Seven Sisters.............the Third Sister

The Third Sister -- Meghalaya

*     Meghalaya, the abode of clouds, is one of the most beautiful places

       on planet. Its beauty during rains is seen to be believed.
       Cherrapunji,not long ago, the rainiest place on earth is called
       'Sohra' in local dialect. When British couldn't pronounce it, they
       called it Cherra and punji in Khasi means village. That's how
       erstwhile village of Sohra got name of Cherrapuji. The place so
       inspired me that wrote a short story by the same name. 

*     The rainiest place on planet, Mawsynram, is in Meghalaya. I have
       not been to Scotland but in Meghalaya there are moors, akin to
       those in Scotland. Perhaps, it's rightfully called "Scotland of the
       East".

*     The Khasis, part of the Hynniewtrep people and one of the earliest

       ethnic groups of  settlers belong to the Proto-Australoid
       Monkhmer race, believed to have migrated from their homeland in
       the Mekong Valley in Cambodia. The wave of migration from
       there over many centuries would have passed through the region
       of Indo-China and Burma, via the Patkoi range and settled down
       for some years in the North Cachar Hills of Assam before
       reaching its present destination. 

*     As per the Khasi tradition, in the prehistoric time, the humans
       dwelt in heavens together with divine beings. The human beings
       then belonged to Khadhynriew Trep Khadhynriew Skum (The
       sixteen Huts). When it was decided to populate earth, seven of
       these groups descended below. In the beginning existed a tree
       that served as a link between heaven and earth. The ancestors
       of the Khasis freely commuted between those two places by
       means of this golden ladder. But in due course of time they 

       began to sin and lost their original state of righteousness and
       thus the link with heaven got broken.   

*     The Khasi history is a mixture of myths, fables and folklores. They

       believe in one Supreme Being, the Creator whom they called as

       U Blei Nongthaw whose manifestation they see in the groves,
       forests, hillocks, peaks and rivers. Thus these places over which,
       the Khasis believe that myriads of spirits, good and bad, hovered,
       became as the places of worship. For heartrending folktale of
       Nohkalikai, visit the beautiful waterfalls and hear the tale from
       the guide.......

*     Discover the land and its wonderful folks yourself........