By Shobha Rao Smilemaker
May 13: After 12 hours of hot, dusty, rugged road travel over the uneven terrain of North East India, it was a pleasure to finally hit the comfort of the bed in our hotel room at Silchar, inspite of the parrot green walls that were quite overwhelming!
However I was up around 4.30 a.m. to explore the city on my own. The view from our window showed a quaint temple and nice bungalows. Within minutes of walking on the road, I was approached by a parent and son, who asked if I was a foreigner! The sight of a single lady going for a morning walk at dawn must have been quite unusual in a place like Silchar.
I decided to explore the place on foot and walked up to the city centre shopping area called Premtala point and Nazirpatty point. I was surprised at how dirty it was. The Clean India mindset still has to reach the people of Silchar I presume.
I admired the tuk tuk like big rickshaws and searched for something good about this place. I walked past closed shops, hospitals, roadside temples, roundabouts with statues till I reached the Holy cross Church.
Then I managed to find a kind rickshaw driver to drive me around a better part of Silchar with the limited solo time that I had.
We went to the Gandhibaug park, but it was closed, I did manage to see 'I love Silchar' selfie point inside. He drove me past the post office, the DC's office and the high Court. Inspite of traffic, he stopped at the Barak river Bridge to take some more pictures.
Our last stop was at the Dashami ghat, which is the place for immersion of idols during Dassera, but I was surprised at the sight of many broken idols there.
Somehow I made it back on time to our garishly decorated hotel and I left Silchar, thinking of it being not more than just a transit point between the States of Manipur, Assam and Mizoram! And yes I enjoyed the drive through the tea gardens just outside Silchar. Every corner of India is different experience. Wow India.
Shobha Rao Smilemaker has a vision of living in a world where people use their ability to find and make smiles in any situation. She is a lawyer by qualification, a soft skills trainer by passion, a motivational speaker, a freelance journalist, a bestselling author, an avid traveler and founder of 'Smilemakers Trainings'. She can be contacted at www.shobhasmilemaker.com.