Sagar
was once the capital of the Ahom rulers who dominated Assam for
more than 600 years. They ruled Assam virtually uninterrupted
for 6 centuries until their kingdom fell to the British, in
1826. This city's main feature is the water body from which it
gets its name. This is a 257 acre tank at a higher elevation
than the rest of the town, with three temples on its banks. Of
these temples, the most prominent is the Shivdol, which draws
large crowds at Shiv Ratri. The other temples are the Vishnudol
and Devidol.
Other attractions include the Rang Ghar, the
double-storied, oval shaped amphitheatre and the seven-storied,
Talatol Ghar, with three underground floors The latter is a
palace with two secret tunnels. Joysagar, said to be the biggest
man-made lake in the country, is spread over 318 acres of water
on the edge of the town. A new addition is the Ahom Museum on
the bank of the Sibsagar. It stores artefacts of the rulers,
including swords, clothes, manuscripts, goblets and platters.
The ancient capital of the Ahoms is Gargaon about 13 kms. east
from Sibsagar, where the major draw is the Kareng Ghar, a
seven-storied palace built by 18th century architects. Charideo
situated nearby, is another old capital which was built by
Sukapha, the founder of the Ahom dynasty. There are maidans or
vaults for the king and members of royal families here.
Travellers cross the Namdang stone bridge, carved out of a
single boulder hundreds of years ago, over which a busy highway
still runs today.
Take
a day trip from Sibsagar to Dibrugarh, one of the major
tea-producing centres of the subcontinent. Near Dibrugarh are
major oil and gas installations. The road to the city is flanked
by tea gardens on either side which stretch like carpets of
green bushes. Women and men stand in the shade or sun, plucking
the leaves at a surprising pace and tossing them into the
conical cane baskets they carry on their backs. And in Dibrugarh
there are tea plantations even within the city limits. Assam
produces most of India's tea and a visit to a tea factory should
be included in any itinerary.
Jorhat,
another major tea producing area, located on the edge of the
Brahmaputra, south-west of Sibsagar, is a major cultural centre.
Majuli,
the world's largest inhabited riverine island, which is revered
for its satras or Vaishnavite monasteries, is near Jorhat. It
can be reached by ferry. The satras here are significant for
Assam because they were set up by Sankardeva, the leader of
Vaishnavite revivalism, in the 16th century. Majuli is dominated
by the Mishing tribe, which came down from the hills of
Arunachal Pradesh many year ago and is the only tribal riverine
community in the Assam Valley. Their handlooms are exquisite,
particularly the colourful Mirizen shawls and blankets which can
be used as wall hangings or even as bedcovers.
