happiness and food

When the plane touched down at the Guwahati airport, we knew we were in for an experience of our lifetimes.

Simple people, delicious food and Kamakhya Devi temple – Who hasn’t heard of Guwahati? If you plan it well, you can book cheap air tickets on the sector from most parts of India. The city sits comfortably on the banks of river Brahmaputra. While most rivers on the Indian subcontinent have female names, this river has a rare male name.

We had planned our trip to the state that is home for the river in April. The weather that time was pleasant and light showers had cooled down the soaring temperatures. We had our itinerary set to explore the state and nearby states of Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya.

Early in the morning when we hit the road to Dirang, the tea gardens of Assam glistened with the first rays of the Sun. This was the east I had not seen before. The sun rays reach here first and it was good that we had started early on our road trip.

Over the 13 days on our North East India road trip, we visited Kaziranga and Majuli in Assam before ending our trip from where we started. In Guwahati.

When we crossed a part of Brahmaputra to reach Majuli, I had not expected that we will load our car in a boat to reach the island. The island is probably world’s biggest inhabited river island. The ferry point keeps moving because you don’t know what part of the land will submerge in the river when it rains.

Even in Kaziranga, Brahmaputra crisscrosses across the vast marsh land providing water to the flora and fauna. How nature takes care of its beings. The river is the lifeline of the one horned Rhinos of Kaziranga in its own way.

While both the experiences of the Brahmaputra were unique, we had half a day left in Guwahati before our flight back to Bangalore. So we decided to spend it on a river cruise. Until then, I hadn’t heard of a cruise on a river. But trust me, Brahmaputra is the biggest river I had ever seen. It is one of the rare rivers that sees tidal waves.

This was a sunset cruise and with a light music and snacks around, we sailed in the river. It was surreal to watch the sun go down and the sky change colors. Birds were headed home and the bank seemed farther away. Just the people being one with nature. Being their own selves with the vastness of the river and imbibing the depth. Of flowing with times and stopping when needed. Shining with the Sun and sleeping with the night.

There are many rivers in India and I know why Brahmaputra stands out.

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