Jorhat is the second largest city in Assam and is known as the cultural city of

the state of Assam because of its high interest towards arts and culture.
Jorhat is situated 314 km from Guwahati; the name has been derived from
two words, viz. ‘Jor’ meaning joint and ‘haat’ meaning a market. Hence the
combination of two words means ‘two markets’ and these two markets are
Macharhaat and Chowkihaat situated along the banks of the river Bhogdoi
since the 18th century.

Jorhat is known for its tourism and is blessed with various tourist places with
historical importance. The city is culturally very rich and has a significant
history of the Ahom rulers. There are many beautiful tombs built during Ahom
rule and also many burial places of ancient Ahom kings that can be seen by
the tourist in and around Jorhat. It is a good mixture of both modern and
ancient culture and the people in Jorhat strives to maintain its old traditions,
belief and culture.

The roads in Jorhat are well developed and are nestled in the midst of tea
gardens sprawling in and around the city. Going on a long drive can be
pleasant experience. The Tocklai Research Association (TRA) situated in
Jorhat is the largest and the oldest tea research station of its kind in the entire
world.

Jorhat is home to many famous monasteries and temples like Dekiakowa

Majuli is situated 20 kilometers away from the heartland of the city of Jorhat. It
is the largest river island in the world.  Majuli has about twenty six satras or
the cultural house of power of which the Auniati, Kamalabari and Garmur are
worth mentioning. These Satras propagates the religious ideologies of the
great Assamese medieval Vaisnavite saint Sankardav and Madhavdav.

Jorhat being the last Capital of the Ahom Kingdom has many archeological
values associated to Rajamaidam - the Ahom king’s the last burial mounds. 
Jorhat today has grown into a thriving town with a strong sense of identity and
character. It is the largest amongst all the cities and towns in Upper Assam
with broad and beautiful roads, cutting each other at right angles.

Facts
State: Assam
District: Jorhat
Famous for/as: Wildlife
Languages: Assamese, Bengali, Hindi
Best Season: Oct - Mar
Weather: Summer 15 to 28°C, Winter 7 to 18°C

Transportation in Jorhat
Jorhat has a good transport network. There are two trains running daily from
Guwahati to Jorhat and the nearest major station in Jorhat is the Mariani
Junction that is located around 17 km from Jorhattown. The frequency of
trains passing through this place is higher. Jorhat is also well connected from
Guwahati by Bus. It takes around 6 hours to reach Jorhat from Guwahati. The
airport in Jorhat is known as the Rowraih Airport. The place is connected to
some of the main cities in India such as Kolkata, Guwahati and Bangalore. It
is also well connected to places such as Dibrugarh and Shillong

People of Jorhat
People of Jorhat have always displayed a traditionally high interest towards
culture and arts diversities. Hence it is due to the untiring effort of the people
of Jorhat to keep up its old tradition and culture, the place is known as "The
Cultural Capital of Assam".  Jorhat has been able to produce many creative
historians, writers, journalists, idealist and educationist. The first Assamese,
who won India's highest literature award, Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya, was
from Jorhat. Apart from that, Krishna Kanta Handique, who was the former VC
of Gauhati University, also hailed from Jorhat. The famous Bollywood singer,
Zubeen Garg known for his songs like ‘Ya Ali’ is from Jorhat as well.

Festivals of Jorhat
The main festival for the people of Jorhat is Bihu. The festival of Bihu is
celebrated with much enthusiasm and fun by the people of Jorhat. Other than
Bihu, the other important festivals in Jorhat include Ali Ai Ligang festival
celebrated by the Mishing or Miri ethnic community of Assam, Diwali, Holi,
Rakhi, Eid, Christmas, Guru Nanak Jayanti, etc. is all celebrated with great joy
and fun.

Jorhat also organises the Tea festival every year with a traditional and warm
cordial reception. This festival in Jorhat is all about variety of tea, gaiety and
music and a pleasant blend of fun and happiness. It brings about a world of
festivity all around Jorhat and hence is a complete and excellent package of
fun and excitement. The celebrations of the Tea Festival in Jorhat include a
good number of activities like playing golf, visit to the tea gardens, safaris into
the jungles, shopping, tasting delicious food items and cultural entertainment.
It also includes some adventure sports like rafting and angling.

Food of Jorhat
The Jorhat of Jorhat also speaks high about the culture of the place. The food
of Jorhat is fine blend of spices and herbs with rice being the staple food. The
main cuisines of Jorhat include Ou tenga maas, paro mangkho, Omita khar,
Aaloo pitika, Hahor Mangkho and so on. Jorhat is also home to some of the
finest hotels and restaurants which serve food from Assamese thali to
Chinese to Indian Mughlai to Oriental to a variety of other dishes.

CHAPTER
CULTURE
LIFESTYLE
MUSIC
DANCE
FESTIVALS
HANDLOOMS
HANDICRAFTS
REFRENCE

 https://www.jorhatonline.in/city-guide/about-jorhat
 https://assam.gov.in/about-us/391
 https://www.jorhatonline.in/city-guide/culture-of-jorhat
