Thoughts on Tezpur

The ethnically-diverse small town has the feel of a crossroads, where South and Southeast Asia meet

As someone who has had very little exposure to the northeastern part of India, I did not know what to expect from the small but historic town of Tezpur. I used it as a launching pad for the Eastern Himalayas and Tawang, but I was aware that the northern Assam town was rich in history and culture.

In early February, this town of 100,000 inhabitants with is clear blue skies and Brahmaputra riverfront is a very pleasant place to be. I was lucky enough to find a 130-year old bungalow, owned by Mr. Bhowmick, a fourth-generation Bengali resident of Assam, whose great-grandfather migrated here from Jessore in what is now Bangladesh.

Tezpur, which literally means “city of blood” was once believed to have been ruled by Asura king Banasura, a devotee of Shiva. As the story goes, he had one thousand arms and was the son of King Mahabali (who the people of Kerala have a special love for). There is a fascinating story of how Banasura’s daughter Usha fell in love with and married Anirudha, the grandson of Krishna, but I won’t go into details about that here.

There’s enough evidence that this lovely town was inhabited by people belonging to a highly developed cultured as far back as the 9th and 10th centuries. The town has an open air museum in a place called the Bamuni Hills, that is full of archaeological ruins. How great must have been the civilisation that produced such sculptures and works of religious art over a thousand years ago?

The Mighty Brahmaputra

The Brahmaputra, which begins as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Lake Mansarovar in Tibet and becomes the Siang in Arunachal Pradesh, before heading into Assam and Bangladesh, passes through Tezpur on its journey from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal. It is wide and free-flowing at this point on its 3848-kilometre long journey. The residents of Tezpur love to see the sun set behind the river and there are a few spots where families and couples converge in the evenings.

There is a small village close to the beach and it’s probably home to a community of fishermen. I spent one evening at the beach to catch the sunset, but did not feel too comfortable there since I seemed to be the only person there for several hundred metres. As the sun went down I could hear Hindu religious hymns from the village. The youth of the city had two preferred spots to catch the Brahmaputra sunset- The Ganesh Mandir ghat and Agni Ghar.

The Ganesh Mandir ghat has a beautiful gate with sculptures of Ganesh, Hanuman and a host of other deities on the Hindu pantheon and is on a hill. Climbing down you reach an area with steps that lead to the river. This area is full of young people, drinking tea or coffee and listening to music on cell phones. It also seems to be a popular spot for smokers.

Being close to a temple means the river is constantly littered with flowers and pooja offerings. Some also throw bags full of garbage in the Brahmaputra. I spotted a woman who seemed to be in her mid-20s going down to throw a bag and approached her. “Miss, what’s in that bag and why are you throwing it in the river,” I asked. She looked at me nervously, and stood there without throwing it. She wanted me to walk off so she’d be done with it. I stood there without saying another word. This confrontation lasted a few minutes, before she decided to take the bag back up the steps.

Plastic bags are the bane of India’s northeast, and it’s a shame that people who “look educated” are using one of the world’s greatest rivers as a rubbish bin.

The hilltop is apparently where King Banasura kept his daughter Usha (who had many suitors) imprisoned. There are beautifully-kept flower-beds and flowering plants on this hill. In such beautiful weather, nature does its job. The views of the Brahmaputra from Agni Garh are absolutely stunning. For someone who has spent a lot of time in Russia’s river cities, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Yaroslavl from where you can see the broad Volga from a hill or Khabarovsk, which also has some beautifully hilltops with a view of the Amur.

When I sent a photograph of the very spot from where the view reminded me of Khabarovsk to a few friends in the city, they replied that the Brahmaputra seemed to be much wider.

Agni Garh also provides great views of Tezpur. Large green trees rise over houses in this town and the landscape that is visible is more reminiscent of Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia. The town, which is also ethnically diverse, has the feel of a crossroads, where South and Southeast Asia meet. Influences have come to this town from East and West and it is indeed a cultural melting pot.

A compact town surrounded by nature

Tezpur is clean by Indian standards and there is a beautiful fragrance in its city centre. I wasn’t sure whether it was some flowering tree or incense sticks but I could smell this perfume-like smell across the town. It’s centre is compact and all one has to do to see the countryside of the golden land of Assam is walk 2 kilometres away from the centre.

I made my way out of the centre to visit the Bhairabi Devi temple, which had the feel and ambience of a Nepali temple. It’s also on a hill and one gets a nice glimpse of Assam’s forests when climbing up. Unfortunately, even here visitors have littered the nature with plastic bags, bottles, chocolate and chips wrappers. There are also red paan stains everywhere. Assam is absolutely addicted to tobacco and the Assam Bhavan in Navi Mumbai houses a number of people who have come to Mumbai for cancer treatment.

Tezpur’s centre also has a nice hilly park with an artificial lake called the Chitralekha Udyan. The park is full of well-preserved archaeological ruins that were retrieved from villages, ponds and even the town’s centre. Dig up any place in Tezpur and you’re likely to find some kind of artefacts from a lost era.

Tezpur is a compact and beautiful town and a nice place to spend a few days. Seeing a relatively well off populace, an abundance of nature, historical gems and a nice set of cafes and restaurants, all it is missing is better civic sense. With just a bit more social awareness, the town could easily be considered one of the best places to live in India. I dream of a Tezpur where its citizens protect its forests, lakes and the mighty Brahmaputra.