Blue Mountains And Whispering Pines

A journey through the untrammelled beauty that is the Northeast of India.

- Runima Borah Tandon

Every time the plane flies close to the Himalayan ranges on the flight from Kolkata to Guwahati, my heart skips a beat. You can’t help but marvel at the spectacular beauty of the snow-clad peaks of the Kanchenjunga, as the plane circles low over this region. After a while, the topography changes to verdurous green, when you start feeling at home in the familiar terrain of Neelachal Porbat, BlueMountains serenading the Brahmaputra valley. The idea of bringing my Singaporean colleague Rachel and her friend Jane was carried out on an impulse. When she expressed her desire to see the Northeast, I welcomed her happily. I was excited to show them the spellbinding beauty of the Northeast. Five days were certainly not enough to show them everything, so I carefully prepared an itinerary that included Shillong and Kaziranga National Park, with a brief stopover at my sister’s home in Guwahati. This short preview of the untrammelled beauty of the North-east would surely make them come back for more in the near future, to discover the fascinating sights and sounds of the Northeast. We took the Singapore Airlines flight to Kolkata, stayed overnight at Swissotel which is conveniently located near the airport, and caught the morning (10.50 am) flight to Guwahati.