My friend Ashu Garg's brief visit to my place.

Ashu Garg my friend from the college days visited us with his wife Shipra on 13 th January, 2008. On that very next day we started for Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya and Switzerland of the East. The weather was pretty chilly being the middle of winter . Kaberee, my wife had booked two cottages at the Eastern Command Holiday Home. In Shillong it was the cozy comforts of the cottages that made our stay absolutely blissful. The lunch at hotel Broadway restaurant was damn good.
On the 15th we drove down to Cherrapunjee, the township that has the highest rainfall in the world. We visited places of tourism interest, especially the falls. A brief halt at Sohra was wonderful. We had tea to ward off the chill. The view point was captivating.
On the 16th we drove back to Guwahati after two days of stay in Shillong. On the 17th Ashu visited the Kamakhya temple to pay his parting homage to Guwahati and boarded the plane to NewDelhi at 1.30 pm.

Rahul and our memorable journey to Kaziranga......

On 19th May,2003 Rahul and his wife Bashobi visited us in Guwahati. We went to fetch them up from the airport around 1.30 pm. On the 20th May we drove down to Kaziranga around 175 km from Guwahati. We halted for the night at Kaziranga but before that we had a jungle safari in Kaziranga forests which is famous for its one horned rhinos. On the 21st May we had a morning safari at the forests sanctuaries. After lunch at Kaziranga we went to my in-laws in Tezpur. On the 22nd May we accompanied Rahul and family to Bhalukpung where his officer trainee friend of one of the training batches took over his tour to Arunachal. Some of these photographs would give an insight to the breathtaking natural sights of the northeast region of India.

Northeast is one of the most beautiful regions of India. Many people in India are ignorant of the beautiful sights, the hilly terrains of the region, its green valleys and blue hills are a spectacular sight. The region is abundant in vegetations. The landscapes are mostly covered by vegetations and forests. For people from the semi-arid regions this region is quite a change from the blistering heat and scorching dryness. People in Kashmir who perhaps do not travel to the rest of India are always in awe of their region. The usual saying is that if there is haven, it’s only here in Kashmir. The same mindset would change if somebody were to travel across the northeast. The northeast has multiple places which are abodes of natural beauty and heavenly sights.
I hail from Guwahati in Assam. It is one of the most beautiful places in India barring some of the man made disasters, which of course is causing a lot of hazards like erosions and flash floods. During July-August the river Brahamaputra can be seen at its full glory carrying the peak discharges of the river system and its tributaries. Since I did my college in Rajasthan I can see the full contrasts of the regions. When it is sweltering hot in other parts of India, its monsoon in the northeast, the weather God is less harsher on the northeast, the rain bring the much needed respite in the summer bringing down the mercury. When the other regions are reeling in the summer heat, this region cools down from the monsoon rain, though sporadically the mercury could shoot up to 36 degree centigrade but very rarely if the rains are not there.

On our way to Mount Abu also visiting the ecotourism site at Todgarh Raoli (Dudhaleswar) Wildlife Sanctuary

Well on the 30thJune/08,I have had the opportunity of going to Kumbhalgarh and Mount Abu and also visiting this ecotourism site, which was indeed a breath taking experience. My friend Rahul Bhatnagar , Deputy Conservator and the blue eyed boy of the Rajasthan Forest Department , gave me and my family a good compamy with his witty jester and good humour . His wife, Bashobi too was at her usual best frame of mind . The kids enjoyed the long ride in the suv . The express highway at places made the journey smooth.
You can contact Deputy Conservator of Forests, Rajsamand Tel.: +91-2952-220096 E-mail: dcfrajsamand@yahoo.co.in http://www.ecotourismrajasthan.com/ minurahuludr@yahoo.co.in for any tourism interests.

CTAE just happened..............A snap shot of my in-laws visiting my college.

CTAE just happened to me. Perhaps it was destiny that pulled me to this picturesque College of Technology & Engineering, Udaipur in the year 1974. I had got my admission into two more engineering colleges, one in Jorhat Engineering College and the other in the Regional Engineering College Srinagar, but somehow I got my admission into CTAE first. My father without any delay made me take the flight available enroute to Udaipur from Guwahati with a halt at Delhi for the overnight. It was destiny that bestowed upon me this beautiful location, where I pursued my B.E. studies in agricultural engineering. Since my college days I had been keeping in touch with Udaipur where some of my friends from the memorable days reside. I make it a point to visit Udaipur whenever I get time with my family. I visit some of my close friends. These meetings bring back fond memories, which I still nurse. Those were the years in CTAE where I was being groomed up to become an engineer.
I work in the Irrigation Department here in Assam. I feel I am lucky to have been inducted into the Irrigation Department, since the nature of job is commensurate with the studies I have done in CTAE. I am a bit puzzled at noticing that our counterparts are not being inducted to the irrigation/water resources departments in the state of Rajasthan. This is a gross violation of trained man power that is going waste. I feel civil engineers are to be blamed for suppressing a discipline of study like agricultural engineering. Agricultural engineers can be the best of water resources managers and water management experts. The irony of the whole thing is that whatever is taught in CTAE with respect to agricultural engineering is applicable in irrigation department.
I did my professional training leading to a master of engineering in Hydrology at Roorkee University now renamed as IIT, Roorkee. During my thesis interview the experts developed a good rapport with me when I told them that I had passed from CTAE .
While in the irrigation department I have had the opportunity of doing an advanced course on deputation on Integrated River Basin Planning and Management, sponsored by CWC with a study tour to some of the important river basins in the US.
These have been some of the good experiences, but the experience of studying in CTAE still haunts me and lingers in my mind. Perhaps the beautiful location of the college, dedicated staffs manning the college and my dear friends have left an imprint on my mind that would be ever cherished .CTAE would be always be on a corner of my heart.

AJOY MEDHI.,B.E.,M.E.,Dip IRBPM
House # 17, Santipur, Ashram Road
Guwahati-781009, Assam, India
Mobile 94355-46653
Mail id ajoy_781009@yahoo.com