The Tawang monastery in Arunachal Pradesh

Guwahati, Aug. 10: In the seventh century, Buddhist monk Padmasambhava reached the icy heights of Tawang as he travelled northeast from Nalanda to Lhasa and then entered the present Arunachal Pradesh.

Hundreds of years later, an award-winning filmmaker is retracing the route to revive what he feels could be the take-off point for a major tourist circuit encompassing Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

Mauleenath Senapati?s 112-minute documentary, Many Hues Many Colours: A Journey In Time, promises to take viewers through a thrilling journey.

Padmasambhava is credited with establishing the Mahayana sect of Buddhism in Tawang, which led to the setting up of the famous monastery. The route taken by the monk was later used by traders of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh to connect to the famous Silk Route.

The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) alumni said besides the main route, he would trace another route used by muga traders from Meghalaya to reach East Bengal (modern Bangladesh).

The first route would begin from Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border in Balipara and end at Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh. The second one would begin from Guwahati and pass through Ri Bhoi, Shillong and Cherrapunji in Meghalaya to end at the sacred groves of Mawphlang.

Senapati said the monk?s route could have a bearing on the Centre?s Look East policy as it establishes a connection between India and other countries of South East Asia. ?The documentary will give an inside picture of how the Look East policy can be given a concrete structure by developing both the routes and promoting tourism.?

Senapati intends to start his 20-day shooting from August 24. His new venture aims to evoke the awe, adventure and thrill of travelling and the exchange of ideas, tradition, beliefs, lifestyles and customs that go with it. He also intends to bring out ?the inner and spiritual element of travelling? by using folk music.

The 34-year-old filmmaker tasted fame with his FTII graduating film, The Inevitable ? an Indian entry into the 4th International Festival of Film Schools held in Mexico in 1997.