Destination India: Guwahati, Assam

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Guwahati, Assam

VIP Road revisited
Originally uploaded by skataria.

The gateway to the north-east part of the country, Guwahati is close to Dispur, the capital of the Indian state of Assam. The city is between the southern bank of Brahmaputra river and the foothills of the Shillong plateau. Guwahati was situated midway between two powerful kingdoms, the Ahom and the Koch kingdoms.

Today Guwahati is important because it is the commercial center of Assam and is also the hub that connects six other northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Tripura. The city has a population of over 2.5 million people. The picture is of the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati.

About Me

India has always fascinated me for different reasons. The vastness of its culture, the diversity of people’s opinions and the limitations of its vision. Despite our diversity, we need to have a collective vision. India is not a country of four metropolis or a couple of high-tech cities. This nation of a billion people has 29 states and 6 union territories. We have 35 state and territorial capitals. How much do we know about each of these important cities?

Professionally I am a graphic designer from Bombay, India. In 1987, I co-authored a book on Corporate India, but my desire to throw a wider net and pick up much more information remains intact. I want my people from every city and every state to write and photograph details and information that would be interesting to the viewers around the world. We have so much to talk about and so much to share - this medium and this technology can help fulfill our collective dreams.