Nongriat

[1]

A villager next to Nongriat's most famous living root bridge.
Nongriat
village
Country  India
State Meghalaya
District East Khasi Hills
Languages
 • Official English
Time zone UTC+5:30 (IST)
Vehicle registration ML
Nearest city Shillong
[2]The hybrid bridge of Nongriat.

Nongriat is a village in the East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya State, in north-eastern India.[3] It is perhaps best known for its living root bridges; one an impressive double-decker suspension bridge called Jingkieng Nongriat.[3] The village has three functional root bridges.[4] These are crafted by hand, as the Khasi people have done in the Khasi Hills for centuries, intertwining and weaving together the aerial roots of banyan trees on opposite sides of a stream-filled gorge.[3] Jingkieng Nongriat, better known simply as Double Decker, has been featured on international television programs such as the Human Planet series filmed in 2008 by BBC Wales, and a documentary by Mr. Osamu Monden in June 2004 for Asahi TV in Japan.[5] There is another functioning living root bridge upstream from Nongriat, along with a hybrid structure that is made from both roots and steel wire.[6]

Near Nongriat, and best viewed from the neighboring village of Laitkynsew during the autumn monsoon season as a magnificent cascade, is the waterfall of Ka Likai.[7] A succession of stone steps connect the community with neighboring village of Tyrna, just below the Cherrapunji-Laitkynsew bridle-path.[7]

The Story behind:

As per the folklore, there was a man who fell in love with a tree and they wanted to get married and spend their lives together in harmony. But the man's family did not approve of the marriage and wed him to a girl belonging to the tribe in the village, with whom he bore children. But the love of the tree for the man was unconditional and undying and as a gift, it made living bridges entwining its roots above the river. Of course, the story is a folklore but the love of the men for the trees is evident here in the village. It is a living example of extraordinary coordination between nature and man.

References

  1. ↑ https://shirinmehrotra.com/2017/04/11/nongriat-living-roots-bridges-khasi-tribe-meghalaya/
  2. ↑ "How are Living Root Bridges Made?". The Living Root Bridge Project. 2017-05-05. Retrieved 2017-09-07.
  3. 1 2 3 Khasi Hills: The land of abundant wonders, retrieved 2010-06-30
  4. ↑ "Root Bridges of the Umiam River Basin". The Living Root Bridge Project. 2017-04-27. Retrieved 2017-09-07.
  5. ↑ "Cherrapunjee.com: Nature Treks and Walks". Cherrapunjee Holiday Resort. Retrieved 2010-06-30.
  6. ↑ "How are Living Root Bridges Made?". The Living Root Bridge Project. 2017-05-05. Retrieved 2017-09-07.
  7. 1 2 Gurdon, I.A, Major Philip Richard Thornhagh; Lyall, K.C.S.I., Sir Charles (1914), Gurdon, I.A., Major Philip Richard Thornhagh, ed., The Khasis, Macmillan Books, p. 161


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