Ahom Kingdom and Monuments
It was a dream come true trip for two days.
It was planned on May 7 Saturday and May 8 Sunday, 2022. The trip was planned in this way: from Dimapur visit Sivasagar, Bogibeel Bridge over Brahmaputra River and stay at Atul Eco Home Stay at Borpak Bhereki in the Majuli Island (which we booked from Dimapur). On the second day, our plan was to travel in Majuli Island till the boat crossing and reach Jorhat and back home. The total travel was estimated to be 600 kms.
The trip started as usual. We were three people in two
motorcycles. We started around 630 am, travelled towards Sivasagar. We passed through Sukapha Samannay Khetra at Jorhat Which was 120 kms away from Dimapur. Chaolung
Sukaphaa lived in the 13th Century and considered to be the first
Ahom king and the founder of the Ahom kingdom. We were not able to visit the
place because the visiting hours were 09:30 - 16:30 and were very early. So,
we took some photos from outside. Further in our journey, after one hour, we
took a break at Bordoloi Hotel, a small
eatery on the roadside. Finally, we reached Sivasagar.
Sivasagar (also called in the ancient history as Rangpur) is situated 195 km away from our place and about 360 kilometers Northeast of Guwahati. The place is known for Ahom Kingdom’s palaces and monuments. It was the capital of the Ahom Kingdom during the most glorious period from 1699 to 1788 until the Burmese invasion. Later the British annexed it with their empire.
From there we visited the Talatal Ghar. It is a big
structure and used as military base, filled with corridors, small rooms and
tunnels. Finally, we went to Kareng Ghar, slightly far away from the town. It
is a beautiful building with wonderful architecture. From there, we sat down
at the beautiful Sivsagar Lake after visiting the temple.
The Bogibeel Bridge is like a historical monument today,
a combined road and rail bridge over the Brahmaputra River in Assam. The work for the bridge started in 2002, took
a longtime to complete (as usual in India), and was inaugurated by Modi in
2018. Some people even think that BJP government and Modi constructed the
bridge???!!!! The length of the bridge is
4.94 kilometres and has the strength to withstand earthquakes of magnitudes up
to 7 on the Richter scale.
We slowly moved from the bridge after the sunset to the place where we booked for our night stay. The place was situated one-hour trip from the bridge. However, we lost the way, and it was dark. Finally, we found the way and reached Atul Eco Home Stay, Borpak Bhereki around 730pm.
The family we stayed has Muga Silkworm in their house. Muga silk is indigenous to Assam, prepared from wild silkworms. Muga silk received Geographical Indication since 2007. The silk has a natural yellowish-golden tint and glossy texture. It is different from the silkworms of other places.
We had some delicious food prepared by the family and had a
wonderful sleep and rest in the family in a rural Assam setting. The total trip for the day was around 350 KM.
The second day, we had leisurely woke up and had breakfast, said goodbye to the family. From Borpak Bhereki, where we stayed, to the boat-crossing place in the Majuli Island was around 75 KM, the drive was very enjoyable, and the road was very good. Once we reached the boat jetty, booked the tickets at 11am and boarded the boat and crossed Brahmaputra River together with our motorcycles. Kamalabari Ghat, Majuli to Nimati Ghat, Jorhat. The journey took approximately 1 hour. It was very memorable.
From Jorhat, we started our motorcycle ride again and settled for Some Assam Lunch at Sona’z Chang Ghar (an ethnic food hut) near Gonakpukhuri. It was delicious and memorable. We safely reached our place in the evening, travelling around 250 km on the second day, with lots of memories and enjoyment.