The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c15.51

v1.c15.51

To the west of Bengal is another hill spur, bearing the name of Rājmahāl, which is the north-eastern point of the plateau of central and southern India. A broad lowland gateway is left between the Gāro and Rājmahāl hills, and through this opening the Brahmaputra and Ganges rivers turn southward and converge gradually until they join with the Meghnā to form a vast estuary. The country west of this estuary is the Bengal delta, traversed by many minor channels, which branch from the right bank of the Ganges before the confluence with the Meghnā. East of the estuary is that other deltaic land whose silt is derived from the south front of the Gāro hills. It is said that the highest rainfall in the world occurs in those hills, when the monsoon sweeps northward from the Bay of Bengal, and blows against their face. The rainfall on a single day in the rainy season is sometimes as great as the whole annual rainfall of London. Little wonder that there is abundance of silt for the formation of the fertile plains below!