Shillong, Meghalaya, India
The beautiful state of Meghalaya, the land of the Khasis, the Garos and the Jaintias is my next port of call. This is a state more familiar to Indians than the other places I have been to. Its capital, Shillong, is a British city, dating back more than 100 years and was an incredibly charming town - I remember coming here 25 years ago and being utterly charmed. Today its a bit like Bangalore. The charm has faded, it has become hugely congested and traffic inches at 5 kmph. But it still retains some magic and is a wonderful town to come to. This is a cantonment town with a number of military headquarters, including the seat of the Eastern Command of the Air Force. The top brass in the military know how to pick a nice place to serve as their base !!
This is a majority Christian state (but not near 100% Christian like Nagaland and Mizoram) and shares similar characteristics of high education and cleanliness Apparently this was the early domain of the Welsh ( I don't know how the sobriquet of Scotland of the East came - no self respecting Welshman would dignify the Scot !) With English being the official language of the state, communication, even for foreigners, is hardly a problem
. An interesting feature of Khasi society is that it is matrilinear - property flows through the women, especially to the youngest daughter.
Meghalaya, as is well known, is one of the wettest places on earth. But I have carefully chosen the time of my visit. There isn't a cloud in the sky and the sun is shining brightly. Days are warm, but nights are chilly enough to warrant light woollens. This is a hill town, but not with steep gradients like in Aizawl or Mokokchung. So I have been walking around and sinking in the atmosphere. To the lovely Ward's lake in the centre of Shillong, still impeccably clean and beautiful. Past the Pinewood Hotel, a more than 100 year old hotel. Today its a tad faded and very pricey, but it oozes history. Strolled past the Shillong club where the sahibs came for R&R. The superb boarding schools, which still are a magnet for children of the wealthy. The famous cathedral. Reminders of the Raj everywhere.
Shillong is a magnet for the Indian tourist, chiefly the Bengalis
. Mrs Chatterjee, Pinky, Babul and Tubluda love to come here. Its their "hill station". With the amount of Bengali spoken (loudly) here, you could be forgiven for imagining you are in Calcutta. Thankfully Pinky and Babul's exams are going on and Mrs Chatterjee, being a tiger mom, has not stirred 15 inches from the study desk. Therefore the hordes aren't here. Don't come here "in season" unless you are prepared to swear violently in Bong :) To my knowledge, there is only one reader of this blog with a Bengali connection and she's a good sport and am sure wouldn't mind me taking playful digs at them.
On a chill evening, I walked up the hill to the iconic Cafe Shillong for a cup of coffee. A small place with oodles of character and the first lovely coffee I have had in more than a month. Ahhhhhhh :)
I am bunkering in a home stay. A lovely place , run by a young "Shillongese", in the central part of town. Will use it as a base for an excursion or two in the coming days.
The abode of the clouds
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Shillong, Meghalaya, India
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Comments
2025-05-23
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Vincy Joseph
2015-03-12
Yet another state, but Shillong seems to be a wee bit familiar than the other places so far. Such calm and quiet that you are experiencing there. The missionaries have done more to this part of country than the Indian Goverment has done for them - language, education, modernity, and bit of architecture. You must be on top of the world.. arent you?
The Welsh past is new ...
2015-03-12
So ... a year ago, a faculty colleague retired.
Why write about that? She spent her childhood years in India. Her brother one-upped her: he was born in India. Their parents spent a few years (during the transition to independence from the Raj) in Meghalaya/Nagaland and then returned to Wales. She and her brother can speak the Khasi language like how the locals do. One crazy world, eh!
BTW, the people and the languages in this part of the world predate the Dravidian and Aryan presence in the Subcontinent. (at least, that is my understanding) I.e., these are very much the original people of the lands ...
Suja
2015-03-12
Now this is somewhere I have in my (very huge) bucket list! I like the kind of old stately hotels you mentioned - I stayed in similar kind of place in Darjeeling (Windamere), it was fabulous! I have so many sensibilities to protect - as you know, I am Tamil and proudly so, grew up in Delhi and so have northern ways, married a Bengali and have become partly one, am Australian and adore the country & live in Switzerland for 12 years. So go right ahead, take a dig at any or all of the above and I won't turn a hair!
indigoite
2015-03-13
@Vincy - Ah; you caught the song. Actually the government has also done a lot here. So have the missionaries.
@The Oregonion Welsh - That's a lovey story. You do meet such people all across the world, but they are a vanishing breed as post independence, such a thing hardly happened. Instead we meet Peace Corps volunteers who speak fluent local languages although these days they go elsewhere and don't come to India. Remember the couple we had dinner with - the guy spoke fluent Nepali.
@Suja - May the bucket list always remain long. As you tick some off, new ones should take their place. Sometimes dreaming about travel is as enjoyable as travel itself :) You are a real sport.
Asha
2015-03-13
I liked everything about this post, the lovely rolling hills, the fountain, the lovely turquoise blue rivulet, the club, your homestay...everything has that warm and" lived in" feel and some pics take me back to the time i grew up. Glad you soaked in the surroundings, nothing to beat a walk or cycle around in such surroundings listening to the music of the natural vistas. Enjoy and bring us more stories and more pics if you can.
indigoite
2015-03-13
@Asha - Yes, there is a lot to like. And this is not even the prettiest time to come - During or just after the rains the whole state becomes so green that you have to actually shield your eyes.
Sandhya Sriram
2015-03-14
Don't know why, I am sensing a calm after a storm kind of feeling in your blog Ramesh, I think after really hectic travel and unfriendly roads, you sound relaxed and at ease on this blog. Wishing you more peace and lots of warmth to you from your home town
indigoite
2015-03-14
@Sandhya - Thanks Sandhya. The atmosphere is infectious. Meghalaya is that sort of a soothing place.