My last trip to Assam was absolutely fascinating to say the least. Though initially a little hesitant about visiting the place given its insurgency problems – once there, I realised I would have missed an opportunity of a lifetime had I not come. I travelled through this strikingly lush state with stopovers at Kaziranga, Bhalukpung, Guwahati and Jorhat…crossed the massive Brahmaputra, soaked in the charms of Jia Bhoreli river at Bhalukpung and savoured nature’s bounteous beauty – its lush tea estates, exotic animals and magnificent forests. However there’s more to the region than its natural splendour - it’s the people and their unique cultural traditions.

Assam’s rich and vast ethnic diversity should be an anthropologist’s delight. There are vast populations of indigenous tribes like Karbis, Missings (also spelt as Mishing), Bodos and Kaccharis spread across the region, along with the traditional Ahoms and other Tibetan-Burmese sub-groups - each having their distinct dialects and uniquely colourful customs… I decided to explore the villages adjacent to the Karbi-Anglong Hills (near the Kaziranga National Park), to try and get a glimpse of tribal life. Though traditionally involved in agriculture and fishing, a vast majority of younger tribals have today assimilated into more modern lifestyles. Tourists can visit their inconspicuous bamboo dwellings as well as enjoy a typical tribal meal with the families here!

Being a people enmeshed in natural surroundings, their knowledge of the flora and fauna of the region is vast, in-depth and almost instinctive!You can often hear a tribal spewing out scientific names of species at random. This, I discovered at Kaziranga during the elephant safari when our mahut was casually uttering scientific names of species; and also at my next destination Bhalukpung, (border town between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh) which has a strong Bodo and Missing population.

The oarsmen on our raft belonged to the Mishing tribe - while regaling the people in the raft with interesting titbits about the region; they would, on spotting birds canvassing the waters for their catch, happily mention their scientific names as well. I was left quite speechless! – to know each animal or plant by their common name is one thing, while confidently mentioning their scientific classifications at random was quite another!