Kurukshetra Magazine June 2022 - 2 | Monthly Yojana & Kurukshetra Magazine (English) - UPSC PDF Download

 Page 1


Kurukshetra      June  2022 21
Dr. Tapati Baruah Kashyap
This article provides brief introduction to some popular tourist destinations of seven north-eastern states. It is particularly 
noteworthy that these popular tourist destinations are primarily located in rural settings, thus offering the visitor a wonderful 
experience of rural India.
North-eastern India- A Tourism Paradise 
ndia’s North-eastern region is a paradise 
for tourists from all over the world. The 
seven sister states are full of beautiful 
places that attract tourists during any 
time of the year. It is particularly noteworthy that 
several popular tourist destinations of the region 
are primarily located in rural settings, thus offering 
the visitor a different kind of experience of rural 
India. These destinations also provide great relief 
to large number of tourists looking for a break 
from the humdrum of the cities. The following are 
brief introductions to some of the popular rural 
tourist destinations of the Northeast.
Assam: Sualkuchi, Hajo, Mayong, Jatinga
In less than one hour’s drive outside Guwahati 
are three popular rural destinations – Sualkuchi, 
Hajo and Mayong. Of them Sualkuchi and Hajo are 
in fact a twin destination just about 20 km west 
of Guwahati, each offering a different ambience 
altogether for the visitors to carry home. Hajo is 
a village of five religious shrines; four are Hindu 
I
temples, one a Sufi shrine. One of the Hindu 
temples is also an important place for Buddhist 
pilgrims. The Hayagriva-Madhava temple atop 
the Manikut hill is a Vishnu shrine built in the 10
th
 
century, with the Kalika Purana providing a great 
glorification of it. The present structure was built 
during the reign of Koch king Raghudeva Narayana 
of Kamarupa in 1583 A.D. after the older temple 
was destroyed by Kalapahar, a Muslim invader 
from Bengal in 1564 AD. The relief works in the 
architectural ruins of Hayagriva-Madhava temple 
has a number of dancing female figures. These 
suggest that the Devadasi dance form had once 
thrived in the Hajo temples. Originally believed to 
be of Tibet, the Devadasi tradition had travelled to 
other temples of India from Assam after Vasistha 
muni had brought it to the temples of Kamarupa.  
The other Hindu temples in Hajo are the Kedar 
and Kamaleswar temples atop the Madanachal 
hill, and the Kameswar temple atop the Gokarna 
Hill, the deity in all three being Shiva. There are 
also a few smaller shrines around – including the 
Page 2


Kurukshetra      June  2022 21
Dr. Tapati Baruah Kashyap
This article provides brief introduction to some popular tourist destinations of seven north-eastern states. It is particularly 
noteworthy that these popular tourist destinations are primarily located in rural settings, thus offering the visitor a wonderful 
experience of rural India.
North-eastern India- A Tourism Paradise 
ndia’s North-eastern region is a paradise 
for tourists from all over the world. The 
seven sister states are full of beautiful 
places that attract tourists during any 
time of the year. It is particularly noteworthy that 
several popular tourist destinations of the region 
are primarily located in rural settings, thus offering 
the visitor a different kind of experience of rural 
India. These destinations also provide great relief 
to large number of tourists looking for a break 
from the humdrum of the cities. The following are 
brief introductions to some of the popular rural 
tourist destinations of the Northeast.
Assam: Sualkuchi, Hajo, Mayong, Jatinga
In less than one hour’s drive outside Guwahati 
are three popular rural destinations – Sualkuchi, 
Hajo and Mayong. Of them Sualkuchi and Hajo are 
in fact a twin destination just about 20 km west 
of Guwahati, each offering a different ambience 
altogether for the visitors to carry home. Hajo is 
a village of five religious shrines; four are Hindu 
I
temples, one a Sufi shrine. One of the Hindu 
temples is also an important place for Buddhist 
pilgrims. The Hayagriva-Madhava temple atop 
the Manikut hill is a Vishnu shrine built in the 10
th
 
century, with the Kalika Purana providing a great 
glorification of it. The present structure was built 
during the reign of Koch king Raghudeva Narayana 
of Kamarupa in 1583 A.D. after the older temple 
was destroyed by Kalapahar, a Muslim invader 
from Bengal in 1564 AD. The relief works in the 
architectural ruins of Hayagriva-Madhava temple 
has a number of dancing female figures. These 
suggest that the Devadasi dance form had once 
thrived in the Hajo temples. Originally believed to 
be of Tibet, the Devadasi tradition had travelled to 
other temples of India from Assam after Vasistha 
muni had brought it to the temples of Kamarupa.  
The other Hindu temples in Hajo are the Kedar 
and Kamaleswar temples atop the Madanachal 
hill, and the Kameswar temple atop the Gokarna 
Hill, the deity in all three being Shiva. There are 
also a few smaller shrines around – including the 
Kurukshetra      June  2022 22
Ganeswar temple on the way to Kedar, and the 
Apunarbhava kunda. 
Hajo also happens to be a centre of attraction 
for Buddhists. A section of the Lamas of Bhutan 
and Tibet believe that Lord Buddha had attained 
maha-parinirvana at Hajo. But the stronger 
likelihood is of Padma-Sambhava, great founder 
of Lamaism, breathing his last atop the Manikut 
hill. Buddhist pilgrims who visit Hajo in January-
February, consider the deity inside Hayagriva-
Madhava temple as Mahamuni.
On the Garudachal hill, not far away from 
the Hayagriva-Madhava temple is Poa-Mecca, a 
Muslim shrine established by a group of Auliyas 
(saints) led by Ghiasuddin Auliya in the 16
th
 
century. While Ghiasuddin died here and the 
shrine was developed around his dargah, it is 
believed that Ghiasuddin had brought with him 
a poa (one-fourth of a seer in weight) of earth  
from Mecca to set up the shrine, from  
which the name Poa-Mecca was derived. Poa-
Mecca, however, is revered by both Muslims  
and Hindus. 
Hardly eleven km from Hajo is Sualkuchi, a 
village where several thousand men and women 
work round the clock on their looms to produce 
amazing fabrics in muga – the exclusive golden 
silk-yarn available only in Assam, and paat silk. 
Visitors buying some of the best Assam Silk fabrics 
directly from the producers at Sualkuchi can also 
see the weavers work magic on their looms. While 
sericulture is said to have flourished here as early 
as in the 4
th
 century BC in the place then known 
as Swarnakuchi (Golden Zone), it was around 1650 
AD that Momai Tamuli Barbarua, an influential 
officer of the Ahom kingdom, had developed 
Sualkuchi into a vibrant silk industry village. Often 
referred to as the Manchester of the East, it was 
during a visit to this silk village on the bank of the 
Brahmaputra in 1946 that Mahatma Gandhi had 
remarked that “Assamese women weave dreams 
on their looms.” 
Also close to Guwahati, some 35 km to the 
east is Mayong— a village where people, till about 
a century ago, mostly used to practise magic and 
occult. Though such wizardry was earlier used for 
curing various ailments, scaring off ghosts, curing 
persons possessed by evil spirits and overcoming 
misfortune, there are still a few dozen wizards in 
Mayong today who continue to practise the magic 
art for various purposes. During a day-long trip 
to Mayong, visitors can not only watch a couple 
of such magic presentations, but also visit four 
temples around the place – Kechaikhaiti temple 
at Burha Mayong, Ganesh temple at Hatimuria, 
Narasimha temple at Hiloikhunda, and Shiva 
temple at Kachashila. An hour-long visit to the 
Mayong Village Museum and Research Centre on 
the other hand provides a glimpse to the past of 
the area. 
For those interested in nature, Jatinga is a 
village near Haflong, which is about 300 km from 
Guwahati. Inhabited by the matrilineal Jaintia 
tribe, Jatinga is famous for several things, the most 
important being the bird suicide mystery. Every 
year a large number of birds are found dead at this 
place during the foggy and cloudy weather at the 
end of the monsoon months. While scientists are 
yet to unravel the mystery, legendary birdman Dr 
Salim Ali had once wondered why so many species 
of diurnal resident birds should be on the move at 
a time when they should be fast asleep. Hundreds 
of visitors flock to the village between September 
to November every year to witness the mysterious 
phenomenon during the dark moonless nights. 
With a literacy rate of 83.91 percent, Jatinga has a 
number of home-stay facilities; one can also visit 
a number of other colourful tribal villages around 
Haflong, Assam’s only hill station.
(Tourism in Assam)
Page 3


Kurukshetra      June  2022 21
Dr. Tapati Baruah Kashyap
This article provides brief introduction to some popular tourist destinations of seven north-eastern states. It is particularly 
noteworthy that these popular tourist destinations are primarily located in rural settings, thus offering the visitor a wonderful 
experience of rural India.
North-eastern India- A Tourism Paradise 
ndia’s North-eastern region is a paradise 
for tourists from all over the world. The 
seven sister states are full of beautiful 
places that attract tourists during any 
time of the year. It is particularly noteworthy that 
several popular tourist destinations of the region 
are primarily located in rural settings, thus offering 
the visitor a different kind of experience of rural 
India. These destinations also provide great relief 
to large number of tourists looking for a break 
from the humdrum of the cities. The following are 
brief introductions to some of the popular rural 
tourist destinations of the Northeast.
Assam: Sualkuchi, Hajo, Mayong, Jatinga
In less than one hour’s drive outside Guwahati 
are three popular rural destinations – Sualkuchi, 
Hajo and Mayong. Of them Sualkuchi and Hajo are 
in fact a twin destination just about 20 km west 
of Guwahati, each offering a different ambience 
altogether for the visitors to carry home. Hajo is 
a village of five religious shrines; four are Hindu 
I
temples, one a Sufi shrine. One of the Hindu 
temples is also an important place for Buddhist 
pilgrims. The Hayagriva-Madhava temple atop 
the Manikut hill is a Vishnu shrine built in the 10
th
 
century, with the Kalika Purana providing a great 
glorification of it. The present structure was built 
during the reign of Koch king Raghudeva Narayana 
of Kamarupa in 1583 A.D. after the older temple 
was destroyed by Kalapahar, a Muslim invader 
from Bengal in 1564 AD. The relief works in the 
architectural ruins of Hayagriva-Madhava temple 
has a number of dancing female figures. These 
suggest that the Devadasi dance form had once 
thrived in the Hajo temples. Originally believed to 
be of Tibet, the Devadasi tradition had travelled to 
other temples of India from Assam after Vasistha 
muni had brought it to the temples of Kamarupa.  
The other Hindu temples in Hajo are the Kedar 
and Kamaleswar temples atop the Madanachal 
hill, and the Kameswar temple atop the Gokarna 
Hill, the deity in all three being Shiva. There are 
also a few smaller shrines around – including the 
Kurukshetra      June  2022 22
Ganeswar temple on the way to Kedar, and the 
Apunarbhava kunda. 
Hajo also happens to be a centre of attraction 
for Buddhists. A section of the Lamas of Bhutan 
and Tibet believe that Lord Buddha had attained 
maha-parinirvana at Hajo. But the stronger 
likelihood is of Padma-Sambhava, great founder 
of Lamaism, breathing his last atop the Manikut 
hill. Buddhist pilgrims who visit Hajo in January-
February, consider the deity inside Hayagriva-
Madhava temple as Mahamuni.
On the Garudachal hill, not far away from 
the Hayagriva-Madhava temple is Poa-Mecca, a 
Muslim shrine established by a group of Auliyas 
(saints) led by Ghiasuddin Auliya in the 16
th
 
century. While Ghiasuddin died here and the 
shrine was developed around his dargah, it is 
believed that Ghiasuddin had brought with him 
a poa (one-fourth of a seer in weight) of earth  
from Mecca to set up the shrine, from  
which the name Poa-Mecca was derived. Poa-
Mecca, however, is revered by both Muslims  
and Hindus. 
Hardly eleven km from Hajo is Sualkuchi, a 
village where several thousand men and women 
work round the clock on their looms to produce 
amazing fabrics in muga – the exclusive golden 
silk-yarn available only in Assam, and paat silk. 
Visitors buying some of the best Assam Silk fabrics 
directly from the producers at Sualkuchi can also 
see the weavers work magic on their looms. While 
sericulture is said to have flourished here as early 
as in the 4
th
 century BC in the place then known 
as Swarnakuchi (Golden Zone), it was around 1650 
AD that Momai Tamuli Barbarua, an influential 
officer of the Ahom kingdom, had developed 
Sualkuchi into a vibrant silk industry village. Often 
referred to as the Manchester of the East, it was 
during a visit to this silk village on the bank of the 
Brahmaputra in 1946 that Mahatma Gandhi had 
remarked that “Assamese women weave dreams 
on their looms.” 
Also close to Guwahati, some 35 km to the 
east is Mayong— a village where people, till about 
a century ago, mostly used to practise magic and 
occult. Though such wizardry was earlier used for 
curing various ailments, scaring off ghosts, curing 
persons possessed by evil spirits and overcoming 
misfortune, there are still a few dozen wizards in 
Mayong today who continue to practise the magic 
art for various purposes. During a day-long trip 
to Mayong, visitors can not only watch a couple 
of such magic presentations, but also visit four 
temples around the place – Kechaikhaiti temple 
at Burha Mayong, Ganesh temple at Hatimuria, 
Narasimha temple at Hiloikhunda, and Shiva 
temple at Kachashila. An hour-long visit to the 
Mayong Village Museum and Research Centre on 
the other hand provides a glimpse to the past of 
the area. 
For those interested in nature, Jatinga is a 
village near Haflong, which is about 300 km from 
Guwahati. Inhabited by the matrilineal Jaintia 
tribe, Jatinga is famous for several things, the most 
important being the bird suicide mystery. Every 
year a large number of birds are found dead at this 
place during the foggy and cloudy weather at the 
end of the monsoon months. While scientists are 
yet to unravel the mystery, legendary birdman Dr 
Salim Ali had once wondered why so many species 
of diurnal resident birds should be on the move at 
a time when they should be fast asleep. Hundreds 
of visitors flock to the village between September 
to November every year to witness the mysterious 
phenomenon during the dark moonless nights. 
With a literacy rate of 83.91 percent, Jatinga has a 
number of home-stay facilities; one can also visit 
a number of other colourful tribal villages around 
Haflong, Assam’s only hill station.
(Tourism in Assam)
Kurukshetra      June  2022 23
Meghalaya: Mawlynnong
About 72 km away from Shillong, the 
Meghalaya capital, is situated Mawlynnong – a 
beautiful village inhabited by the Khasi tribe, 
which has earned global fame as being one of the 
cleanest villages of the world. Locally referred 
to as “God’s Own Garden”, it is also one of the 
finest examples of community-based eco-tourism 
initiative in India. While every villager considers 
it his or her sacred duty to promote cleanliness, 
Mawlynnong’s dainty lanes are dotted with 
bamboo garbage bins for people to dump waste. 
The village has pits where the waste is turned 
into manure, and visitors can also buy packets 
of organic manure from there. Plastic, polythene 
and smoking are strictly prohibited here. Every 
Mawlynnong household also practises rainwater 
harvesting. Visitors can also have a bird’s eye view 
of Bangladesh from the village perched on the 
southern edge of the Shillong plateau. The single-
decker Nohwet Living Root Bridge is yet another 
unique attraction of Mawlynnong.
Arunachal Pradesh: Ziro Valley
About 110 km from Itanagar is Ziro—a 
popular destination for those looking at spending 
a few days in a perfect rural setting in Arunachal 
Pradesh. While Ziro is a small district town,  
the Ziro Valley itself is a wonderful rural  
setting perched in the Eastern Himalayas, and 
offering an entirely different experience to the 
visitors. 
Situated on the banks of the Pange river, 
Ziro is a musical valley comprising of several 
ancient villages like Hong, Hari, Hija, Bula, Baro, 
and Siiro. A visit to any of these villages, and 
more particularly to Hong and Hari – the two 
larger villages – one gets a feeling of travelling  
through a living anthropological museum, with 
older women wearing facial tattoos and large 
nose-rings.
Being home to several colourful Himalayan 
bird species nesting amid tall pine trees and wild 
flowering shrubs, Ziro Valley is also a bird-watchers’ 
paradise. Moreover, visitors are also amazed with 
how inhabitants of Apatani village rear fish in their 
paddy fields, a rare farming practice in the world. 
While Dolo Mando is a popular hiking destination 
nearby, one can also trek to the Kile Pakho ridge 
to have a panoramic view of the Ziro Valley on one 
side and the lofty Himalayas on the other. There 
are also two ancient temples nearby – the Meghna 
Cave Temple and Sidheshwar Nath Shivalinga. 
Most tourists carry home colourful fabrics  
woven by the Apatani women, as also  
beautiful cane and bamboo baskets made by the 
men. 
Ziro also figures in India's Tentative List for 
UNESCO's World Heritage Site, seeking global 
recognition for the distinct Apatani civilization with 
systematic land use practices and rich traditional 
ecological knowledge of natural resources 
management and conservation, acquired over 
the centuries through informal experimentation. 
Intricate handloom designs, traditional cane and 
bamboo crafts, and vibrant traditional village 
councils called Bulyañ have made Ziro Valley an 
interesting example of a living cultural landscape 
where man and environment have harmoniously 
co-existed through changing times.
The best time to visit Ziro is in January when 
the Apatanis observe the Murung rituals, or in 
July when they celebrate the Dree Festival. The 
younger generation has, eight years ago started 
the Ziro Music Festival, a four-day extravaganza 
which attracts music lovers from all over the 
country.  
Manipur: Andro
About 25 km outside Imphal, is Andro—a 
beautiful village tucked away in the forest foothills 
of the Nongmaiching hills, which has several 
reasons to attract tourists interested in seeing 
rural Manipur. Local lore says that Andro is home 
to Manipur’s first settlers, and that the name is 
derived from ‘handro’ – meaning “village of the 
people who came back.” The villagers who belong 
to the Loi community, had apparently returned 
here after they had tried to shift to another place, 
but were driven back. The local residents are 
excellent potters and their pottery products have 
attracted worldwide attention. Andro also has a 
cultural complex and museum which has artefacts 
collected from various tribal communities of 
Manipur as well as other states of the North-east. 
These include fabrics, musical instruments, pottery, 
jewelleries, wood carving, basketries, bell metals, 
rare coins, rare manuscripts, paintings, dolls, etc.
Page 4


Kurukshetra      June  2022 21
Dr. Tapati Baruah Kashyap
This article provides brief introduction to some popular tourist destinations of seven north-eastern states. It is particularly 
noteworthy that these popular tourist destinations are primarily located in rural settings, thus offering the visitor a wonderful 
experience of rural India.
North-eastern India- A Tourism Paradise 
ndia’s North-eastern region is a paradise 
for tourists from all over the world. The 
seven sister states are full of beautiful 
places that attract tourists during any 
time of the year. It is particularly noteworthy that 
several popular tourist destinations of the region 
are primarily located in rural settings, thus offering 
the visitor a different kind of experience of rural 
India. These destinations also provide great relief 
to large number of tourists looking for a break 
from the humdrum of the cities. The following are 
brief introductions to some of the popular rural 
tourist destinations of the Northeast.
Assam: Sualkuchi, Hajo, Mayong, Jatinga
In less than one hour’s drive outside Guwahati 
are three popular rural destinations – Sualkuchi, 
Hajo and Mayong. Of them Sualkuchi and Hajo are 
in fact a twin destination just about 20 km west 
of Guwahati, each offering a different ambience 
altogether for the visitors to carry home. Hajo is 
a village of five religious shrines; four are Hindu 
I
temples, one a Sufi shrine. One of the Hindu 
temples is also an important place for Buddhist 
pilgrims. The Hayagriva-Madhava temple atop 
the Manikut hill is a Vishnu shrine built in the 10
th
 
century, with the Kalika Purana providing a great 
glorification of it. The present structure was built 
during the reign of Koch king Raghudeva Narayana 
of Kamarupa in 1583 A.D. after the older temple 
was destroyed by Kalapahar, a Muslim invader 
from Bengal in 1564 AD. The relief works in the 
architectural ruins of Hayagriva-Madhava temple 
has a number of dancing female figures. These 
suggest that the Devadasi dance form had once 
thrived in the Hajo temples. Originally believed to 
be of Tibet, the Devadasi tradition had travelled to 
other temples of India from Assam after Vasistha 
muni had brought it to the temples of Kamarupa.  
The other Hindu temples in Hajo are the Kedar 
and Kamaleswar temples atop the Madanachal 
hill, and the Kameswar temple atop the Gokarna 
Hill, the deity in all three being Shiva. There are 
also a few smaller shrines around – including the 
Kurukshetra      June  2022 22
Ganeswar temple on the way to Kedar, and the 
Apunarbhava kunda. 
Hajo also happens to be a centre of attraction 
for Buddhists. A section of the Lamas of Bhutan 
and Tibet believe that Lord Buddha had attained 
maha-parinirvana at Hajo. But the stronger 
likelihood is of Padma-Sambhava, great founder 
of Lamaism, breathing his last atop the Manikut 
hill. Buddhist pilgrims who visit Hajo in January-
February, consider the deity inside Hayagriva-
Madhava temple as Mahamuni.
On the Garudachal hill, not far away from 
the Hayagriva-Madhava temple is Poa-Mecca, a 
Muslim shrine established by a group of Auliyas 
(saints) led by Ghiasuddin Auliya in the 16
th
 
century. While Ghiasuddin died here and the 
shrine was developed around his dargah, it is 
believed that Ghiasuddin had brought with him 
a poa (one-fourth of a seer in weight) of earth  
from Mecca to set up the shrine, from  
which the name Poa-Mecca was derived. Poa-
Mecca, however, is revered by both Muslims  
and Hindus. 
Hardly eleven km from Hajo is Sualkuchi, a 
village where several thousand men and women 
work round the clock on their looms to produce 
amazing fabrics in muga – the exclusive golden 
silk-yarn available only in Assam, and paat silk. 
Visitors buying some of the best Assam Silk fabrics 
directly from the producers at Sualkuchi can also 
see the weavers work magic on their looms. While 
sericulture is said to have flourished here as early 
as in the 4
th
 century BC in the place then known 
as Swarnakuchi (Golden Zone), it was around 1650 
AD that Momai Tamuli Barbarua, an influential 
officer of the Ahom kingdom, had developed 
Sualkuchi into a vibrant silk industry village. Often 
referred to as the Manchester of the East, it was 
during a visit to this silk village on the bank of the 
Brahmaputra in 1946 that Mahatma Gandhi had 
remarked that “Assamese women weave dreams 
on their looms.” 
Also close to Guwahati, some 35 km to the 
east is Mayong— a village where people, till about 
a century ago, mostly used to practise magic and 
occult. Though such wizardry was earlier used for 
curing various ailments, scaring off ghosts, curing 
persons possessed by evil spirits and overcoming 
misfortune, there are still a few dozen wizards in 
Mayong today who continue to practise the magic 
art for various purposes. During a day-long trip 
to Mayong, visitors can not only watch a couple 
of such magic presentations, but also visit four 
temples around the place – Kechaikhaiti temple 
at Burha Mayong, Ganesh temple at Hatimuria, 
Narasimha temple at Hiloikhunda, and Shiva 
temple at Kachashila. An hour-long visit to the 
Mayong Village Museum and Research Centre on 
the other hand provides a glimpse to the past of 
the area. 
For those interested in nature, Jatinga is a 
village near Haflong, which is about 300 km from 
Guwahati. Inhabited by the matrilineal Jaintia 
tribe, Jatinga is famous for several things, the most 
important being the bird suicide mystery. Every 
year a large number of birds are found dead at this 
place during the foggy and cloudy weather at the 
end of the monsoon months. While scientists are 
yet to unravel the mystery, legendary birdman Dr 
Salim Ali had once wondered why so many species 
of diurnal resident birds should be on the move at 
a time when they should be fast asleep. Hundreds 
of visitors flock to the village between September 
to November every year to witness the mysterious 
phenomenon during the dark moonless nights. 
With a literacy rate of 83.91 percent, Jatinga has a 
number of home-stay facilities; one can also visit 
a number of other colourful tribal villages around 
Haflong, Assam’s only hill station.
(Tourism in Assam)
Kurukshetra      June  2022 23
Meghalaya: Mawlynnong
About 72 km away from Shillong, the 
Meghalaya capital, is situated Mawlynnong – a 
beautiful village inhabited by the Khasi tribe, 
which has earned global fame as being one of the 
cleanest villages of the world. Locally referred 
to as “God’s Own Garden”, it is also one of the 
finest examples of community-based eco-tourism 
initiative in India. While every villager considers 
it his or her sacred duty to promote cleanliness, 
Mawlynnong’s dainty lanes are dotted with 
bamboo garbage bins for people to dump waste. 
The village has pits where the waste is turned 
into manure, and visitors can also buy packets 
of organic manure from there. Plastic, polythene 
and smoking are strictly prohibited here. Every 
Mawlynnong household also practises rainwater 
harvesting. Visitors can also have a bird’s eye view 
of Bangladesh from the village perched on the 
southern edge of the Shillong plateau. The single-
decker Nohwet Living Root Bridge is yet another 
unique attraction of Mawlynnong.
Arunachal Pradesh: Ziro Valley
About 110 km from Itanagar is Ziro—a 
popular destination for those looking at spending 
a few days in a perfect rural setting in Arunachal 
Pradesh. While Ziro is a small district town,  
the Ziro Valley itself is a wonderful rural  
setting perched in the Eastern Himalayas, and 
offering an entirely different experience to the 
visitors. 
Situated on the banks of the Pange river, 
Ziro is a musical valley comprising of several 
ancient villages like Hong, Hari, Hija, Bula, Baro, 
and Siiro. A visit to any of these villages, and 
more particularly to Hong and Hari – the two 
larger villages – one gets a feeling of travelling  
through a living anthropological museum, with 
older women wearing facial tattoos and large 
nose-rings.
Being home to several colourful Himalayan 
bird species nesting amid tall pine trees and wild 
flowering shrubs, Ziro Valley is also a bird-watchers’ 
paradise. Moreover, visitors are also amazed with 
how inhabitants of Apatani village rear fish in their 
paddy fields, a rare farming practice in the world. 
While Dolo Mando is a popular hiking destination 
nearby, one can also trek to the Kile Pakho ridge 
to have a panoramic view of the Ziro Valley on one 
side and the lofty Himalayas on the other. There 
are also two ancient temples nearby – the Meghna 
Cave Temple and Sidheshwar Nath Shivalinga. 
Most tourists carry home colourful fabrics  
woven by the Apatani women, as also  
beautiful cane and bamboo baskets made by the 
men. 
Ziro also figures in India's Tentative List for 
UNESCO's World Heritage Site, seeking global 
recognition for the distinct Apatani civilization with 
systematic land use practices and rich traditional 
ecological knowledge of natural resources 
management and conservation, acquired over 
the centuries through informal experimentation. 
Intricate handloom designs, traditional cane and 
bamboo crafts, and vibrant traditional village 
councils called Bulyañ have made Ziro Valley an 
interesting example of a living cultural landscape 
where man and environment have harmoniously 
co-existed through changing times.
The best time to visit Ziro is in January when 
the Apatanis observe the Murung rituals, or in 
July when they celebrate the Dree Festival. The 
younger generation has, eight years ago started 
the Ziro Music Festival, a four-day extravaganza 
which attracts music lovers from all over the 
country.  
Manipur: Andro
About 25 km outside Imphal, is Andro—a 
beautiful village tucked away in the forest foothills 
of the Nongmaiching hills, which has several 
reasons to attract tourists interested in seeing 
rural Manipur. Local lore says that Andro is home 
to Manipur’s first settlers, and that the name is 
derived from ‘handro’ – meaning “village of the 
people who came back.” The villagers who belong 
to the Loi community, had apparently returned 
here after they had tried to shift to another place, 
but were driven back. The local residents are 
excellent potters and their pottery products have 
attracted worldwide attention. Andro also has a 
cultural complex and museum which has artefacts 
collected from various tribal communities of 
Manipur as well as other states of the North-east. 
These include fabrics, musical instruments, pottery, 
jewelleries, wood carving, basketries, bell metals, 
rare coins, rare manuscripts, paintings, dolls, etc.
Kurukshetra      June  2022 24
Visitors also offer prayers to Panam Ningthou, 
the village deity at Mei Mutaba, an ancient temple 
which has a sacred fire that is believed to have 
been burning since time immemorial. Households 
maintain the fire by turn with two households 
looking after it every day. 
Nagaland: Khonoma
One of Nagaland’s most historic villages, 
Khonoma is hardly 20 km from Kohima, the state 
capital. Inhabited by people of the Angami tribe, 
one of the 18 tribes of the hill state, Khonoma, a 
400-year old village, was the scene of a series of 
fierce resistances against the British. Memories of 
two major battles in 1850 and 1879 respectively 
– in which scores of brave Angami men had laid 
down their lives to protect their land – continue to 
remain popular, having been passed down through 
'word of mouth' from one generation to another. 
Local residents guide tourists through stone 
pathways that wind around the village, showing 
spots where their ancestors fought bloody battles 
with the British. They take particular pride in 
showing the traditional forts called Khuda – 
meaning “place of defense” – built of stones which 
are preserved with care. The typical Khonoma forts 
had provision for rolling down rocks and boulders 
through openings in the walls to resist the enemy. 
Another interesting feature of Khonoma is 
the kharu – traditional gates leading the localities 
inhabited by the different khel (clans). The  
gates have wonderful artwork, mostly in rocks  
and wood, which also represent the various  
taboos and beliefs of the respective khels.     
Khonoma has very good home-stay facilities, 
with host families offering exotic Naga cuisine. 
Different varieties of natural fruits, vegetables 
and herbs, as also insects, find way into the 
Khonoma cuisine, while the local residents weave 
colourful traditional shawls, produce exquisitely  
woven cane and bamboo basketry and ethnic 
ornaments.   
Often described as Asia’s first green village, 
the people of Khonoma had in 1998 declared 96 
sq km of the village forest as a sacred sanctuary 
to protect all wildlife in general and the Blythe’s 
Tragopan, an endangered pheasant and the State 
Bird of Nagaland in particular. While the sanctuary 
is an ideal place for trekking, Khonoma also offers 
walks through some legendary trails which make 
one recall the days of head-hunting and the time 
when man and spirits were believed to have lived 
closely. Among these, the Chada-Cha trail, with 
12 legendary spots, is the most popular. The best 
time to visit the village is the Angami month of 
Kezie (February) when it celebrates the Sekrenyi 
festival for ten days. 
Mizoram: Thenzawl
Thenzawl is located about 90 km from 
Aizawl, the Mizoram capital. The Tropic of Cancer 
runs through this picturesque village, which is an 
important centre of traditional Mizo handloom 
industry and produces rich and colourful varieties 
of handloom fabrics. The drive on the winding 
mountain road to Thenzawl is amazing, providing 
spectacular views of clouds floating below it over 
rolling green hills. Thenzawl has several historical 
sites, as also nature parks and waterfalls. The 
health-conscious visitors can also visit the state’s 
only golf course here, as also a wellness spa 
equipped with state-of-the-art facilities.
Thenzawl also has a deer park, which is a mini 
zoo and the only park of its kind in the state, which 
particularly conserves the highly endangered 
Sambar Deer. There is also a pony riding facility, 
while boat riding on a beautiful lake is another 
activity that visitors enjoy.  
(Tourism in Manipur)
Page 5


Kurukshetra      June  2022 21
Dr. Tapati Baruah Kashyap
This article provides brief introduction to some popular tourist destinations of seven north-eastern states. It is particularly 
noteworthy that these popular tourist destinations are primarily located in rural settings, thus offering the visitor a wonderful 
experience of rural India.
North-eastern India- A Tourism Paradise 
ndia’s North-eastern region is a paradise 
for tourists from all over the world. The 
seven sister states are full of beautiful 
places that attract tourists during any 
time of the year. It is particularly noteworthy that 
several popular tourist destinations of the region 
are primarily located in rural settings, thus offering 
the visitor a different kind of experience of rural 
India. These destinations also provide great relief 
to large number of tourists looking for a break 
from the humdrum of the cities. The following are 
brief introductions to some of the popular rural 
tourist destinations of the Northeast.
Assam: Sualkuchi, Hajo, Mayong, Jatinga
In less than one hour’s drive outside Guwahati 
are three popular rural destinations – Sualkuchi, 
Hajo and Mayong. Of them Sualkuchi and Hajo are 
in fact a twin destination just about 20 km west 
of Guwahati, each offering a different ambience 
altogether for the visitors to carry home. Hajo is 
a village of five religious shrines; four are Hindu 
I
temples, one a Sufi shrine. One of the Hindu 
temples is also an important place for Buddhist 
pilgrims. The Hayagriva-Madhava temple atop 
the Manikut hill is a Vishnu shrine built in the 10
th
 
century, with the Kalika Purana providing a great 
glorification of it. The present structure was built 
during the reign of Koch king Raghudeva Narayana 
of Kamarupa in 1583 A.D. after the older temple 
was destroyed by Kalapahar, a Muslim invader 
from Bengal in 1564 AD. The relief works in the 
architectural ruins of Hayagriva-Madhava temple 
has a number of dancing female figures. These 
suggest that the Devadasi dance form had once 
thrived in the Hajo temples. Originally believed to 
be of Tibet, the Devadasi tradition had travelled to 
other temples of India from Assam after Vasistha 
muni had brought it to the temples of Kamarupa.  
The other Hindu temples in Hajo are the Kedar 
and Kamaleswar temples atop the Madanachal 
hill, and the Kameswar temple atop the Gokarna 
Hill, the deity in all three being Shiva. There are 
also a few smaller shrines around – including the 
Kurukshetra      June  2022 22
Ganeswar temple on the way to Kedar, and the 
Apunarbhava kunda. 
Hajo also happens to be a centre of attraction 
for Buddhists. A section of the Lamas of Bhutan 
and Tibet believe that Lord Buddha had attained 
maha-parinirvana at Hajo. But the stronger 
likelihood is of Padma-Sambhava, great founder 
of Lamaism, breathing his last atop the Manikut 
hill. Buddhist pilgrims who visit Hajo in January-
February, consider the deity inside Hayagriva-
Madhava temple as Mahamuni.
On the Garudachal hill, not far away from 
the Hayagriva-Madhava temple is Poa-Mecca, a 
Muslim shrine established by a group of Auliyas 
(saints) led by Ghiasuddin Auliya in the 16
th
 
century. While Ghiasuddin died here and the 
shrine was developed around his dargah, it is 
believed that Ghiasuddin had brought with him 
a poa (one-fourth of a seer in weight) of earth  
from Mecca to set up the shrine, from  
which the name Poa-Mecca was derived. Poa-
Mecca, however, is revered by both Muslims  
and Hindus. 
Hardly eleven km from Hajo is Sualkuchi, a 
village where several thousand men and women 
work round the clock on their looms to produce 
amazing fabrics in muga – the exclusive golden 
silk-yarn available only in Assam, and paat silk. 
Visitors buying some of the best Assam Silk fabrics 
directly from the producers at Sualkuchi can also 
see the weavers work magic on their looms. While 
sericulture is said to have flourished here as early 
as in the 4
th
 century BC in the place then known 
as Swarnakuchi (Golden Zone), it was around 1650 
AD that Momai Tamuli Barbarua, an influential 
officer of the Ahom kingdom, had developed 
Sualkuchi into a vibrant silk industry village. Often 
referred to as the Manchester of the East, it was 
during a visit to this silk village on the bank of the 
Brahmaputra in 1946 that Mahatma Gandhi had 
remarked that “Assamese women weave dreams 
on their looms.” 
Also close to Guwahati, some 35 km to the 
east is Mayong— a village where people, till about 
a century ago, mostly used to practise magic and 
occult. Though such wizardry was earlier used for 
curing various ailments, scaring off ghosts, curing 
persons possessed by evil spirits and overcoming 
misfortune, there are still a few dozen wizards in 
Mayong today who continue to practise the magic 
art for various purposes. During a day-long trip 
to Mayong, visitors can not only watch a couple 
of such magic presentations, but also visit four 
temples around the place – Kechaikhaiti temple 
at Burha Mayong, Ganesh temple at Hatimuria, 
Narasimha temple at Hiloikhunda, and Shiva 
temple at Kachashila. An hour-long visit to the 
Mayong Village Museum and Research Centre on 
the other hand provides a glimpse to the past of 
the area. 
For those interested in nature, Jatinga is a 
village near Haflong, which is about 300 km from 
Guwahati. Inhabited by the matrilineal Jaintia 
tribe, Jatinga is famous for several things, the most 
important being the bird suicide mystery. Every 
year a large number of birds are found dead at this 
place during the foggy and cloudy weather at the 
end of the monsoon months. While scientists are 
yet to unravel the mystery, legendary birdman Dr 
Salim Ali had once wondered why so many species 
of diurnal resident birds should be on the move at 
a time when they should be fast asleep. Hundreds 
of visitors flock to the village between September 
to November every year to witness the mysterious 
phenomenon during the dark moonless nights. 
With a literacy rate of 83.91 percent, Jatinga has a 
number of home-stay facilities; one can also visit 
a number of other colourful tribal villages around 
Haflong, Assam’s only hill station.
(Tourism in Assam)
Kurukshetra      June  2022 23
Meghalaya: Mawlynnong
About 72 km away from Shillong, the 
Meghalaya capital, is situated Mawlynnong – a 
beautiful village inhabited by the Khasi tribe, 
which has earned global fame as being one of the 
cleanest villages of the world. Locally referred 
to as “God’s Own Garden”, it is also one of the 
finest examples of community-based eco-tourism 
initiative in India. While every villager considers 
it his or her sacred duty to promote cleanliness, 
Mawlynnong’s dainty lanes are dotted with 
bamboo garbage bins for people to dump waste. 
The village has pits where the waste is turned 
into manure, and visitors can also buy packets 
of organic manure from there. Plastic, polythene 
and smoking are strictly prohibited here. Every 
Mawlynnong household also practises rainwater 
harvesting. Visitors can also have a bird’s eye view 
of Bangladesh from the village perched on the 
southern edge of the Shillong plateau. The single-
decker Nohwet Living Root Bridge is yet another 
unique attraction of Mawlynnong.
Arunachal Pradesh: Ziro Valley
About 110 km from Itanagar is Ziro—a 
popular destination for those looking at spending 
a few days in a perfect rural setting in Arunachal 
Pradesh. While Ziro is a small district town,  
the Ziro Valley itself is a wonderful rural  
setting perched in the Eastern Himalayas, and 
offering an entirely different experience to the 
visitors. 
Situated on the banks of the Pange river, 
Ziro is a musical valley comprising of several 
ancient villages like Hong, Hari, Hija, Bula, Baro, 
and Siiro. A visit to any of these villages, and 
more particularly to Hong and Hari – the two 
larger villages – one gets a feeling of travelling  
through a living anthropological museum, with 
older women wearing facial tattoos and large 
nose-rings.
Being home to several colourful Himalayan 
bird species nesting amid tall pine trees and wild 
flowering shrubs, Ziro Valley is also a bird-watchers’ 
paradise. Moreover, visitors are also amazed with 
how inhabitants of Apatani village rear fish in their 
paddy fields, a rare farming practice in the world. 
While Dolo Mando is a popular hiking destination 
nearby, one can also trek to the Kile Pakho ridge 
to have a panoramic view of the Ziro Valley on one 
side and the lofty Himalayas on the other. There 
are also two ancient temples nearby – the Meghna 
Cave Temple and Sidheshwar Nath Shivalinga. 
Most tourists carry home colourful fabrics  
woven by the Apatani women, as also  
beautiful cane and bamboo baskets made by the 
men. 
Ziro also figures in India's Tentative List for 
UNESCO's World Heritage Site, seeking global 
recognition for the distinct Apatani civilization with 
systematic land use practices and rich traditional 
ecological knowledge of natural resources 
management and conservation, acquired over 
the centuries through informal experimentation. 
Intricate handloom designs, traditional cane and 
bamboo crafts, and vibrant traditional village 
councils called Bulyañ have made Ziro Valley an 
interesting example of a living cultural landscape 
where man and environment have harmoniously 
co-existed through changing times.
The best time to visit Ziro is in January when 
the Apatanis observe the Murung rituals, or in 
July when they celebrate the Dree Festival. The 
younger generation has, eight years ago started 
the Ziro Music Festival, a four-day extravaganza 
which attracts music lovers from all over the 
country.  
Manipur: Andro
About 25 km outside Imphal, is Andro—a 
beautiful village tucked away in the forest foothills 
of the Nongmaiching hills, which has several 
reasons to attract tourists interested in seeing 
rural Manipur. Local lore says that Andro is home 
to Manipur’s first settlers, and that the name is 
derived from ‘handro’ – meaning “village of the 
people who came back.” The villagers who belong 
to the Loi community, had apparently returned 
here after they had tried to shift to another place, 
but were driven back. The local residents are 
excellent potters and their pottery products have 
attracted worldwide attention. Andro also has a 
cultural complex and museum which has artefacts 
collected from various tribal communities of 
Manipur as well as other states of the North-east. 
These include fabrics, musical instruments, pottery, 
jewelleries, wood carving, basketries, bell metals, 
rare coins, rare manuscripts, paintings, dolls, etc.
Kurukshetra      June  2022 24
Visitors also offer prayers to Panam Ningthou, 
the village deity at Mei Mutaba, an ancient temple 
which has a sacred fire that is believed to have 
been burning since time immemorial. Households 
maintain the fire by turn with two households 
looking after it every day. 
Nagaland: Khonoma
One of Nagaland’s most historic villages, 
Khonoma is hardly 20 km from Kohima, the state 
capital. Inhabited by people of the Angami tribe, 
one of the 18 tribes of the hill state, Khonoma, a 
400-year old village, was the scene of a series of 
fierce resistances against the British. Memories of 
two major battles in 1850 and 1879 respectively 
– in which scores of brave Angami men had laid 
down their lives to protect their land – continue to 
remain popular, having been passed down through 
'word of mouth' from one generation to another. 
Local residents guide tourists through stone 
pathways that wind around the village, showing 
spots where their ancestors fought bloody battles 
with the British. They take particular pride in 
showing the traditional forts called Khuda – 
meaning “place of defense” – built of stones which 
are preserved with care. The typical Khonoma forts 
had provision for rolling down rocks and boulders 
through openings in the walls to resist the enemy. 
Another interesting feature of Khonoma is 
the kharu – traditional gates leading the localities 
inhabited by the different khel (clans). The  
gates have wonderful artwork, mostly in rocks  
and wood, which also represent the various  
taboos and beliefs of the respective khels.     
Khonoma has very good home-stay facilities, 
with host families offering exotic Naga cuisine. 
Different varieties of natural fruits, vegetables 
and herbs, as also insects, find way into the 
Khonoma cuisine, while the local residents weave 
colourful traditional shawls, produce exquisitely  
woven cane and bamboo basketry and ethnic 
ornaments.   
Often described as Asia’s first green village, 
the people of Khonoma had in 1998 declared 96 
sq km of the village forest as a sacred sanctuary 
to protect all wildlife in general and the Blythe’s 
Tragopan, an endangered pheasant and the State 
Bird of Nagaland in particular. While the sanctuary 
is an ideal place for trekking, Khonoma also offers 
walks through some legendary trails which make 
one recall the days of head-hunting and the time 
when man and spirits were believed to have lived 
closely. Among these, the Chada-Cha trail, with 
12 legendary spots, is the most popular. The best 
time to visit the village is the Angami month of 
Kezie (February) when it celebrates the Sekrenyi 
festival for ten days. 
Mizoram: Thenzawl
Thenzawl is located about 90 km from 
Aizawl, the Mizoram capital. The Tropic of Cancer 
runs through this picturesque village, which is an 
important centre of traditional Mizo handloom 
industry and produces rich and colourful varieties 
of handloom fabrics. The drive on the winding 
mountain road to Thenzawl is amazing, providing 
spectacular views of clouds floating below it over 
rolling green hills. Thenzawl has several historical 
sites, as also nature parks and waterfalls. The 
health-conscious visitors can also visit the state’s 
only golf course here, as also a wellness spa 
equipped with state-of-the-art facilities.
Thenzawl also has a deer park, which is a mini 
zoo and the only park of its kind in the state, which 
particularly conserves the highly endangered 
Sambar Deer. There is also a pony riding facility, 
while boat riding on a beautiful lake is another 
activity that visitors enjoy.  
(Tourism in Manipur)
Kurukshetra      June  2022 25
There are 30 log-huts to accommodate 
tourists at Thenzawl, apart from a food court 
and an open-air theatre. Close by is Hmuifang—a 
traditional Mizo village preserved particularly for 
giving a taste of typical Mizo rural life, culture 
and traditional food to the visitor. There are also 
a number of mini tree-houses around.  Close to 
Thenzawl are two waterfalls, the Tuirihiau Fall and 
Vantawng Fall, both of which empty the gurgling 
water to the Vanva river. One can step inside from 
behind the Tuirihiau Fall as it caves like an arc to 
literally have an inside view of the waterfall. On 
the outskirts of the village is the Chawngchilhi 
Cave. Local people believe that this cave is the 
original location of a Mizo folk story in which a 
lady falls in love with a snake. 
Tripura: Matabari
A visit to Tripura remains incomplete if one 
does not pay a visit to the Tripura Sundari Temple, 
located about 55 km outside Agartala, the state 
capital. Set in a rural ambience at Matabari, the 
temple is one of the 51 holy shaktipeeths (shrine 
of the goddess of Shakti) in India as per Hindu 
mythology. According to Hindu mythology, Lord 
Vishnu had cut off the body of Mata Sati, after 
her death, with a Sudarshan Chakra. Fifty-one 
different pieces of her body fell at different places 
throughout the country which came to be known 
as Shaktipeeths. At Matabari in Tripura fell the right 
foot of Mata Sati. Here goddess Kali is worshipped 
in her Shoroshi – 16-year-old girl – incarnation, 
while a smaller idol of Maa Kali or Chotto Maa 
stands beside the presiding deity. Constructed in 
1501 AD by the then Tripura Maharaja Dhanya 
Manikya, it has the beautiful Kalyan Sagar lake. 
Conclusion
In addition to the above mentioned 
destinations, there are several other rural 
destinations spread in the North-eastern Region 
waiting to be explored by visitors from outside. 
Those willing to visit Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, 
Mizoram and Nagaland, however, have to procure 
Inner Line Permits (ILP) which can be obtained 
online by going to the official websites of the 
respective state governments.
(The author is a writer and poet based in 
Guwahati. Views expressed are personal. Email: 
tapatibkashyap@gmail.com)