Hello from Meghalaya and Assam Instalment I

Dear friends, 

This a Travel Blog from the Assam Meghalaya trip that I undertook from 27 Oct 16 to 05 Nov 16. The trip was organised (yet again with Tibet Tours and Travel, third time in six years. You can look up for TTT on internet) through travel agent but based on itinerary planned and prepared by me (again that is my travel style).

The posts would be in parts, day by day. With this small input, I will start with day I of the blog, 27 th Oct 16.

Day One (27th Oct)

Flew from Mumbai to Kolkata at 0615 and then to Guwahati on 27^th reaching the airport by 1230 hrs. After checking-in in the hotel and freshening up, left for Kamakhya Temple.  Situated on Neelanchal hill in Guwahati, it is an ancient shakti peeth (among 52 all over India). Driving up on this hill we reached the temple.

We had heard the stories of the temple being very dirty and numerous sacrifices of goats, etc being done regularly. There may be sacrifices here but we did not see a trace of it but we did see many goats left in the temple. We were told that these are the goats offered to devi but the devotee offering the goat does not want to sacrifice the animal, hence many such goats in temple. Also to the contrary of we had heard, the temple exteriors were spick n span clean (the outer sanctorum is also clean. There are good sculptors of shiva, sati, ganesh, ect on the outer walls of the temple. The temple exteriors are pleasing.

Heading for the Temple

Entry to complex

Kamakhya in Mahishasur avatar

Another Angle

Temple exterior 

A panel in the campus

A sculpture 

Shiva

Temple Front view (nearly front)

My mom and wife in the campus

One more

Yours truly with Temple Exterior (rear)

The inner sanctorum being dark and small there was no way for us to find out about its cleanness. The inner sanctorum is where the Yoni of sati is supposed to have fallen and there is a similar shape on the wall from where water of a stream oozes out. This is the place of Kamalhya, no deity (though there is one placed nearby which seems later addition) actually exists as the yoni on wall and the oozing water..

North east sees sunset by 1640 or around that time in the winters. By the time we were done with Kamakhya Temple, it was already getting dark. Our plan for Brahmaputra river boat cruise had to be dropped as by the time we reached the boat jetty through killing traffic of Guwahati it was already 1730 and also full darkness where as boat cruise starts at 1700 (actually 1715). So only option was to have early dinner in Christian basti locality (most places are named like this some basti or 3 mile, six mile, etc) and return to hotel.

Day Two blog would follow soon.