North-east Nostalgia...Part-II......Meghalaya

Following North-east Nostalgia Part-I ,

Here is Part-II , for you my dear friends.....

I was pregnant with my DS when I left Dimapur,Nagaland to Tamilnadu for delivery.

I was given an affectionate farewell by my dear friends there, with bags and packages of cute gifts and delicious food- ranging from "round appam", "unni appam" idlis, rotis ,fruits etc.,for the train-journey.

The train-journey is special for me, as ,it was then,
I felt my littleone's movements for the first time ( My DH as I have mentioned earlier, is a "Mun jaakrathai Muthanna"- hence he took me to Tamilnadu during my 5th month itself..:bonk)

I spent the remaining time there, fed healthy food on time , reading and praying and writing letters to my DH.

Then the day came,
My DS was born, followed by an express visit by my DH and after a few days, We got the news that DH would be transferred on promotion.

To......Shillong.....The Scotland of East ,
The capital of Meghalaya..... The Abode of Clouds!!!!

I was so happy and was eagerly awaiting the day to go there and live with my DH and DS as a small, happy family.

My DH was back after a few months and we left from Chennai to Guwahati- the capital of Assam and from there we hired a cab to Shillong.

What a lovely journey it was......
After travelling for an hour or so, we started our ascent to the Hilly Megahlaya.......

Meghalaya, a hilly state in North-east comprises of three hill clusters-

The Khasi, Garo and Jainthiya Hills.

Each hill cluster has it's own tribe, language and customs.

Shillong, is in the Khasi hills and we were heading there in a small omni van- Spiraling the mighty green and purple hills and valleys with wild flowers slowly.......
With tall conifers all along, and little tribal kids, waving a killed rabbit or jungle fowl...trying to sell them and make some money.
We crossed small villages, with bamboo houses, people carrying a bamboo pole, with two tin cans at the ends, jogging slowly and cheerfully.

Suddenly our omni van came to jolting halt.
There was some major problem in the engine, and the driver said, it would take an hour to fix it.

We opened the door and what did we hear........

"Chirps, Chirps , Chirps" every where......
As it was the beginning of spring, the birds were "twitter-pated" and cheerful chirps were all we heard, from the silent valley below-
We saw around a hundred, healthy,Red vented Bulbuls- of a larger size than the city dwellers we have seen.....
Their plummage, with the back of drop of deep greenary, their cheerful songs at the back drop of silence......No words to express the impact that one hour had made on all three of us.:thumbsup

We resumed our journey, reached Shillong, moved to our new home,the first few days rolled quickly- Busy setting up the home.

The un-predictable weather of Shillong,amazed me-
It would be bright and sunny morning,then it would rain at noon.....
So, we had to stock on warm clothes and Umbrellas- Then began my Shopping spree-
Police bazar, Shillong- a nice place to stroll and shop and I never missed an opportunity to go there.Shillong, being a torist-spot, has some South Indian restaurants too- we would go there once in a while and pick some tamil magazines.

I would spend the day with my DS- talking and singing to him,watching birds and listening to his babbles and carefully recording his milestones.

In May, for just a few days, we had thousands of Mayflies thronging everywhere....exactly at dusk...and smart and swift swallows, catching them in air.....
Mayfly and Swallows......My DS enjoyed watching them and pointing them when asked to show- It was a nice time, we had then.

Then came June, My DH was away for a week, on a deputation, me and my DS alone at home, in an area where no known friends and collegues were near.I was a little anxious and senses something is going to happen.......and it happened.

My 6 month old DS had un-controllable loose bowels..........
I rushed to the hospital, got medicines,but still no improvement....
I almost panicked, when my DH called up- his routine call, and I told him, he said he would call back in a few minutes....and he did-
He , being in North -east has a good net-work for friends there, and he found that, one of his friend's wife, is a nurse in Assam Rifles- A unit of Indian Defense.
But, we haven't met each other and they live in the contonment situated in a place called Happy Valley.
So, it was settled like this- I should wear a pink dress and reach a bus-stop,that is close to their place, by a taxi.
The unpredicable weather, made the scene more cinematic, with a heavy down-pour and water-logging.....
I was the young mother, with a little sick baby, climbing up a hill , in rains.....
We reached Happy Valley, Met them, a lovely family with two daughters,My DS was treated , I too was given medications for stress and had warm soup and we spent the night there.

Happy Valley...is upto it's name......
Situated snuggly between hills, with a view of sun-rise from kitchen window, and glimpses of distant hills, filled with plantations of cabbage, cauliflowers,strawberries.
I had just heard of Peaches and Apricots before that....
I saw trees loaded with them there......
A temple, A canteen, A spacious hospital, the hustle and bustle of soldiers in crisp uniforms, the poised ladies discussing crochet, knitting and crafts, the girls giggling and gossiping school news, the birds.....
Happy Valley is nothing short of a paradise.....
After that, we regularly visited Happy Valley and the two daughters visited us daily on their way back from school , and I taught them too.

Sundays and Holidays were fun there.....

We were living close to a park called "Lady Hydari Park" it had a lush lawn, lovely flowers and a collection of local fauna-The Hill mynahs, Hornbills,wild cats etc.,
The mimicry of Hill mynahs is brilliant- larger in size than our mynahs, and louder and clear in mimicry....they are real fun to interact with.

We also visited the magnificent Bara Pani Lake,
Elephant falls,
Golf course- one of the best in the world,
The Cathedral,
Boat Club
Various Falls,
Shillong Peak,
Air force station,
Botanical Garden....

We came across a newly-wed tamil couple, the girl was pregnant then, and I became a responsible akka (big-sister) cooking delicious, variety food and feeding her and advising her to eat well, sleep well, walk, etc.,
Now she is a mom of two...fondly talking to my DS in phone..." Indha Athaiya nyabhagam irukka ma....?"..( Do you remember this aunty?)

But for the water-scarcity and hilly terrain- that took a toll on my knees, we enjoyed our stay there.....seeing our DS grow, crawl,teeth,babble,progress to solid food.....

The hard working people, who would climb the hills with heavy luggage tied to their backs...
The village farmers, selling berries door to door.....
The fresh vegetables......
The young mothers....carrying their babies on their back.....
The lovely artefacts made out of bamboo, and pine-cones.....
The cute , educated Khasi women....always well-groomed from head to toe, draping their Mekhla.....
The trees.....
The flowers...
The birds.....
I treasure them all in my memories.....

The best thing I loved was, the clouds....
As the name , Meghalaya- Abode of Clouds says,
Clouds play there.....
Suddenly engulfing us and filling the valley below, with pure white mist.....
A treat to the eyes ....A precious memory now........:coffee

A thing of beauty.....is joy forever.......Yes.........!!!!

I bow to the Almighty for giving me a chance to live there for sometime and cherish the memories forever.......!

I shall be back soon, with my next part.......
From another interesting place in North-east......
Until then, it is Bye from Bhargavi........signing off from Shillong......