IN THE ABODE OF CLOUDS
21st December 2007
Ever since my father got posted to Guwahati,Assam a visit to the north east was in the cards for us.. so we seized the opportunity and this winter we packed our bags for what was to be one of the most spectacular vacations I have ever had. 21st December, 2007
we boarded the flight for Guwahati…within one hour we were in the land of Kamadev, the green Assam with its mighty hills..lush tea gardens ..angry river.My father’s quarters are just beside the mighty Brahmaputra and in the evening we went for a stroll on its banks.
The river ,in its middle course is twice as wide as our own Hoogly…during the monsoons the swollen river flaunts it’s angry self ravaging both it’s banks with great fury…it has several islands in it.The setting sun reddened its waters and the rolling hills rising right from it’s banks set the scene for a perfect watercolor.We went on a speedboat ride, the ‘jolporee’ the smell of the salty water and it’s icy coldness hitting us with great vigour.

22nd December 2007
We packed all our woolens and were soon winding our way through the rolling hills of Meghalaya-‘the abode of the clouds’ towards Shillong.Shillong was a city developed by the British and one can still see the traces of the British civilization in the quaint churches,the wooden cottages. The population of the northeast is almost entirely Chistian, almost every youngster here hums some English pop number -Shillong is considered the center for blues music here in India.It has,in fact, played host to a number of bands,the heavy metal band Scorpions visited it this December.
We reached Shillong in the evening and lodged at the Bsnl inspection bunglow. It was too dark for local sightseeing ,nevertheless we went to the nearby Police Bazaar and as is the hobby of all tourists started scouring the innumerable shopping malls for buyables.Christmas being only 3 days away the entire complex was beautifully lit.Everyone was in the festive mood and people were out Yuletide shopping for family and friends. My mom , the skillful haggler, soon set off scavenging for local stuff. Mind you when we were back at the car all of us had plastic bags in both our hands!

23rd December 2007
Next day we set off for Cherrapunjee,the rainiest place on earth . December is perhaps not quite the correct time to visit the place locally know as Sohra as it is the driest month..the lush greenery of the plateaus, the innumerable rivulets dancing down the slopes ,the gushing waterfalls…you miss it all unless you visit it during the rainy season. A bit of the geography of the place actually needs to be explained . The Khasi hills rise steeply from the Sylhet plains of Bangladesh-it stands in the path of the monsoon winds and as it hits the hills the valley awakens to thundering storms and torrential rainfall..it is said the sight is panoramic…miles and miles of the plains ahead is visible with the dark clouds showering their bounty. Cherrapunjee receives as much as 11000
mms of rainfall annually..we were rueing the fact that we did not get to see the raw beauty of the place.The day was particularly sunny – perfect for sightseeing. After lunch at the Ramkrishna Mission were we were lodged we started for Noykhalikhai falls.My father who had been there earlier said that the fall had been reduced to half of what it had been in October, but we were not disappointed, the enchanting beauty dropped from a great height , it was much like a smaller version of the Angel falls.next we went to the Mawsmai caves-the four and a half Kms cave with stalactite and stalagmite formations . The setting was perfect for a treasure hunt .The roof of the cave was so low that we could touch it,at times we were on all our fours crawling our way through the slippery boulders. In places the limewater dripped from the roof. It is said that in the rainy season the cave remains almost totally inundated.
We then went on to the viewpoint from where the seven sister waterfalls can be viewed. In the rainy season seven waterfalls can be seen falling from the surrounding tableland.
Our next stop was another viewpoint from were we could see miles and miles of the plains of Bangladesh ahead. The river Madhumati can also be seen winding its way through the fields. Just beside the viewpoint is a rock in the form of a Shilvalinga.called the Khoh Ramah.
We were back right in time for the prayers at the Ramkrishna Mission. The mission here was set in1932 and is the center for spreading education amongst the tribals of the northeast. Here the percentage of girl students is more than that of the boys. We enjoyed the evening meal of crispy muri and steaming hot tea. The meals are taken here by the clock and by 9 o’clock we were ready for bed. It was chilling cold there and even with three blankets we were shivering. We could barely sleep that night , wondering how people managed to stay there in winter.

24th December 2007

A visit to Shella some 50 kms away on the Bangladesh border was not on the charts for us but next day we started off early next morning. Cherrapunjee is set on the top of a plateau. What was quite noticeable was that the top of the hills all had small cemeteries and memorials. On the way to Shella some 14 kms away is the Cherra holiday resort set amidst dense jungles of evergreen trees. From here one can go trekking, river canyoning, birdwatching et all, the living root bridge in the nearby forest is a miracle of nature, a mustwatch. We however could not see any of these. It was a bumpy ride to Shella ..the place itself however kept all it’s promise. Situated beside the Shella river is the Ramkrishna Mission. The river hardly had any water…we could see the mossy boulders and the shoals of fish swarming in the waters.
Back at Cherra we saw the museam at the Mission. It has an interesting array of all the local artifacts and interesting pieces of information about the Khasi livelihood.
After lunch we started for Shillong. It was evening when we were back. It was Christmas eve and the streets were all lit up. Christmas carols were being played in the shops. There were beautifully decorated Christmas trees in every courtyard. In several places there were processions of children singing Christmas carols. I have studied in a Christian school and I loved this ambience.

25th December 2007

We had kept this day for local sightseeing. We started with the polo grounds. The polo grounds are situated on a natural meadow. It is very beautiful with its gentle slopes and the tall pine trees bordering it on all sides. Next we went to the Ramkrishna Mission there. On Christmas there is a huge feast over here. Our stomachs full we started off for the Shillong peak. On our way we stopped at a catholic church at Lytmukhra. It was decorated for the season. As we entered the church heart was filled with great joy and peace as if the almighty god above was forgiving me today for all my sins. After offering our prayers we went on our way.
Shillong peak is the hightest point in Meghalaya. From a viewpoint here one can view the entire city. We couldn’t believe that the city was so huge. On our way back we went to the Elephant falls. It is called the three step falls also by the localites. The water falls in three steps and hence the name. There wasn’t much water left nevertheless it was very beautiful. We next went searching for the house where Rabindranath Tagore had stayed when he had come to Shillong. He had composed a number of his famous works including the dance drama Raktakarabi, his novel Shesher Kobita and a number of his famous verses.

26th December 2007

It was our last day of stay at Shillong. Before starting for Guwahati we went to see the Sacred Forest. The forest is considered sacred so no fruit is picked from here, no wood or leaf is collected . the growth is dense- all of sudden right from the borders of the rolling meadows the forest seems to spring from nowhere. Just beside the forest are holy
structures of the Khasis- standalone rocks which would remind one of the Stone Henge.
It was evening when we reached Guwahati.

27th December 2007
With one day to go before we returned to Kolkata we decided o go and see the famed Kamakhya temple situated on a hilltop. It is considered one of the greatest centers of Shakti culture. The temple was built in the 12th century and attracts devotees from far and wide. After offering puja we went to a temple further up the hill. From here we got a beautiful view of the great Brahmaputra…its wide expanse ..the lifeblood of all the people of Assam..
With that our visit came to an end.
We were touched by our visit deeply-the lovely people,their simplicity ,hospitality,the beautiful places,the picturesque valleys…I would like to end by saying ‘Khublei’ meaning ‘God Bless’ in Khasi..

the lazy days are back again..

The lazy days are back again…after months of planning of what is to be done and undone when the nerve racking semesters end, when “fun time” actually arrives I am actually left with nothing to do. While battling with math before the semesters I could have listed a thousand things that I had to do…catch up with old school friends, blog a little, visit quiz blogs, start preparing for the gre, finish reading the ayn rand I had borrowed months before…and the list goes on…but now? All plans have been replaced by that eternal peacemaker – sleep…I couldn’t have slept so well the entire semester..no fear of that dreadful alarm clock breaking the silence of the dawn ..day breaks at nine o clock for me when at home…and boy o boy..am I not pampered..while we starve most days in the hostel, at home a sumptuous breakfast awaits me- omlettes, soup, coffee...mom makes sure that her poor darling gets everything that she wants in the first meal of the day..lazy mornings have one good thing to count on..the morning paper can be given ample attention..but what with rizwanur rehman tossing in his grave awaiting justice and buddha’s regiment ravaging Bengal even the morning papers cannot hold my patience for long.. I sit with a pencil to solve the sudoko..once the crossword and the jumble are done again the “nothing to do “ syndrome poses a problem for me..even tom cruise and dustin hoffman trapped there in my lappy do not seem to hold any attraction for me…I feel restless …the idiot box goes on blabbering like an idiot..i open a word document in the laptop..but the page remains blank ..i am faced with a writer’s block..even orkut doesn’t give solace enough..everyone seems to be hibernating after the semesters ..no one online on gtalk,no new scraps,no one to spy on…life does become a big bore after the semesters …my friends are all still having there exams so I cannot even go out for a movie..i try to help my mother in the kitchen but she shooes me out with a ladle, try learning a little bit of circuit maker but nothing seems to go in to my head…suddenly mother’s voice calling me for dinner breaks me from the reverie ..my day comes to an end and I creep inside the warm blanket back into the arms of the the greatest nurse – sleep…with the conclusion that curse as we might, routine suits us best…I at least it gives us a daily aim..some regularity in work…something to keep us occupied…I am left wondering what this world would have become had there been nothing called routine….

why am i here...

dark clouds gathered in the sky...like am omen from heaven...as if telling me of my eminent doom...the skys crying out to me asking me to tell them who i am...or where i come from..asking me...god's child..in search of nothing but a morsel of happiness...what is it that i look for...who is it that i'm searching for...where lies the end of this road..what have i learnt in this short life that ive led? some sucsess..lots of failure....nothing ..nothing much...nothing worthwhile...i ask this question again and again ,"god,why am i here? what makes me special? " i had a goal once..where is it now...the harsh realities of this nasty world seems to have blinded me....i can't see the path that i tread clearly..where..where am i destined to go? my soul tries to break free...it thirst's for that thing called happiness..when i close my eyes...i dream of sun bathed beaches..and trees swaying in the soft spring wind...the smell of the primroses filing the air..my heart cries for that heaven..the heaven of freedom..where there is forgiveness ...no sorrow...i'm tired of this world...