Do you know who is Padma or Meghna or Shyama?
They are the same names for this one mighty river!
When we were in Assam we had seen the river which used to look like an ocean! It has been said that if you cross over that bridge once then you have to cross at least seven times!
Luckily we have done our number on our way to the Kaziranga wildlife sanctuary and Rhino park!
The river in question? Brahmaputra!
The Brahmaputra river flows through the countries of Tibet, India, and Bangladesh!
The length of the Brahmaputra river is about 3969 km. This makes the river the 15th longest in the world. It is a mighty river that discharges a lot of water. The average discharge of Brahmaputra is about 19,824 m3/s.
The drainage area of the Brahmaputra is about 274,918 sq mi (712,035 sq km). This makes the Brahmaputra the world’s ninth-largest river by the amount of water discharge!
The source of this river is the Angsi Glacier which is situated close to Manasarovar, in Tibet.
It is known by different names in different countries that it flows through.
In Tibet it is known as the Yarlung Tsangpo, in Arunachal Pradesh, it goes by the name of the Siang or Dihang River, and in the state of Assam, it sometimes goes by the names of Luit and Dilao.
When it gets into Bangladesh, its name becomes Jamuna, and after merging with the river Padma, it becomes Meghna until it empties into the Bay of Bengal!
The river was also called shyama, sema or senglai and was known as s”yem in assam, after meeting the two rivers dibang and the lohit when it meanders through the narrow valley as the brahmaputra and the locals also know it as the lohit, luit, borluit and siriluit!
It was called Lauhitya in Markandyapurana while Brahmaputra or the son of Brahma is found in the ancient text of Kalikapurana!
Unlike most rivers on the Indian subcontinent that carry female names, the Brahmaputra has a rare masculine name! The only male among the females!
It also has the world’s Largest River Island! It cradles Majuli in Assam, recognized as one of the world’s largest river islands!
Brahmaputra is intricately linked to the history of Assam as immortalized in the song ‘Mahabahu Brahmaputra’ by Dr Bhupen Hazarika whose sketch I had made yesterday!
Listen to it before you sleep! It’s ethereal!
Also read about Captain Vikram Batra, PVC ! It’s inspirational!
Shub ratri…
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