldapara National Park the next morning. I had a mind to visit Gorumara National Park near Lataguri on my way to Falakata. But the uncertainty of the availability of the entry tickets at the eleventh hour and the shortage of time forced me to forgo the idea of visiting Gorumara. We reached Rose Valley resort in Falakata, where we had our accommodation booked, at around 13:30 hrs., after driving for a distance of 143 Kms from Mekliganj. It took us some time to find out the resort, a little off from Falakata town in a village called, Kunjanagar. Anyway, after having lunch and rest in the resort, we visited Kunjaban, a bio-diversity park set up by the forest department. There was not much to see here except the decorated park and a river adjoining the Jaldapara forest, where reportedly, wild animals from Jaldapara came to drink water; you could have a look at them if you had the luck. There were some captive crocodiles in a small tank within the park and a watchtower to see the animals coming to drink water. You could also have a joy ride on the elephants if you were ready to spend some extra bucks. The parking fee for the cars outside the park was, however, exorbitant, being ₹50 for a small car for any length of stay. The entry fee to the park, though, was reasonable, being ₹20 per head. Rose Valley Resort, set in a natural environment, was a good place to stay for people like us.

On arrival at the resort, I had contacted an agent at Jaldapara for an arrangement of a Jeep Safari there the next morning. The agent agreed to do so on payment of some extra money. Accordingly, a safari in the Jaldapara National Park was arranged for the next morning at 8 am.

On the 29th morning at 06:15 am, we started for Madhya Madarihat to avail of a Jeep Safari in the Jaldapara National Park. I paid for the safari ₹ 750 to the agent, including his commission, on the way to the safari. Our Safari was for about 2 hours. There were four other persons in our jeep, two students and a newly married couple. Unfortunately, we could not see any animal, big or small, anywhere in the national park. We could see only a few peacocks and photographed them. I lost an opportunity to take the snap of a peacock sitting high on a branch of a tree as it flew away as soon as I stood up in the jeep to have a clear view of it. I took a few photographs of the forest, a watchtower, the forest paths, and the river Holong and its surroundings. There ended our trip to Jaldapara National Park.

4th Day (evening) to 5th Day (evening)

After visiting the Jaldapara National Park, we returned to the resort, had breakfast, and checked out at 12. Our next destination was Kalimpong. We drove along NH 31. It was always a pleasure to travel by this road. There were deep forests and tea gardens through which the road passed now and then. We had a brief stopover in Malbazar, a place at a distance of 106 Kms from where we had started. We had our lunch in Malbazar in the house of wife Swapna's niece Kittu and resumed our journey to Kalimpong. We reached Kalimpong at around 6:30 pm after traversing a further distance of 83 Kms from Malbazar. We had our accommodation booked in a guest house named Sikher Guesthouse. After some initial difficulties, we could locate the guest house. The driver of our car could not negotiate the last lap of the rise of the hill to the guesthouse. The owner of the guest house came down himself with his car to take us up. The place was quite nice and comfortable to stay. The people running the guest house were extremely courteous and looked after us well. The place was nicely kept in a natural setting. As it was cold and dark outside, we did not venture out that night. My wife had already caught a cold. We had a good dinner and slept.

The next morning, we left Kalimpong for Malbazar after breakfast. On the way down, we visited Pine View Cactus Nursery. The nursery was set up in an astounding natural environment. With hills around and the premises laid out with beautiful ornamental flowers and plants, it presented an exquisite look. It was a marvellous place with hundreds of varieties of the cactus raised and nursed in several sheds. We walked from the shed to the shed enjoying the beauty of colours and shapes of these cacti. I did not have any idea that there could be such a huge number of species of cacti. One must make it a point to visit this place when in Kalimpong. We did not visit any other place in Kalimpong as, reportedly, the worth-seeing tourist places here are on the hilltops and not negotiable by vehicles. Though I could attempt to venture those, my wife could not. So, I abandoned any idea to visit them.

Way down from Kalimpong, we enjoyed the beauties of the roads through the hills and their surroundings. The beauty of the river Teesta at Sevak was, in particular, most fascinating. Here the river takes a bend through the hills on two sides and disappears. It reminded me of Rishikesh, where too, the Ganga, when seen from Lachmonjhola, appeared to be losing its path in a bend through the hills. I took a good number of wayside photographs all through our journey from Kalimpong to Malbazar. Hills have always held a fascination for me since my teens in Shillong.

5th Day (evening) to 6th Day (evening)

Starting from Kalimpong at around 8:30 am, and after visiting Pine View Nursery on the way, we reached my wife's niece's (Kittu's) house, at Malbazar, in the late afternoon. Sometime after we had arrived in Kittu's house, Kittu's husband Nirmal drove us through the nearby forest to show wild animals, if any, found on the way; animals are often found passing through these areas at dusk. We did not, however, have the luck.

As in previous years, I started feeling within myself a call to visit the abode of nature in Assam and Meghalaya from September-October 2015. For the last couple of years, it has become a regular event for me to visit those states where I had spent my childhood and early youth, at least once a year. I find pleasure in moving around in these places full of old memories and ideal for exploration. When I was contemplating the visit this time, I received a message from my school friend Asu from the UK expressing his wish to be included, if I had any plan to visit Assam, in Jan-Feb 2016. I drew up a detailed plan covering a wide area within a span of 22 days from Feb 5, 2016, to Feb 26, 2016, and sent a copy of it to Asu for his study and concurrence. After Asu gave his nod, I started making arrangements for passage, accommodation, etc. Everything was settled, and we set off on the 5th of February. The description of the tour and the places we visited are detailed date-wise in the following paragraphs.

Day 1 (commencement) - Feb 5, 2016: My school friend Asu and I left for Guwahati (a distance of 1020 Kms. from Kolkata) by Saraighat Express at 1550 hrs. We had a pleasant journey sharing old memories.

Day 2 - Feb 6, 2016: Reached Guwahati about an hour beyond schedule. The delay was due to the engine of the preceding train having become dysfunctional at a station ahead. At Guwahati, we put up in a hotel named Prince in Paltanbazar, where we had accommodation booked. The hotel turned out to be not to our liking. But we had no option; all good hotels in Guwahati were full due to South Asian Games going on there. Anyway, after having lunch and rest, we left for local sightseeing by car provided by one of the relations of Asu. Visited Bashista Ashram (13.5 kms from Guwahati via NH 37 and Lokhra Road) and Balaji Temple (15.3 Kms from Bashista Ashram via NH 37 and Lakhora Road). Took photographs and videos in and around Bashista Ashram. I could not take the photographs of the inside of the cave, in which sage Bashista reportedly had laid his life in the course of his meditation, during my last visit in Feb 2015. This time, I could get it. The priest had no objection to my taking of photographs inside the cave,

In the approach road to Bashista Ashram, there were shops for necessities, including ingredients for offering pujas in the temple. These shops were run mostly by women. Here I met a very attractive young tribal girl managing her shop. I talked with her about the place she came from, her way of living, education, marital status, etc. Even without much education, she was quite smart and proficient in her work. Her name was Nikita Devi, and she was till then unmarried. When comparing to our women, I have always found these hill women more active. That could be due to theirs' being a matriarchal society.

During my later visit to the place, I had searched Nikita out and was surprised to find she could talk in clear Bengali. Her brother-in-law (sister's husband) was manning the shop at that time. I was very impressed by her.

From Vashista Ashram, we went to the Balaji temple. This temple had been built in South-Indian architecture and was beautifully laid out with flower gardens, parks, and open spaces. It had temples of Durga, Lakshmi, and Ganesh besides that of Balaji or Narayana. I took a few snapshots of all these temples and their surroundings.

Day 3 - Feb 7, 2016: We had hired a car the previous evening for local sightseeing. We went out in that car at 0800 am. First, we went to Deepar Beel (a distance of little over 12 Kms from Guwahati via NH 37), known as Bird Watcher’s paradise. We were late, and visibility was low. We could not as such see many birds. By zooming in the camera, I got some pictures, which later revealed that birds were in the water of the Beel at a distance from us, which we could not see in bare eyes. Later, I learnt from a review of a visitor that only through boating in the beel one could see the birds and have their clear photographs. We did not, however, find any boating facility near the entrance to the beel though, there were one or two lone boaters rowing the boats. Deepor Beel (“Beel” in Assamese means “Lake”) is considered as one of the largest beels in the Brahmaputra Valley in Lower Assam. It is a permanent freshwater lake in a former channel of the Brahmaputra river to the south of the main river. Forest Department had built up a Wild Life Sanctuary in the area. It hosted a large number of birds. Ornithologists had recorded 219 different species of birds here, of which more than 70 species were migratory. According to available records and review of the lake, these included 10 feeding guild species, 80 from insectivorous feeding guild species, 38 from piscivorous feeding guild species, 30 from birds of prey feeding guild species, 16 from granivorous feeding guild species, 11 from frugivorous feeding guild species, 12 from herbivorous feeding guild species, 5 from carnivorous, and nectarivorous feeding guild species and 4 from scavengers feeding guild, etc. The Lake was a wetland under the Ramsar Convention, which provided funds for undertaking conservation measures based on its biological and environmental importance.

On our way to Deepor Beel, we had visited Dr. Bhupen Hazarika Samadhi Khestra, built recently. It was a nice memorial with architectural excellence.

From Deepor Beel, we went to Sualkuchi Silk Village. Sualkuchi Village is at a distance of 34.8 Kms from Guwahati via NH 427. Every household in this village was engaged in weaving silk materials. We visited some of these households. There were shops in the market selling local silk products. We also made some purchases from this market. On our way to the village, we had also visited the park named “Bastra Udyan” which had been opened in February 2012.

From Sualkuchi village, we went to Assam State Zoo (a distance of 35.7 Kms via Assam Trunk Road and NH 427) and had a go-around. The zoo was in pathetic condition. Many of the cages and spaces for animals and birds were empty. Even some of those I had seen on the last occasion during my 2015 Feb trip were found missing. Anyway, from the zoo, we returned to the hotel. Our local trip for the day ended there.

Day 4 - February 8, 2016: We left Guwahati for Shillong (a driving distance of 99.5 Kms) at 08:30 am by a car hired for the journey. We reached Shillong at 12:45 pm and put up in the Orchid Hotel of Meghalaya Tourism, where we had our accommodation booked. After settling down in the hotel, we went to the office of Meghalaya Tourism in Police Bazar and booked a car for visiting Dawki and places of tourist interest en route at a price of ₹3800. We then had our lunch and moved to Laitumkhra by a shared taxi. There we visited the Cathedral Mary Help of Christian Church, the old location of my college, the building where we had set for our I. Sc. Examination, and took photographs of objects of interest, in and around. My friend Asu was very eager to locate a church of Seventh-Day Adventists. I had no idea of the place where we could find that. I approached a Khasi couple, who were passing by the Cathedral at that time for information on the location of an Adventist Church in the neighbourhood. By our luck, they turned out to be the followers of that faith and knew where the Adventist Church was located in Laitumkhra. They led us there. We had a long tiresome walk and finally arrived at the location. The church was closed, and we could not get into it. The pastor of the Church was away. The Church also ran a school. The principal of the school was there. Asu had some discussions with him. I took some photographs of the Church and its surroundings. From there, we returned to the hotel and retired after a light dry food dinner.

Day 5 - February 9, 2016: The car of Meghalaya Tourism we had booked the previous day arrived at our hotel (Hotel Orchid of Meghalaya Tourism at Polo Bazar, Shillong) in time. We started on our journey at 0830 hrs. We first stopped at a viewpoint called RNGAIN on the way (entry fee ₹ 10 per head), where we had some photographs. Next, we moved to the village Riwai at a distance of a little over 81 Kms from Shillong via NH 40 at around 11 am. There was much talked about “Living Root Bridge” here in this village. We saw a rampway followed by stairs of slabs going down from near the place our car was parked. We were told that was the way to the Living Root Bridge. We set off on our downward journey. As we moved onward, stairs after stairs were revealed along the bending path. A young couple was coming up; the woman was perceptibly panting. When asked about the path, the woman encouraged us, saying that we could make it; some aged people had already reached there. She added that there was no problem in going down, and while climbing up, we could do so, sitting at intervals to take a rest. We continued, but after moving some way further, while we still had a long way to go, I considered that it would be too risky at our age, and with the ailments we had, to proceed further. I opined in favour of backing out. But, my friend Asu was bent on visiting the site and observed that there was no point in going back after coming so far. I could not act otherwise. We continued and reached the point from where the stairs of loose boulders, put one above the other, start and continue, for about the next 100 metres, or so. Here we paid an entry fee of Rs. 10 per head and moved onward. Finally, we reached the spot. The last 100 metres or so of boulder path was the most dangerous. It was narrow and provided with railings made of bamboo on the side in which lay the gorges. Gaps were created between the path and the railing, possibly due to boulders, in between, having given way during the rains. Anyone trying to hold the railings in the event of a slip or a false step was sure to fall through the gap into the gorge below. The site was, however, a wonderful creation of organic engineering made by tribal know-how, and it was worthwhile to take all the troubles to visit it. It opened up in front of us the arched gateway to the living root bridge - a massive and magnificent banyan tree. The slightly triangular, pyramid-shaped trunk was one of the tallest among the surrounding forest. Its roots spread across the breadth of a hilly stream to meet with the roots of another banyan tree planted on the other bank. It was a fantastic sight, something that had an air of the unreal. The bridge had connected the two opposite banks of a rapid of considerable breadth. The local tribals claimed the bridge to be 300 years old. The bridge was created to endure the frequent and often ferocious flash-floods in the area. These floods would blow away any normal bridge, but for the root bridges, it’s different as nature finds a way here. Due to its make, there are numerous pores in the bridge. During the flash floods, the water from the rapid channels through these pores as well as other natural outlets, leaving the main structure intact.

This is what Wikipedia says about these bridges: Living root bridges are a form of tree shaping common in the southern part of the Northeast Indian State of Meghalaya. They are handmade from the aerial roots of living banyan fig trees such as Ficus elastica by the Khasi people and War Jaintia people of the mountainous terrain along the southern part of the Shillong Plateau. The pliable tree roots are made to grow through beetle tree trunks, placed across the rivers and the streams until the figs’ roots attach themselves to the other side. Sticks, stones, and other objects are used to stabilise the growing bridge; this process can take up to 15 years to complete. The useful life span of any given living root bridge is variable, but it is thought that, under ideal conditions, they can, in principle, live many hundreds of years. As long as the tree they are formed from remains healthy, they naturally self-renew and self-strengthen as their component roots grow, thicker.

After visiting the site, we started on our return journey. It was the most difficult part. We stopped at intervals while it became difficult to take breaths and rested for a while. The throat was drying up; we had no water with us (we had forgotten to take bottled water along). A doubt of safe return dawned on me. However, we finally made it to the base from where we had started our journey for the last 100 metres. Here we bought bottled water and cut-fruit pieces of pineapple and grapes and had them. This invigorated us, and we completed the last lap of our upward journey taking rest at intervals. I have placed at the bottom of this section two videos, one by me, covering our visit to the bridge, and the other by Gopichand Lagadapati, who had visited a double-Decker Living Root Bridge, somewhere near Mawsiram after Cherapunji, for better appreciation.

The economy of this village and the surrounding areas is based on agriculture. Major produces are broomsticks, beetle nuts, and bay leaves. Rice is also minor produce.

We next went to visit the Balancing Stone where a massive boulder was balanced on a tiny piece of another boulder. It was a natural formation. An entry fee of ₹ 10 per head was charged.

We then visited village Mawlynnong which is said to be the cleanest village in Asia. The village was well maintained in natural surroundings and strikingly neat and clean. It presented a panoramic view. I took some snapshots and a video. We paid a fee of ₹ 50 for entering the village.

From there, we went to Indo-Bangladesh Border at Tamabil via Dawki (The distance we traversed from Riwai village to Tamabil via Mawlynnong was 21.3 Kms on the hilly terrain). On the way, we passed over the well-known suspension bridge on the river Dawki. I took a few photographs of the bridge and its surrounding areas. At Tamabil, we entered a little into Bangladesh and took a few photographs at the border. From Tamabil, we drove straight to Shillong over a distance of 83 Kms. There ended our tour for the day.

At Shillong, an incident happened which gave me a thread to locate my college day friend Kisu’s house and get some information about him. After our return from Dawki on the 9th of Feb, 2016, we were taking tea at a restaurant on Lower Jail Road at its end near Polo Bazar. As I and Asu were conversing between ourselves, a gentleman who, too, was having tea at the restaurant approached us, wanting to know if we were from Kolkata. He said he, too, had been originally from Kolkata and living at Shillong as an employee of the Income Tax Department since entering service. He had retired some years back and had settled in Shillong. His name was Gautam Mukherjee. In the course of my conversation with him, I mentioned my college friend, Kishu alias Rajarshi Bhattacharjee, who used to live in an Assam Type house in Jail Road and whom I had been searching for quite some time. I inquired of him (Mr. Mukherjee) if he had any knowledge about Kishu or his house. The gentleman immediately responded, saying that there were only two Assam Type houses still there in jail Road, one of the Bhattacharjees’ and the other of the Banerjees’. This fact of the houses of Bhattacharjee and Banerjee being side by side tallied my knowledge about the configuration of these houses in our college days. Mr. Mukherjee, on having the physical description of my friend whose name he did not know, said, if he had rightly identified my friend, he was no more. He, however, gave me the direction to reach those existing Assam Type houses. Following that lead, I could later reach the house I had been searching for. There was, however, no inmate in the house. As I moved towards a house down below (Shillong being a hilly town, houses here were situated at different levels) to inquire about the occupants, I met a neighbor who knew a relation of the house owner. With the assistance of that neighbor, I could speak on the phone to that relation of the house owner, who confirmed that Kisu and his family were tenants in that house. That relation of the house owner recognized Kisu by name and confirmed that he was dead. He said Kisu's children had scattered at places, but he was not aware of their whereabouts. Thus, with a heavy heart, I ended my long pursuit for my friend Kisu.

Day 6 - February 10, 2016: We had booked two single seats in a bus of Meghalaya Tourism the previous evening for a visit to Cherapunji and places of tourist interest en route. The cost of the ticket was ₹350 per head. We boarded the bus at the Tourism Information centre at Police Bazar at 07:45 am. The bus started at 0800 am. Our first stop was at Maw-K-Dock Viewpoint at a distance of 32 Kms from Shillong. Maw-K-Dock valley is a wonderful valley midway between Shillong and Cherapunji. The vast deep green valley would leave one amazed. Built, in a panoramic natural backdrop, the suspension bridge, Duwan Sing Syiem Bridge, connected two hills for road transports. The bridge had its own beauty. As we moved forward, leaving the viewpoint behind, we came across surroundings enveloped in thick fog. Some distance ahead it was a clear sight again. A foggy and clear atmosphere appeared in alternate phases as if playing hide and seek with us. In a clear atmosphere, we could see clouds hovering over the ridges of the hills in the distance, creating a scene of heavenly beauty. There were bottomless gorges on one side of the road and rising hills on the other. The picture was more or less the same all through our journey up to the farthest point of Sohra, the local name of Cherapunji. It was a journey through nature which one would remember for the rest of his life.

Our next stop was at Mawsmai Nongthymmai Eco Park. The entrance fee here was ₹ 10 per head. The Eco Park had been designed by the Meghalaya government to facilitate tourists to enjoy the ‘Green Canyons” of Sohra and the waterfalls that lie around it. There was a stream inside the park, and one had to cross a bridge to get to the edge of the canyon. The scenic beauty from the edge was awe-inspiring. The Eco Park also housed a wide variety of orchids. We did not, however, have clear weather for long to see the marvel of nature here. The area became engulfed in fog off and on. But whatever we could see or capture in the frame was enough to appreciate the grandeur of nature around. The mighty waterfalls that usually discharged a huge volume of water had only a thin stream now running down them. Similar was the condition in all the waterfalls we had visited in the Cherapunji area. Some of these falls had almost dried up. Even the biggest one named Nohkalikai Falls was nowhere near its self. It was learnt that there had been no rains in Cherapunji since September last. What a sorry state! The place that once used to have the world’s highest rainfall was now going dry without rains for months. This brings back to my mind the memory of my last visit to the area decades back. It was then almost impossible to move around in Cherapunji without an umbrella or raincoat. There used to rain off and on, and you would get soaked if you dared to be out without protection against the rains. The present situation seems to have been man-made. To my mind, one of the causes must have been the indiscriminate intrusion to nature by way of large-scale destruction of hills and deforestation. Wherever I moved in Khasi hills, I found hills blasted in long stretches at intervals along the road. Such destruction had been not only for developmental needs but also for business and mining activities. It is of the immediate need to save the hills to the extent possible to avoid a catastrophe.

From Eco-park, we went to Maw-Smai Stalactite-Stalacmites Cave, also called Krem Mawsmai (‘Krem’ meaning ‘cave’ in Khasi, and ‘Mawsmai’, translating to ‘Oath Stone’). It was located at a distance of 6 Kms from the main town of SOHRA, as Cherapunji is locally called. The entry fee here was ₹ 20 per head with another ₹20 for a digital camera. It was relatively easy to navigate the first few meters of the cave. The stalactites and stalagmites caves have innumerable forms, shapes, and sizes inside, leaving one to imagine as many life forms as possible. This magnificent natural wonder is the handiwork of years of natural abrasion and underground water. Lit up with halogen lamps, this 820ft long stretch is awe-inspiring, spine-tingling, and to a certain degree, suffocating. A harmless-looking opening in the rock face is hidden behind a curtain of green, giving way to a gradual descent into the dark and dank interior of the hill. All trace of natural light disappears within seconds, and the walls and roof begin to close in, forcing visitors to walk single file along the crater-ridden cave. This we had observed from the last point up to which we could move in. With the experience of yesterday’s expedition to Living Root Bridge at the back of our minds, we did not dare to venture deep inside the cave. From near the very entrance of the cave, Jagged spears of various shapes would be found to point downwards from the roof as one would move along while water would drip on the face. Misshapen pillars rose out of the cave floor; million-years old structures formed of crystal deposits glitter. The floor was extremely slippery, with irregular formations rising from the floor, here and there. I slipped several times, losing balance, but somehow saved me from the fall while trying to sit on a particular position in one of the formations. These stalactite and stalagmite formations are made by over a million years of incessant rains and formidable weather.

“The cave, which goes 40 ft deep at a certain point, resonates with whispers, and as clouds do, it takes the shape of our imagination. Many see gods and goddesses; the children see monster faces; some see the melting faces of old men, giant brains, and other sorts of grotesque imagery. Sloshing through ankle-deep water and navigating stepping-stones, one would reach an opening that is around 3 ft high and wide. Scrambling through the menacing hole on all fours, balancing precariously on the slippery rock, the other side would take the breath away.

The cave is almost 40 ft high, with smooth, glistening walls and a placid pool of unknown depth. Dagger-like structures point down from the roof at that inside, undoubtedly sheltering eerie life forms, and the sound of the flaps of wings echo within. The mouth of the beast gave way to what could be imagined as the belly of a whale. Crossing a narrow bridge across the cave pool, guided by a faint halogen lamp, one would wonder what secrets this ancient cave preserves.

Crawling through the undulating cave terrain is easy once past the beast’s belly. Just as the dark begins to get cruel, faint rays of natural light stream in from above. A hole in the cave roof, even a creeper or two poking in, cast a natural spotlight below. One gets out into the open in the greenery”.

Next, we visited Thangkharang Park of the Forest & Environment Department, at a distance of 12 Kms from Cherapunji. The entry fee here was ₹5 per head for Sr. citizen and ₹10 for a digital camera. It was a beautiful place adorned with flowers and trees of various species and having a fountain inside. It is located just beside the Khoh Ramhah rock and offers a 180-degree view of the Bangladesh plains below. This viewpoint also presents a nice view of the Kynrem Falls, which cascades in three levels at a distance.

This park had two nice viewpoints strategically built on two of the three rocks that impart a good view of Khoh Ramhah or the pillar rocks and the valley below. A small bridge helps one cross to the other section of the park in heavy rains or during the monsoons when the stream below overflows with water.

Day 8 - Feb 12, 2016: We checked out of the hotel at 08-30 am and started for Manas National Park, a distance of 139 Kms from Guwahati via Barpeta Road, by car we had hired earlier through a relation of Asu. The major portion of the route to Manas was on NH 31. The places we passed by in the course of our journey were Nalbari, Barama, Tihu, Patarakuchi, Pathsala, Bhowanipore, and Barpeta. We came across a beautiful church at Barama and took its photographs. We stopped for some time at Bhowanipore and had a light refreshment at a roadside sweet-meat shop. We reached Manas at a distance of about 22 Kms from Barpeta Road at 1300 hrs., and checked in Bansbari Lodge, where we had our accommodation reserved. After lunch, we went out with a guide provided by the Lodge to have a look around. We walked up to the river Manas at a distance of about 1.5 Kms through the jungle path. We could hear the chirping of birds on the way but could not see any animal. A group of students from the English Department of Kokrajhar University was having a picnic on the riverside. Talked to them for some time and had some photographs around. Returned to the Lodge, had rest, dinner and then retired for the night. We were to go on a jeep safari in the National Park the next morning at 06:30 am.

The accommodation and the food in the lodge were good. The lodge was neat and clean, and the staff hospitable. One good thing was the buffet system of servicing food. Guests had the option of choosing the items and the quantities they needed, and wastage could be minimized.

Facts to know about Manas*: Manas, at the base of the foothills of the Bhutan-Himalayas in the state of Assam, with unique biodiversity and landscape, is one of the first reserves included in the network of tiger reserves under Project Tiger in 1973. The Manas National Park was declared a sanctuary on October 1, 1928, with an area of 360 sq. km. Prior to the declaration of the sanctuary, it was a Reserved Forest called Manas R.F. and North Kamrup R.F. In December 1985 Manas Wildlife sanctuary was declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. In 1989, Manas acquired the status of a Biosphere Reserve. It extends over an area of 2837 square kilometers from the Sankosh river in the west to the Dhansiri river in the east, with a core area of 500 Sq. km of the National Park declared in 1990. It is contiguous with the Royal National Park in Bhutan.

The average elevation of the area is 85 m above the mean sea level. The river Manas flows into the national park from the gorges of Bhutan and is split into two major streams, of which the main watercourse coming out of the National Park about 30 Km downstream is known as “Beki”. About half of the grassland is covered by Terai and Bhabar Type, the riparian areas have, colonising grassland of several species. The thick woodlands are called Eastern Moist Deciduous forests of various types. The undergrowth is very thick. There are more than 600 species of Angiosperms alone. The commonly seen trees are the Simul, Oxi, Sissoo, Khale, Gamari, etc. Manas is the only landscape in the world where pristine Terai grassland are seen merging with the Bhabar grasslands interspersed with diverse habitats ascending to semi-evergreen forests and then to Bhutan Himalayas. The bio-diversity is very rich here. The last population of Pygmy Hog survive in the wilds of Manas and nowhere else in the world. Manas is very rich in the population of the Royal Bengal Tiger. According to the last census, the population of tigers here was 60. But a ride through the park may not guarantee a tiger sighting.

The park is known for its rare and endangered wildlife such as the Assam Roofed Turtle, Hispid Hare, Golden Langur and Pygmy Hog. Manas is famous for its population of wild water buffalo. It is also an elephant reserve.

*(An internet resource and Wikipedia)

Day 10 - February 14, 2016: We checked out from the hotel at Guwahati at 07:15 am and arrived at the bus stand of Assam State Transport Corporation at Paltan Bazar. At the stand, we met two girls from Agartala, of whom the good looking one was named Moni Chakrabarti. They were working in Bangalore and doing MBA as a distance learning course. The companion of Moni had lost her purse with money and jewellery earlier in a bus; she was in a total mess, not knowing what to do. She tried various means to recover her lost purse. She had contacted the conductor of the bus, in which she had lost her purse, with the assistance of the ASTC staff. I found the staff of ASTC quite sympathetic and cooperative. They even detained the bus for a while to enable her to try for recovery of her lost purse. But the poor girl failed to get back the things she had lost and had broken down finally. We felt for her, but there was no way to help.

Our bus left the ASTC Bus-stand at Paltan Bazar, Guwahati, at 8 am to take us to ISBT, from where we had to take the AC Bus to Kaziranga and beyond. We boarded the Bus for Kaziranga, which would take us to Jorhat on the extension of journey ticket beyond Kaziranga. That bus started exactly at 0900 am. We moved along NH 37. I have described the beauty of this route up to Kaziranga in the travelogue of my visit to this area in 2014 and 2015. On the way, we had our lunch at the restaurant at ISBT, Nowgong, as usual, and moved ahead. We took roadside photographs at places. We passed Kaziranga at 1400 hrs. and proceeded towards Jorhat, reaching ISBT, Jorhat at around 1600 hrs. via places named Golaghat, Dergaon, Numligarh (Oil Refinery), Rajabari and Bokakhat. From ISBT, we took an auto-rickshaw to reach Prasanti tourist lodge, where we had our accommodation booked. We checked in at the lodge at around 1630 hrs.

Day 11 - February 15, 2016: Asu shifted to his relative’s house this morning for better care. I continued in Prasanti Tourist Lodge. Before Asu had left for his relatives. I had gone out in search of the house of someone close to my heart, who had, at some point in time, given me the location of that house. I could find out the house but learnt to my dismay that she (the someone I wanted to meet) had sold it and had shifted elsewhere. I was talking to her neighbour, a woman, who had confirmed it was her house. I learnt from that neighbour that she (the person I wanted to meet) had moved to a new flat in a multistoried building near Chholadhara Sarbajanin Puja Mandir off from Barua Charali. The neighbour did not know anything more than that. She, though, was delighted that someone at this age had come to meet a schoolmate. Later, on a different day, I had visited the location of her new address; a couple of new buildings were coming up near the Puja Temple. Those were mostly unoccupied till then. I did not find any security guard, neither any person of knowledge to enquire about the occupancy of my desired person. I had to return disappointed.

After Asu had gone to his relatives' place, I rested for the whole day. We had earlier decided to visit Majuli the next day. This would be my second visit to Majuli. I had visited Majuli once earlier, in 2014. The present trip was planned at the behest of Asu, who had never been to Majuli and was very keen to visit it.

Day 12 - February 16, 2016: Asu and I left for Neamatighat on our way to Majuli at 07-30 am by a shared taxi. The fare was ₹25 per head, an increase of ₹5 since my visit in 2014. From Neamatighat, we availed of the ferry service across the Brahmaputra for reaching the island Majuli. The ferry charge was ₹20 per head, again an increase of ₹5 over the rate of 2014. It was a one-and-a-half-hour journey to Majuli by motorboat. We sailed from Neamatighat at 08-30 am and reached Majuli at around 10 am. We hired a vehicle at ₹ 800 for sightseeing. As I had said during my earlier expedition, Majuli is better known for its Satras and migratory birds visiting the island during winter. There are twenty-two operational Satras today in Majuli. Of them, we had visited the important four viz., Auni Ati Satra, Uttar Kamalabari Satra, Bhogpur Satra, and another Satra, the name of which I don’t recollect. We could not visit Dakshinapath Satra though we had a mind, for want of time. We were more interested in birds. The driver of the vehicle we had hired was very expert in sighting birds. His name was Ranjit Barua. With his help, we could view a good many migratory and local birds and photograph them. As we had spent most of our time locating the birds, we did not have the time to look into other aspects that I had covered on my last trip in 2014. We left Majuli by the last ferry at 3:30 PM and reached Jorhat at around 6 PM. Here are some pictures of what we found in Majuli.

Day 14 - February 18, 2016: Asu left Jorhat this afternoon by air, cutting short the trip due to his health condition. I stayed back to visit Digboi to see my sister and the daughter of my niece from that sister, whose marriage had been fixed on March 1, 2016, at Digboi. After Asu had left, I started feeling bored. The local friend Malu had made himself unavailable. To escape the boredom and have some exciting experiences, I planned to visit Kaziranga. My joint trip with Asu to that place had been cancelled earlier due to the latter's indisposition. I contacted the lodge-in-charge of Aranya Tourist Lodge and got a room booked for me for the 19th night.

Day 15 - February 19, 2016: At 11:30 am, I left Jorhat for Kaziranga by an ASTC bus. Reached Kaziranga at 1:30 PM and the lodge at 1:45 pm. Had lunch and rested. Unfortunately, the mixed vegetable curry that was served in lunch was half-cooked, some of which I had taken inadvertently. As a result, I started feeling an uneasiness accompanied by intermittent pain in my stomach from the evening. I took a lot of water and a Unienzyme tablet after dinner. The pain and the uneasiness got reduced to some extent, and I slept well.

Day 16 - February 20, 2016: Woke up at 0530 am to try for Jeep Safari in Kaziranga National Park. This would be my Safari in Kaziranga for the third time in three consecutive years. I was to find out partners to share the high cost of Safari. I reached the office of the Association of Safari drivers, which allotted vehicles and made other arrangements, at 06:30 am, and waited for prospective safari goers to form a team. After I had waited for about half an hour, three young men came in search of safari partners, and we formed a team. We got a vehicle allotted to our team for which I had to share a cost of ₹ 690 including ₹100 for my digital camera. We started a little after 07:30 am and returned at 10:45 am. We saw Rhinos, Deer and a good number of birds of various kinds, including forest hens. The safari was quite enjoyable. In my earlier visits to Kaziranga, I could not find birds in such abundance. I post on the right panel and below some of the pictures I could take in Kaziranga National Park.

After the return from Safari, I had my bath and breakfast and checked out of the lodge. Carrying my luggage, which comprised a sky bag and a briefcase, neither of which was heavy, I started towards the National Highway at a distance of around 1.5 Kms to catch a bus from there. As I walked for some distance, a jeep stopped by and offered me to take to the High way. I got into it and paid ₹ 40 on reaching my destination. One won’t find any porter, rickshaw, or carriage at Kaziranga Tourist Complex to take one to the Highway to get transport for the desired destination. Though my baggage was not heavy, it was not quite comfortable for me to walk with it. The jeep driver thus did me a favour, though at a price. From the highway, I caught a minibus of the trade name “traveller”. The transporters had found an ingenious way of accommodating extra seats for passengers. They had added a folding seat in the alley between the seats in a row for the last three or four rows. Thus in place of three seats, two on one side and one on the other, they could make four seats by unfolding the one on the gap in between. For passengers to move from the rear end, one who sits on this extra seat has to stand up to make passage by folding his seat. After a drive of 2 hours, the traveller bus dropped me at ISBT, Jorhat, at around 4 PM. I had nothing more to do for the day. I was bone-tired after the jeep safari at Kaziranga and minibus ride to Jorhat. My stomach pain had not also completely subsided. I had a plan to visit Digboi the next day. But I realised that said journey would be tiresome and difficult for me to make. Besides being a long road journey for 5 or 6 hours, it would involve a change of bus en route at a place called Tinsukia. How long it would take to get a bus from Tinsukia for Digboi was also not known. I felt I couldn't withstand the rigor of this journey. I talked to my relatives at Digboi and cancelled the trip. I also felt I should return home early. I had a keen desire to revisit Bashista near Guwahati to see someone I had found there. But the boredom at Jorhat and uneasiness due to constipation hastened me to abandon that idea. I immediately purchased an air ticket for Kolkata on the earliest available date of 23rd Feb and cancelled all railway reservations for the return journey. I had still two complete days to spend at Jorhat.

Day 19 (concludes) Feb 23, 2016: Today was my last day of the Assam-Meghalaya trip. I got up at 0700 am. Had a bath and packed luggage. Went out for a stroll. On my return, found our old acquaintance Rabi Das waiting at the lodge for me. Earlier, he had called me over the phone and expressed his desire to come and meet me. He was very close to us since the days of my father. We were tenants in the house of his distant uncle Rakesh Das. He had been a teacher for some time in the Primary section of our school and for that, I often call him “Sir”. He was about 86-years old and, by the grace of God, was still strong. We conversed for an hour or so on matters of the present-day situation at Jorhat and recalled situations of older days. My time was running out. Sri Das left around 12 noon. I checked out from the lodge at 12:30 pm, hired an auto, and left for ROWRIA airport. My flight left Jorhat at 1415 hrs. I reached Kolkata at 16:15 pm and home at 1700 hrs. (Much against my will, I had to curtail my programme by four days due to circumstances beyond control.)

I place below an electronic album of the photographs of this trip

I had returned only on February 23, 2016, after completing a trip in Assam, partly with Asu and partly alone. I had no intent to visit Assam again so soon. But I got a message that my sister living in Mariani, Assam, had not been keeping well. She was over 80 years of age. I thought I should go and look her up. I made a short itinerary for a week’s visit to Assam. Even otherwise, I always cherish a call to Assam.

As I had no other place to add to my itinerary this time, I decided to visit some places of interest, which I had not visited earlier or had a cursory visit, in and around Guwahati and Jorhat, in the course of visiting my ailing sister. As usual, I would try to highlight some material and historical facts while giving details of the places I would visit. With these in mind, I now move on to present my travel story.

On 16^th May 2016, I left Kolkata at 1345 hrs., for Guwahati by Satabdi Express. I was on the lower berth of an AC 2-tier coach. This gave me the advantage of having an unobstructed outside view through the windows, an experience I had enjoyed much since my childhood. The train started in time and was running fast. As I moved towards my destination, enjoying the scenic beauty outside flying past me, the history of Indian Railways, the most popular means of long-distance public transport, came to my mind. As I recollected, the first passenger train ran in India on the 16^th April 1853 between Bori Bandar (Bombay, now Mumbai) and Thane, a distance of 34 Kms. By 1947, the year of India’s independence, there were 42 rail systems. In 1951, the system was nationalised as one unit, the Indian Railways, becoming one of the largest railway networks in the world.

Coming back to the instant journey, as the train moved in its course, night descended, and I fell asleep after having my dinner with what I had brought from home. I woke up at 03:40 am the next morning and found that the train was standing in New Cooch Behar station. It was already dawn there. There were about seven more hours of journey to my destination. The train resumed its journey after a few minutes. I spent my time enjoying the outside scenic beauty, which was in abundance as the train entered into the state of Assam. I reached my destination at 10:45 am and checked in Assam Tourism Development Corporation’s Tourist Lodge Prashanti. After being refreshed and having a little rest, I went to the nearby restaurant named Food Villa to have my lunch.

While coming out of the villa after lunch, my attention was drawn to a nearby park. On approaching it, I found it was named Nehru Park. Here are the details:

A. Nehru Park: It was located right across the famous Cotton College, Guwahati, and was named after the first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. The entrance fee is ₹ 10. The natural settings of the park had already attracted me, and I entered the park. The atmosphere inside was serene; one could hear the chirping of the birds in the silence of the park. Young boys and girls come here in search of privacy. The park is also a popular destination for tourists. There is a church called Christ Church founded in 1844 within the precincts of this park. Historically, the land on which the park stands originally belonged to this Church. Later, it was taken over and developed by the Assam Government. There are various attractions in Nehru Park. Besides the numerous trees that offer a pristine environment in the park, there are around 45 concrete statues. The statues depict various dance forms of the State, including Bihu, Deodani, the dance of the tea tribes of Assam, Ojapali, Bor Taal, and Jhumur. There is also an open-air theatre and a rock garden inside it. It has also a musical fountain that operated in the evening. It is under the control of the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority. A park is an ideal place for relaxation and rejuvenation. It had escaped my notice in the previous few visits. I am happy that I had the opportunity to explore it at it this time.

B. Vashista Ashram: After visiting Nehru Park, I got into a bus bound for Vashista Ashram. I have given details about this Ashram with historical background in my Assam Trip of 2015. The surroundings of the Ashram entices me, and I visit it whenever I am in Guwahati. This time, too, I could not do without paying a visit to it. I moved around the temple and took photographs. The river (better to call it a channel at this point) in the periphery of the Ashram that formed a fall here was in high spate. In this summer month of May, it was fascinating to see muddy water coming down from higher reach at break-neck speed and falling through steps of stones. I recorded a video of this fall and surrounding areas. From the Ashram, I went to the Food Villa, and after having dinner there, returned to the lodge and retired for the night.

C. Dighalipukhori Lake: It is an important landmark and a place of tourist interest in Guwahati. It is a wonderful location right in the heart of Guwahati. I had visited it on earlier occasions, too, but those visits were mostly in the evening. This time, I reached here from Prashanti lodge (walking distance) at 8:10 am on the 18^th of May (the next day of my arrival in Guwahati). Entry to the tank area was already closed. I learnt from the guard that in the morning, it remained open from 6 am to 8 am for morning walkers. At my request, I was allowed inside to take photos. There were big trees all around in the periphery of the lake. The banks of the lake were decorated with flowering and ornamental plants. There was also a children's park within the boundary of the lake. There was a history of this lake which Assam Tourism Development Corporation has described as follows:

“Dighalipukhori is an ancient channel of the river Brahmaputra, now flowing on its north. This ancient channel extending south-west was connected to the river Bharalu via Chalabeel and Barchalabeel within Guwahati city. The old channel was dammed, and a picturesque lake (pukhori) was created with objectives of navigation and settlement. The lake is known as Dighalipukhuri (Dighal means 'long' in Assamese) due to its elongated archaeological plan. The ancient city of Pragyotishpura flourished in this ancient form of the Brahmaputra.

Discovery of an inscribed Terracotta sealing (used in trade and commerce) and evidence of brick-built tank datable to the Sunga-Kushan Period (BC 200 – AD 300) at Ambari Archaeological Site continued to flourish till the late medieval period.

A copper plate inscription (CE 1872) of Ahom King Gourinath Singha (CE 1780 – 1795) records the existence of a royal dockyard (Naosali) at Guwahati. The strategic location and the elongated rectangular architectural plan of Dighalipukhori indicate that it was used as a dockyard by the Ahom monarchy.

Owing to its long historical existence, Dighalipukhori forms a part of the monumental and cultural heritage of Assam. (Mythology has it that Pragyotishpura nripati Bhagadutta excavated this tank during the marriage of his daughter Bhanumati with Kaurava prince Duryyodhana) .

Area of the lake: L - 1260ft, B – 470ft, Total Area: 41.125 Bigha. 13.617 acres.”

D. Ugratara Temple: From the Dighalipukhori site, I proceeded to the Jorpukhuri tank, which was a 15-20 mins walk along the road to the left of Dighalipukhori. On the west side of the Jorpukhuri tank lay the famous temple of Ugratara. Ugratara Temple was an important Shakti shrine. I learnt from the priest of the temple that the importance of it was that the naval of Shakti, the first consort of Shiva, fell here. It was thus one of the 51 Pithasthan (Holy/sacred places) of India. In the sanctum sanctorum (garva griha) of Ugratara there was no image or idol of the goddess. A small pit filled with water was considered the goddess. I could not see the pit, as it was dark inside, and devotees or visitors were not allowed beyond a barrier, at a distance from the pit. The temple of Ugratara is small but beautiful. There was a Shivalinga beside the Ugratara temple and a pond behind both temples. The tank Jorpukhuri was on the eastern side of the temple. It was excavated by Ahom King Siva Singha three years before building the present temple of Ugratara in 1725 AD. I found ducks, swans, and birds of other kinds on all sides of the tank and photographed them.

E. Bihu Sammilani Ground: After visiting the Ugratara temple, I took a rickshaw to go to Kachari Ghat to avail of the ferry services to reach Umananda Temple on the Bhasmakala hills. On the way, I came across Bihu Sammilani Ground. Understandably, it was a public place for celebrating Assam’s National festival Bihu here in Guwahati.

F. Umananda Temple: When I had arrived at the Kachari Ghat to avail of the ferry services, there was still about an hour for the ferry to start. I recorded a video on the flowing Brahmaputra and took some photographs of the surroundings. I had visited Umananda Temple once before during my 2014 Assam visit. As I had spare time and had no other programme, I decided to visit it once again to make good if I had anything left out last time.

The launch sailed at 10 am. In about half an hour, I reached the Bhasmakala Hills, on the top of which was the temple. There were stairs to reach the temple after a short walk from the place where the launch had anchored. As I had said in my story on the 2014-visit, the way to the temple bifurcated on the first landing of the stairway. On the right, there were steep marble stairs difficult for the aged and the infirm to climb. On the left, there was a rampway at a slow gradient with some intermittent stairs in groups of 3 or 4. It was much easier to move along this route. It took me 15 mins to reach the temple site by this rampway. I first visited the old brick temple known as Mahakal Temple, which, it was said, was built by Ahom king Gadadhar Singh (AD 1681 – 1696). Later, I visited the milky-white new temple and its garva griha, where the original Shivalinga of Mahakal temple was said to have been preserved. I found people from different parts of India, young and old, visiting the temple and offering pujas.

G. Janardhan Temple: After visiting the Umananda temple, I returned to Guwahati to move to the next site. I walked down to the nearby Janardhan Temple complex. I had visited this twice before, once with my wife and once alone. In this temple complex, there were two temples, one of Sukreshwar or Siva and the other of Janardhan or Vishnu. Janardhan temple was said to have been dedicated to Lord Buddha. The mighty Brahmaputra flowed immediately behind the Janardhan temple and presented a wonderful sight. With this, I completed my visit to Guwahati for this time.

My visit to places in Guwahati ended with this. In the evening, my niece (daughter of my eldest sister) visited me, along with her daughter, granddaughter, and son-in-law. I spent some time with them.

I left Guwahati for Jorhat the next day, the 19^th of May at 9 am by Guwahati-Ambari Deluxe Bus of ASTC. Reached Jorhat at around 4 PM. Checked in Prashanti Tourist Lodge and halted.

Places I visited in Jorhat

A. Gymkhana Club

On the 20^th morning, I went out from the lodge at around 08:30 am. Took an autorickshaw from KB Road-Titabar Road junction, moved to Club Road junction, took a cycle rickshaw from there, and reached Gymkhana Club, Jorhat. The lush green field inside the club complex presents a wonderful site. The layout of the golf field attracts immediate attention. There is a history of Jorhat Gymkhana Club as described below:

Jorhat Gymkhana Club is the oldest golf course in Asia and the third oldest in the World

It was built in 1876 by D. Slimmon, the then Secretary of the club, in Seconidhara village. The club has been a venue for horse races ever since its inauguration. The Governor's Cup is the major trophy awarded here every year.

It has a lush green 9-hole golf course circuit vying for a position in the "World Heritage list" as the oldest golf course in Asia and the third oldest in the world. The club offers facilities in lawn tennis (grass courts), swimming pool, billiards, polo, gentleman's bar, and cinema theatre. The cricket ground here is known as 'Jorhat Gymkhana Ground'. It had the grace of hosting the CK Naidu Under-19 Indian Cricket tournament matches. Khelmati sports club uses this ground for practising cricket.

The Club road was the first asphalt road laid by the Britishers to connect the City Centre with the Jorhat Gymkhana Club. (Source: Jorhat District website http://jorhat.gov.in/jorhat-gymkhana-club-in-jorhat.html)

B. Jagannath Barua College: From Gymkhana Club, I reached the Jagannath Barooah College site and took some photographs. This college, popularly known as JB College, is a well-known educational institution for Higher education in upper Assam. My brother had graduated from here. The college has reached its present stage from a humble beginning in 1930, and let’s see how:

The college reached its platinum jubilee year in 2005 and has been marching forward. It was established under the name of Upper Assam College in Jorhat on the 19^th August 1930 by tireless efforts of a tiny but highly learned group of scholars of this town. Less than a month later, i.e., on 4th September 1930, the first Governing Body (GB) Meeting of the Upper Assam College resolved to name the college as Jorhat College and this continued till 1938 when, in a resolution of another GB Meeting, it was again decided to rename the college as Jagannath Barooah College in the memory of Jagannath Barooah, the first Graduate of Upper Assam. Late Murulidhar Barooah, the grandson of Jagannath Barooah donated the entire land and the Barpatra Kutir (existing office and teachers’ common room) to the college. The founder principal of this oldest institution of the region was Prof. Krishna Kanta Handique, world- renowned Orientalist, distinguished scholar, and academician. The other dedicated founder teachers were Prof. Tulshi Narayan Sarma (Founder Secretary), Jagneswar Sarma, Phanidhar Dutta, Prafulla Pran Changkakati, and Gunagobinda Dutta. With a small batch of 14 students in 1930, the college was started first with Intermediate of Arts (IA), which received formal affiliation from Calcutta University in 1931. Thereafter, the events of the college moved quickly. The streams, Intermediate Commerce (i. Com), the Bachelor of Arts (BA), the Bachelor of Commerce (B. Com), the Intermediate Science (I. Sc.), and the Bachelor of Science (B. Sc.), were opened, respectively in 1939, 1941, 1944, 1949-50.and 1952.53, From 1931 to 1948, the college was affiliated with Calcutta University and from 1948 to 1965 to the Gauhati University. Since Dibrugarh University (DU) was established in 1965, the college has been affiliated with it. The college now has a diversified field of teaching. Currently it has 19 departments, viz., Assamese, Bengali, Botany, Chemistry, Commerce, Computer Science, Economics, English and Functional English, Geography, Geology, Hindi, History, Mathematics, Philosophy, Physics and Electronics, Political Science, Sanskrit, Statistics, and Zoology. Except for Bengali, Hindi, and Computer Science, all other subjects have Major Courses at the Degree level.

The post-graduate (PG) courses in Geography and Philosophy were opened in 1995 and 1996, respectively. The new century began with the opening of the PG courses in other branches viz. Assamese, Economics, History, Mathematics, Political Science and Sociology under the Distance Education Scheme of Dibrugarh University (Source: JB College website).

C. Some of the other important places of Jorhat: I moved around and photographed some age-old buildings and institutions in Jorhat. Amongst these were Normal School Building, Old Thana Building, etc.

On the 21^st morning, I went to Mariani to visit my ailing sister. I found her better, though weak. I was told she had improved somewhat during the last few days. I halted in her house. I stayed with her for the next day, too. I left Mariani on the 23^rd morning and stayed that night at Jorhat. The next day, I left for Guwahati at 14:00 hrs., reached Guwahati at 21:45 hrs. and checked in at Prashanti.

The next morning, at around 8 am, I went to visit Vasishta Ashram. I moved in and around the Ashram for some time, taking some photographs and shooting some videos. Later, I checked out of the lodge and returned home by Guwahati Kolkata flight, leaving Guwahati at 2:45 pm

Reaching Jhargram, I checked in the hotel my University hostel friend Bhabatosh Mandal had arranged for me. Had a bath and lunch. Later, Bhabatosh came and took me to his house, where I spent some time with him and his family and had high tea. On return to the hotel, had dinner, and retired.

The next day at around 09:30 am, I left Jhargram for Nayagram, a Development Block. where I had worked for a little less than two years in a special project of Govt of India, named PIREP. To go to Nayagram, one had to turn left on its way from Jhargram on NH 6 at Lodhasuli crossing, about 13 Kms off, from Jhargram, and drive straight to a place called Fekoghat Bazar. At Fekoghat Bazar, one has to turn left to take the road to Nayagram. This road on this stretch was in a bad state when I had worked in Nayagram. It was too narrow to allow two vehicles to pass side by side and had unlevelled morrum flanks. It had been upgraded to a state highway. The surface was smooth with increased breadth on both sides. When in earlier times, it had been too much of a strain to drive on this road, it was now a pleasure to do so. I could drive my car at speeds of 80-90 Kilometres per hour along this road except for some bad patches under repairs here and there. This was unthinkable in older times. Driving further, I came across the bridge over the river Subarnarekha at a place called Kutighat. I could easily pass over the bridge to continue my journey on the other side, the road being of the same quality. This brought to my mind the memory of those days of my working in Nayagram, when I had to cross this river often, by a raft, for journeys to and from Jhargram, on official work. Some of my officers would also accompany me most of the time. With all the four wheels applied, the jeep had to plow through the expanse of the riverbed sand before it could reach the raft. That was in summer. During the monsoon months, this route, too, became inaccessible, and we had to detour for around 230 Kilometres via Baripada in Orissa for any work in Jhargram. With the commissioning of the bridge at Kutighat, all the problems and difficulties for the local people have now become things of the past

Driving on, I reached Kharikamathani, the place, where my headquarters as the Project head of a centrally sponsored project on rural development and intensive employment to the rural poor was once located. The place, which almost always wore a forlorn look at my time, was now bubbling with life. Rows of stalls and shops of various commodities had come up on both sides of the road near the site of the then Project office. People had gathered at the four-point crossing for various purposes; buses and other public transports, too, were stationed there, awaiting further movement. I did not, however, have any difficulty in finding the house where we had stayed during my tenure here. The only change that the building had undergone since we had left was an addition of a storey to a part of it. Moving further ahead, I reached Nayagram, where situated the Thana Headquarters. A bridge named “Jangal Kanya” had come over the river Subarnarekha, at a place called Bhosraghat close to the Thana building. There was no bridge here, too, at my time. To cross the river to go to Keshiari and places on the other side, one had to walk over a long stretch of the sandy riverbed and then take a boat ride for the part of the river where it had water flowing through it. The river Subarnarekha at Bhosraghat was about 3 to 3.5 Kms in its breadth. At our times, we did not hear of any proposal for a bridge there, though we had been aware of a bridge being under consideration for Kutighat. This bridge, Jangal Kanya, at Bhosraghat has connected Nayagram to Keshiari, Contai, and Digha. It has also made Jhargram directly accessible to Contai and Digha. These bridges, one at Kutighat and the other at Bhosraghat, with the up-gradation of the connecting roads, have certainly opened up the road to the development of the Nayagram-Gopiballavpur area. Nayagram had been the most backward block, predominantly inhabited by Tribals and the Mahatos. The development of these areas was a crying need, and it seemed to have taken a start at long last.

Nayagram being the endpoint of my day’s trip, it was now time for me to return. I left the area with the hope that with time the area would prosper further, and the people here would have their due share in it.

I left Nayagram at 12:15 pm and reached Jhargram at 1:45 pm. Halted for the night at Jhargram.

B. GHATSHILA

My trip to Ghatshila, it may be said, was somewhat forced upon me. Though, that offered me an opportunity to attain a long-cherished desire. I was scheduled to return to Kolkata that day, the 28^th of November 2016, after spending two days’ in Jhargram. But in the meanwhile, the political parties had organised a movement in Kolkata on Nov 28 in protest against the cancellation of high denomination currency notes. In the apprehension of being stranded on the road due to the demonstration, I cancelled my programme to return to Kolkata that day and decided to stay back at Jhargram for another day. Instead of wasting the day idly, I made it into an opportunity to visit some nearby places of interest. In consultation with my friend at Jhargram I decided to visit Ghatshila. As it would not have been safe to take the car, I decided to travel by train to Ghatshila and use local transport for sightseeing there.

Accordingly, I started from Jhargram by Ispat Express at 9:10 am and reached Ghatshila at 10 o’clock on the 28th. There, I hired an auto-rickshaw for sightseeing at a contracted price of ₹ 700. I visited the following places of interest in Ghatshila. It took me from 10:15 am to 3:15 pm.

1. Rankini Temple.

2. Ramakrishna Math

3. House of great Bengali writer Bibhuti Bhusan Bandopadhyay

4. Subarnarekha Bridge

5, Burudi Lake

6. Dharagiri Falls

A. Rankini Temple: First, I visited Rankini Temple, a distance of 2 kms from the Railway Station, in Ghatshila town. It is said that the King of Dhalbhum, Raja Jagannath, had constructed the Rankini Mandir at Galudih. But due to some problem, he shifted the Kali temple with all the associates and other people to Ghatshila and built a temple of the goddess Kali, beside Ghatshila police station, which is known as Rankini Mata Temple. I visited the temple. The temple was within a spacious compound and had a beautiful idol inside. The priest was offering pujas when I had arrived. I had the prasad. The temple complex is well-maintained. I was there for about half an hour and took photographs.

B. Ramakrishna Math: The next I visited Ramakrishna Math. Ramakrishna Math had a grandeur of its own. It was beautifully built and well-maintained. It had also a health unit attached to it, amongst the others. I visited this revered institution and took some photographs.

The Math started here in 1935 as Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Ashrama; the centre was made a branch of Ramakrishna Math in 2004.

Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission are worldwide, non-political, non-sectarian spiritual organizations that have been engaged in various forms of humanitarian, social service activities for more than a century. Inspired by the ideals of renunciation and service, the monks and lay devotees of the Math and Mission serve millions of men, women, and children, without any distinction of caste, religion, or race, because they see the living God in them.

Ramakrishna Math, Ghatshila is a branch of Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math, Howrah, West Bengal known for its activities in the fields of Education, Health, and Relief throughout the country. This branch started functioning on the 23rd of May 2004, taking over the erstwhile Ramakrishna Vivekananda Ashrama, Ghatshila, established by a Trust deed in 1941.

This Ashrama was hallowed by the visit of many venerable monks of Ramakrishna Math and Mission, foremost of whom was Srimat Swami Vijnananandaji Maharaj, a direct disciple of Bhagawan Sri Ramakrishna Deva.

The Asharam was situated on a piece of one acre of land at Dahigora in the sub-divisional town of Ghatshila in the district of East Singhbhum of Jharkhand state.

Swami Vijnanananda, a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Deva and a brother monk of Swami Vivekananda, was born in 1868. He became the fourth President of the Ramakrishna Order in the year 1937. The Ashrama of Ghatshila was blessed by the visit of Swami Vijnanananda Maharaj in the year 1936.

Although Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission are legally and financially separate, they are closely interrelated in several ways and are regarded as twin organizations.

Activities of Ghatshila Math comprise of the following:

1. Running charitable allopathic-cum-homeopathic dispensary, which treated 2776 patients this year (2016).

2. Running a mobile medical unit (4354 patients treated) and eye camps (491 patients operated on).

3. Maintaining physiotherapy unit, which treated 510 cases.

4. Running two units of Gadadhar Abhyudaya Prakalpa with 100 children.

5. Maintaining a computer training centre with 38 students.

6. Holding daily worship, bhajans, weekly religious classes, and occasional discourses in the ashrama and elsewhere.

7. Arranging celebration of the birth anniversaries of Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, Swami Vivekananda, and other religious teachers, and also festivals like Durga Puja, Kali Puja, etc.

8. Welfare activities by way of providing scholarships, food, clothes, blankets, pecuniary help, etc. to poor people.

C. Bibhuti Bandyopadhyay’s House: The Bengali writer, the creator of epic novel Pather Pachali (the story of the road), later made into a memorable film trilogy by Satyajit Roy, was born on 12 September 1894 at his maternal uncle's house in Ghoshpara-Muraripur village, in the district of the 24-Parganas of Bengal. The writer had lived with his wife and son in his single storeyed house “Gourikunaj” at Dohigora in Ghatshila sub-division from 1938 to November 1, 1950. On the 1^st of November 1950, he had breathed his last here in this house due to a coronary attack.

Since then, the house had been falling apart. The roof of the house where Bandopadhyay had penned works like Ashani Sanket, Devjan, and several of his immortal short stories, had caved in, and the walls were crumbling. The house was finally renovated and restored by the Govt. of Jharkhand from MLA’s development fund and inaugurated on the International Mother Tongue Day of February 21, 2009. The foundation stone laying ceremony for the Library Bhawan, made at an estimated cost of ₹ 1,71,800, was held in 2014-15.

I thank myself for availing of the opportunity to visit this famous house, which had once been the abode of our great novelist. I moved in and around the renovated house and viewed objects on display like dresses used by the litterateur, a list of his work, a letter in his handwriting, etc. Here is a list of some of his works:

Pather Panchali (The story of the road), Chander Pahar (Mountain of Moon), Aronyak (In the Forest), Aporajito (Unvanquished- Sequel to "Pather Panchali"). Heera Manik Jwale, Maraner Danka Baje, Adarsha Hindu Hotel, Ichhamoti, Debayan, Bipiner Sangsar, MeghaMallar, Mauriphool, Jatrabadol, Dristi Pradeep etc.

The career of a writer did not come easy to Bandopadhyay. Due to the economic crisis of his family, he had to take up various odd jobs to make ends meet before taking up writing seriously. He taught at the school, from where he had completed his schooling, he took up the job of a secretary and even managed an estate, until finally in 1921, he got an opportunity to publish his first short story, "Upekshita" in a leading literary magazine of Bengal, named 'Probashi'. But, it was not until 1928, when Bandopadhyay published his first novel, "Pather Panchali", that he received critical attention and acclaim. It was with this novel that he became a prominent name in Bengali literature.

A story in Bengali describing the pains he had to undergo to publish his first novel and an epoch-making one (Pather Pachali) is in the frame at the end of this section.

E. RIVER SUBARNAREKHA & THE BRIDGE OVER IT

From Bibhuti Bhusan’s house, I went to visit the river Subarnarekha and the bridge on it. The river was so close to the house that one could imagine Bibhuti Bhusan enjoying many sunsets over Subarnarekha from his house itself. The river has found favour with many writers, poets, and filmmakers, too. Anyone having an imaginative bend of mind could be inspired to creative work by being on the riverside.

As per tradition, gold was mined near the origin of the river at a village named Piska near Ranchi. This is why it was named, Subarnarekha, meaning "streak of gold". Legend has it that traces of gold used to be found in the riverbed.

After originating near piska/nagri, near Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand, the Subarnarekha traverses a long distance through Ranchi, Seraikela Kharsawan, and East Singhbhum districts in the state. Thereafter, it flows for short distances through the Paschim Medinipur district in West Bengal for 83 kilometres (52 mi) and the Balasore district of Odisha. There, it flows for 79 kilometers (49 mi) and falls to the Bay of Bengal near Talsari. The total length of the river is 395 kilometers (245 miles).

The basin of the Subarnarekha is smaller than most multi-state river basins in India. The rain-fed river covers a drainage area of 18,951 square Kilometres (7,317 sq. miles)

I had gone down to the bed of the river to recover the cover of my camera lens, which had accidentally fallen down when photographing from the bridge. The bridge was the older one made by the Britishers when they ruled this country.

F. BURUDI LAKE: From Subarnarekha Bridge, I went to visit Burudi Lake. It is about 9 Kms north of Ghatshila. It is an artificial lake and a famed tourist spot in the Jharkhand that attracts many tourists for its scenic beauty. It is situated in an astounding natural environment being surrounded by picturesque hills. The lake provides for boating and other aquatic activities; one can take a boat ride in calm and pristine water. One can have a splendid view of the sunset here. The lake has been created on the Burudi dam.

Burudi Dam is very close to Dalma Hills and the famous Dalma Wildlife sanctuary. Wild elephants from Dalma, therefore, often visit the lake for water. This is another attraction for visitors; they may see these elephants if they are lucky. Burudi is also famous for Binda Mela, a popular fair among the Santhal tribe of Jharkhand.

The road to Burudi was in very poor condition. I was travelling in an auto-rickshaw and had been subjected to continuous jolts and jerks. I could not even sit properly and record a video. I was, however, delighted that I could visit the lake amid nature

G. DHARAGIRI FALL: About 7 Kms further from Burudi Lake, there exists a waterfall called Dharagiri Falls. The road condition worsened further for that stretch of it made by the villagers. The transport does not go up to the fall. One has to walk about 2 Kilometres on foot through a jungle path to reach the fall. A child guide showed me the way to the fall. The bed of the stream carrying the water from the fall, almost dry then, was strewn with boulders, small and big. It was difficult to walk over these boulders, and I narrowly escaped falling on a couple of occasions. However, in the end, I reached the fall site. The fall had almost dried up, and there was only a narrow stream of water running down it.

After visiting Dharagiri Fall, I turned back for the return journey. On the way, I came across a Santal village. The houses in the village were mud-built but painted with sober colours and were so neat and clean that one would be bound to love them. A couple of pictures of these houses have been posted here with others, in the left panel.

Introduction: My school friend Asutosh Paul who resides in South Wales, UK, made a plan to visit India in Apr-May 2017. He requested me to chalk out a short programme to visit some places of tourist interest. I had just been back from a tour of Assam and it was beyond me to take a further trip to any distant place. Besides, it was summer and would be hot anywhere on the plains; there was hardly any hill station in the vicinity. I, therefore, suggested Ranchi, which was a tourist spot and not too far. It had many worth-seeing sights, including several waterfalls. It was also hilly terrain, and so I thought it would be cooler even in summer. Asu accepted the suggestion, and we decided to visit Ranchi from the 5th of Apr 2017 to the 10th of April 2017.

Commencement of trip: Accordingly, on the 5th night we boarded Howrah-Hatia Kriyajoga Express at 22:15 hrs. We reached Ranchi the next day at 07:15 am. As the train moved after daybreak, I found that the wayside terrain, though hilly was mostly, barren and made of huge stones. It was then that it first occurred to me that the place could be hot.

First Day Visits

Anyway, on reaching Ranchi, we spent some time in the station looking around and taking some snapshots. Later, we hired an auto-rickshaw and moved to Hotel Natraj on Radheshyam Lane, a little off from Ranchi Main Road near Hanuman Mandir. We had our booking in that hotel. After checking in, we got a car arranged for local sightseeing. Having a bath and a little rest, we started on our way; we had our breakfast at a restaurant named "Punjab Sweets" on Ranchi Main Road.

1. Birsa Munda Stadium: This was the first location we had visited. It is situated in a picturesque location at a distance of 41 Kms from Ranchi Railway Station. When we arrived, the outer gate was locked, and we learnt that visitors were not allowed inside except when a game was on

2. Jagannath Temple: Our next visit was to Jagannath Temple. This seventeenth Century Temple was beautifully located on a hillock at 11 Kms from Ranchi Railway Station. The 100 ft tall temple was built by the king of Barkagarh Jagannathpur Thakur Anish Nath Shahdeo in 1691 AD. The temple's architecture style is reminiscent of its counterpart at Puri. The temple has a large hall in its complex. An annual fare-cum-Ratha-yatra is held here in the month of Aashaada attracting thousands of tribal and non-tribal devotees not only from Ranchi but also from the neighbouring villages and the towns as well. It is celebrated with much pomp and splendor. Various sacred ceremonies are held here. When we visited the temple, a sacred thread ceremony was underway. The temple had collapsed in 1990. With the aid and assistance of the then Govt of Bihar and some devotee patrons, the reconstruction was started on Feb 8, 1992, and has now been fully restored. The view around the temple site is captivating.

3. Pahari Temple: Our next destination was Pahari Temple, situated on a hilltop at 8 Kms from Ranchi Railway station. The temple is one of Lord Shankara (Shiva). 2140 ft Ranchi Hill houses the temple at its summit. There are 468 steps one has to climb to reach the temple. Every step is serially numbered from the bottom to the top. At a few places, the steps were partly broken and under repairs. At 70 plus, with ailments of hypertension, etc., it was a yeoman's task for us to get to the top. But we endeavoured and succeeded. Towards the end of the journey up, I had felt so exhausted that I was almost at the point of giving up. But my friend and companion, Asu, cheered me up and helped in raising my spirits. Finally, we both completed the ride. There is a Siva Lingam of golden colour in the temple. In the month of Shravana, devotees offer Jaldhara to Lord Siva; visitors gather in large numbers at that time. From the top of the temple, we had a bird's eye view of Ranchi city; it was splendid. Ranchi Hills on which this temple is located is also locally called Phansi Tongri. Several revolutionaries are believed to have been hanged here by the British rulers in the dense forest that once existed here. The temple is also known by different other names like Pahari Baba Mandir, Richi Baru, etc. A 293-ft tall flagpole has been erected atop Pahari Mandir. It is said to be India's tallest flagpole. A tri-colour 66 ft in height and 99 ft in width was hoisted by India's Defence Minister on this pole on Jan 23, 2016.

4. Tagore Hills: From Pahari Mandir, we went to Tagore Hills, where Rabindranath Tagore's elder brother, Jyotirindranath Tagore, famous in his own right, had spent the twilight period of his life (1910 - 1925) in a camp house on this hill. The hill lies within the city of Morhabadi in Ranchi at a distance of 7 Kms from the Railway Station, rising to a height of 300 ft. Jyotirindranath had visited the place in 1908. So enamoured was he by the captivating beauty of the Morhabadi Hill and its surroundings that he set up his camp home on this hillock. This is being converted into an art museum. The place can easily be reached by a flight of stairs. Initially, I did not venture to go to the top, having a climb of 468 stairs in Pahari Mandir a while back, and Asu went alone. Later, Asu called me from the top to say that it won't require much of an effort to go there, and there was a lot of material about Rabindranath Tagore and his family to see there. I slowly went up, had a look around, and took some snapshots and a video of the area. This place, too, was quite enchanting with huge stones and trees scattered over with information boards about Tagores, here and there. Unfortunately, this place has become a haunting ground for privacy-seeking young couples.

5. Nakshatra Van: Next, we visited Nakshatra Van. It is a park located in front of Jharkhand Rajbhawan at about 5 Kms from Railway Station. It appeared that it is mostly visited by privacy-seeking young boys and girls; we had seen a good number of them when we had visited the park early afternoon. Park is. however, well decorated with plants and flowers. The Brochure of Jharkhand Tourism Development Corporation describes the park in these words: "The park appears to have been developed on the principles of 27 Nakshatras of 'Jyotish Shastra'. It is divided into various sections and is centered around a circle. The latter, in turn, is divided into arcs precisely according to the angles the Zodiac makes with the earth. The trees of a particular Zodiac have been planted in their corresponding arc. At the Center of the circle is also a musical fountain. There is a section of medicinal plants in the park which also has some rare herbs. A resting statue of Dhanvantari is placed in its midst." During our visit, we found the fountain dried up. The best time for a visit is stated to be the evening, preferably around 6:30 pm but due to our logistic constraints, we had to be satisfied with an early afternoon visit. There is an entrance fee @ ₹15 per head.

6. Rock Garden: From Nakshatra Van, we proceeded to Rock Garden. Here an artificial garden and a waterfall have been developed amongst naturally occurring huge boulders projecting at different angles. The beauty of the spot is enchanting. The place also appears to be a favourite haunt for lovers raring to steal a clandestine rendezvous from the glares of the city. There is an entrance fee @ ₹ 10 per head

2nd Day Visits

1. DEORI MANDIR: This was the first spot on our second day's visit. The temple with sixteen-armed goddess Durga is located on the right side of Tata-Ranchi Highway (NH 33) at 60 Kms from Ranchi. It is the only temple in Jharkhand where the Pujas are done by the Pahans (tribal priests) with the conventional Brahmins. The original temple is in stone, dating back to the 10-11th century AD. The temple commands unflinching faith from the devotees from far and wide. This is evidenced in large nos. of wish thread (মনস্কামনা সূত্র) hanging inside the temple. The temple had been under repair when we visited.

2. DASSAM Waterfalls: From Deori Temple, we went backwards to visit Dassam Waterfalls. About 40 Kms from Ranchi, a motorable road branching off from Tata-Ranchi Road leads to this waterfall. Here, the Kanchi River, a wild tributary of the River Subarnarekha, takes a plunge from a height of 144 ft, forming this waterfall. It was completely dry when we had visited. There was no flowing water anywhere up or down the stone layers of the hill. We could view only the cut in the hill of stone over which the water jumped when in its full glory. We were naturally disappointed. It disappointed us more when we learnt that the other waterfalls we had planned to visit the next day would be no better. Asu was almost drawing up a different programme for the next day's visit. We had hired a car for 2 days from Jharkhand Tourism Development Corporation and had chalked out our programme in consultation with them. They never told us the falls would be dry.

3. The SUN Temple: From Dassam waterfall, we went to see the Sun Temple. Our driver had missed it on way to Dassam Waterfall, and as such, had to make a back and forth journey. The temple fell on the way, from Deori Temple to Dassam Waterfall. It was an elegant temple of the Sun God located at a distance of 40 Kms from Ranchi Railway Station on Tata-Ranchi Highway near a place called Bundu. It was designed in the form of a huge chariot with 18 bedecked wheels and 7 true-to-the-life horses, as if ready to gallop. These seven horses represent the seven colours of light "VIBGYOR" i.e., Violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red. It was built by the Sanskrit Vihar. The Chhat or the festival of the Sun God is held here. Also, a celebrated, colorful festival Tusu is held here on June 25.

3rd Day Visits

1. HUNDRU FALLS: On the third day, we started a little early. We had planned to start earlier at 08:00 am to reach Hundru falls before the temperature was high. We had readied ourselves accordingly. But this was somewhat foiled due to our car reporting late. Finally, we started at around 08:40 am, Hundru was located on Ranchi-Purulia Road. The portion of this road through the urban areas was not much different from that in other populated areas except that there were sharp bends at places on this route due to the terrain being hilly. But once the car turned and took the route to Hundru off from Ranchi-Purulia road, it opened up the treasure of nature. The road now went zigzag over the troughs and the crests of a wavy terrain through areas with an abundance of trees and forests. There were deep gorges at points. It was about 10 o'clock by the time we reached the site of Hundru Waterfall. We had the packed breakfast we had brought with us from Ranchi. From the top where we had reached, no trace of water could be seen. We were to go down to see the waterfall. There were different routes to go down. We were in a dilemma as to which route to follow. A local man appeared from nowhere and guided us through a locally used path over layers of huge boulders forming the hills, to the spot where we had the view of water forcefully leaping over the hilly surface though in lean streams at several places. This was the only living falls at this time of the year that we came across that far. It appeared from the brochure of Jharkhand Tourism Development Corporation that here the river Subarnarekha takes a spectacular leap from a height of 320 ft. That spot might be much lower down which we could not afford to take the risk to visit. The jump here at the spot we visited would not be, by an eye estimate, more than 100 ft or so. We took some photographs and videos at the site. The man who led us to the spot was a good man, but he had the smell of alcohol coming out of his mouth even at that hour of the day. He took much care to see that neither of us fell on the hostile pathway we were following. He kept on holding my hand all through my backward journey. But for him, it might not have been possible for us to track down to that site. We are thankful to him. We remunerated him to some extent, though not much, considering that it would go on alcohol.

2. JONHA FALLS: Next in the itinerary for the day was Jonha Falls. This fall has been named after the name of the village in which it situates. We found it completely dried up. No trace of flowing water was anywhere within sight. Still, we went down the stairway to the spot from where we could get a better look at its configuration. We took pictures and videos on the way down at different spots. The upward journey was most tiring. As the stairs went down from different levels, I had no idea how much I had descended. While climbing up on my way back, I felt my breath failing at different points, particularly when I had gained some height. I needed to take rest off and on to gain breath, though the rest did not remove my discomfiture altogether. This brought to me the memory of our visit to the Living Root Bridge in Village Rawai in Meghalaya in February last year. There too, I had faced a similar precarious condition while climbing up giving rise to a doubt in my mind as to my safe return. In the present case, however, I had to take the help of the guide we had hired for support to make it to the top. I was by then totally exhausted and did not have the energy to visit the nearby Buddha Temple. Asu went there alone and captured a picture of a sitting Buddha in the temple for me.

3. SITA FALL: From Jonha, we went to nearby Sita Fall. This fall, too, was completely dried up. The rocky gradient down which water came down when the fall was in glory appeared to be an exquisite sculpted work of nature itself. Took a few photographs and started on our journey.

4. BIRSA MUNDA STATE ZOO: After Sita Fall, we moved to Birsa Munda State Zoo. The Zoo is situated near Ramgarh on NH 33 at a distance of 20 Kms from Ranchi. The thick canopy of the lush green forest provided natural habitat to a wide variety of wildlife that thrived here. We had views of a tiger roaming in a wide area and birds of foreign origin like Ostrich and Emu walking in a wire-netted cage. We also had peacocks in wired nets; some still and screaming, some other dancing. We had pictures and videos of the animals and birds we saw. It would require a very long walk to cover even a section of the expanse of this zoo. We were tired and did not want to spend much time here. We left after a short walk within the zoo for our return journey.

5. RANCHI WAR MEMORIAL: On our way back to the hotel, we visited the War Memorial falling en route. It is located in Booty More, in the Dipatoli Army Cantonment on the Ranchi-Ramgarh-Hazaribag Highway. It is set up to pay tribute to the sons of the soil who had made sacrifices in various military operations in the Second World War, Indo-China war, Indo-Pak war, and Counter-Insurgency operations. The Memorial is well-maintained and decorated with a flower garden. The Memorial provides a Sound and Light show and has a museum showcasing various aspects of tribal history and culture. Legendary tribal leaders Gaya Munda and Sidhu Kano find their rightful place in the museum along with recent battlefield heroes from the state.

Here ended our visit to places of interest in and around Ranchi. We had a plan to visit some other spots the next day. But the high temperature and the strain we had already taken by the ceaseless movement since our arrival here dissuaded us. Tomorrow (9th April 2017) will, therefore, be the rest, and then we return toKolkata.

This time I was travelling alone. My object of this trip was to visit two new places which I had not seen so far. One was Haflong and the other Digboi. Apart from its natural beauty spoken of here and there, I had an emotional reason for visiting Haflong. I had learnt from my sister that my father had worked there for some time as a contractor in the early part of his life. Though that was a long time ago, and the place must have undergone radical changes over the decades, I wanted to have a feel of it and satisfy my inquisitiveness. I was also eager to see the recently commissioned Lumding-Silchar broad-gauze railway track for at least its portion up to New Haflong. I had travelled on this route on a narrower track many times since my childhood. My visit to Haflong would give me an idea of the changes of alignment the route had undergone during the broadening of the gauze and the consequential changes in its topography. So, in my itinerary for the Assam visit, I included this place as a "must-see" one. I had heard so much about Digboi, particularly of its cleanliness and beauty, in my teens that I felt an irrepressible urge to visit the place. I also had a mind to visit Hajo, a town about 30 Kms from Guwahati, known for its age-old temples and shrines.

With those ends in view, I started for Guwahati on Feb 16, 2017, at 15:50 hrs., by Saraighat Express. I reached Guwahati at 10:30 hrs., the next day i. e. 17th Feb and put up at my usual place of stay in Guwahati viz., Prashanti Tourist Lodge of Assam Tourism Development Corporation. After having lunch and a rest, I went to Bashista Ashram and took some snapshots of water coming down the hill near the Ashram forming the river Bashista, which flows through Guwahati under the name of Bahini. As I have earlier said in my previous Assam tour story, Bashista Ashram is situated 12 kilometres from the main city of Guwahati on the outskirts of the Garbhanga Reserved Forest. The ashram is accessible through the road, and many buses head to this ashram from most parts of Guwahati. The Ashram, along with the temple, is located on the banks of the river Bashista, and its surrounding natural beauty adds to the charm of the place. In the year 1764, King Rajeswar Singha of the Ahom dynasty commissioned the building of this temple. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. If the inscriptions are to be believed, the Ashram dated back to the Vedic period and was built by Saint Bashista. Vasishta (or Bashista) is credited to writing the Hindu epic of Vasishta Ramayana (behind the scenes Ramayana). It is believed that the sage had later breathed his last here. The next day, the 18th, I roamed around Guwahati, taking some shots here, some there.

Early next morning (18th Feb 2017) at around 00:15 hrs I left for Haflong by Guwahati-Silchar Passenger and reached New Haflong, at 10:15 am. An auto took me to Hotel Elite on Haflong main road. I settled there and rested till afternoon. At 16:30 hrs., I went out with the camera and took some shots and videos in the market area. There was not much to see in that area. Contracted an auto-rickshaw operator for sightseeing the next day and returned to the hotel.

At the entrance of Haflong town, there is a statue of Rani Gaidinliu (the second picture in the left panel). One may be interested to know who was this Rani Gaidinliu? Gaidinliu (26 January 1915 – 17 February 1993) was a Naga spiritual and political leader who had led a revolt against British rule in India. At the age of 13, she joined the Heraka religious movement of her cousin Haipou Jadonang. The movement later turned into a political movement seeking to drive out the British from Manipur and the surrounding Naga areas. Within the Heraka faith, she was considered an incarnation of the Goddess Cherachamdinliu[2]. Gaidinliu was arrested in 1932 at the age of 16 and was sentenced to life imprisonment by the British rulers. Jawaharlal Nehru met her at Shillong Jail in 1937 and promised to pursue her release. Nehru gave her the title of "Rani" ("Queen"), and she gained local popularity as Rani Gaidinliu. She was released in 1947 after India's independence and continued to work for the upliftment of her people. An advocate of the ancestral Naga religious practices staunchly resisted the conversion of Nagas to Christianity. She was honoured as a freedom fighter and was awarded a Padma Bhushan by the Government of India. (source: Wikipedia)

Haflong is a small hill town in Assam. It is the Headquarters of Dima Hasao district, previously known as North Cachar Hills. It extends over an area of 12.79 sq. Kms on a height of 3170 ft and has a population of 43756. The local language is Dimasa, from which the name of the district has been derived. The word 'Haflong' in the local language means Ant Hill. There is a district council, and the place is administered under the usual authority of the District Collector.

Anyway, as planned, I set out for sightseeing by the contracted auto-rickshaw at 9:00 am the next day. I could see only the nearby spots though these were some of the interesting ones. The places with a concentration of various ethnic groups lay at distant places for which I did not have time to visit. Again, at some places, which I could visit the weather marred my hopes of enjoying scenic beauties that hills present in clear and semi-clear weather. A dense fog mostly covered the hills all through the day. The place abounded in natural beauty and had many spectacular sights to offer to the visitors. I had been to some of them, though couldn’t cover all due to bad weather and lack of time. I could not visit Lower Haflong at all where situated places like Jatinga, known worldwide as bird’s suicide site. Day after I had arrived here, the weather made an abrupt change, and there was dense fog all around with visibility reduced to its barest minimum. I could not get a clear view of the nature around the hills and the objects on or around them, in particular. The photographs I took were mostly hazy and had to be edited intensively to bring out some clarity in them. I don’t know how far I have succeeded in my efforts.

My visit to Haflong, to that extent, could not meet my expectation. I hope I would have a bit of better luck next time if there be a next time. Before I conclude, I must say it was an enjoyable visit. I regret, I had so long missed such a beautiful place so close to my childhood home.

The things I had visited in Haflong, apart from wild beauties and landscapes, were as follows:

(1). Haflong Lake, (2). Haflong Botanical Garden, (3). Kalibari (4). Jagannath Temple, (5). ISCON Temple, (6). Presbyterian Church & (7). Circuit House.

A brief description with few pictures of each of those places is given below.

(1) Haflong Lake: Haflong Lake is a beautiful lake located at the heart of Haflong Town. An extremely scenic spot, Haflong Lake offers various leisure water sporting activities and boating facilities. It is under the protection of the Dima Hasao Tourist/Forest Department and Dima Hasao Autonomous Council. It is also an angling spot for fishing lovers.

(2) Botanical Garden: Close to the Lake, Haflong Botanical garden is a calm area with natural beauty. Though small, it does not lack what one expects to find in a botanical garden. There are beautiful flowers and some species of plants and trees, though these may not be a great many, in species and numbers. It has a small pond and an orchid house. The garden is on different stairs and presents a beautiful look from the main road passing by.

(3) Kalibari: Haflong Kalibari celebrated its centenary of existence in the year 2017. There was a legend behind its establishment. It went like this. In 1917, Shri Shri Sambhargiri Baba, a renowned Hindu Saint and a dedicated devotee of Maa Kali reached Haflong, in his long march to set up Kalibari (abode of Maa Kali) in different places, starting from Myanmar to Badarpur-Cachar-Dimapur-Nagaland, and so on. He reached Haflong from the southern side and placed his Trisula (three-headed spear) in the northern corner of the present Vishwa Hindu Parishad, where people still offered puja once a year on the seventh day (Saptami) of Durga puja. Being not suitable for setting up a Temple in that place, according to Vaastu Shastra, Late Pandit Rabilal Upadhya, along with another disciple from Dimasa, Bengali, and other communities of Haflong, were given the responsibility to find a suitable place for setting up of Bhadrakali Mandir. The present land, being one facing east and the most suitable place according to Vaastu for setting up of Kalibari, was selected. Since Kalibari came into existence, daily worship of Kalipileswar Mahadev and Bhadrakali Mata had been held here regularly. The temple of Bhadrakali later became famous as Kalibari.

There is a giant banyan tree with its branches crisscrossing over others, presenting an eye-catching sight. Besides the deity of Kali, there is Siva and other deities worshipped in separate rooms in the temple.

4) Jagannath Temple: Jagannath Temple is in the centre of Haflong town. It is an old temple and had completed its centenary in 2012. During the Rathajatra, the deities, as usual, are taken out in chariots with fanfare and rested in Mousi Maa garden.

(5) ISCON TEMPLE: This Temple, run and managed by ISCON, was not far off from Jagannath temple. A stair almost from the road led to the podium for the deities. From the roof of the building, in which the temple is situated, one could have a beautiful sight of a part of Haflong.

(6) Presbyterian Church of India: It is located on a hilltop at a distance of 4 Kms from Haflong town overlooking the village Fiangpui. Since its inception on 27 February 1966, when the first Church building foundation was laid, the present Church building is the fourth with its foundation, being laid on 1 November 2004. It was consecrated on 3 March 2011.

Fiangpui Church is the largest church in the Dima Hasao district, in both size and number of members. The Church is 107 ft. long and 67 ft. wide. The height is 18 ft. (highest point 45 ft.).

Famous for its beautiful structure and supplemented by its picturesque location. (Source: Wikipedia)

(7) Scenic beauties of Haflong: For tourists to enjoy the scenic beauties, there are a no. of watchtowers and viewpoints. I had first visited the Circuit House point from the front yard of which a panoramic view of the Lumding-Badarpur Railway track and its surroundings could be had. I took some long-distance shots of the track and the areas around it: but as already stated, the quality of photos was not up to the mark due to foggy weather. Later, I had glimpses of Haflong’s natural beauty from two watchtowers. Some of the photographs I took are presented here.

The journey part from Lumding to New Haflong was, however, quite enthralling. The trains had become much faster and less crowded. The bridges and the tunnels now were wider, leaving much space between the walls of the tunnels and the moving train. There were 5/6 tunnels on this portion. I had the opportunity of passing through them, including the longest one of 3.235 Kms in running length near Mahur. Even in broad daylight, there was pitch dark deep inside the tunnels but for some electric lamps, placed at points. In the earlier route, the longest tunnel was 1124 ft., in running length somewhere near the same place called Mahur. However, the beauty of the hilly track at certain points appeared to have been lost in the changed alignment. Nevertheless, this had no doubt been a boon to the travelling public of this region; it had offered them much relief. While on the subject, I must mention with regret that the cleanliness of the trains on this route was still unknown. The toilets were never cleaned even in higher class compartments, in the entire course of the journey. Due to the pervading stench of feces, toilets become unusable sometime after the train leaves the station of origin. In contrast, while travelling in express/mail trains in other regions, I found sweeping and cleaning of compartments and spraying of fresheners were done at regular intervals even when the train was on the move. Why was this differential treatment to the travelling public of this route? It spoke of nothing but neglect for this region on the part of railway authorities. Lastly, I would be leaving Haflong the next morning. I post here a few photographs of my journey on the Lumding-New Haflong route.

I left Haflong at 9 am on Feb 21, 2017, in torrential rains. I boarded the Silchar-Guwahati passenger train from New Haflong Station at 11 am and reached Guwahati at 8 pm the same evening. Halted at Guwahati.

Back to Guwahati

The next day, the 22^nd February, I attended lunch at my eldest niece’s house who stayed in Guwahati, and had invited me for lunch. Before that, I roamed around places nearby my place of stay and took some photographs. In the evening son-in-law of my niece took me to the ISCON temple in Guwahati. It was a nice temple in a serene environment. I spent some time there and took some photographs. Before going to the ISCON temple, I had visited an adjacent orphan home where babies and kids were kept in a congenial atmosphere.

On the morning of the 23^rd of February, I took a public bus to a place called AADABARI and from there a minibus to Hajo. I reached Hajo at around 09:45 am.

The village HAJO situates about 32 Kms to the northwest of Guwahati across the river Brahmaputra. It is here one would find age-old shrines and temples dedicated to Vishnu, Durga. Shiva, the Buddha, and also a Muslim saint. Hajo was under the rule of different royalty from the early period of history to the late medieval age. It was an important seat of three powerful camps of medieval Assam viz., the Koches, the Mughals, and the Ahom. The religious and political importance of Hajo brought people belonging to various and even conflicting faiths together to build up a magnificent socio-cultural heritage in the area.

Hindus and Muslims comprise the main population of Hajo. The Hindus include a number of the castes and the communities, while the Muslims have two sects of Fakir or Garia and Maria only.

Amongst the temples, Hayagriva-Madhava is the most important. It is situated on the top of a hillock called Manikuta. The present temple was constructed by Kuch King Ragudevanarayana in 1583 AD. This temple is said to be one of the oldest centres of the worship of Vishnu. Again from the days of yore, it has been regarded by the Buddhist world as one of the holiest places connected with the life of Buddha. In the winter, Buddhist pilgrims from different parts of the world flock to Hajo in large numbers. There are altogether five images in the garvagriha of the temple. These are Bura-Madhava, Hayagriva-Madhava, Chalanta-Madhava, Vasudeva. and Gruda,

The second important Hindu temple is Kedareswar or Kedara Siva. It find mentions both in Kalika Porana and Jogini Tantra.

The other temples are of Kameswara and Ganesha. The temple of Kameswar has a significant role in the sacred complex of Hajo. It is believed in some quarters that it was the centre of Madana (God of Sex) worship in the past.

Besides these temples known as Panchatirthas, there is another important Hindu Temple dedicate to Jaya Durga. This temple was built by King Lakshminat Singha in 1774 AD.

Apart from these Hindu temples, there is a holy shrine of the Muslims, known as Poa-Macca, It stands at the top of Guruchal Hill. The main object of veneration in the shrine is a tomb attributed to Ghiyasuddin Auliya. (source: A book on rituals of Panchatirtha of Hajo written by a local writer)

Anyway, on reaching Hajo, I moved straight to the main temple of Hayagriva-Madhava. It required climbing many stairs to reach the temple. But it was a temple worth-seeing. The scenic beauty below and around was also quite fascinating. I stayed there for about an hour and a half and took a few snapshots.

From Hayagriva temple, I went to Kedar temple by an auto-rickshaw. This temple, too, was on a hillock, and I had to ride a good number of stairs, though, stairs here were lesser in numbers than those in the previous temple. I saw the temple and the deity, took a few random snapshots, and returned to the base of the main temple from where I had hired the auto-rickshaw. It was by now much late, and I had the urgency to return to Guwahati as I was to leave for Digboi the same evening. I left the place and returned to Guwahati, keeping the left-out temples and shrines for my next visit to Guwahati.

Digboi: At around midnight on Feb 23^rd, I left Guwahati for Digboi by the Inter City Express. Reached Digboi at 10 am the next day (Feb 24, 2017). The husband of my niece, who lives in Dignoi, received me at the station and took me to their house. Rested for the day.

IOC in Digboi: This was my first visit to Digboi, the oil town of Assam. This is where crude oil was discovered in the nineteenth century, and it was here that the first oil well in Asia was drilled. The renowned Assam Oil Company (now IOC) was established here by the Britishers in 1899 to oversee production. The first oil refinery was started here as early as 1901. The first Discovery Oil well had still been in operation and could be seen in the premises of Digboi Oil Centenary museum.

Digboi town, partly a hilly terrain, was divided into two parts known as IOC area and non-IOC area. In the IOC area, situated plants, machinery, and infrastructure for oil exploration. It had residential accommodation, too, for officials of IOC. It also had a market, a hospital, and a Thana in the area.

IOC has established a museum called “Centenary Museum” in this area to commemorate 100 years of oil exploration here. The museum building has exhibits of appliances and equipment used for lifting and refining crude oil since the beginning of oil production here. It also has models of old and new plants displayed inside the building. Carrying of mobile phones, and cameras inside the museum building is strictly prohibited; these are to be deposited on the counter in the individual lockers, provided to the visitors with keys. Outside the building and within its premises, there are bigger exhibits like the first discovered Oil Well, Burma Shell petrol pump of older days, some bigger machinery used in the process of drilling, lifting, etc., etc. The premises are well maintained with flower gardens here and there. It was a pleasure to visit the area. The Museum had many exhibits in tools and machinery used by IOC in older days with an informative board against each. There were also, pictures of past activities of IOC on display.

War Cemetery: Digboi also has a War Cemetery for war heroes of 2nd World war, (1939-1945). During the Second World War, the state of Assam, in India's Eastern Command, was an operational area of the Burma Campaign. Digboi, in the north-eastern corner of the state, near the Burmese border and on the road to Ledo, was on the lines of communication, and a military hospital was established there. Digboi War Cemetery was started for burials from the hospital, and at the end of the war, it contained 70 burials. Later, the Army Graves Service brought in further graves from burial grounds in Panitola, Jorhat, Margherita, Tinsukia, and Ledo, where permanent maintenance could not be assured, including one from the US Military Cemetery at Shingvuoiyang in Burma. Originally, the cemetery stood on a small spur rising sharply from the main road, but an earthquake in 1950 caused cracks and subsidence, one fissure extending the full length of the cemetery. Subsequent landslides occasioned by heavy rains, particularly in 1953, so endangered the cemetery that it became necessary to move the graves to the present site, which is not likely to be affected by erosion. The cemetery now contains 197 Commonwealth and 3 non-Commonwealth (1 Italian, 1 American and 1 Belgian) burials of the Second World War. The gravestones had names and other particulars of soldiers who had died in the war engraved. I visited the cemetery and took some snapshots.

Margareta & Ledo: I also visited Margarita and Ledo at 20-25 Kms from Digboi and went further up to the point where Stilwell Road, which connects Myanmar and China with India, begins. According to Wikipedia, “The Ledo Road (from Ledo, Assam, India to Kunming, Yunnan, China) was built during World War II so that Western Allies could supply the Chinese as an alternative to the Burma Road (which had been cut off by the Japanese in 1942). It was renamed Stilwell Road after General Joseph Stilwell of the U. S. Army in early 1945 at the suggestion of Chiang Kai-shek.” Beginning from Ledo the Stilwell Road traverses through Myanmar to Kunming of the Yunnan Province of China. It was originally a 1736 Kms journey running through lofty mountain passes, rain forests, swift rivers gently undulating verdant valleys, and diverse cultures. It is a marvel of human ingenuity and valour. I took snapshots of Maps and Information Plates on the construction of this road and have posted them with others in my album. Here are some of them.

I enjoyed the beauty of nature on my way from Digboi to Ledo and beyond. I visited places in and around Digboi as a pillion rider in the motorbike of my niece’s husband. With all sides open I could enjoy the beauty around me. On the way to Ledo, there were hills, including some of Arunachal Pradesh on one side. The tea gardens growing on slopes at different levels of these hills made it a wonderful sight. I also had the privilege of visiting a roadside open cast coal mine and TATA Tea Processing unit. The weather was pleasant after a night’s shower. Snapshots from these places are posted on the left and below.

I thus had a varied experience in different settings during my 3 days’ stay at my niece’s house in Digboi.

On Feb 27, I left Digboi for Jorhat by an early morning State bus leaving Digboi at 05:30 am. Reached Jorhat at 10 am and checked in at Prashanti Tourist Lodge.