On a cloudy summer Kolkata morning,
we set for the hills of Meghalaya, for a two days- three nights short trip,
yearning for a cooler climate. Kolkata was burning like Troy and the hills
promised a much needed relief. Kolkata to Guwahati is a short, less than 2
hours flight. Once we landed in the Guwahati airport, we had to speak to a cab
counter for hiring a car, for our 6 member team. We were being charged much
higher than expected but we could not see any other option. However once we
came out of the airport, we found lines of similar cars in different sizes. It would be advisable for future travelers,
to hire from outside, since there can be a scope for bargaining.
Soon the landscape of the city gave
way to the red, rough face of rocks and lush green foliage. In half an hour we
took a meandering mountain road, climbing towards the city of Shillong. As we
climbed higher, the different ranges of Himalaya played hide and seek at every
bend. The twists and turns came so frequently that it was better to capture them
in memory than through lenses. Our team members soon gave up and I kept on
clicking through the iPad, since it was easier to handle. The bends tended to
be sharper, as we climbed higher and higher, we had to hang onto the car handles
and sometimes to each other, to maintain balance.
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| ROADSIDE WATERFALL |
The majestic beauty of Himalayas
soon silenced us all, except the driver. He was going full force, enlightening
us on the social situation of the Khasis, punctuating each sentence with a
hearty, loud bout of laughter. It seems that the matriarchal Khasi women are
very powerful than their counterparts. The driver went on to say that the men mostly
work as shuttle drivers to and fro from hotels and airports and in the evenings
they go out with bullets. "Bullets!" I was all ears now. Is he
talking about guns? Not yet it seems. Bullets are bikes. It seems bikers go out
in the evening to have a good time. Then our driver spoke a little about his
personal life, that he is working to get his sister married and may be then he
can go to the "jungles".
We were hungry, so we stopped at a Dhaba.
My energetic friends climbed the steep stairs of the road side restaurant and
vanished inside to collect some food, while my husband and I waited at the car.
The driver turned on some local music channel. The tunes were catchy and a few
words of the local language resembled our mother tongue. Our friends came back
with aloo paratha, chana and the food tasted divine, since it was late
afternoon and we were ravenous. The serpentine path continued up and up and the
weather cooled down. We devoured the food, continuing on the roller coaster
ride, trying not to spill any gravy on each other.
We arrived at a picturesque
location, Bara Pani. Here, let me divulge that this is my second visit in this area;
the first one was when I was five. I heard from my mother that on the earlier
trip, we had picnic on the banks of Bara Pani, so I had requested the driver to
take us near it, en route to Shillong. The driver said we cannot go near, since
it would be a total detour but he will get us a glimpse. I had read on the internet
that it falls on the way, but did not wish to argue with him. We were already a
little tired with his chatter and crazily continuous laughter.
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| BARA PANI |
The view of Bara Pani was
breathtaking. Little wafts of candy floss clouds floated over the vast expanse
of water below, surrounded by greenery and layers of mountain ranges. It was
magical. Our awe was shattered by the sound of some returning vehicles on the
other side of the road. Looking at five ladies at the spot, volume of the
latest Hindi racy numbers went high. I dragged the team to the car and the
journey continued.
Soon we entered the city of
Shillong. It was not like how I remembered Shillong from my childhood - the
beautiful wooden houses and the gardens of paradise; fragrance of wild roses
blooming in fetching disarray. Now, the houses were mostly dilapidated but
quite a number of them had a well tended garden in the front. Roses, Dalia,
Lilly, Gladioli and some unknown flowers bloomed in myriad hues. The shops in
between the houses were ill kept. However, the Himalayas guarded and veiled all
with its splendid, countless shades of green cloak. It was monsoon and the
hills had come alive. Amidst such beauties we lost track of time and before we
knew it, we had arrived at our hotel.
The next day was quite pleasant.
Satisfied with a hearty breakfast, all climbed onto the Toyota Innova for our
day's journey. We were on our way to Cherrapunji. The place holds the highest
rainfall record in the world .It was not raining heavily but every now and then
there was a very brief, light shower. It was so light that even an umbrella was
redundant.
We left the city and once again took
the winding road with deep gorges on one side and steep mountain ranges on the
other. The sky was a candy-floss carnival, gigantic clouds embracing medium and
smaller baby clouds. Thin georgette veils of clouds drifted on our way. The
name of the state, Meghalaya, is justified. As the car moved through the zigzag
road, the sun played hide and seek and the tall mountain trees painted a poetic
silhouette against the white clouds and the grayish blue sky.
“I wandered
lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and
hills”
We stopped on the way, to take some
pictures. It seemed to be standard tourist take- a-photo point. Though tea
baskets were kept for trash collection, it seemed people preferred the
roadsides more for the purpose.
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| ECHO POINT |
Next, we started for the Echo Park.
It's a partly natural and partly created park. Thankfully the natural
beauty-the spring flowing through the park and falling at great depth below in
hurricane force, was undisturbed. Beyond the boundary of railings, lay
Bangladesh offering a picturesque view. In my mind I greeted my father's land
where I have never been.
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| NOH KA LIKAI FALLS |
Next stop was the Noh Ka Likai falls.
I will refrain from telling the entire story behind the name, but it involved a
suicide. Most of the falls in Shillong seemed suicide points and has associated
stories. The falls itself have great heights but are a slim beauty. Mists
surrounded this one, like a white translucent chiffon sari.
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| SEVEN SISTERS FALLS |
We were hungry with all the walking
around in the park and wanted to have lunch. Our next destination was the nice
round shaped, Polo Orchid restaurant just beside the Seven Sisters falls. We
sat in the restaurant chatting and praying the clouds would move to reveal the
lively sisters and soon they appeared. For the entire duration of time we sat
there and had the delicious food, the sisters were appearing and disappearing
like a fine magician's assistants. They seemed more than seven, merrily dancing
and sliding down the rough edges of the mountain, without a care for the
onlookers, happy in their own company. I could have lived there forever, in a
small log house perched on a mountain top, looking at the playful family.
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| COAL MINE |
Time was passing and we did not wish
to be caught in the mountain roads, so with an unwilling heart, we started our
journey to the next destination - the limestone caves. On the way, we were
shown the entrance of a coal mine. Inside it was dark, with slippery stones and
bats hanging.
We decided to take a look at the Ward’s Lake. It
was just a man made place, with millions of tourists taking boat rides,
chatting, posing for pictures. Interestingly, most of the attendants in the park
were women. They were wearing traditional dresses & velvet stoles &
collected money for the cameras.
It was getting late and soon we left
the park and entered the hotel.
Mountains, unlike seas, are silent
after sunset and each day holds something new. . . . . . . . . .
