Serenity at breakneck speed
After a strenuous six-hour journey from Dawki, the starting point of the northeast Indian state of Meghalaya from Bangladesh, to Guwahati, co-hosts of the 12th South Asian (SA) Games, the first impression of the capital, Assam, was as if we were still in Bangladesh and had entered Mirpur. The locality had an uncanny resemblance to the northern part of Bangladesh's capital, with mostly five and four-storied buildings erected alongside trees on both sides of the road.
The city looked familiar, adorned with billboards, shop signs and a few political slogans written in the Assamese language, which is strikingly similar to Bengali with a few changes to the characters of the Bangla alphabet. The parked vehicles by the roadside and the familiar scene of jaywalkers/pedestrians crossing the road over fences on the road's divider also replicated the culture of Dhaka residents.
It was also surprising that most people could understand Bengali, while some spoke as fluently as if they also hailed from Bangladesh. The journalists who had travelled from Bangladesh felt no hesitation in communicating either with auto-rickshaw drivers or shop-keepers to seek directions to the venues for the SA Games.
The busiest part of Guwahati is the Paltan Bazar, which is much like the older part of Dhaka except for the wide roads. And that area is seemingly the business hub of the capital, with thousands of hotels, lodges and commercial organisations. The footpaths were also reminiscent of Dhaka, with thousands of hawkers trading their wares. The whole time it never felt any different from home.
The more interesting part of the journey was the trip from Dawki to Guwahati. Starting from Dhaka at night, the bus reached Sylhet in the morning. From there, we hired a microbus which took us to Tamabil, a calm and greenish environment.
It took a few minutes to cross the immigration and custom checks on either side of the border and then the nerve wracking journey started on a Sumo (not a Japanese sumo wrestler). We entered the eight-seater jeep after the driver agreed to take us to Shillong, some 100km away from Dawki.
Five minutes into our journey, we crossed the renowned Dawki suspension bridge and it was an exciting view seeing the Umngot river's crystal clear water -- with the pebbles underneath clearly visible -- from the bridge. There was a feeling of disappointment when contrasting that side to the Bangladeshi side of the river, where stone collectors had destroyed the beauty of nature. However, the Indian side was a wonder to behold.
The single-lane road took us through a picturesque route, with mountains on the right-hand side and a stunning collection of flora on the left. Even after a 20-minute drive from the border, the cellphones still had a signal and some colleagues had a chat with their families.
Then there were some more nerves as the jeep, at an average of 40kph, went zigzagging upward through the hillside for one-and-a-half hours. It felt like it could be the last journey of our lives, with one false move causing the jeep to slip from the hills. The view down wasn't any consolation, as all that was visible was a thick canopy of trees as far as we could see.
It surely wasn't a feel-good moment for 'the weak of heart' and someone among us advised not to look down in a bid to stay calm. Someone even started vomiting through the window of the jeep after taking a peek down.
However, the jeep reached Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya, after two-and-half hours of unrelentless driving, before another jeep was hired to take us from Shillong to Guwahati after a half-hour's rest.
Although the four-hour travel including a 30-minute stopover at a roadside dhaba, the journey to Guwahati was quite the sight, with charming hills on both sides of the road.
The zigzag road was akin to a Formula 1 racing track, and the 60kph speed along those turns made the feeling more evident.
Before the 'racing experience', the lovely Umian lake awaited us. The Shillong-Guwahati road was finely made around the banks of the lake, keeping its overwhelming beauty intact and we took a breather at the lake before entering the roller-coaster path.
Interestingly, a lot of wine bars were seen by the road which divided Meghalaya and Assam, but the bars were situated on Meghalaya's side, as the state had less tax.
The roadside pickle shops were another unforgettable experience. The taste of the delights lingered until we finally reached our destination; Assam.
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