Shillong On Song

Enveloped in clouds, surrounded by waterfalls, snow-clad peaks in the backdrop, undulating lush green meadows under his feet, Rajen Makharia understands why Shillong is called the Scotland Of The East

Early morning overview of Shillong town All Pics: Rajen Makharia

After a long period of prodding by my brother-in-law Vijaye, whose family had settled in Shillong for about three decades, I finally relented and decided to pay a visit to what the British called 'Scotland Of The East'.

My first destination from Mumbai was perforce, Kolkata, it being my sasural. After an obligatory two-day stay there I left for Guwahati by the next day's morning flight. Alighting at Guwahati I learnt to my chagrin that the whole of Assam was bandh. No taxis, buses or even private vehicles were allowed to ply. I resigned myself to a long wait until the bandh was called off and the car arranged by Vijaye to take me to Shillong could arrive. Suddenly someone from Meghalaya Helicopter Service materialised announcing a helicopter flight to Shillong. I couldn't believe my luck and promptly jumped at the chance. The 100 odd kilometers journey to Shillong from Guwahati by road would have taken me almost three hours. It was now a mere 25-minute flight. As the helicopter lifted into the air the weather suddenly changed from warm to bracingly cool. Though this was my first flight in a chopper I was enjoying every moment of it, unlike some other passengers who sat huddled in their seats quite warily.

Amazing valley view near Shillong Pic: The Wanderers

As we neared Shillong, I had a vantage view of the exceptional beauty of the hill station. I understood why it is the largest hill area in the country set amidst nature's varied tapestry dotted with a number of waterfalls, brooks, pine-groves and gardens. The panorama of the rolling plateau, situated between 1,400 and 1,600 meters and then culminating in an oak tree clad Shillong Peak at 1,905 metre, remains etched in memory even now. We passed over a huge reservoir of water, Barapani or the Umiam Lake, and finally landed at Shillong Peak. Vijaye, who was waiting, whisked me away to the comfort of his home. Shortly, I was ensconced in a huge sofa before a log-fire in his living room with a chota peg in hand. A sumptuous dinner later, I packed off to bed with a promise of an early morning start the next day for sightseeing.

Over the next couple of days, Vijaye, his wife Neeta and their two sons accompanied me around Shillong in their car. I was quite appalled to see the traffic jams in parts of the town. I had always imagined Shillong to be a quaint little township. But it was only in the heart of the town that the congestion of a multitude of ugly concrete buildings existed. Once we were out of the town limits, it was serenity exemplified. The countryside was lovely and bewitching with undulating lush green meadows, surrounded by pine trees and veiled in clouds. One could quite understand why the place reminded the Brits so strongly of home. The British legacy is visible even today in the numerous churches, gabled cottages, canopied kiosks with nostalgic British names, the beautiful bungalows, a golf course and a polo ground (the world's wettest).

In the market areas of Police Bazaar, the heart of the town near the government bus stand, local Khasis milled around attired in their traditional garbs, haggling with footpath vendors. This is also the place to be for a taste of momos, a must-try delicacy in Meghalaya. Besides momos, the fare of the tiny restaurants in Bara Bazaar area is predominantly non-vegetarian, a mixture of Chinese and Tibetan fare. Several restaurants, more upmarket shops and many of the bottom end and middle hotels are also located here. The Broadway Restaurant on GS Road is very popular, the other being the La Galerie. I found the former a better choice though.

Moving away from the city centre, in whichever direction one went, we would come across gushing cascades down the hill slopes. The prominent waterfalls are Spreadeagle Falls, Elephant Falls, Bishop Beadon Falls and Sweet Falls. All these involve a lot of trekking down steep slopes. The Elephant Falls are by far the most popular- hence I ventured there. Though the waterfall was quite large, at that time there wasn't much flow. A lot of food stalls had also mushroomed there to cater to the touristic crowd. Sweet Falls proved more interesting with a larger flow but it was way down a hill. Only the two youngsters were feeling energetic enough to race down and come up with aplomb. In late evening we drove up to the Shillong Peak. If you want to get away from the bustle of the town, head here. Revered as the abode of gods by the locals, the Peak is barely 10 km from the city. The summit is 500 metres above Shillong and offers a bird's eye-view of the whole town below. The view after dusk is simply mesmerising. The other side of the Peak provides a panoramic view of the distant snow-clad Himalayan peaks.

Shillong golf course

The pride of Shillong is its 18-hole Golf Course. It draws golfers from all over the world for tournaments. It has also become a popular picnic spot and in the evenings and early mornings people flock here for jogging, walking or strolling. Yet another special feature of Shillong is the Archery Stakes, which run every day on various low-lying stretches of ground just below a stand of conifers. Once a tribal sport, one can witness archers shoot as many as 500 arrows within minutes. It begins at 4 pm daily. Local bets are placed with the bookies.

During the Raj era several parks and gardens were laid out. Right in the heart of town is Ward Lake, Lady Hydari Park and the mini zoo. Ward Lake is well landscaped with the lake set within a botanical garden. Most of the lake area is cluttered with lotus. The rest of the lake was for rowing and other water sports. The Botanical Gardens are a few minutes walk further north. Nearby is the Crinolene Waterfalls. As Meghalaya is predominantly Christian one will find several beautiful churches here. Notably the Don Bosco Cathedral in the heart of the city is worth a visit. There is a school also attached to it. Vijaye's two children were students here. From my room every morning I would see bevy of knee high school children clad in red, their wide smiles investing their moon-like faces with the most impish of expressions little angels can ever have, trotting off to their nearby schools.

I visited two museums - Meghalaya State Museum and the more interesting Butterfly Museum on Jaiaw Road. The latter is privately owned. It houses a good collection of butterflies and beetles culled from all over the world and mounted on wall plates. It's open Monday to Saturday. The museum is a kaleidoscope of nature's incredible creativity and shouldn't be missed. I bought a butterfly-mounted wall plate, which was ultimately gifted to my host. One may also visit the Anglican graveyard, not for any morbid taste, but only to read the interesting inscriptions on the tombstones.

Uniam lake, Barapani

No trip to Shillong is complete without visiting Cherrapunji, which most people have heard of as having the heaviest rainfall in the world with 1,150 cms of rain. Today, Mawsynram, barely 10 km away, has snatched this record with 1216 cm of rain. We headed to 'Chera' the next day with packed lunches. It is just 56 km from Shillong. You shouldn't feel disappointed if you are not lucky to see the cascading waterfalls there. The best period to see them at their prime glory would be just after the monsoons. One can buy delicious honey while in Cherrapunji, like I did. The honey here has just about the most delicious taste. We went to see the Mawasmai Fall and the caves nearby which with stalactites and stalagmites are worth seeing. There is a giant stalagmite formation overhead in the shape of Shiv Ling with a stalactite formation overhead dripping water on it. Since we didn't have a torch we couldn't venture deep inside. Then there is the huge complex of the Ramakrishna Mission nearby.

On the way back we halted at a village where preparations were on for a festival. We witnessed children dressed up in traditional festive garb, dancing and swaying away to accompanying music. For the photographer in me it was godsend opportunity. I exhausted all the film rolls I had on me.

I left the next day by Vijaye's car, which dropped me off at Guwahati railway station from where I caught a train for Kolkata. It would however be inappropriate to end without a word of caution to the tourist intending to visit Shillong, or for that matter, other areas in some of the hill states in the northeastern sector. These places are prone to insurgent elements. It is rather risky to venture alone any time, especially after sunset outside city limits. Even the local, so-called affluent community maintains a low profile and avoids ostentations of any sorts.