Assam Diaries Part 1

I have thought of Assam many times in the past. Assam tea hoardings and ads are thrown at our faces. Assamese people thrive in Bangalore. But the thought of ever actually visiting Assam was always deferred as the distance and cost are huge. 

I had been to Assam, once, in 2015. It was a work trip and hence I didn't pay anything from my pocket. I had been to NIT in Silchar for campus recruitment. 

Finally, we planned a family trip to Assam. Our trip was from 14 May 2022 and we booked the flight tickets a month in advance on the 4th of April itself. Just the flight tickets (Vistara onward flight and Indigo return) cost us Rs 50,000/- for four of us including my 4-year-old daughter. That amounts to Rs 6000/- per person one ticket. 

This is the problem with going to certain places in India. Going to Guwahati will cost you the same as going to Nepal or Maldives as far as flight cost is concerned. Nepal/Maldives ticket charges are the same! Might as well do an international trip at the price of a domestic one. But I am so obsessed with traveling to all states of India, at least once before I die, that we took it with a pinch of salt. 

Of the 8 nights, and 9 days of the trip, we had planned 50% of the duration for Meghalaya. 

Our Vistara flight was at 9:30 a.m. It is a three-hour journey to Guwahati from Bangalore. The first impression of any state always comes from its capital city. As we landed in Guwahati and took the cab to the hotel just 8 km away, on Mirza Road, it felt like a village. Dirty, not developed enough. Rundown houses line the roads, some unfinished, some unpainted, old worn shops, and bad roads. The initial imprint on our minds was one of squalor. Knew right away we would not be able to spend too long here. We would want to get away as fast as we could. 

If Guwahati was not the Gateway to the North East, as it is famously called, we would not even land here. In the future, if we ever have the fortune to visit Arunachal Pradesh. which I truly want to see, Guwahati is only going to be a "cannot avoid" stopover to catch the next flight to Tawang, the capital of AP. 

Here are some of the things I found to be interesting or unique or just different from my city:

      Tea made in a large bowl                           Sugarcane cart 

 

Chicken sold in cane cage on a cycle                Fooding Only!!

The worst aloo paratha of my life eaten in Paltan Bazaar. There are different versions of it - from thick maida to ones deep fried in oil like you fry a puri. Aloo paratha fried like a puri.

That BIG piece of Aloo 

Aloo Paratha - Assamese version

Can you believe our joy when we found idlis in Guwahati? That too butter-soft ones? With yummy chutney? At just Rs 40 per plate? It was a South Indian restaurant in Paltan Bazaar frequented by every Kannadiga, Malayali, Tamilian, Mahashtrian, and Teluguite who were fed up with the puris made of maida.

At the Planetarium, here is what we saw. This, I thought, was completely unfair. No show in Hindi! Not a single one! 

Huge bags! Big enough to carry a child in it! Rs 200/-

 

  

In the picture on the left:

The varieties of tea available in this one shop. Look at the flavors - Mango tea! Choco tea!

In the picture on the right: The price of the different kinds of juice varies according to the quantity given and quantity is clearly mentioned in milliliters!  

So many options in local transport! Plus buses and taxis.

     

The broom: couldn't help but notice the first one

 

common variety

The paintings on the trees near the Dighulpuri Park area reminded me of Kakinada, a district in Andhra Pradesh. It has a road where all the trees are painted beautifully. It is a nice way to beautify a street and add color and life to it. But I am not sure if the paint harms the trees in any way.

The last I heard of this was in the story of Shravan Kumar who carried his parents like this to fulfill their last wish. I can't believe it is still widely used in Northeast. Saw this on a busy street in Guwahati, the capital city.  

The Meghalayan version of aloo paratha with moong dal halwa Rs 75 was so yummy. That gravy is a staple in both Assam and Meghalaya, it accompanies both puris and parathas.

Matheran

Mathera had been on my mind ever since I first made a list of places I wanted to see in India before I die. Finally after eons when i did get to see Matheran, it blew my mind.  This is why:

The clouds clearing away, slowly, gently, to give our hungry eyes a glimpse of the majestic mountains

The clouds kissing the mountains in a lingering moment of passion, sending sweet chills down our spine.

This was mid afternoon & yet the pace was so misty & cool.

Who wouldn't fall in love with this?

The lovely stream on the way up to the hill station

The forests are pristine. 

The valley below

Being spellbound

Matheran is the smallest hill station in India & the first in ASIA that is vehicle free. Eco-sensitive zone. No vehicles are allowed into the hill station not even the privately owned bikes & cars of people who live there. It has to be parked at the start of the hillock,in a designated space. You explore the hills

on a horse

Or this hand-drawn cycle-rickshaw.

or by walk.

The horse, in the pic, is named Lakhan, bought by the owner at Rs 70,000. The ride costs Rs 1100 per person to view 5 popular scenic spots. A car drive would have cost us less than Rs 500 in petrol or a bike ride just Rs 100. Takeaway: animals are definitely expensive! But the experience of going on that ride will be etched in our memories for ever, especially for my daughter Tanvi who loved it. She wanted the staff to let go of the lagaam (handle) so that she could ride the horse all on her own! She sat on it like a pro, no fear of falling. She was constantly rubbing the horse’s neck & saying he is responding.

We took the horse ride to go into the hill station. And later walked around & explored the town. We walked back to the parking spot in half an hour. As you can see in the pic above, we walked along the railway track, in a drizzle, suitably dressed in local rain gear which is plastic sheet snugly hugging your body & a plastic hat. The price of these rain protectors Rs 50 only!

The pathway through the lush green forest

One of the waterfalls

There are many beautiful cottages owned by Parsis who visit Matheran to beat the heat, grime & noise of Mumbai. Here is a cottage of the State Tourism Board

The hill doesn't grow or produce anything. Everything you find on the hill is either brought from neighboring big cities like Pune or Mumbai or Lonavla or from the town called Nerul. Horses, smaller ones, by breed closer to donkeys, are used to ferry cement, sand & other building materials and also grocery & household stuff. They are quite simply called the maal-gaadi (maal meaning material & gaadi meaning vehicle). 

The Nerul village

The countryside

Now,let's look at the logistics. Matheran doesn't have an airport. One has to fly down to Mumbai and take a 2 hour/90 KM car drive to Matheran. If you add up the cost of two way flights from Bangalore to Mumbai, two way taxi fare from Mumbai to Matheran, horse ride & sight seeing charges, lunch & snacks expenses, it would cost you Rs 10,000 approx for a one day tour to this beautiful hill station. 

The drive from Nerul to Matheran

We didn't stay overnight here. We chose to spend the night at Lonavla which is another beautiful place with more modern amenities and stay options. but about Lonavla in another post.