Cotton College students during an eco trip to the Garbhanga forest reserve.

Photo courtesy: Divyalina Bhuyan

I always looked forward to visiting a green place within Guwahati city limits. But there was no such area which I could easily think of and locate it. We were a group of thirtyfive students from my college and we were taken to Basistha for our environmental studies project work.

I had heard a lot about the Basistha temple from my parents and was wondering what exactly our teachers were going to show us in Basistha beside the age-old temple. Nevertheless, we all were excited to visit the place. Even though I had been staying in Guwahati for more than ten years, I never got the opportunity to go and visit that area.

The moment we reached the Basistha area, all the students rushed inside the age-old temple to pray. It took us almost an hour to walk and see around the temple area. Finally, our teachers called for us to take us to some other place. Then our professors took us to the Garbhanga forest reserve which is an artificial reserve (manmade). It was a huge area surrounded by tall teak trees which were planted in a uniform manner.

I was really happy to be there because I was actually looking for a peaceful place like this one. I never ever thought that this place ever existed in Guwahati. We walked inside the forest reserve and studied the forest ecosystem. It was really fun to be there. Though this reserve is not a natural one, it is peaceful and similar to a natural one. There were other people too who had gone there with their family members for picnic. We found lots of monkeys inside the forest and near the temple area.

As we walked towards the top, we found a stream too and all the students started splashing water at each other. The trip all together was a fun. I never though that I would ever get an opportunity to visit a area like this one.

Thanks to the almighty Guwahati still has an area like the Garbhanga forest reserve. The city is so crowded and polluted that sometimes we need a peaceful and green area like this one to relax and reconcile. I hope that more people get to visit that area and appreciate its natural beauty. And maybe also think of having more of these breathing spaces within the city limits.