Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Jingkieng Jri : Living Root Bridge Of Riwai of Meghalaya

Thatched cottages in Riwai Village
Contd from the first part :  . It took us a little more than three hours to reach Riwai Viilage which is just two km before Mawlynnong .The outside temperature at 31C  was pretty hot for Meghalaya .Sun was sharp .Pranab did a good thing to bring  a Sun Cap .We parked our car near  first way to the living root bridge (another was  just few mt away) .We had heard so much about the living root bridges of Meghalaya  and finally we were about to see one . There was this small sign board which pointed at the narrow pathway to the bridge.
To quench the thirst visitors can buy fresh and very juicy Pineapples if they want .The local sellers  peel ,cut and beautifully serve it on a stainless steel  plate with some red chilli flakes and salt . Pineapple is one of the major fruit crops of Meghalaya.The area smelt of ripen Jackfruits which we saw in abundance here.
Villagers occupied with their daily work hardly noticed the visitors until called . They were polite,friendly and readily agreed to let us photograph them.Broomstick has always been a fence crop here and most of  the villagers are engaged in the business of making and selling brooms.  A biodiversity paradise that Meghalaya is ,it is home to a large number of medicinal plants .
ticket stand
 This is the place where we bought entrance tickets .A village teen issued us the ticket .The fee was 10 Rs /head .The spot is managed by village authorities and thankfully there is no govt interference here.
stone pathway
We followed a stone pathway .These kind of path are known as King's Way . Khasi villages are inter connected through these.At some places we saw the old stone path was replaced by new stones. We met some visitors who after seeing the steps gave away the idea of going  to the bridge . How sad ,they had no idea what they missed .
 The beauty of the path and it's surrounding took my breath away .I kept on looking back and around .Walking this path  barefoot i felt so alive .After walking for ten to fifteen minutes we heard the sound of  river water splashed against rocks.We were about to reach this fantasy land .It was like a  place  from the movies Harry Potter / Lord Of The Rings.
living root bridge Riwai : view as you approach
 First glimpse of the bridge almost stopped my heart beats .I was looking at  one of the most extraordinary piece of art and engineering work done by human and nature as a team.As an old tradition Khasi's have been growing / creating living root bridges to cross the rivers.Most of these bridges are fully functional and are being used till date.Khasis used/use Rubber Plants (Ficus Elastica) for it as the tree grows many secondary roots.Some of these bridges are over hundreds year old.
Thanks to Pranab for this picture : stone path on the bridge
The process is long and takes  great deal of care and patience .Rubber trees  on  the banks of the river are selected. A root guidance system is used by hollowing out a Kwai/Tamul (Bettel Nut) Tree trunk .This hollow helps in containing and guiding the young and soft roots of the rubber tree from spreading out till they reach straightway to the other side of the river.They are further allowed to take roots in the soil .As the time passes by they become strong .Later stones are added to the gaps in between to create a path .The whole process takes ten to fifteen years the bridge to be fully functional.Some of these can bear the weight of up to fifty people at the same time.
a view from the back
The roots are naturally self-renewing and self-strengthening as the component roots grow thicker.As a rule if any villager notices a new root they carefully arrange it accordingly.
stone and root path over the bridge : thanks to Pranab
There are many such bridges in the state .One of the most amazing and hugest is in Umshiang's Double Decker Root Bridge.
A top view : image courtesy Pranab
 We almost forgot about Mawlynnong. Took lots of pictures .There were not more than six to ten visitors there.But we did notice many villagers passing through .Even the concrete bridges shake a little when the vehicles or people pass over it but not this one .
 Look at the roots : nature's brilliant art work.Even  after so many days i still have a dekho at my album at least twice.
 This is how the bridge looks from the front .A better view could have been captured from the river down .But we skipped it as we had already spent a lot of time there.
 Some parts of the bridge looked like beautifully designed picture frame - each one of us took the opportunity to pose .
 As i mentioned earlier village rules prevail here ..... read the warning .
 How we wished that we had more time in hand .We moved back to where we had parked our car .The way back was little tiring as we had to climb many steps .Took some rest in between.
 We had some company too.
Now we moved towards Mawlynnong : a km or two and we reached there ....
To Be Contd



63 comments:

  1. Nice. Thank you for showing me parts of the world that I haven't visited.

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  2. That was an EXCELLENT piece of let me call it - a unique travelogue.

    The pic of the "stone Pathway" was blissful.! Call it Bliss way.

    The picture of living stone bridge was amazing. I remember a comment in your post (1 st part) that NG had done a documentary and aired it. It is sad reflection that a unique land mark of conservation like this has to be told to the world by foreigners.

    Once again thank you much for the good idea- to travel to Meghalaya, photograph and write on this.

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  3. This is so fascinating . I never knew about these bridges, and one day I will surely travel to Meghalaya to see these. Thanks so much for posting these great photos, with all the detailed explanations ...!

    Absolutely amazing. And one needs to applaud the wiseness of the local folks, who take such good care of these ..

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  4. Amazing is the word! So very beautiful and interesting! Meghalaya is sure on my Must Travel Wish List! Thanks for sharing! :)

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  5. It is beautiful.. .. loved the journey to the place via your camera .. Thank you so much..

    Bikram's

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  6. Loved this travelogue. Now I know that, we have to plan a trip to Meghalya, and visit this bridge for sure. So many things remain unknown, and it is good you shared some of these unique places with us. The pictures are good. Tell us also about the place where you stayed, and all such relevant details.

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  7. just quit your job and become a journalist...boss..yep..u can be my boss...

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  8. That was something new; I have never heard of living root bridge before. What a smart idea!

    Thank you for sharing...

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  9. Kavita, it is YOUR remarkable creative photography which brings remarkable creations to US. It is you running commentary, which makes me feel as if I have BEEN there. I was mesmerized here today!
    PEACE!

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  10. awwwwwwwwww kavita you are so lucky to visit all these wonderful places mashALLAH...keep travelling and keep telling us about all the beautiful places out there:)

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  11. your post and pictures made me feel very nostalgic and i rembered those days when i used to go to dawki and had to take this route everyday to work with mid way breaks to this village when ever we had time. felt good to see them after so long.

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  12. Very very nice. Loved reading and looking at the picture. I was virtually there.

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  13. Reminds me of our big Island, even pigs!

    Traveling together builds our friendship, Kavita.

    Thank You-

    Namaste with Aloha from Waikiki;


    Comfort Spiral

    ><}}(°>

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  14. lovely...it reminds me of those wild places I have once being ..or even that movie Avataar ..which has those scenes,but this was amazing, specially those bridges made by nature and preserved by villagers,,,its very cheap rs 10 if it was taken by Govt. it would be at-least 200 bucks or so ...not to forget half will be in the ministers pockets.
    thanks for sharing..

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  15. The root bridge is something out of - like you said, 'Lord of the Rings! The photographs have captured the details so well. And your excitement is infectious! Can't wait to plan my next trip to the Land of Clouds!

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  16. simply lovely bridges, i never knew such things existed.

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  17. Good pictures of the natural root bridge. As you've said we can rely on these bridges than the shaky concrete ones. Its a pleasure to read this travelogue of yours. Waiting for the next one .

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  18. Simply no words.Very intoxicating .I had visited these places but did not show it to world.We should be proud to have everything in India to visit and explore.Excellant camera work.

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  19. Incredible bridges!
    Kavita, loved this post!
    Amazing pictures!
    Thanks for the journey!

    Margie x

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  20. First, let me thank you for showing us (oh, Nona has already written this!)this area, which is breathtakingly beautiful. I sent your link to my son now. We have got such treasure here in our own country and we don't take the time to appreciate it.

    The top view picture is beautiful...no, each and every frame is beautiful, Kavita! Thank you once more!

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  21. I liked the pictures of Riwai village as well as the stone bridge. Very beautiful and interesting to see the stone bridge. Brilliant post.

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  22. Wow! thanks for sharing Kavita. This was what I saw in the documentary on NGC. Marvelous piece of architecture.

    The stone pathway was heavenly. You are lucky to have walked on that living bridge

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  23. Awesome info didi..i never knew about these bridges..its simply amazing..Thank you so much for sharing about root bridges with all of us..Waiting for the next part...
    :)

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  24. God bless you and Chandan! us jagah ki sair kara di jahan jane ki eecha to hai par kab ho pata rub jane."just terrific", yaar duniya srishti ke saath reh kar aage badna seekhe to shayad zindagi zyada sahi gujre.....but is ipod/ipad ki duniya me churiyaan le kar har cheez kaat dalne ki bimari ka kya kare......SACH ME BADAA MAAZA AAYA...aur aage ki reporting ka besabri se intazaar......

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  25. Amazing bridge,pics are so stunning.

    Thanks for taking us to meghalaya (the neglected state in india),going to share this in my fb

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  26. Wow, that living roots bridge is so incredible. Only in a place like India would you see something like this. Certainly not in the USA.

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  27. These are just amazing photos, Kavita! Pineapples with salt and chili? Now that is something I've never imagined before. This is such an interesting and beautiful place. Thank you so very much for sharing it with us.

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  28. Oh...I 've never even imagined something like that bridge exists in reality.........awesome post.

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  29. wow, that just looks like u are in a fairy tale, love your pics!

    keep it up

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  30. WOW WOW WOW!!!!

    Amazing!

    Indeed a place out of a fairy tale!!

    Thank you so much for sharing!!

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  31. amazing, simply amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!
    even i cant take off my eyes from the pics.....I must go there soon!!!

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  32. seems like the shooting site of avatar...amazing!!:)
    our visit nxt time...
    yagya pandey...

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  33. No words.It is beautiful only because......it is untouched.All I can say is...KAVITA u r doing a great job by introducing the beautiful hidden treasure to all of us.good luck for the future.

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  34. ♥ •˚。
    °° 。♥。

    FELIZ DIA DOS AMIGOS!!!

    ♥ •˚。
    °° 。♥。

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  35. This is so interesting and very informative. Just loved the pictures, very pretty country.

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  36. i had actly seen these picts in a forward, but never knew these places are in Meghalaya !!!

    and like you said as long as the village rules prevail all will be fine :)

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  37. Kavita Ba, Thanks for the beautiful post and photographs & waiting for next part...

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  38. Incredible. Heard about this only in stories. Images are too good. This is definitely in my wish list.

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  39. Kavita, since long for me north east of India was Darjeeling, Assam or maximum Nagaland, till I read your blog. I had not read much about them except what is there in our school text books. But, seriously, after reading your blog, I realized, how under known this part of India is. Thanks for introducing rather reintroducing this part of my country to all of us. Kudos to your efforts and 'Soch' for the region you live in.

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  40. Kavita, for me North east of India was Darjeeling, Assam or maximum a siliguri or nagaland, till I stumbled upon your blog. I had only known about North east what is there in our school text books, seven sisters and all and nothing beyond. Your blog has given me an insight about a part of our country, which is so unfamiliar to the main stream Indian traveler/tourist. Kudos to your writings,with which you are unknowingly contributing in making North east visible to us ( many more others who read blogs but not follow them).

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  41. Wow, the photographs of those tree roots are tremendous, almost like something from another planet.

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  42. Excellent pictures ! I remember to have seen the picture of that bridge somewhere,and had wondered where it was.

    “The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.” St Augustine

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  43. Wow!! I am already dreaming of being there... These are the places I love, a kind of energy flows through these places... Quiet, Contemplative, Scenic-Beyond-Reality... And what marvel of engineering those bridges are, fantastic...
    Thanks for taking me into a place unseen, unheard...
    Have a fabulous weekend:)

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  44. This is outstanding. I've never seen such an amazing bridge, and wow it takes 10-15 years and such meticulous maintenance. Hats off to the villagers who live in sync with nature. The greenery is breathtaking, but I can't get over the bridge.

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  45. Thanks a lot to all of you for your visits and comments .Have been busy with some personal matters .Please forgive me for not responding to your comments individually .

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  46. Unbelievable sites. Its like a tour to Amazon.

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  47. Hi, just ran into your blogs via Magic Eye - what a beautiful place this is! I'm hoping to see it next year when I visit Northeast India.

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  48. It's amazing how by root a bridge is formed ... beautiful photos to show how it looks like. Meghalaya or any other northeast state are stunningly beautiful !!

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  49. Kavita,

    After looking at photographs and reading what you tell, I am absolutely tempted to revisit that area to see these wonders. Let me see how best I can do so. However with your posts it is like a visit itself. Thanks. Looking forward to next part.

    Take care

    PS : Though I am not able to visit regularly but catching up with pending posts is really wonderful.

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  50. I have never seen anything like these pictures in my life! Amazing. Hank Chapin, Hawaii, USA

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  51. Nice post! Wonderful pics!
    Fantastic!

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  52. Wow! that is the only word I have to describe the two posts. Loved every single photograph. Motivated to come back to Guwahati and Shillong soon. I feel like picking up the phone and calling you right now to congratulate you on the wonderful post. I loved the fact that you went into great detail in telling us about the bridge. The villagers should be rewarded for the fantastic wok they are doing in the area of sustainable development.

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  53. How fascinating! I read about such bridges few months ago when I was preparing a write up (in Hindi) about the floating islands. Hats off to you for such a nice travelogue.

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  54. Hay kavitha, this is just awesome photography! keep them coming!! enjoyed every bit!
    Office Letters

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  55. quite excellent I must say..and very comprehensive......




    http://teri-galatfahmi.blogspot.com/

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  56. Wow! Both the bridge and the little village are amazing.

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