Assam - the land where you find flowers that are exquisitely beautiful, animals that are rare, and a beleagured people that are proud and inviting.

The orchid is Assam's most celebrated flower, the most famous being the Kopou Ful, a Vandaceous Orchid known by its botanical name of Rhynchostylis retusa. To the orchid enthusiast of the West it is also known as the Foxtail Orchid. This orchid grows widely across Assam and is worn by young women on their hair during the spring festival of Assam, Rongali Bihu and is symbolic of youth and renewal.

Bihu is the national festival of Assam. The principal of the three Bihus, Bohag or Rongali Bihu ushers in the Assamese New Year, in the middle of April, and is celebrated with distinctive Bihu dances and songs.

Assam : The Land of Red Rivers and Blue Hills

Our Assam is Beautiful, Her Virtues are Infinite Assam, the land of hills and valleys, the land of the mighty river Brahmaputra, the land of Mother Goddess Kamakhya, lies in the northeastern corner of India. In these pages, you will find a few glimpses of Assam and Assamese people.

Assam is a land of about 25 million people situated in the northeast corner of India. The principal language of Assam is Assamese although a large number of other languages are spoken. Assam comprises an area of 78,523 square kilometers (30,318 square miles). Except for a narrow corridor running through the foothills of the Himalayas that connects the state with West Bengal, Assam is almost entirely isolated from India. The capital of Assam, is Dispur, a suburb of Guwahati.

The name "Assam" is derived from the term "Asom" which, in Sanskrit, refers to unequal or unrivalled. The uneven topography of the land, full of hills, plains and rivers might, therefore, have contributed to her name. The Mongolian Ahom dynasty which had ruled Assam for more than six hundred years might also be the cause for her name.

Assam is a land with an illustrious recorded history going back to the 4th century BC. Assam was an independent kingdom throughout all of history till the end of the first quarter of the 19th century when the British conquered the kingdom and annexed it to British India. The current state capital of Assam, Guwahati, known in ancient time as Pragjyotishpura or The Eastern City of Light, was the capital of Kamrup which finds frequent mention in the Great Hindu Epic Mahabharata and other Sanskrit volumes and historical lores.

Assam's economy is based on agriculture and oil. Assam produces a significant part of the total tea production of the world. Assam produces more than half of India's petroleum.