Shillong
Shillong is the capital and hill station of Meghalaya, also known as "The Abode of Clouds", one of the smallest states in India. It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district and is situated at an average altitude of 4,908 feet (1,496 m) above sea level, with the highest point being Shillong Peak at 6,449 feet (1,966 m). Shillong is the 330th most populous city in India with population of 143,007 according to the 2011 census. It is said that the rolling hills around the town reminded the European settlers of Scotland. Hence, they would also refer to it as the "Scotland of the East".
Shillong has steadily grown in size since it was made the civil station of the Khasi and Jaintia Hills in 1864 by the British. In 1874, on the formation of Assam as the Chief Commissioner's Province, it was chosen as the headquarters of the new administration because of its convenient location between the Brahmaputra and Surma valleys and more so because the climate of Shillong was much cooler than tropical India. Shillong remained the capital of undivided Assam until the creation of the new state of Meghalaya on 21 January 1972, when Shillong became the capital of Meghalaya, and Assam moved its capital to Dispur in Guwahati.
These are locations in and around Shillong which are tourist spots. These include:
- Elephant Falls: 12 km on the outskirts of the city, the mountain stream descends through two successive falls set in dells of fern covered rocks.
- Lady Hydari Park: The park stretches over a kilometre and has an adjacent mini zoo.
- Wards Lake: Known locally as Nan-Polok. It is an artificial lake with garden and boating facilities.
- Shillong Golf Course: Shillong has one of the largest golf courses (the world's wettest) in Asia: Gleneagles of the East. It enjoys the rare distinction of being one of the few natural golf courses in Asia. Not only is the Shillong Golf Course scenic and enjoyable, it is also challenging. A group of British civil service officers introduced golf to Shillong in 1898 by constructing a nine-hole course. The present 18-hole course was inaugurated in 1924. The course is set in a valley covered with pine and rhododendron trees. The tight fairways, carpeted with a local grass which hardens the soil, are difficult to negotiate. The number of out-of-bounds streams that criss-cross every fairway makes it all the more trying. Obstructions come in the form of bunkers, trees and rain. The longest hole is the 6th, which is a gruelling 594 yards. Shillong Golf Course is considered to be the "Glen Eagle of the East" at the United States Golf Association Museum. It was set in a valley at an altitude of 5200 ft in 1898 as a nine-hole course and later converted into an 18-hole course in 1924 by Captain Jackson and C. K. Rhodes.
- Motphran: The “Stone of France” which is locally known as "Motphran" was erected in memory of the 26th Khasi Labour Corps who served under the British in France during World War I. It bears the words of the famous Latin poet Horace "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori" which can be roughly translated as "It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country."
- Shillong Peak: A picnic spot, 10 km from the city, 1965 m above sea level, offers a panoramic view of the scenic countryside and is the highest point in the state. Obeisance is paid to U Shulong at the sanctum sanctorum at the peak's summit every springtime, by the religious priest of Mylliem State.
- Capt. Williamson Sangma State Museum: For those interested in ethnic tribal culture and tradition this government museum offers insights to the lifestyle of the people. This museum is in the State Central Library complex where monuments for the great patriots of the state were erected besides the statue of Smt. Indira Gandhi and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
- Don Bosco Centre for Indigenous Cultures: The Don Bosco Museum is part of DBCIC (Don Bosco Centre for Indigenous Cultures). DBCIC comprises research on cultures, publications, training, animation programmes and the museum, which is a place of knowledge-sharing on the cultures of the northeast in particular, and of culture in general. DBCIC with its Don Bosco Museum is situated at Mawlai, Shillong.
- Entomological Museum (Butterfly Museum): A privately owned museum of M/s Wankhar, Riatsamthiah, Shillong about 2 km from Police Bazar is the only known museum in India devoted to moths and butterflies.
- Air Force Museum at Upper Shillong
- Forest Museum in Lady Hydari Park
- Rhino Heritage Museum at Shillong
- Zoological Museum in Risa Colony
- Anthropological museum at Mawblei
- Botanical Museum at 4th Furlong
- Arunachal Museum at the Cantonment Area
- Chrysalis the Gallery: This art gallery is on the second floor of Salonsar Mansion at Police Bazaar, the commercial hub of Shillong. Chrysalis has flexible spacing to display paintings (canvases), sculpture, photography and handicrafts. Run by a local artist, Jaya Kalra, the gallery caters to exhibitions of artists and artisans especially from the northeast and also from the rest of India.
- State Museum: Located at the State Central Library complex.
- Cathedral of Mary Help of Christians is in Don Bosco Square.
- Bishop and Beadon Falls: Both cascade down the same escarpment into a deep valley.
- Spread Eagle Falls: 3 km from Polo Grounds.
- Sweet Falls: Sweet Falls (also called “Weitden,” in the native dialect) is the most beautiful of all the waterfalls in Shillong. It lies about 5 km from the Happy Valley and is about 96 m in height.
- Crinoline Falls: Near Lady Hydari Park.
Other Attractions
The State Museum is located at the State Central Library complex in Laichumiere and visitors can catch a glimpse of the heritage and lifestyle of the Khasi tribe here. The Butterfly Museum at Riatsamthiah holds a rare collection of butterflies and moths.
The Botanical Garden near Ward Lake has some species of flora of the region. A better place is the Orchidarium of the Botanical Survey of India. It has a rare collection of orchids and is a treat to the nature lover.
Near the Botanical Garden, one can find the celebrated Golf Course, called the Gleneagles of the East. The Golf club retains the colonial touch and is the first 18-hole golf course in Asia.
Behind the Shillong Civil Hospital, near the Pine Mount School, is the Lady Hydari Park. It has a small museum, a small zoo, an aviary, and a deer park among tall cedars and pines.
In front of St. Edmund’s College, one can visit the fruit garden, maintained by the Department of Agriculture. During spring, one can see the trees in full bloom. There are many reservoirs filled with natural spring water that have the dual purpose of watering the gardens and functioning as a nursery—known as “Fishdale”—for the raising and breeding of fish, notably hill-trout and carps.
Shillong is also famous for its churches. The most beautiful church is that of the Cathedral of Mary Help of Christians. Directly below the hill is the Grotto Church. The All Saints Church opposite the State Central Library is an attractive structure made out of wood.
Shillong is at 25.57°N 91.88°E. It is on the Shillong Plateau, the only major uplifted structure in the northern Indian shield. The city lies in the centre of the plateau and is surrounded by hills, three of which are revered in Khasi tradition: Lum Sohpetbneng, Lum Diengiei and Lum Shillong.
- Weather conditions: Pleasant, pollution-free; summers: The temperature varies from 23 °C (73 °F); winters: The temperature varies from 4 °C (39 °F).
- Location: Shillong, the capital city of Meghalaya is just 100 km (62 mi) from Guwahati which can be accessed by road along NH 40 , a journey of about 2 hours 30 minutes through lush green hills and the magnificent Umiam lake in between
As the legend goes, Shillong was named after a boy called '
Aahlad', who was born to a virgin mother in a village near Bisi. This boy later became a handsome youth and was made the local deity; and the place was named after him.
Shillong was capital for composite Assam during the British regime and later till a separate State of Meghalaya was formed. David Scott, the British civil servant of the East India Company, was the Agent of the Governor-General North East Frontier. During the First Anglo-Burmese War the British authorities felt the need for a road to connect Sylhet and Assam.The route was to traverse across the Khasi and Jaintia Hills. David Scott overcame the difficulties his administration faced from the opposition of the Khasi Syiems — their chiefs and people. Impressed by the favorable cool climate of Khasi Hills, they negotiated with the Syiem of Cherra in 1829 for a sanatorium for the British. Thus began the consolidation of British interests in the Khasi-Jaintia Hills.
A serious uprising by the Khasis against foreign occupation of their land followed. It began early in 1829 and continued till January 1833. Eventually the Khasi confederate chiefs were no match against the military might of the British. David Scott negotiated for the surrender of the leader of the Khasi resistance, Tirot Sing, who was then taken to Dacca (present day Dhaka) for detention. After the resistance of the Khasis a political agent was posted in the hills, with its headquarters at Cherrapunjee. But the climatic condition and facilities of Cherrapunjee did not make the British happy, they then moved out to Shillong, which was then known as "Yeddo". The name "Shillong" was later adopted, as the location of the new town was below the Shillong Peak.
In 1874, a separate Chief Commissionership was formed with Shillong as the seat of administration. The new administration included Sylhet, now a part of Bangladesh. Also included in the Chief Commissionership were the Naga Hills (present day Nagaland), Lushai Hills (present day Mizoram) as well as Khasi, Jaintia and Garo Hills. Shillong was the capital of composite Assam till 1969 when the autonomous state of Meghalaya was formed. In January 1972 Meghalaya was made a full-fledged state.
The Shillong Municipal Board has a long history dating back to 1878, when a proclamation was issued constituting Shillong and its suburbs, including the villages of Mawkhar and Laban, into a station under the Bengal Municipal Act of 1876. Inclusion of the villages of Mawkhar (S.E. Mawkhar, Jaiaw and part of Jhalupara and Mawprem) and Laban (Lumparing, Madan laban, Kench’s Trace and Rilbong) within the Municipality of Shillong was agreed to by Hain Manik Syiem of Mylliem under the agreement of 15 November 1878. But, there is no trace of Shillong in the British era maps dating back to 1878, up to 1900.
Shillong was also the subject of the great earthquake that occurred on June 12, 1897. The earthquake had an estimated moment magnitude of 8.1. Twenty-seven lives from Shillong town alone were lost.
Shillong is well connected by roads with all major northeastern states. Two major National Highways pass through:
- National Highway 40 (India) – Connected to Guwahati
- National Highway 44 (India) – Connected to Tripura & Mizoram (NH 44A)
Private bus operators as well as state transport buses from other states ply to and from Shillong daily. Taxi services are also available to destination like Guwahati, Agartala, Dimapur and other North Eastern towns and cities.
