Meghalaya Of Beauty And Mysticism

Besides the breathtaking landscape, it’s the fascinating tales, taboos, and traditional practices of the indigenous people that are memorable takeaways.

- Neelima Mishra

An urge to visit all the eight states of the Northeast led us to Meghalaya in October 2018. Having visited Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Sikkim over the past few years, our plans were made in Bhubaneswar, about three months ahead of the trip. There were three of us: my husband Janmejay, our friend Tarun, and I. We wanted our trip to be as naturally intoxicating as possible, to give Tarun a different experience from the usual city life that he inhabits. And to that end, we contacted the team from Discover North East Travel Company, based out of Guwahati, Assam, who happily met our requirements.

We took a flight from Bhubaneswar, Odisha, and landed in Guwahati where Himanshu Pandey, the operations head from Discover North East Travel Company and Rahul dada, our driver, received us. They accompanied us throughout our trip. A graduate from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Mizoram, Himanshu’s knowledge of the region was comprehensive and his collection of songs was all the more amazing. The way to Shillong was busy and we made our first halt to take a few pictures of Umiam Lake. We were told that it wasn’t a natural lake but a dam reservoir. Later when I Googled it, I found that it was indeed an artificial lake, created by damming the Umiam River and covered about 220 square km. This was first hydro-power project in this part of the country.