Finding myself after being lost

by ARPITA MOHANTY (India)

A leap into the unknown India

I was lost, heartbroken !! After being betrayed in love, travel seemed to be the only way to heal my soul. I just love being wanderlust. Although am a thalassophile , but this time I wanted to take chance, a leap into the unknown !! I wanted to find myself back. So in spite of my love for oceans, I chose the mountains this time. It was the breathtaking North East India/Seven Sister States. Northeast is the paradise unexplored and known for its natural beauty, diversity, rare and unique wildlife, people and culture. It comprises of eight states – Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. Being a professional telecom engineer, I often do not get much leaves, so I had to choose any one of the States & it was Meghalaya. It was a 3 nights & 4 days trip in total. The term Meghalaya, is a combination of two words: Megham meaning clouds and alayam meaning abode. Hence, in its entirety Meghalaya signifies abode of the clouds. The districts of Khasi, Garo and Jaintia hills mainly form the state of Meghalaya. It was in the month of December , I took a flight from Kolkata to Guwahati. Then from there I booked a cab & started on my journey to explore the capital city of Meghalaya, i.e. Shillong. It’s a total of 90 kms, 3 hours of journey from Guwahati to Shillong. En-route I covered the beautiful Umiam/Borapani lake, orange orchards, Golf field, Ward’s lake & then finally reached the Police bazaar in Shillong. It was almost 2-3 degrees in the evening & the place was all decked up for Christmas. The chilled winds just blew my mind & I was totally engrossed in the twinkering lights all over the place & beautiful street markets. I almost shopped for 3-4 hrs, looted as much I could & then got back to grab a plate of warm dimsums & soup which provide ultimate warmth in the chilled night.The day was almost over & I headed to take rest at the hotel room. Next morning, after breakfast, we set off for Cherrapunji, it’s a place well known for receiving one of the highest rainfall in the world. Cherrapunji is locally known as Sohra and is situated at a distance of 56 kms from Shillong. On the way is the Mawkdok Dympep Valley which is a mesmerizing valley view point. Then on the way I visited the Nohsngithiang falls/Seven sisters falls which is known to be the symbol of the Unity of the Seven States of North East India. Later I visited the Mawsmai cave, a major crowd puller. There are stalactites & stalagmites made up of lime & sandstone , formed over a period of thousand tears due to abrasion from underground water. At some places, I literally had to crawl on all fours to paas through. After trekking in the majestic cave I moved for Eco Park, which hosts several hybrid and indigenous orchids. It also offers a breathtaking view of distant Sylhet Plains of neighbouring Bangladesh. And then at last visit the Nohkhalikai Falls which is probably the biggest fall of Meghalaya. At the end we travelled back for overnight stay at Shillong. Next morning, I got ready to explore the Mawlynnong Village & Dawki – Tamabil. It was almost 90 kms & 3 hours journey. Mawlynnong village located in the East Khasi Hills of Meghalaya, also referred as ‘God’s own garden’ has won the acclaim of being the cleanest village in Asia in 2003. There I visited the Living Root Bridge in the nearby village of Riwai. After some time we headed for Dawki in the East Jaintia Hills. On arrival is the Wah Umngot River where the water is crystal clear and is said to be one of the clearest river in India. The journey from Mawlynnong to Dawki is really thrilling and scenic. I took a boat ride in the waters of Umngot, which is the most astonishing thing to do in Dawki. It was really a leap into the unknown corridor of this beautiful place which embraced my heart & said don’t worry, everything’s gonna be okay. With all these enchanting memories I travelled back from Shillong to Guwahati to catch my flight & start afresh.