Take Tea Break at Jorhat in Assam

The tea plantations on either side, as far as the eye could see, were a clear indication that we were nearing Jorhat in Assam, the centre of India’s tea industry. Our guide Subhash told us that at least 150 tea gardens occupied the town which also has its own annual tea festival.

Jorhat is one of the larger cities of Assam and is blessed with scenic beauty. It also has historical importance as it was the last capital of the Ahom kings who ruled Assam from 1228 to 1826 AD. Towards the end of the 18th century, these rulers turned Jorhat into a thriving, culturally-rich city. It continued to prosper until it was attacked and destroyed by the Burmese army in 1826. With the arrival of the British, the city managed to regain some of its former glory.

Jorhat gets its name from Jor meaning a couple and Hat meaning markets. Today Jorhat is a bustling city with a large number of educational institutions and the highest literacy rate in the state. In Jorhat, you would be able to buy as many as six daily local newspapers that are published in the city itself. A mix of tradition and modernity, the city, when occupied by the British, saw the building of the Club Road – Jorhat’s a first asphalt road. This road connects the city centre to the Gymkhana clubhouse.

Another tourist attraction here is the Dhekiakhowa place of worship established more than 462 years ago by saint and reformer Madhabdev. Baisnav religion devotees pay their respects here at the bor namghar (Assamese for Place of worship). When you visit this place, you would be told of local folklore that mentions the reason why the main pillars are made of a shorea robusta tree. One night, a monk of the bor namghar dreamt that the river nearby with a shorea robusta tree was flowing in the opposite direction. The following day, as the dream came true, the main pillars of the Dhekiakhowa were made from this tree.

Nineteen km away is the Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary known for apes, while 60 km away is the Nambor Forest reserve famous for its hot springs. The world-famous Kaziranga National Park is 90 km from Jorhat. From the city, one can also visit Majuli, the Brahmaputra’s biggest riverine island, and the largest in the world.