About Assam

Assam

History and geography :

The word Assam is derived from Sanskrit asom meaning unrivalled, judged by her exquisite natural beauty, cultural richness and human wealth.  Assam has a rich legacy of culture and civilization behind her where different races of men: Austric, Mongolian, Dravidian and Aryan abode.

According to Ramayana, Amurtaraja- son of Kush & grandson of Bhagwan Ram had founded Pragjyotishpur ( land of eastern light) which was later referred as Kamrupa during Mahabharat period. Narak's son Bhagdutta also known as Sailya took part in kurukshetra war with his troops consisting of kiratas(Mongolians), Chinas(Tibetans & Bhutanese) & dwellers of the sea coast(People living in the marshland of Tripura, Sylhet and Mymensingh of Bengal).

The first historic reference of Kamrupa is found in the Allahabad pillar Inscription of Samudragupta in 4th century AD. Kamrupa is mentioned as a pratyanta or Frontier state outside the Gupta empire but with friendly and subordinate relation to it. Hiuen Tsang, Chinese scholar-pilgrim who visited Kamrupa in about 743 AD on invitation of its monarch Kumar Bhaskar Batman, left a record of the Kingdom he called Kamolupa. Kamrup is also figured in the writings of arab historian  Alberuni in the 11th century.

After the Varman, Pala & Chutiya dynasties, Ahoms ascended the throne in 1228 AD and ruled till 1826. By the treaty of Yandabo in 1826, britishers gained control of Assam. Assam is situated in northeast corner of india and surrounded by Bhutan and Arunachal pradesh on north, Nagaland and Manipur on east, Meghalaya, Bangladesh, tripura and Mizoram on south and west bengal on west.

Industry:

As per the Economic times, The Tea Industry in North East India comprising Assam and North Bengal produces almost 81% of India’s total production. The Guwahati Tea Auction Centre (GTAC) has become the biggest tea auction centre in the world for CTC tea. Cottage industries include handloom sericulture cane and bamboo articles, carpentry, brass and metal crafts. An export oriented handloom project has been established at Sualkuchi to exploit the potentiality of Eri and Muga silk textiles.

Festivals:

Assam has an exclusive range of colourful festivals. Bihus are popular agricultural festivals celebrated on 3 occasions. Rangali bihu or Bohag Bihu marks the advent of the cropping season and ushers in the new year, Bhogali Bihu or the harvest festival( January) and  kangali Bihu of lean period. Vaishnavites celebrate birth and death anniversaries of prominent vaishnav saints through day long singing of hymns and staging of bhaonas( theatrical performances in traditional style). Ambubachi in Sakta shrines and Shivratri in Shiva temple are celebrated  by most people. Shivratri mela at Umananda and other places in Shiv temple, ashokashtami mela, Rash mela, Parsuram mela, Ambubachi  mela and Durga Puja are the other religious festivals. Population of assam is a mosaic of different tribes like Bodo, Kacharo, Rabha, Karvi, Missing, Deuri, Chutia, Dimasa, Hmar, Lalung etc. They have their own festivals. Some of them are: Bathow, Kheraipuja, Rajni Gobra, Harni Gobra,Ali-ai-Ligang, Porag, Bahag Bihu, Baisakhi etc.

Tourist attractions:

Best Time to Visit Assam:

The best time to visit Assam is during the winter season, between the months of October to March. Temperatures during this time are between 8°C to 20°C. The mild climate is pleasant enough for sightseeing and even trekking. The Bhogali Bihu Festival or Harvest Festival of Assam is also held during January. Temperature ranges between 32°C to 38°C during  April to June months and If you'd like to visit the wildlife parks of Assam, this is the best time but make sure that you bring your umbrella and light clothing with you as the climate is a bit hot. It is comprised mostly of the valleys of Brahmaputra and Barak. Hills and valleys at different times, since remote antiquity, she has developed a composite culture of variegated colour.

Important places of tourist interest in and around Guwahati are kamakhya temple, Umananda(  peacock island), Navagraha, Basistha ashram, Gandhi Mandap, State zoo, State museum, Sukleswar temple, Geeta mandir, Madan kamdev temple and Saraighat bridge. In the rest of the state are kaziranga national park famous for 1 horned rhino,  Manas tiger project, Sibsagar shiva temple,  Tejpur (scenic beauty), Bhalukpung( angling) and Haflong (health resort )with nearby Jatinga Hills.  Majuli( largest river island in the world ), chandubi  lake (picnic spot),  Hajo (  meeting of Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam), Batadrava ( birth place of great Vaishnav saint Sankaradev) and Sualkuchi ( famous silk industry) are worth visiting.