Five days in Meghalaya: Home of the Clouds

I had the chance to visit Meghalaya on the Indian Independence Day, and to gain a passing
acquaintance with the Khasi peoples. Khasi is a Austroasiatic language (like Khmer, Vietnamese
and other South Asian languages), which appears to be indigenous and independent of the
Indo-Aryan and Dravidian languages.
acquaintance with the Khasi peoples. Khasi is a Austroasiatic language (like Khmer, Vietnamese
and other South Asian languages), which appears to be indigenous and independent of the
Indo-Aryan and Dravidian languages.
About 75% of the people are Christians, and aside from their tribal language, one would be
quite at home speaking fluent English. Hindi is relatively unknown, while you have a far better
chance of getting understood in English. That is a result of the parishes and convents which set up
schools and taught people the language.
quite at home speaking fluent English. Hindi is relatively unknown, while you have a far better
chance of getting understood in English. That is a result of the parishes and convents which set up
schools and taught people the language.
Khasi culture is matriarchal. All inheritance can only happen through the youngest woman child,
or woman relative. The woman owns all property.
or woman relative. The woman owns all property.
Mawsynram, a village in East Khasi hills, receives the highest rainfall in India and also finds mention in the Guiness Book of World Records for maximum annual rainfall of 26,000 mm in 1985.
Sohra - Cherrapunji was rechristened to the old word used by the indigenous people - is cloudy, wet, sleepy and brilliant at night! We stayed at a resthouse in Mawsmai.
August 16
Meghalaya is where the clouds settle down in the hills to rest.
The weather can be very fickle. The first minute can be reasonably clear sky..
The second minute, clouds..
The third minute, rain! In the space of a few minutes, the clouds fill and empty out.
We drove south till the Bangladesh Border, to Tamabil village, and even crossed over for a few meters. Unlike the Chinese Border, or the Indo-Pak Line of Control, it is an open border, with a soldier at night every few hundred meters patrolling it.
We went for a boat ride in the Dawki river, and the rest of the crowd also did some high rock jumping into the river waters.
A waterfall on the way back from Tamabil Village
The wooden footbridge over the waterfall reminded me of myself - old, with cracks exposed, a few gaps here and there, with water flowing beneath, but still holding!
We reached in the afternoon to Mawlynnong village. The village has a reputation for being the cleanest in Asia.
Villages still have headmen - not headwomen - who issued this proclamation. The sign board says it all - plastic containers or paper clips or paper cups - tourists have to take it all back to where they came from! Persons found drunk, drugged,using foul language or “rowdy” behavior won’t be allowed to linger around the village.
When asked about why not a headwoman, one person told us, "The man is the head, but the woman is the neck. Nothing can happen without the involvement of the neck!"
We spent the night at a home stay in Mawlynnong village owned by Stoper, who also farms betel nuts.
Sunset view from Mawlynnong Village. You can see the waterfalls in the distant mountains shining white in the darkness!
A group of kids was playing in the darkness and we had fun with them. A few of our group played for a while. I was more than happy to take a picture with them! They posed spontaneously for us, and all one had to do was ask.
It was ages since I had seen our own galaxy, the Milky Way in all its glory (the last time was in Ladakh in February 2018).
August 17
In the morning, we drove via Pynursla to the sacred forest at Mawphlang, maintained by the Lyngdoh clan across 78 hectares.
They claim that you can’t take even a leaf out of the forest or something ill will befall you. They claim that the sacred forest is 800 years old and hasn’t advanced or retreated one step. They also claim that if you touch a specific tree and make a wish, your wish will come true.
They claim that this monolith (on which I am seated) is for the forest deity. Newly weds come here for ceremonies and rituals.
They didn't make any claims about these ornamental mushrooms growing from a tree trunk, while they did make some tall claims about the 8-faced rudraksha beads which would only bear them once in its lifetime! Pure bunkum since every tree bears blueberry like fruit starting 3-4 years and until it is dead.
There are 53 Khasi Kingdoms in the region, with “democratically” chosen kings. And all 53 of them believe that the cure for all sickness is the wind from the sacred forest and you just sit there for a while, go back and your sickness will disappear. There are even trees that will cure breast cancer. And in case you are convinced about it all, you can definitely contribute your modern paper money to the worthy cause of the ancient sacred forest. If you believe this, please pass on your contributions to me…
And then they claim that PM Narendra Modi touched the tree when he was in Meghalaya, made a wish to remove black money. He went back and a few months later, demonetized Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 and he wrote back that his wish came true! So much for wishing trees since everyone knows black money is still around and prospering with a well-rounded stomach of 56” girth!
We walked along a section of David Scott’s trail for around four hours after that, covering around 11 kms (while the route is supposedly 16 kms). This dog adopted me for the trek, and was guiding me through the route, stopping to chase after a lizard or squirrel, and running back. I think he relied on us to feed him biscuits and snacks.
In recent times, Meghalaya is one of the few states in India where you can eat beef legally. Cows can be reared for livestock and cow slaughter is still legal, without any danger of getting lynched to death by an so-called cow vigilantes (gaurakshaks). Notice the little shepherd girl in red darting through the hills tending her cows alone.
We ended the trek of David Scott's trail here.
Every sunset is so very different!
The night was crystal clear, and I could barely make out Sagitta and Scorpio given the profusion of stars. That star shining like a tiny moon is Mars, which was unfortunately overexposed because I was capturing the Milky Way. Sorry for standing in the way, but this is my photograph!
August 18
We began walking from Tyrna to Nongriat village from here.
As usual, people will try to get you to buy bamboo poles. It's better walking without them, and poles tend to use up 10-15% more energy. However, they make you feel safer, and transfer a little weight from just your lower body to your upper body and arms. Personally, I would prefer no poles unless the terrain is very tricky, with steep angles or slippery.
Unfortunately, this wooden hut was closed! I really wanted to have Italian Style Coffee, and that too in Meghalaya!
The Double Decker Root Bridge from the side!
This was the pool where we rested for an hour or so.
Rainbow waterfalls is so called because you can actually see a rainbow when you descend down to the spray of the waterfall. I didn't go down, because my camera isn't waterproof.
Another view of Rainbow Waterfalls, a distance of around 5.5 kms from Tyrna.
This girl in the make-shift shop at the top of Rainbow waterfalls kept playing with me, and showing me all her toys!
This is the place where we went zip-lining for Rs.720/. each. There are four zip lines with increasing length and the fourth is the best!
Shillong finally feels like home - with the hawkers on the streets, and urban trash everywhere. As I was taking photos, I had to keep away from the prostitutes, at one corner of this hotel, who may not want to be photographed.
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