A cup of Assam Tea

      Growing up in the early 80s, a piece of white rectangular cloth with crimson border and flowery designs on the edge was a quintessential part of my Assamese household. Today whenever I use a Gamusa, it feels like yesterday,  when the softness of Gamusa wiped me up after a bath, the crisp and sweet smell of new Gamusa presented on a special occasion.       Whether it is a festivity, or special occasion or mundane task, one thing is for sure, in every Assamese household, you will find Gamusa. Ga means body and Musa mean a wipe, so it is technically a towel, but Gamusa has a deeper place in Assamese culture and a greater place in every Assamese heart. You can’t imagine any Assamese cultural celebration without Gamusa. The look      Gamusa in traditionally woven in cotton threads with red borders in all the four sides in a rectangular shape and motifs or designs on one side but sometimes could be found on either side as w...

My grandmother's thuria, age-old and heirloom jewelry, of course, not part-able         A piece of jewelry echoes a region's rich heritage, aesthetics and sensibilities and Assamese jewelry does not differ from that. A piece of jewelry not just enhances the wearer's beauty but identity as well.       A land of flamboyant rivers engulfed in exotic flora and fauna, birds, musical instruments Assamese jewelry is highly inspired by that. Sharing a few assamese pieces of jewelry from my personal collection.       An Assamese bride's dress up is incomplete without Assamese jewelry. Traditionally Assamese jewelry is purely handmade. The main frame is made out with 24-carat gold and lac is used as a filling material. Stones are studded on the top.  The creatively and meticulously studded stone craftsmanship resembles with pomegranate seeds. The color and texture of the stone are opulent and lurid jus...

      Every celebration in the world is associated with some kind of color. When somebody talks about Christmas, the red, green and gold always come to mind. Bihu  is a celebration related to colors like red and beige (in Assamese we call it muga color). This year we visited Boston for Bihu celebration. While deciding on an outfit, I chose a muga color mekhela chadar and a red bell sleeve top. I skip the blouse because I wanted to give a modern twist.       My love affair with mekhela chadar had started long back. But only thing stopping me from wearing it was that my plates were never perfect. When I was in my 20s, whenever I had to wear mekhela chadar , I always had an excuse for not getting proper plates.  In my 30s and now I am more comfortable, and I found my way to wear it, giving it a modern twist by either wearing modern accessories or chic blouse instead of the typical ones. Even now I am not getting perfect in wear...

            Northeast India has color, culture and charisma of abundant natural beauty. Especially my home state Assam is blessed with the most exotic flora and fauna. My recent visit to India this time, I visited Kaziranga biodiversity park. Entering the park after getting tickets, we were greeted by humble staff ready to help, wearing the most whimsical Assamese traditional attire.       The park was inaugurated on 2015 October. It is 17 miles from Kaziranga national park and 137 miles from the Capital city Guwahati. The orchard and biodiversity park is a humble attempt by Akhil Gogoi, the founder Secretary of Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), a farmer organization based in Assam India, to preserve the biodiversity of Assam and North East India.       The park is a whimsical display of 600 orchids, greenhouse, seed bank, herb garden, cactus garden, a park for children, different vari...

The meditation center       In the kitsch of chaotic world, Namphke village is tucked in quaint calm and tranquility of solitude. It is situated on the banks of Burhidihing river which is a tributary of the mighty Brahmaputra river.  25 miles away from Dibrugarh Assam, the road from the tea town Dibrugarh takes you through the emerald green tea gardens, dusty roads with the glimpse of river views to the melange of natural beauty and peace, Namphake.  Burhidihing river       The lifeline of the village is Namphake Buddhist monastery. The origin of Namphake village can be traced back to 1850 A.D. The people living here are descendants of the great Tai race believed to have migrated from Myanmar. They have over 150 families now. This monastery is considered as the most esteemed and oldest Buddhist monastery in Assam. It has a meditation center with the attached library has several Buddhist manuscripts reserve...