Of & Tea Rhinos

The North-East Indian state of Assam is home to the world’s largest population of one-horned rhinoceros – it ’s also a land of mysticism, legends, chillies and tea. Anushka patodia pays a visit to India’s tea country.

“Time for tea,” called out the server at the majestic tea estate I was sitting in. On a regular day this line would perk me up instantly, but because it was mentioned in tea country, it took on another significance altogether. Tea country in India is Assam, the most accessible of the “seven sister” states of North-East India.

Four days ago since I had landed in Guwahati, the Assamese capital, and the gateway to the North-East, a region known for its exotic culture, mysticism and one of the world’s spiciest chillies, the bhut jolokia. (For context, it is 400 times hotter than Tabasco and measures more than 1 million Scoville heat units.)

Guwahati has North-East’s only international airport, the entry point to the seven sisters (Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, and Arunachal Pradesh), and is also in close proximity to the Himalayan state of Sikkim. This was a land that had been on my travel bucket list for years, but the pressures of professional life entailed that I could take no more than a week off at a time – which is why on this particular sojourn, I could cover just Assam. Sadly, the rest were for another time.

A gust of clean air greeted my starved lungs the second I got out of Guwahati International Airport. This port city is set along the banks of the mighty Brahmaputra river and is now among one of the 100 fastest growing cities in the world. As I made my way towards my hotel in a local taxi, I couldn’t help but notice the lush greenery all around. Assam receives 2,800mm of rainfall on average each year, which has led to abundant foliage across the state. Guwahati itself is a quiet, industrial town lying between the banks of the Brahmaputra river and the foothills of the Shillong plateau, with tiny, slope-roof houses that can withstand the copious monsoons they receive.