“A meeting of minds” best describes the first encounter between Andrew Brock and Ashish Phookan in Guwahati, Assam in 2001. Neither knew the other had been pondering how to initiate river cruising on the Brahmaputra river; both jumped at the chance to explore this exciting idea together. The Indo-British joint-venture company, Assam Bengal Navigation, was formed in 2002 with Andrew and Grania Brock, and Ashish and Jahnabi Phookan, bringing together expertise in tourism, experience of global markets and in-depth knowledge of North East India. In 2003, ABN pioneered long-distance river cruising in India with our unique cruises on the Brahmaputra river in Assam. Later, in 2007, we were also the first to run cruises on the River Hooghly (Lower Ganges) between Kolkata and Farakka. We were awarded the Indian National Tourism Award for Innovation for this pioneering venture. ABN also owns and operates the award-winning eco-safari lodge, Diphlu River Lodge, situated in a prime position on the periphery of the Kaziranga National Park. In 2016, we were proud to host HRH Prince William and Catherine Middleton, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, at Diphlu River Lodge.