Shillong, Cherapunjee, Mawlynnong, Bara Pani - Meghalaya

N - E continues.....                   

Day 4 – On the road to Meghalaya  

The best part of being in the EAST is the fact that the Cocks crow earlier. It is the beginning of  another day and off they go practicing the early-bird-catches–the–worm routine while letting out a couple of almighty crows which wakes up everyone including the Hen which promptly goes and lays eggs saying “I have laid an egg, I have laid a second egg” and so on….

It was under such conditions that we woke up and made haste to catch the first ferry out of Majuli, which deposited us on the Jorhat side around 9AM that morning.

We were in for a 400 Km run all the way to Shillong in Meghalaya.
To our advantage the day was overcast and it was pleasant inside the car even without the air-conditioning. Also it was the day of ‘Bohag Bihu” in Assam just like Pongal,Vishu,Baisakhi… We continued traveling stopping for a Rhinos -in –the field-yonder photo-op, breakfast and lunch, until we came past Gauhati and entered Meghalaya. We were now 90 Kms short of our destination

The chronic traffic jam along the Gauhati -Shillong H’way is to be seen to be believed. The reason for this tenacious traffic congestion is the unprecedented amount of coal trucks loading at the Mines in Meghalaya and our driver was using all the tricks in the book to go past the ascending /descending convoy of trucks.

Ricky and Audrey

We reached our destination after many stops on the way to consult our hosts to get our bearing; Ms. Audrey Kharsyntiew and hubby Ricky, Presbyterians of the Khasi tribe, who had offered us Home-stay at Shillong. 

The Khasi are a matrilineal society (as opposed to a matriarchy), meaning that a family’s lineage is traced through the surname of the wife, with the youngest daughter inheriting  the family’s property. 

 

We settled in after exchanging niceties and after a decent dinner at the comfortably appointed Home.

Meghalaya

Day 5 – Cherrapunjee, 58 Kms1300 Meters above MSL

Ricky, Audrey’s husband, brought in Bankit along with his new Tata Sumo in mint condition. After a night of rain and winds that lashed at our windows we had woken up to a cool, bright and cloudless day and enjoyed our ride through the potato farms, rice fields and the quaint villages on the way. 
       
 We took a short break to admire the green hills basking under the mild Sun. As we continued our ride through the winding roads admiring the vast property of R.K.Mission, the weather changed appreciably and the driver exclaimed Oh! Oh! The clouds are bearing down upon us. 

              











We were buying our tickets at the entrance to the Nohkalikai water falls at Cherra when the mist entrenched us and the visibility was less than 10 feet. However, the weather was splendid and we now knew why the expression Scotland of the east was applied to Cherra.

 
                 


             



 

Geography at school  told us that Cherra receives the max rainfall. So does the board on the spot. But locals say Cherrapunjee has its honey and Mawsynram has its rain. Mawsynram is nearby. Both villages are in constant competition for the highest-rainfall-in-the-world title- and Mawsynram is the defending champion.

“Water, Water everywhere, but not a drop to drink”.Incredible as it may sound, the world’s wettest town is suffering from a shortage of drinking water.

The problem is that Cherrapunji lies atop a high limestone plateau. Rain falling on the town drains away immediately, finishing up on the plains of Bangladesh, far below.

As we walked on the Mesa appealing to nature to afford us a view, the veil of clouds lifted and did we see a Grand show! The water falling 1300 meters in a straight line over the gorge was a great spectacle which we enjoyed for half an hour before the curtain of clouds were drawn in once again.

She wants to own a Maruti Car!

“Enjoy sweet sweet local pine-apple” cried the woman vendor named Icy as we ambled from the gate to our vehicle. She went on and on and surely she was attracting clientele. We shared a large pineapple which was deftly cut and served by the multitasking female, shared a few laughs with this enterprising mother of three, wished her well and left.
Next was a lunch stop near a cave with stalagmite and stalactite formation. We concentrated on Lunch more than the cave which we understood was not tenable for seniors who were keen on exploring open nature rather than crawling beneath undersized ducts.

Typical Trash Bins

               
Then to Thangkharang, a well kept Park that was overlooking the low, flat and swampy terrain of Bangladesh where a meandering river could be spotted. We were looking towards the region of Chittagong someone said.

Bangladesh

           

 




Some  Churches on the way
              





  






Day 6- Mawlynnong

Why Mawlynnong? 
It is voted as the cleanest village in all of Asia by reputed agencies that go around doling out awards.

When the weather Gods smile at you, a distance of almost 90 kms in about 3 Hrs seems to be a cake walk as we found out. After a pleasant drive through the Sohra plateau, when we were lulled to slumber, the road went down, narrowed considerably and took us through thick vegetation to the village. No sooner we entered the parking lot of the village than we were struck by its cleanliness, by the Notice that has been put up by the local MLA there mentioning the Do’s and Don’ts for its upkeep.
 
Bankit, our driver, put us in touch with a youngster at the bus stop to act as our guide and show us around the small attractive village. As we walked, we saw abundant greenery, well maintained church, spotlessly clean pathways sporting dustbins every few yards, plenty of flora and thatched roof bamboo tenements.
 
                    
 

Our guide was fluent in English and was graduating soon. We could see the conscious effort that has been made by the community (pop 500) to maintain the ambiance. Wherever I go in India, I keep hearing about Eco-tourism initiatives. Good, Good.
Well appointed bamboo guest houses are available for tourists who would like to spend a few days lazing around or venture into treks and swims.

Sale of chappathi maker to tourists

We were then taken to the 80 foot high Bamboo zigzag stairway which we climbed, with the young Bengali couple in front,the wife  castigating her husband for having  made her climb a perilous walkway( I will tell mum ) and who was then astonished to see a breathtaking view of Bangladesh along with the rest of us ( Why didn't you tell me ).

After lunch we bid adieu to our guide wishing him well and proceeded to view the phenomena of a huge boulder  balancing on a small stone.

The best was to come yet!

Living Roots bridge-All Khasi villages are connected by a network of stone pathways which traditionally keep the local betel nut trade alive with Shillong. Throughout this network, hundreds of living root bridges form the bridleways over the myriad water channels that crisis-cross the area. We visited one such bridge near Mawlynnong.  But what is it?

Enmeshed Roots...

Form the Pathway

Initially, a length of bamboo is secured across a river divide and a banyan plant is planted on each bank. Over the months and years, the roots and branches of the rapidly growing plant  are trained along the bamboo until they meet in the middle and eventually supersede its support. At later stages in the evolution of the bridge, stones are inserted into the gaps and eventually become engulfed by the plant forming the beautiful walkways. 

The view was fantastic and my shoulder ached as I kept  taking pictures of the bridge from every angle

So,this was Mawlynnong, a village whose inhabitants all chip in a few rupees every month to pay for a village gardener and others who keeps the place immaculately clean and planted up with fantastic flowers and exotic plants from the surrounding forest.A village with 100% literacy.

Day 7 - Elephant falls, Bara Pani etc

Being a Sunday, Bankit wanted to do the Church routine with his family and so brought another car and driver for our outing today.

12 Kms out of Shillong is Elephant falls. It is a two-tiered rocky waterfall that is set amidst dense greenery. Here again the environs were very clean and I could almost smell fresh paint on the guard rails and stairway.Being close to Shillong it is the starting point for many tourists who are also attracted to buy local stuff from the shops located there and served by Khasi women.Made one guy say to another "if you are going to watch these girls we will miss Cherapunjee.Come on we will see more on the way "

At the Elephant Falls

Then we caught a bird's eye view of Shillong from the highest point







            

Umiam Lake, also known as Barapani (Big Water) is the next spot we go to.Here a massive hydro-electric dam has been constructed across the river. The lake serves as a water reservoir for the city and also offers Water Sport.We drove in to Ri Kynjai Serenity Resort and were impressed by the amount of greenery surrounding it.It overlooks the lake and is a serene location to write that book that you always wanted to but could not find the mood or locale.It will certainly bite your wallet.We ordered lunch,moved about,entered the shopping arena,completed lunch and left.

Bara Pani

  

Presbyterian church at Police Bazzar

                                                  

A flower at Bara Pani

We had a wonderful evening.... Attending a Service in English, my first, at the Presbyterian church along with Richard,who is a devout christian.It was interesting and absorbing.Then Ricky took us home to meet his mother and younger sisters.We had high tea,went up on the roof to view Shillong by night.Then my dear wife showed interest in wearing the sari, Khasi style,so this went on for the next half hour or so.In all it was great finale for the day!

 

Richard's mother and sisters along with our team

Day 8

Our last day of sightseeing.We visit a large catholic church in the vicinity, spend some time at the Ward's lake and then go over to Don Bosco museum.

Ward's Lake

     

DON BOSCO MUSEUM rises into city skyline and showcases the entire North East under its roof.Offers an unforgettable experience by means of its aesthetically pleasing and informative galleries. We saw an amazing collection of art,attire,accoutrements,armaments,adornments and atypical photographs.All the galleries are provided with multimedia presentation and also equipped with motion sensor switches to power-off when not needed.The sky-walk provides with a 360° view of the beautiful city.A well planned and organised museum that goes much beyond what competition can offer.   

             

Sky-walk

Don Bosco Museum

After this amazing experience we engaged in a wee bit of shopping and lunch before returning to our Home-stay to  make preparations for our early get away to the airport in Gauhati the next morning.

          
Viva Shillong!