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Thursday, May 31, 2012

Assam - The Land of Red Rivers and Blue Hills

Assam - the land where you find flowers that are exquisitely beautiful, animals that are rare, and a beleagured people that are proud and inviting. It is the land of the mighty river Brahmaputra (the Luit) and the one-horned rhinoceros.
Bihu is the national festival of Assam. The principal of the three Bihus, Bohag or Rongali Bihu ushers in the Assamese New Year, in the middle of April, and is celebrated with distinctive Bihu dances and songs.

The name "Assam" is derived from the term "Asom" which, in Sanskrit, refers to unequal or unrivalled. The uneven topography of the land, full of hills, plains and rivers might, therefore, have contributed to her name. The Mongolian Ahom dynasty which had ruled Assam for more than six hundred years might also be the cause for her name.

Assam is a land with an illustrious recorded history going back to the 4th century BC. Assam was an independent kingdom throughout all of history till the end of the first quarter of the 19th century when the British conquered the kingdom and annexed it to British India. The current state capital of Assam, Guwahati, known in ancient time as Pragjyotishpura or The Eastern City of Light, was the capital of Kamrup which finds frequent mention in the Great Hindu Epic Mahabharata and other Sanskrit volumes and historical lores. 


 


 

 
Assam Tea Gardens

 
Assam Tea 
 
The state of Assam is the world's largest tea-growing region, lying on either side of the Brahmaputra River, and bordering Bangladesh and Burma (Myanmar). This part of India experiences high precipitation; during the monsoon period, as much as 10 to 12 inches (250–300 mm) of rain per day. The daytime temperature rises to about 103F (40 °C), creating greenhouse-like conditions of extreme humidity and heat. This tropical climate contributes to Assam's unique malty taste, a feature for which this tea is well known.
Though Assam generally denotes the distinctive black teas from Assam, the region produces smaller quantities of green and white teas as well with their own distinctive characteristics.
Historically, Assam has been the second commercial tea production region after southern China. Southern China and Assam are the only two regions in the world with native tea plants. Assam tea revolutionized tea drinking habits in the 19th century since the tea, produced from a different variety of the tea plant, yielded a different kind of tea.

A cute little farm house.

 


 


Golden Langur.

Gee's golden langur (Trachypithecus geei), or simply the golden langur, is an Old World monkey found in a small region of western Assam, India and in the neighboring foothills of the Black Mountains of Bhutan. It is one of the most endangered primate species of India. Long considered sacred by many Himalayan people, the Golden Langur was first brought to the attention of science by the naturalist E. P. Gee in the 1950s. In a part of Bhutan, it has hybridised with the Capped Langur.
 
Golden langur is known for its rich golden to bright creamish hair, a black face and a very long tail measuring up to 50 centimetres (20 in) in length. For the most part, the langur is confined to high trees where its long tail serves as a balancer when it leaps across branches. During the rainy season it obtains water from dew and rain drenched leaves. Its diet is herbivorous, consisting of ripe and unripe fruits, mature and young leaves, seeds, buds and flowers.

 
Bihu the Traditional Art of Assam

 
India is a country having plenty of festivals and all the Indians celebrate it in a grand way. There is a lot of preparation before every festival and the enthusiasm amongst people is really surprising. Assam has a festival called Bihu. Bihu is the Biggest Festival of Assam, one of the most beautiful states of India, known for its tea gardens, lush green forests and the mighty Brahmaputra river.It is the celebration to welcome seasons and it is vital for a farmer’s life in Assam. Although this festival retained its originality it incorporated specific characteristics of the city life. The origin of the word ‘Bihu" is said to be from the Sanskrit word ‘Vishu’. There are three such festivals in Assam: in the months of Bohaag (Baisakh, the middle of April), Maagh (the middle of January), and Kaati (Kartik, the middle of October). The Bihus have been celebrated in Assam from ancient times.


 
 The Traditional Attire of Assam.

 

 

Kaziranga National Park



Kaziranga National Park 

Kaziranga National Park 

Kaziranga National Park 

Kaziranga National Park

Kaziranga National park of Assam

Kaziranga National Park lies partly in Golaghat District and partly in Nagaon District of Assam. It is the oldest park in assam covers an area of 430 Sq kms along the river Brahmaputra on the North and the Karbi Anglong hills on the South. Kaziranga National Park a world heritage site is famous for the Great Indian one horned rhinoceros, the landscape of Kaziranga is of sheer forest, tall elephant grass, rugged reeds, marshes & shallow pools. The park is open from November to April. Tourists can take rides on elephants to move around the park or cruise in a boat on the Brahmaputra along the park.


 
Guwahati the largest city of Assam

 

Kamakhya Temple


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