Assam – The Tea King of India
Introduction
Assam has an amazing aura with vast fields of tea and exquisite gardens of unique trees and herbal plants. Assam is located in the extreme northeastern part of India and is surrounded by Nagaland in the east, west Bengal in the west, Bhutan in the north and Mizoram and Tripura in the south. it is considered as a place of divine beauty and peace.
Capital
Guwahati is the capital of the state and gets its name from an amalgamation of two words,guwa and hati, which means the betel nut and a little market together. People here are extremely gentle and humble. Guwahati is home to many beautiful and eye catching locations of the state.
Culture
Assam is mainly a forest oriented place with most of its culture influenced from the forest products itself. The state specializes in mat making, pottery, bamboo and cane furniture, mat making, woodwork and weaving handloom.
Weather
The weather of Assam is marked by extreme humidity. On the hills, climate is salubrious while the plains experience comparatively warmer climate in summers and cool in winters. During summers, when the rest of the country experiences summers, Assam receives a considerable amount of rainfall from the northwestern winds and is responsible to lower the temperatures during summers. Winters are colder dropping the temperatures to around 8 degrees.
Lifestyle
People in Assam enjoy a unique lifestyle. They wear different kinds of handmade fabrics which have astonishing designs on them. Migration is common in Assam with people migrating from south East Asia who adopt their homes in the plains and tribal region just so to make their ends meet.
Major festivals
Bohag bihu or Rongali is the famous festival of Assam where people from all over the state gather to enjoy and celebrate their hearts out. The festival comes from a theory of vernal equinox when night and day are counted equal. It is celebrated at the start of April which is also the first month in the Assamese calendar.
Major crops
Assam shares a huge part in the economy of the country. Being an agricultural land, Assam produces a variety of crops which accounts for the survival and living in major parts of the state. It has a lot of greenery and forests all around and hence a rich flora and fauna. Major or the only popular crop is the tea plantations. Because of the soil, tea and its variants grow extremely well in an area of about 2.31 Lac hectares. Other crops are sugarcane, pineapple, guavas,mango, jute cotton, etc.
Costumes and ornaments
The traditional costumes are mekhela-chador for women and for men its churia which are usually worn on special occasions and festivals. Though the traditional prevails, with the western culture finding its way in the state, people are changing from their traditional clothes to modern attire.
Tourist attractions
Assam is one such place which opens in closure from the three sides, the scenic view and undulating topography is something that tourists get attracted from all over the world. Assam also has many museums that are a storehouse of the state’s culture and ancient traditions. Many of the ruined sites which have been resurrected by the ASI give a fine view of the past glory of the state.Tea Gardens spread across the state also attract tourists.
Kinds of homes
As the weather of Assam is mostly rainy, hence the houses are made in a way to avoid floods and water logging. They also make ways to collect rainwater initiating rainwater harvesting.
Famous personalities
Assam has raised some magnificent personalities and continues to do so. Few names among them are Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, who was the fifth president of India, Gopinath Bordoloi, first CM of independent Assam, Bagh Hazarika and Chilara are the freedom fighters.
