My First Time in North-East India
Each time I take a trip in India, it destroys a (negative) pre-conceived notion in my head. My (and others’) inferiority complex about my country amazes me. The media feeds us with a lot of sh*t about a lot of stuff and most people (me included) don’t bother to double-check, buy it, make a permanent opinion about it (because you have no character if you have no opinion), and spread it.
The title of my post is a lie, I’ve been to the north-east (Sikkim, Kalimpong) as a child, but I wanted words with some semblance of an effect. This was definitely my first time as an adult though.
I went to Assam and then to Meghalaya in April.
Guwahati in Assam had a different vibe. It was laid back, a little polluted, a city-town feel. We went to the Kamakhyadevi Temple after stopping at the banks of the Brahmaputra river for a short while. I like the feel of anything natural so it automatically put me in a good mood.
The Kamakhya Temple has an interesting history, and it now surprises me when I hear of people saying menstruation, sex, sexual organs and other related things are ‘taboo’ in India. This temple is believed to denote the spot where Sati used to retire in secret to satisfy her amour with Shiva, and it was also the place where her yoni (i.e. the female sexual organ) fell after Shiva danced with the corpse of Sati. We worshipped the Goddess’ yoni. No jokes!
It was below ground level, in a small, dark cave. We got to it by a narrow flight of stairs. It was pitch dark and lit by diyas, decorated by flowers with the resounding aarti being chanted by the priests. It was quite an experience, we stood in line for about an hour before we were able to see it, no photography was allowed. There was a man, aged about 90, must’ve weighed all of 28 kgs, who would visit the temple every single day at the same time (talk about faith and commitment!). They’d make way for him, help him climb up and down the steep, narrow flight of stairs, every single day at the same time.
It was interesting, eye-opening and tiring. Also worth it. I believe all kinds of travel experience brings dimension to your life, makes it a little more meaningful, opens up your heart and brain, and makes you less judgmental!
We left for the 3-hour road trip to Shillong from Guwahati. The road was clean, smooth and made us so sleepy! We stopped for vegetarian lunch at Jiva restaurant. The meal was fulfilling and delicious.
We got to Shillong shortly after, and we were staying in a beautiful resort called Ri Kynjai. It was wooden, so green that breathing felt good, by the Umiam Lake and peaceful. See —
They served us some amazing ginger tea as a welcome drink. We went for a short trek down one of the many trails the resort had, and walked right down to the edge of the lake.
The air was fresh, the vibe was slow and peaceful.
We’d had a long day, what with the early morning flight and the temple visit and the road trip and the trek. We planned our next day, got dinner at the resort and went to bed!
Our next day started early. We first went to see a living root bridge. I’ve never seen one before. The tribals would hand make these with the roots of trees so that one could cross over. We stopped on the way for chai, customary, and understood why Meghalaya is named what it is (Megh means clouds in Hindi)
The root bridge was a sight to behold! Unlike anything I’ve seen. I really like trees so this was just ultra cool. It was a short trek down to the stream, and it was pouring when we walked down, super fun! This is what it looked like —
We ate the yummiest mulberries while walking up and went straight to the village after. The village had a relaxed vibe. Few restaurants, a little crowded. I walked around the village which had little huts. It was interesting to see that it was a matriarchal society completely. The women were out working and doing business (running shops and restaurants) and the men were at home handling it. They were selling some souvenirs and small things on the road because it’s become a touristy spot, what with being the cleanest village and everything.
We stopped at the balancing rock which was a big rock that had fallen and stayed put in this position — they charge a nominal entry fee to see it. It was built up so much I was expecting some magic to happen. I was a little disappointed.
We drove along the India-Bangladesh border to Dawki which was a 3 hour drive. We were unlucky with timing because the lake at Dawki which was supposed to have crystal clear waters was muddied up because of the rain. The Bangladesh bank was crowded! It seems it’s the only part of Bangladesh exposed to the sea. We went boating which was nice, because boating always is.
Our drive back to Shillong felt like a video game. Driving through the clouds, we couldn’t see even 5m ahead of us. Our driver drove through it like an expert though, manoeuvring perfectly.
It had been a tiring day but wasn’t over. We went to The Evening Club for a live music gig (Shillong is musically inclined like that), which was right at the city centre, which was fun but tiring because we didn’t get a table (should make a reservation in advance). The folks in the club were really enjoying themselves and so was the lead singer, it was his 70th birthday and it was so cool to see him perform live even when he’s so old! He was jumping around and really brought the energy up.
We got a ride back with a guy who was a graduate from Hindu College, Delhi but runs a taxi business in Meghalaya. He was well-educated and made interesting conversation. We were too exhausted from the day and hit the bed soon as we got back.
The next morning I indulged in some architectural photography of Ri Kynjai.
We had some time so we went to the All Saints Church which was very pretty.
Our last stop before we went to the airport was Bara Bazaar. It was the local market, not very touristy, but still an experience —
We left for the airport from the bazaar which was a quiet and smooth drive. We stopped at a view point to see beautiful Shillong for one last time.
The Shillong airport was hilarious and cute. The entire airport services only one flight daily.. one! They had a bunch of staff, no food :(, emptiness and a couple of air force helicopters. It was different from the usual bustling airports I come across.
The north-east was an experience. I was there for a short while but was coming back home with lasting memories. Maybe because I’m older and can actually remember stuff? Haha, naa. It opened my mind up a lot. Seeing a matriarchal society was refreshing. I learnt how (not) to deal with people coming from a different place, background and understanding. The weather was fantastic and I’d love to explore more of it.
