National Integration Tour : A Student’s Perspective

It was an unique experience of a lifetime to participate in the National Integration Tour organized by the Assam Rifles to Guwahati and Shillong. I was very fortunate to be selected for this amazing experience alongwith 17 other students from my district. During the seven days tour, we had the opportunity to visit some excellent places which we had never been to earlier. We started on 5th August from Dimapur Railway Station and arrived in Guwahati the next morning. At Guwahati, we stayed at the Assam Rifles Transit Camp which was very comfortable. On that day, we visited the science museum which had a butterfly corner, a large aquarium, 3D science movies and a pre-historic park. It was an out of the world experience which me and my friends will remember for a very long time. We also visited the large Pantaloon Mall in the city and had a sumptuous lunch at Barbeque Nation restaurant. The next day, we went for a memorable tour of the Assam Zoo and proceeded to Shillong in the evening. After a sound sleep at the Holiday Home of the Assam Rifles, we started the next day with an interaction with Shri Ganga Prasad, The Governor of Meghalaya. The meeting with the Governor was followed by an excellent lunch at the Raj Bhawan. The rest of the day was spent in sight seeing and we visited the Elephant Falls, Seven Sisters Falls and the Nonshunigty Falls all of which were breathtakingly beautiful. On 10 August, we spent the day at the Assam Rifles complex where we were spellbound by a fantastic display. We also visited the historic Assam Rifles Museum which tells the story of the birth and evolution of the oldest Paramilitary force of our nation. On 11 August, we returned back to Dimapur with lots of wonderful memories and experiences. I think that this tour was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me to visit some beautiful places of great significance. We were exposed to different cultures and to experience which will help us in looking beyond our village and our school. I shall always remain grateful to the Assam Rifles for this awesome opportunity and every student must try and be a part of an Integration Tour to other parts of India. Paomintang