Ask a local what Assam is famous for and they'll tell you "tea, one-horned rhinos and Zubeen Garg" – the recently deceased, adored (and now deified) pop singer. Visit Assam State Museum (museums.assam.gov.in; ₹300), though, and you’ll quickly find a host of other reasons to celebrate the state.
Begin a tour of the multi-level museum in the basement with its perfectly crafted temple sculpture, some of which predate Assam’s enduring Ahom kingdom (1228–1826). Note too the 14th-century Ganga (river deity) on the ground floor whose ample feet rest on a crocodile and whose elongated earlobes depict wisdom. Good signage in English helps interpret the carvings and gives backstory to the Hindu symbolism.
Save time for the upper floors, whose village and textile galleries tell Assam’s story from a less lofty perspective. Although tin roofs have all but replaced the traditional thatch of traditional Assamese housing, the concept of namghar, or village hub, endures and village life continues to echo the Ahom khel, or clan structure of local life.
