Shillong: Hill resort in the clouds
By Surabhi Khosla

"MEGHALAYA — the abode of clouds —carved out of two hill districts of Assam is a land-locked territory of lovely hills with abounding forests where nature has kept a large part of its pristine beauty intact." This little extract from a guide book was temptation enough for us to visit the place.

Shillong, one of the earliest outposts of the British in north-east India, is set amidst a landscape of heather and pine forests which support a variety of orchids.

The train journey from Delhi took almost 40 hours and though we reached Guwahati at three in the morning, we were ready to brave the three-hour jeep drive that would takes us to Shillong.

Since not much was visible at that time of the morning, we were introduced to Shillong by the jeep driver who spoke in ‘Ashinglish’ —Assamese, Hindi and English. All we remembered of the bumpy drive was the whiff of fresh, cool air and an eerie stillness which enveloped us.

There was no time to lose. So, the next day after breakfast we were all set to let the adventure roll in. Renting a taxi and a local guide, we set off to see Shillong at its pristine best.

As we drove towards the outskirts, we at once realised why this charming little hill station was considered one of the most beautiful in India. Surrounded by pine trees and veiled in clouds, it reminded Britishers strongly of home and they called it the Scotland of the East.

For where else besides England, would you find places like Lady Hydari Park, Ward’s Lake, David Scott’s Path, Pine Borrough, Wil-liamnagar, Crinoline Falls, Kench’s Trace and Bishop’s Garden?

The Shillong plateau is broken up with hills, streams and valleys in a most picturesque way that nature could devise. It is watered by the Umshyrpi and the Umkhra streams, both of which precipitate in magnificent cascades, known as the Bishop Gorge, and mingle together to flow in a unified stream into the Umiam river.

Shillong is bound on the north by the Umiam river, on the north-west by the great mass of the Diengiei hills which rise up to a height of 1,823 metres and on the north-east by the hills rolling towards the Assam valley clearly visible on a sunny day.

The Brahmaputra gleams half-way between Shillong and the blue walls of the hills that shut the valley on the north.

Our first stop is the golf course which our guide tells us is the country’s third oldest 18-hole course. The Shillong Golf Club was established by a group of British civil servants in 1894.

But it was only after World War I that the hill resort gained popularity as a golfing destination for European golfers from East Bengal and Calcutta. In 1924, the 18-hole course with its picturesque club house was inaugurated. Popularly known as the world’s wettest course, its surrounding hills are dotted with neat Victorian bungalows and little churches. But more than the history of the course, it is the spectacular landscape which mesmerises the first-timer even as the wind whistles through the gigantic pine trees that surround the course.

The nearby Ward’s Lake was the focus of the European settlement. The lake’s construction was initiated by a Khasi prisoner who’d requested any kind of work to get him out of jail. He was told to start levelling roads. While digging, he hit upon a spring where the British authorities decided to create a lake which was named after Sir William Ward, the chief commissioner in 1893. Boating is one of the innocent pleasures on Ward’s Lake where the old local boatman fills us up on the stories surrounding the lake — of how British maidens on a trip to Shillong came looking for handsome young officers. And how romances blossomed on this lake and the narrow cobbled road gently skirting the river. The road leads to the Botanical Gardens which is thickly wooded and a perfect place for young people in love.

By now it’s noon and we all have just one thing on our minds — food. It would seem that the ‘Shillongites’ love good and eclectic food. There’s Bengali, Marwari, South Indian, Punjabi, Chinese continental and, of course, the usual burgers and pizzas to choose from. Restaurants have fancy names like Basa, La Galeria, Jaddoh Stall, Khewja and Youn Sen.

We obviously fall for the local Khasi variety at Jaddoh Stall in Police Bazar. Jaddoh, incidentally, is also the most famous Khasi dish—a kind of a biryani made with rice and chicken boiled in two cups of chicken blood. We ask the chef to skip the blood and replace it with water. He winces but obliges. It still tastes excellent with the local brown rice and Ktungrymbai —a pungent dish of fermented beans and spices.

Meat is an essential part of the daily diet of locals. But vegetarians needn’t worry as there are many other places to eat and many varieties of cuisine. Incidentally, the Punjabi chhola bhaturas in Shillong are as good as any in Delhi.

Revived after the nourishing lunch, we set off to the Shillong view point which, as the name suggests, offers a panoramic view of the city as well as the Shillong Peak which, legend says, guards the city from evils and invasions.

From there we head for the Elephant Waterfalls, one of the most beautiful sights in the region. Here the mountain stream descends through two successive falls.

The evening meal is a mix of Chinese and Tibetan — Momos, noodles and stuff which most of the northeastern cities excel in. We tuck in early as tomorrow is going to be another long day.

On our third day, we decide to savour the more mundane pleasures of shopping.

Haat (or bazaar) is regarded as a very sacred place by the Khasis. This bazaar still exists as the main marketplace of Shillong and is now called Burrabazaar or the big market. The other important market is the Police Bazaar. We decide to explore both.

While the Police Bazaar is more of a cosmopolitan kind of market where one can get almost everything from clothes and cosmetics to eatables and electronic goods, Bara Bazaar is a local market, run mostly by the Khasis.

It is in Bara Bazaar that one can get lost in the maze of shops though everything is laid out very neatly — the food shops are in one place, the cloth shops in another. The shopkeepers also sell spices which are supposed to be of supreme quality — the best in India. Local canework, handloom and jewellery is available in plenty. Basketry, the fascinating Khasi handicraft, can be seen in plenty here with the women laying out their wares on the streets.

However, a word of warning. There’s plenty of scope for bargaining. When the local shopkeeper says something is for Rs 100, a tried and tested answer should be: "I’ll give Rs 25 for it. Take it or leave it." He usually takes it ! — (Newsmen Features)