Ever tried retracing a memory from the pre-digital era, when an analogue camera was your only visual archive? As someone who grew up in Guwahati, I had spent years trying to remember the route to a picnic spot my school once visited. I remembered rolling hills, tea gardens, orange and mulberry trees, and the freedom of running through a sprawling estate. All I could recall was its name: Amsoi.Cut to 2026, and I am driving to Amchong Tea Estate, just 40 minutes from my home in Chandmari. The closest tea estate to Guwahati, it sits on the city’s outskirts, though it feels very much like a world of its own.
VIew of the model tea factory at Amchong
| Photo Credit:
Prabalika M Borah
As we leave Guwahati behind and enter Narengi, the roads narrow, the greenery thickens and the city’s bustle gradually gives way to the unhurried rhythm of the countryside.My chauffeur tells me Amchong which is 68 years old is among one of the oldest tea estates within the city’s limits and can also be accessed via Sonapur, around 20 kilometres from Guwahati. As I admire the tea-covered hills and glistening water bodies, he casually mentions that the estate was once known as Asmoi.
