“So, where are you going for the holidays?”
“Kohima.”
“Where?”
“Nagaland.”
“I know Kohima is in Nagaland but who goes to Nagaland? What’s there to
see?”
A conversation I had had 20 years
ago comes back to mind when I tell people I am going to Shillong. The reactions
are similar, revealing how little people know about the North East and
how less traveled these regions are. Having a mad-hatter of a father, growing
up, I have seen quite a bit of the North
East of India – Miao
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| Flowers in bloom in a house in Shillong |
(Arunachal), Sibsagar (Assam), Kohima (Nagaland) to name a
few of the lesser known places that I have visited. I have found each one of
these places to be unique and beautiful in their own way. Yes, the North East
like the rest of India has the full package: nature, wildlife, culture and
history. In the process I have learned one key thing about traveling – to go
with an open mind and to expect the unexpected.
I was pleasantly surprised
therefore to walk into Café Shillong and see some twenty-something-year olds
listening to a sixty year old Lou Majaw strumming his favourite Dylan numbers.
I know Shillong is referred to as the Rock Capital of India and quite a few
famous international rock bands
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| Church at Mawlynnong -"cleanest village of India" |
However music is just one of the
many interesting facets of Shillong. Touted as the “Scotland of the East” for
nestling lakes in its mountainous laps, I wanted to see what all the hoopla was
about. I have not seen Scotland but when I saw Lake Umiam (formerly known as
Barapani) it literally took my breath away!
In this blog I will not dwell much on the
written word but rely on pictures in the hope of persuading my reader to go visit
a part of the North East that may not be as famous as the Golden Triangle or
“God’s Own Country” but is as incredible as the rest of India. Most of them are
the better known sights of Meghalaya but one could always get off the beaten
path and discover their own Meghalaya. If nothing, you could always catch a
cloud around the bend in what is known as the abode of the clouds (Meghalaya).
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| Elephant Falls - one of the numerous falls in Meghalaya |
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| Living root bridge |
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| Environment friendly cane dustbins at Ward lake |
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| Khasi architecture at Ryi Kinjai resort - cottage roofs made from upturned boats |
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| Naturally occurring orchids in the villages of Meghalaya |
