Discovering Assam: The Land of Red Rivers and Blue Hills

Assam is one of the eight sisters of North East India. It derives its name from the 'Ahoms' who ruled for six hundred years. They came to Assam during the 13th century. The first ruler was Su-ka-Pha. They had based their capital in upper Assam called Sivasagar.

Sivasagar captures the history of Assam. The various monuments found in this district are Shiva Dol, Rang Ghar, Talatal Ghar and many others. Shiva Dol was built under the name of one of the historical Ahom rulers, Shiva Singha. Rang Ghar was constructed with a wide field in front of it. The word 'rang' means colours, so the Rang Ghar's purpose was to conduct different festivities specially during Bihu for the entertainment of the royal families. Talatal Ghar was the palace where the King and his family stayed. These monuments were built of eggs and rice, they acquired the red colour when dried.

Assam is famous for its tea gardens. Two of the oldest tea gardens are Powai Tea Estate and Jaipur Tea Estate. Many companies have set up their tea plantations in Assam such as Tata, Magors, Assam Tea, Khaitan, Goodrick, etc. The tea plantation started in Assam when the British were ruling India. They had brought in people from parts of Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Orissa to work as the pluckers. These people have become the local in the gardens today. Like farming, many Assamese also depend on tea cultivation.

Tezpur, earlier known as Sonitpur, is considered one of the most pollution free city in India. This is the historical place where the Ban Raja's daughter Usha fell in love with Krishna's grandson, Anirudh.

Kaziranga National park is world famous for the Indian one horned rhinoceros. These species are also found in the Manas National park. This one horned rhino is one the major attractions for tourism in Assam.