From Shillong, we proceeded to a place which I read when I was in the School-Cheerapunjee. That is the place which I always wanted to see because right from our schooldays we have been told of that place. It is a name which almost all the people in India know. It is always said that Indians are not well acquainted with the North East but Cheerapunjee is a place which any school boy can tell when you ask him which is the place where you get highest rain in India.
Cheerrapunjee is an hour away from Shillong. It is also known locally as Sohra,. There is a similar place down south called Agumbe and it is in Karnataka. It is at a height of 820m. It is called as Cheerapunjee of the South. This receives about 300 inches of rain. I have seen Agumbe several times but Cheerapunjee is unique and is really makes one feel he is floating among the clouds like an angel.
Green meadows, misty mountains in the distance and tin-roofed houses give this town a fairy-tale like picture.. Cherrapunjee is also known for its magnificent, thundering waterfalls. The Mawsmai Falls are the fourth highest falls in India, cascading from a height of 1035 feet. The Nohkalkai Falls is another major waterfall that flows down a steep mountain gorge. I am informed that Cherrapunjee conceals some of India’s best natural treasures.
I was stunned to see that we were amidst the clouds Perhaps down south we have a place called Mercara where one can come across such clouds enveloping the people. Night driving is very difficult in such places. Though it was around 11 a.m. In Cheerapunjee the visbility was so bad that we could not drive for a couple of hours. We had to wait for the clouds to pass.
We saw some of the falls. One board at the entrance to a fall attracted my attention where the rules wanted the armed forces to behave themselves.
This shows their anger against the armed forces or perhaps the armed forces ride rough shod over these people. The difficulty with us was that when we see any of these natural phenomenon we feel we had seen similar sites at other places.
This only helps one to make a comparative study of each and every place. These falls cannot be compared to jog falls of Karnataka which is a treat to the eyes.
Jog falls in all its grandeur
From Shilling we proceeded to Gauhauti, which
Is at a distance of about 100 kms taking approaximately 3 hours. In the evening we went to see the mighty Brahmaputra which in fact is hugging the city shore.
I did not find nay boat ride or crusies there. I do not know what I heard was true. It was said that as there was a boat tragedy in the said river, cruses were suspended. We entered a cruise boat which was anchored on the hore and It was converted as a restaurant. I found a couple of cruise boats left in the shore without being attended which confirmed the absence of boat ride. The Brahmaputra was there in all its majesty. I always admired River Brahmaputra as it is a male river which criss crosses the boarders of Tibet, China, India, Bangladesh and Burma. I was very much impressed by the river though it was not all that wide in Gauhati. We went there in a hand driven rikshaw passing through Fancy bazaar. I was not aware of the importance of Fancy bazaar but later on I came to know that it is the most important area of that City and is an old part of the city.
After going through the city, late in the evening we went to see the famous old temple called Maa Kamkhya Temple. It is situated at the top of Ninanchal Hill (800 feet above sea level) in the Western part of Guwahati city. This temple was destroyed in early 16th century and then rebuilt in the 17th century by king Nara Narayana of Cooch Bihar. It is about eight kilometers west from the heart of the city of Guwahati in Assam. The object of worship is the female Organ of generation. I wanted to know more about the temple. I came to know that it has mythological background. I adopted this story from the net because I found it very interesting. The temple is constructed in the name of Sati, wife of Lord Shiva daughter of King Daksha. When Daksha had organized a Yagna (Daksha Yagna) Sacred rituals of fire, he had invited all the Gods, celestial beings and sages except Lord Shiva. Sati was eager to attend the Yagna, unmindful of not being invited. So she went alone with permission from Shiva, who however preferred not to attend uninvited.
Sati did not expect to be ridiculed by her father when he saw her there, uninvited. When Daksha hurled abuses at her husband and humiliated them, she was deeply hurt and angry. She threw herself in the blazing fire of the Yagna and killed herself. Shiva, on learning about the tragic death of his wife, was infuriated. Killing Daksha, he hoisted the dead body of Sati over his shoulder and began the Thandava- a dance of Annihilation.
This shook the universe and frightened the Gods. Lord Vishnu, Brahma and Shani ventured to put an end to the blind fury of Shiva. With the help of his Sudarshana chakra, Vishnu reduced the body of Sati to pieces and Shiva, without his wife’s body, returned to meditation.
However, Sati’s body parts, 51 in all, fell all over the earth and each of these places is revered as holy. The organ of generation (Yoni or the genital organs) of Sati fell over the Nilanchal Hills and today is known as Kamakhya Temple. (Assam was known previously as Kamrup Kamakhya desa)
There is no image of Shakti here. Within a corner of the cave in the temple, there is sculptored image of the yoni of the goddess, which is the object of reverence. A natural spring keeps the stone moist. Other temples on the Ninanchal Hill include those of Tara, Bhairavi, Bhuvaneshwari and Ghantakarna.
It was late in the evening we had gone there but even at that ime it was crowded. We went hrough the temple precincts and saw quite a number of goats moving around there. My enquiries revealed that goats, buffalos etc are brought there for sacrifice to the goddess.
From Gauhati we flew into Kolkatta by early morning flight where we were picked up by another taxi to go to Sundrbans – which is on the shores of Bay of Bengal.