Myth has it that Lord Shiva created for her a place in the bosom of the mighty Brahmaputra to please his wife Goddess Parvati. The island came to be known as Umananda (Uma is another name of Parvati, and ananda in Sanskrit means ‘happiness’). Once, while meditating here, he was interrupted by Kamadeva, the Hindu god of…
Majuli (pronounced as mazuli) in Assam is a river island on the Brahmaputra. Spread in around 400 sq. km, Majuli stands as the world’s largest river island. Somewhere during the 17th century, a devastating flood that lasted for 15 long days split the rivers in two – the Brahmaputra on the north and Burhidihing on the…
On 20 November 2011, one of the four pairs of Vivek Express trains began serving between Dibrugarh in Assam and Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, joining the Northeast with the southernmost tip of the Indian subcontinent. The Dibrugarh–Kanyakumari Vivek Express currently holds the record for being the longest running train route in the country in terms of both distance…
Tea (Camellia sinensis) is one of the most popular beverages in the world. Tea originated in China, and the modern form of tea taken with milk was developed by the British in India. The British started tea plantations in Assam and Darjeeling in the nineteenth century. Today, India is the second largest tea producer in…
