Shillong Tourism

Shillong, India (Khasi: Shillong) is the capital of Meghalaya, one of the smallest states in India and home to the Khasis. It is also the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district and is situated at an average altitude of 4,908 feet (1,496 m) above sea level, with the highest point being Shillong Peak at 6,449 feet (1,966 m). The city had a population of 314,610 according to the 2011 census. It is said that the rolling hills around the town reminded the European settlers of Scotland. Hence, Shillong is also known as "Scotland of the East." Shillong has steadily grown in size and significance since it was made the civil station of the Khasi and Jaintia Hills in 1864 by the British. In 1874, on the formation of Assam as a Chief Commissioner's Province, it was chosen as the headquarters of the new administration because of its convenient location between the Brahmaputra and Surma valleys and more so because the climate of Shillong was much cooler than tropical India. Shillong remained the capital of undivided Assam until the creation of the new state of Meghalaya on 21 January 1972, when Shillong became the capital of Meghalaya and Assam moved its capital to Dispur in Guwahati.Chek out the vedio to take a tour of Shillong http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCFbLfsuZ-o&feature=youtu.be

Sunrise at Mandarmani, West Bengal

           "The powers of the mind are like the rays of the sun when they are concentrated they illumine."
            - Swami Vivekananda

    

One Horned Rhino

Scientific Name: Rhinoceros unicornis
Estimated Population: About 2500 Habitat and Distribution
The preferred habitat of an Indian Rhinoceros is alluvial flood plains and areas containing tall grasslands along the foothills of the Himalayas. Formerly, extensively distributed in the Gangetic plains, today the species is restricted to small habitats in Indo- Nepal terai and North Bengal, and Assam. In India rhinos are found in Kaziranga, Orang, Pobitara, Jaldapara, Dudhwa.

 Unique Characteristics

The largest of the Asian Rhinos is the Indian Rhinoceros. Considered to be the most amphibious of all the rhino species, the Indian Rhino is an excellent swimmer. It can run at speeds of up to 55km/hr for short periods of time. Blessed with an excellent sense of hearing and smell, the animal has relatively poor eyesight. The average height is about 5ft. 8 in. (170cm) with a girth of 11ft (335cm). While a fully grown male rhino weighs around 2000 – 2500kg, a female weighs around 1600kg. Also referred to the Great One-Horned Rhino, the Indian rhino has a single horn, which is present in both males as well as females. The animal is solitary as a rule, though several may occupy the same patch of forest or water hole. Breeding takes place at all times of the year. The period of gestation is about 16 months and the young at birth in length is around 105 cm and weighs up to 60kg. The female attains sexual maturity in 5 years and the male between 7-10 years old.

 WWF-India's Involvement
Conserving the rhinos and their habitat is imperative. WWF has been working on rhino conservation for over four decades. The big programme initiated by WWF is the Indian Rhino Vision 2020 (IRV 2020). The vision of the programme is to increase the total rhino population in Assam to about 3000 by the year 2020 and just as significantly ensure that these rhinos are distributed over at least seven protected areas to provide long-term viability of an Assam metapopulation of the species. This will be achieved by translocating the rhinos from two-source populations (Kaziranga and Pobitara) into 3 or 4 target Protected Areas (Manas, Laokhowa, Burachapori, Kochpora, Dibrusaikhowa and, possibly, Orang).

 Other Challenges

The Forest Department faces a major challenge as lack of equipment, finance, political will and shortage of staff makes it difficult to implement conservation work at the grassroot level. Two serious on the ground problems include, containing poaching and loss of habitat to encrochments.Conservation Challenges
For years, rhinos have been widely slaughtered for their horn, a prized ingredient in traditional Asian medicines. Destruction of their habitat over the years, has brought the rhinos to the brink of extinction. These animals are among the worlds' most endangered species. The great one-horned rhino could once be found from Pakistan all the way through India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Myanmar. By the turn of the century, this species had vanished from much of its range, and today only about 2500 survive in India and Nepal. Throughout their range, their habitat continues to dwindle fast due to conversion of grassland habitats into agricultural fields and other human pressures. The threat of poaching continues to be ever-present.

Majuli

Mājuli or Majoli (Assamese: মাজুলী) is a large river island in the Brahmaputra river, in Assam, India. Mājuli had a total area of 1,250 square kilometres (483 sq mi), but having lost significantly to erosion it has an area of only 421.65 square kilometres (163 sq mi) in 2001.

The island is formed by the Brahmaputra river in the south and the Kherkutia Xuti, an anabranch of the Brahmaputra, joined by the Subansiri River in the north. Mājuli island is accessible by ferries from the City of Jorhat. The island is about 200 kilometres east from the state's largest city —Guwahati. The island was formed due to course changes by the river Brahmaputra and its tributaries, mainly the Lohit. Mājuli is also the abode of the Assamese neo-Vaisnavite culture

The dwellers of Mājuli are mostly tribal folk. These tribal are the Mishing tribes from Arunachal Pradesh and who immigrated here centuries ago. Apart from them, the inhabitants are also from the Deori and Sonowal Kacharis tribes. Languages spoken here are Mishing, Assamese, Deori. The island has one hundred and forty four villages with a population of over 150,000 and a density of 300 individuals per square km. The only mode of association to the outside world is through a ferry service which operates only twice a day. Despite inherent drawbacks faced, modernism has touched this island, with the setting up of medical centers and educational institutions. Housing too, has segued from traditional bamboo and mud construction to ones made of concrete.

The heart of all villages is the Namghar, where villagers episodically gather to sing and pray. It is the most important public place for the villagers. After the rituals are complete, villagers decide here on issues concerning the village such as auctioning of fishing rights, what to do with money raised, and other topics of significance to the community as a whole.

The inhabitants are expert navigators by boat; their expertise is most visible during the monsoon season when they navigate the turbulent waters of the Brahmaputra.

 

Mājuli has been the cultural capital and the cradle of Assamese civilization for the past five hundred years. The satras set up preserve antiques like weapons, utensils, jewellery and other items of cultural significance. Pottery is made in Mājuli from beaten clay and burnt in driftwood fired kilns in the same mode carried out by the peoples of the ancient Harrappan Civilisation. Sociologists have stressed on the preservation of these unique peoples, whose culture and dance forms are untouched by modernism. The hand-loom work of these tribes is also internationally famous.

Virtually every single person on the island is involved in the three-day long raas festival, depicting the life of Krishna. People from hundreds of kilometers away come to celebrate this festival including a number of expatriate members of community. The satras have also honed certain art and craft traditions, which can now be found only here. In Natun Samuguri Satra for example, one can still find the craft of mask-making; and in the Kamalabari Satra the finest boats are made.

Assam State Zoo Cum Botanical Garden

Location: Near R G Barua Road Guwahati                
Area: 130 hectares (zoo) and 82 hectares (garden)

Spread over an area of 130 hectares, Assam State Zoo is the only zoo in India where a natural forest still exists. It is one of the major zoos of the country and boasts of a unique diversity of animal habitat. The botanical garden located within the same vicinity is called Guwahati’s green retreat. Assam State Zoo & Botanical Garden is one of the most frequently visited tourist destinations in the city of Guwahati and has a very good collection of flora and fauna within its vicinity.

Some very rare and endangered species of wildlife are also found in the Assam state zoo. Swamp tapirs, white tigers, leopards, and the great Indian one-horned rhinoceros are some among them. The zoo also has the African two-horned rhino. It is also rich in some rare species of bird life. The zoo remains open for visitors every day of the week, except on Fridays. It is about 5 km from the railway station, near the R G Barua Road in Guwahati, Assam.A tourist said http://youtu.be/tzuH6uhsaf8

Assam State Botanical Garden was established in the year 1982 and houses around 44 different varieties of orchids, which have been collected from the northeastern zone of India. Special varieties of orchids that are typical to the mountainous region of Assam also find a place in the orchid house of the garden. Besides this, the garden has a variety of palm trees, conifers herbs and shrubs. The total area of the garden is around 82 hectares.

             

Tilinga Mandir

                                                          Bordubi, Tilinga Mandir                                              

                                             

  Tilinga Temple in Tinsukia district has the largest collection of bells in a single place ... Located  in Bordubi, between Tinsukia and the oil town of Duliajan in Upper Assam, the temple has even  found a mention in the Limca Book of World Records for hosting the largest collection of bells in a single place.

                                            

                

This Siva Temple, famous as ‘Tilinga Mandir' nestles at Bordubi, a small town in Tinsukia District of Assam. It is 7 kms from the oil township of Duliajan. Tilinga means "bell" in Assamese and Mandir means "temple". This bell temple is as spiritually and mystically strong as any other temple in Assam. There are hundreds and thousands of bells of all sizes in bronze, brass, copper and aluminum that are tied to the big peepal tree and on its various branches.There are more than a hundred Shiva tridents carelessly speared into the sand here and there. Most of them are packed together in one place, a few feet away from the mystical tree.

   According to Dhananjay Pande, the priest of the Tilinga Mandir, these tridents were left by the ascetic  devotees of Lord Shiva who rest under the tree while on their pilgrimage. As they rested under th  Peepal    tree, they feel a unique spiritual presence and they left their tridents behind as a testamen  to  this  mysterious   encounter.

Long ago, one such ascetic unearthed a naturally formed black rock in the shape of a Shiva linga, nestled among the roots of the tree. When news of the discovery got around, people started coming in to worship the same. The fame of this temple with all its mysterious power spread far and wide when the pilgrims discovered that their wishes and prayers under the tree actually came true. In the beginning, devotees would express their gratitude by returning to hang a bell on the tree after their wishes had been fulfilled. Eventually, however, the custom changed and pilgrims began to tie bells as they said their prayers and made their wishes.

As narrated by the priest, about 65 years ago, on the advice of the village elders, the owner of the land upon which the Peepal tree is located donated the land. Since then hundreds and thousands of devotees have come with hopes, prayers and bells. But even today, the silence and stillness of the magic temple is broken only by the chanting of mantras, fluttering of the birds and the tinkling of the numerous bells that hang from its branches.

No one who has visited the Tilinga Mandir can deny the strong, unique and divine feeling that one experiences. Tilinga Mandir is accessible from Duliajan by bus.