Thangkharang Park

Thangkharang Park is situated 12km from Cherapunji. A small one way road slithers down a gentle slope, covered with trees. The best thing about the park is that it gives panoramic view of the plains of Bangladesh. It also overlooks the massive Kynrem falls, cascading down in three steps. The view from here is extraordinary and there is nothing to block it except for fog during the rainy season.

The Park is also at the edge of a rocky cliff, but here unlike Eco Park, stunted trees grow and provide cool shades from the hot autumn sun. In the dry season, the heat can be more than one needs. It is also a parked designed for kids, who care little about the landscapes and priceless view. Earlier there was a tree house in the Park, but that had degraded. I tried tracing it but to my disappointment found it in ruins. The other attraction here is the exotic species of orchids collected from the nearby places.

Here the mountains end bluntly as if chopped off by a giant knife. It looks like the end of one world and the beginning of another; this is true in more than one sense. Spread beneath are the plain of Bangladesh reaching as far as your eyes can see and finally merging with the horizon. The world of great riffs and the mountains finally comes to an end here. This is where India ends and Bangladesh begins.

Khoh Ramhah also known as the Giant Basket is a massive rock in the shape of an upturned conical traditional Khasi basket. Aprart from the size what surprised me more was how the rock so big had perched on a small hill for so many years. Small trees and grass grow on it like roof over a hut. To say the least, it looked surreal but it fit in nicely to this part of the place, where everything is shrouded in myths and folklores. The giant stone is also steeped with local folklore. According to the folklore, the 200 ft stone basket belonged to an evil giant, who tortured the people with his greed and unsocial behavior. The villagers fed up with this, prepared a meal and mixed with sharp iron and nails. The evil giant died after consuming it. The basket he left turned into a stone.

On rainy days, when the whole landscape is all shrouded in fog these mystic stories seems to come alive. Cherrapunji is full of such places. Here folklores are important as the landscapes themselves. Though most of these folklores are unbelievable as most folklore is; it helps us see the world in a different way. It helps us see the things that are not there.