Shillong is the
capital of Meghalaya, which derived from the words ‘Megh’ and ‘alay’ from the
Latin word, which means abode of clouds, located at an altitude of 1496metre
(5480ft) above the sea level, and the name ‘Shillong’ came from the guardian
deity of Shillong Peak. Usually Shillong is depicting as the Scotland of the
East because of the remarkable similarity between the mountain landscape of the
uplands of Khasi Hills and those of the Scottish high ground, Shillong presents
attractive scenery with a number of waterfalls as, Elephant Falls, Bishop and
Beadon Falls, Spread Eagle Falls, the Sweet Falls. Many attractive places found
in Shillong are Shillong peak, Golf
Course (1925), Polo Ground (at the turn of the nineteenth century),
Crinoline waterfalls and Swimming pool it’s a little more than unique where a
swimming pool and a waterfalls are standing close to each other, Lady Hydari
Park, named after the wife of Sir Muhammad Saleh Akbar Hydari (the Assam’s
first Indian Governor) its a fine-looking garden and a mini zoo, Ward’s Lake named
after it was developed by Sir William Ward (1892-93), which has a beautiful winding pathway and
arched bridge that was thrown across, become the most endearing symbol of Ward’s
Lake, Kharsati Park, Matti Lang Park
which is adjacent to the Elephant Falls, Nehru park a stunning garden added
with flowers and trees which captivate the tourism or the local natives to hangout
with there families and love ones. Police bazaar which is in the heart of the
city is the most crowded place from morning till night; it has originated at
the close of the nineteenth century, Bara Bazar or iewduh a traditional market
since the close nineteenth century run by the local community.
Some of the heritage residencies and
Government houses in Shillong are the Colonell Henry Bivar’s La Chumier, the Legislative
Council, the Governor House renovation by Sir Robert Reid, the Golf House at
the new golf course at Pynthorumkhrah since 1925,
Comparison with the other States
of the Indian Union, Meghalaya is unique in the existence of its copious caves,
which lure the foreign caver to explore the unexplored. Some cave has a fine
river passage with extraordinary passage dimension such caves in Khasi Hills
are ‘Krem Phyllut’ situated at the southern of ‘Lum Lawbah’ south-west of Sohra
(Cherrapunjee), and about halfway between the villages Mawsmai and Nongthymmai.
‘Krem Pubon’, ‘Krem Mawmluh’
situated just about half a kilometer west of Cherrapunjee, adjacent to the
small village of Mawmluh, ‘Krem Lawkhlien’ situated at the rock face below Lum
Synna about 4Km. pine trees and some of the unusual species of orchids grow
wild in Meghalaya. Krem syndai (jaintia
hills)
- The geographers called Shillong as Shillong plateau; the name chosen for it was appropriately Meghalaya-The abode of the clouds in Sanskrit-first coined in 1936 by Professor S P Chatterjee in his detailed study Le Plateau de Meghalaya.
- Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and B K Nehru arriving at the Polo Grounds to inaugurate the new State of Meghalaya on 20 January 1972 and Mrs. Gandhi also attended the inaugurated.
- on 20 January 1972, Shillong’s raj Bavan found itself in a unique situation: its incumbent was Governor not only of Assam, Nagaland and Meghalaya but also of Manipur and Tripura. This responsibility over five states gave B K Nehru his popular designation, Governor of the North Easter States.
- Shillong’s Raj Bhavan now became, in the words of one writer, “the center of gravity of North East India”. The Governor of the North-Eastern States was also the Chairman of the North Eastern Council, created for the coordinated development of the region, Chancellor of three universities in Assam and the Chief Rector of the North Eastern Hill University in Shillong, established by an Act of Parliament a year later.
- Lalan Prasad Singh: The first Speaker of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly.
- First Convocation of the North Eastern Hills University was in 1975. Indira Gandhi also attended the NEHU Convocation, the Chancellor was Chandran D S Devnasan, Vice Chancellor was Syed Nurul Hasan, and Union minister of Education and L P Singh was a Chief Rector in NEHU.
- Captain Williamson Sangma: The First Chief Minister of Meghalaya.
--– Constantine K Khongwar--
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