Guwahati on foot
5 Lesser known places
Guwahati also called the 'Gateway of Northeast' is the largest city in the North Eastern part of India. I'm calling it city but people from bigger actual cities will feel it more as a town. Since I'm from this area for me this is a city and since I have not been to any other big city other then Kolkata so please don't expect that I will put forward some comparison. Moreover this is my experience here in this city which have experienced here while walking on the streets of this city.
Places you should consider
I'm not going to tell you the conventional places like the great Maa Kamyakha temple, Digholi Pukhuri, Kalakshetra etc. But I will tell about you some of the little places which you will enjoy visiting . Which I found interesting while I was exploring the city. While I walked the city.
This are the few places that you should should consider:
- Machkhowa Brahmaputra Bank:
This place is quite under looked but this place is magnificent. If you visit this place at late afternoon then it is great . The sunset here is just breath taking. The view of the hills, the silhouette of the Saraighat Bridge gives a very great touch to this magnificent scenic beauty of the place. I'm quite positive either you are a single or in a couple both kind of the people will like it. The best part is this place can be reached free. You can reach the place easily by foot from Fancy Bazaar its around 750 m from there. To get to the better place you can enter through the entry of Alfresco Grand cruiser there is better as it allows outsiders and it has quite a long stretch of bank so you can enjoy the walk . If you want to experience the Brahmaputra from its heart you can get onto a cruiser too. This place is highly recommended not only to visitors but also people from Guwahati too as many people don't consider this place.
- Assam State Museum : I visits this place quite often and all the time I'm so intrigued by looking at our past our great history. This place is quite under looked . It is great if you are looking for the past and the way of life of the people who lived in the region. This place in spite of being so cheap at 5 bucks an adult still it has so less visitors. But I highly recommend this place to all of my readers, as it gives you the inside knowledge . The Museum is a three storied building in the left side of the ground floor it shows the magnificent and beautiful monolithic stone sculptures.( I personally have a question if anyone visits there "Can you tell me the reason why some of the Brahmin's eyebrows that resemble Asian eyebrows like those of Mongolian race others have more curved like that of Aryan race?"If anyone knows please tell me in the comment section). OK now on the right side of the first floor first it houses war weapons from late medieval to World War II and then in the more interior you have stone carvings, coins and lot more and on the right on the first floor you can find the palm scriptures. On the first floor of central part you will see something which reminds me of my grandparents home during my childhood. It is a model village it quite accurately represented. And a lot of other things I don't wanna tell all the parts and spoil the surprise factor now its up to you you can visit this place. Reaching this place is quite easy it is quite sure that you will visit the Digholi Pukhuri . To reach the Assam State Museum you just have to cross the road from its Southern gate and Ta-da you reached the Museum.
- Sati Radhika Shaanti Udyan: This is another place on the bank of the mighty Brahmaputra unlike the Machkhowa River Bank it has places to seat. This place is mostly known by locals. This place has very beautiful views and it has trees which is what makes it ideal place to visit during summer. This place is quite popular among couples. If you are visiting as a couple you must visit this place. You can reach this place within a 10 minute walk from Digholi Pukhuri you just have to take one left one right and one more right then walk straight until you reach the place at a slight right. If you are walking out of the Southern gate and walk left the above will be applicable.
- GMCH HILL TOP Road:
- Gandhi Mandap:
This place houses the third tallest national flag in India. This place doesn't only have the flag but as the name suggest Gandhi Mandap so it has a big Statue of the 'Father Of Our Nation' Mahatma Gandhi it has dedicated museum for the great man. This place is on the top of Sarania hill. I won't recommend you to visit this place on foot unless you are a walking freak like me as this would leave your feet hurting you for the next day or two. But if you can walk up the hill then you will have two experiences at ones one on reaching the place and one on the journey to the top. The view from the Gandhi Mandap is magnificently cool . You can see almost see the entire Guwahati city but unluckily visiting this place at night is bit problematic but still if you manage to visit at night you can see the magnificence of the city, first hand. Unlike the GMCH hill top road I would recommend you to go with someone if you are walking up the hill. As it will cut the journey stress and enjoy the beauty . But this place is not recommended for people with fear of heights. You can reach this place by walking through the South Sarania Hill road it will swirl you to your destination.
And many more
Guide for walking on foot
Since love walking I will like to give you readers some tips that will help you to enjoy the beauty of a place from the closest way possible . As nothing can make you more close to the place then walking through the place you can actually experience much more then it meets the eyes. But walking on foot for all over the city is not not possible . Still you can take a public transport and reach popular landmarks like Digholi Pukhuri , Fancy Bazaar etc.
Tips on exploring on feet:
- Keep GPS handy. Keep your smart phone with bit of charge on it.
- Find the shortest route possible not only the suggestion by google but also by analysis the map itself.
- Always ask the shopkeepers not the pedestrians if you want some help . You never know what are the intentions of that person and moreover shopkeepers are generally locals so they have better knowledge about the place.
- Try to avoid exploring new roads at late night especially when you are alone. Because safety is the priority. You may end up into some problem.
- Try to notice the small details that are there. So that you can experience the magic of the place. Try to feel the culture that have evolved in the city.
- Keep your phone/camera handy so that you can click some breath taking pictures capturing the raw essence of the place.
My story exploration on feet :
I was not always that of a exploring junkie like this. Actually at my early teen I was quite a person who would stay at home and do my studies. But when I came to Guwahati to do coaching after my intermediate like other students of since aspiring to be something in future but after attending few classes it seemed quite boring and one day I thought of bunking the class and see for myself how is life outside. I bunked the class that day and I went under a flyover and sat there. I didn't have anything to do so I sat there more than a couple of hours and my mind too was quite jumbled up thinking about the future what will happen to my life and all those things. But while sitting there I saw an old man laying by the on the pavement . I saw that man was quite dirty too but I didn't judge him rather I just imagined one thing that changed my perspective to see the world. I thought that we are from well to do families and we think we have so much worries in life our future. In this peruse of our life we forget how people are surviving and are happy with so little things we are quite lucky. If we move pass the people without noticing them their life the way these people live their life from that day and don't learn from them how happiness is not with materialistic things. I felt at that place how lucky and now I admire my life rather then just wishing to be something that will be in future. We should think of future but not so much that it consume our present . So this is my conclusion hope you like it.
" Notice the path not the destination because destination is seen by everyone but noticing the path and appreciating it is done by very less".
"So walk as much as you can, as long as you can and feel the place equally".
" I didn't say you should bunk your class but it was my story"
- Thank you
