First time I visited Guwahati was about 4 days after I arrived in Chhaygaon. I was still struggling to get used to the new life and stared wide-eyed as all the familiar brands passed by on the popular GS Road (Guwahati-Shillong Road). Pantaloons, Big Bazaar, Westside, Cinemax, Fun Cinemas, Cream Centre, Subway, Pizza Hut, Domino’s, Mainland China and of course, CCDs galore… wow! Looking back, I actually feel a bit silly at how happy I was that day. I am amazed at how much my life is influenced by all these things – I can’t give everything up for just 6 weeks? Unbelievable! Or maybe it’s just the familiarity of all these names that gives you a sense of comfort.
Going to Guwahati also meant visiting Raman’s house sometimes. Which meant getting awesome home-cooked food from his mom! Aunty was always lamenting about how little I eat, and offered me something to eat every couple of hours, worried I was going hungry!
Guwahati is nice little place. One of my favourite places in the city is Dighalipukhuri. It’s a small square pond which is surrounded by a quiet road on all sides. On one side is a CCD overlooking the pond. It’s a heavenly feeling sitting outside with coffee and watching people paddling in the boats!
The River Brahmaputra bifurcates Guwahati into north and south sides. The Brahmaputra is another fascinating feature in Assam. It’s probably one of the widest rivers in India, almost 10 km from bank-to-bank at some points, and has islands in the middle. And in the rainy season, it rises so high that some of these low-lying islands get submerged completely!
Overall, I liked Guwahati. I enjoyed exploring it bit-by-bit, shopping, stuffing myself at Cream Centre and Subway, walking on GS Road and so many other random activities J
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