I went on a short trip to Meghalaya in March. It is a very beautiful state and abounds in natural beauty and a very unique way of life.
It was carved out as a state out of two districts of Assam. Even as you cross over from Assam into Meghalaya on the way from Guwahati to Shillong, the stark difference in everything – from nature, cleanliness, people, language, food – is visible right away.
But apart from the tourist spots and their beauty which you can find on Google, I found a few very interesting stories that I carried back from Meghalaya. Many of them were told to us by our driver, some of them by guides, some by my own research when I was at the museum in Shillong. So here are a few of them.
NohKalikai
The most shocking story was of the legend of NohKalikai falls which is in Sohra (Cherrapunji is called Sohra by the locals). It translates as ‘Jump of Ka Likai’ – because a woman called Ka Likai from a village nearby gave up her life by jumping into it. The reason for that is the story which our driver narrated to us with full drama.
It turns out that Ka Likai had been married to a man she loved who dies leaving her with a young baby girl. Another man who professes love to her a couple of years later becomes her second husband though Ka Likai herself is hesitant. He turns out to be a good-for-nothing and a drunkard and the young lady has to work to keep the fires burning.
The second husband meanwhile can’t tolerate living off his wife, and turns his anger, one fine day, on the child. In a shocking turn of events, when he beats her out of drunken anger, the child dies. In a state panic, to get rid of the body, believe it or not, he actually cooks her into a curry, and after realizing what he has done, he runs away.
When Ka Likai returns, she doesn’t find anyone. She is hungry and, thinking they must be nearby, she has a sumptuous meal, unwittingly, of the curry she finds. To her utter shock, she later realizes what she has eaten on finding a few little fingers of the child. Unable to bear the agony, she is tormented, and jumps off the falls, and hence the name – NohKalikai.
Kwai
The second story was about the custom of offering Betel Nut (called Kwai in Khasi). Very many years back apparently there were two men – one of them a rich one and the other a poor one – in a village. They were very close, but after marriage, the poor man shifted to the village of his wife. It is a custom still followed – our driver being an example – that if the bride is the youngest daughter of her parents, her husband has to move to her house, and they are supposed to take care of the bride’s parents – a nice one, I thought.
But coming back to the story. Whenever the poor man came back to visit his village, he spent hours chatting at the rich man’s house who treated him to extravagant meals. Gossip spread in his wife’s village that he had a rich friend who always lavished him with fine presents. Finger pointing started that he was maintained by the rich man, but he never hosted his wealthy friend.
Forced by the bad mouthing, the poor man called his rich friend. But he was ashamed when he and his wife had no food at home and didn’t have anything to offer to the rich friend. Unable to bear the ensuing gossip, the poor couple killed themselves.
The rich man was pained when he realized this, and since then, he offered the betelnut with the leaf and lime to anyone, regardless of status, who visited him. The betelnut represents the rich man, the betel leaf the poor man, and the lime his wife.
Hence started the Kwai friendship custom in Khasi villages – a leveler of kinds! Not as gory as the NohKalikai story, but this story too involved some deaths! The surprising thing, though, is that despite so much betelnut being chewed, there are no red stains anywhere in Meghalaya. I am not sure what is the story behind the cleanliness.
Observations
Apart from these stories, a few quick observations I noted during our trip.
The first is about Tagore and Shillong. He loved Shillong, apparently, and visited it thrice for long periods of time. Some of his famous literary works were written while he was there or inspired from Shillong. So did Swami Vivekananda and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, but the records of their visits were lost in the pages of history.
The second is about a local Khasi fruit called SohPhie. It is a yellow green fruit that is seasonal and part of many Khasi menus in the form of jams. Our local host presented us with a bottle of SohPhie wine.
The third is about the tribes of Meghalaya. Khasi, Jaintia and Garo are the main ones, and their culture, folklore, clothes, food are quite different. Every tribe has its unique culture, folklore and food. You get a glimpse of that in the museum.
And all of them are different from the tribes of Arunachal, Nagaland and other Northeastern states. So, in reality, each of the seven sister states are more like far-off cousins than sisters. The nuances can only be understood by getting closer.
Endnote
Apart from the sightseeing around Sohra, Dawki and Shillong, we also met a lot of interesting characters in this Meghalaya trip. Our driver to start with, and then, the boatman and caretaker in Dawki, the young guide in the sacred forest were the ones of note. And I found the settings of haunted falls, limestone caves and lush forests that we chanced upon to be ripe for their stories to be told.
I am certain some of these characters and settings are going to find a way into a story in the future. Whether they do or not, time will tell. But in the meantime, I would highly recommend a visit to pristine, serene Meghalaya – till it stays that way!
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