[By W Passah, Ex HOD Electronics St Edmunds college Shillong]
The Giant Hornbill no live one but carved out of the logs of the old trees, that were being carried to the river Bramahputra bank in old monsoon when the Surmah River still beat the Brahmah and one poet of the 1920 U Soso Tham on “Ka Lyiur” “The Summer” first verse last line “Hangno Ka Brahma ha Khmat Ka Surmah” “Where stands the Brahmah Infront of the Surmah”.
2025 Bramah glaciers fed had beaten the Surmah and both to day beaten by Western Ghats of India.
Climate Change and Global Warming had turned the Mother Earth upside down.
How wonderful is the folklore of our Khasi Unscripted but just passed from one generation to the other simply through stories around the pyre, and though unscripted, these stories are but prophetic in nature as the following story on the Tree Diengiei will tell and the giant Hornbill will occupy the central theme.
And the river Umiam in English The Weeping River, now a giant dam of Hydel Power generating 174 MW, and it is being overlooked by the Diengiei Hillock.
To complete the triangle that may be compared to the Bermuda Triangle is standing on Hillock Diengiei, to your right is the Umiam Dam and to your far left is the Dwarksuid in English it is the Devil’s Gate.
The folklore :
The Khasi belief is Khasis had 2 abodes one on the Earth and the one in heaven. They reached the heaven through U Lum Sohpet Bneng near the road that circle the dam. Sohpet Bneng is Heaven Nabel.
From the west of the giant dam you could reach The Hillock Where the giant tree stood Tree Diengiei.
The 7 huts on the earth saw the tree one day would cast the sun and so the men began to fell it.
They returned to their huts to come back the next day to to their great surprise the tree untouched.
They sat by the side of a small tree and perplexed but two birds (like sparrows and one zoology teacher name it munia) and had clean gray breast,perched on the tree to reveal the secret but bargained that during harvest season they would not be shooed away. Deal struck and the birds told them the moment you left for your huts, a Royal Bengal tiger appeared to lick the wounds. The wind blew and the barks got stuck back to the tree.
Secret revealed, before returning to huts, they laid the sharp tools on the cuts. The tiger as always came to lick and tongue cut to run for few distance to collapse dead.
Little about the munia in connection with English Axiom “make a clean breast” for God got very angry to sprinkle black dots on their breast “and on tiger Royal Bengal folklore tells of man turning tiger at night to hunt.
After few months the tree was felled to cause the Sun (in Khasi Female) to stop to shine.
Man perplexed and it struck that the Hornbill with giant wing span, handsome long beak, round head to fly up to try to beg of the sun to shine again. And instead of doing that he started romancing the Sun who took the wooden stool and plunge it on his head and till date you could see the Hornbill with the stool stuck.
He climbed down ashamed of his folly and man had no more bird to send but the lowly, ill dressed rooster to fly to the sun.
Out of his duty to man he flew to mediate and the Sun struck with his humility and responsibilities to man agreed to shine. He returned to earth To be garlanded and thus whenever the rooster crows 3 times, the sun would climb the 29,000 feet of the Makashang (Himalayas name in Khasis, and Shang pertains to wandering to tell Khasis are but nomadic tribe)
Hornbill needs a story.
The Khadoom Range that wedge North Cachar of Assam and East Jaintia of Meghalaya with the last range being the National Sanctuary, had in the past many Hornbills of 6ft wing span and flying high with their beaks holding choicest nuts and they would land on the top of the giant tall trees with crevices cemented and the fruits to be dropped unto his chicks and Mrs.
But with its fats medicinal plus the forest Devastated by the many Cement Plants nearby, it remain but piece of history.
Hornbill in Khadoom Range is no more.
That Highland Post of 7th July 2023 has these headlines.
Balwant Bhama is Kingpin who threatens PIL filer.
Kingpins threaten duo who filed PIL against coal racket, coke plants.
If any harm happens, onus will be on Govt :H C
High Court hints at CBI probe on illegal coal mining.
To the right of Front page
NGT ban on Coal mining too sudden, says Conrad.
And leaving that to rot on its own. The Folklore of many many centuries passed on from pyre to pyre at last led to The Bermuda Triangle The Diengiei The Umiam the Weeping River and Dwarksuid The Devil’s Gate.
NGT ban on Coal Mining too sudden, says Conrad.
The story.
NHAI builds NH6. From Dwarksuid to Diengpasoh NEIGHRIM bifurcation NHAI built 4 NH bridges but Dwarksuid was let to be repaired by a local Contractor.
2019, Mr Conrad Sangma made the declaration of 34 Lakh Metric Tons of Coal was already Mined before the NGT ban, thereby giving the clean certificate to Dr Sangma.
It was era of multityre 2518 TATA and Leyland Trucks.
2518 is not cosmetic as our Ministry of Roads and Transport think.
25 is the factory Permissible load of 25 Ton for 18 x10 =180 Horse Power.
GVW or Gross Vehicular Weight of these trucks 28 Ton more or ledd6
25 Ton Factory Permissible Load of 25 ton sadly has MOT Concession of 25 %=7ton and for public to know why to get more fund in next financial year ok
And High level load 50 Tons. GVW 28 Ton so 78 Tons
2021 March Dwarksuid snapped unto 2. Border Road Force called to repair to last for 3 weeks. Coconut sacrificed to last till 2022 November and snapped for good.
The Umiam Dam Cum Bridge was then used and Umiam dam bridge was built in the 60s 70s
Era of small trucks.
One Assamese Chemical Engineer who worked with the Jaesoph Company that built the dam, later went to UK to teach SOSed my cousin Mr Lato, ex Director of East Jaintia Cement to call me to write the fears of the engineer.
So in The Shillong Times as always the fears narrated of 78 Ton vertical and at certain depth 78 Ton Horizontal to add 97 Ton to the exit. 2518 means 180 Horse Power Engine Vibration and bridge like holes or cavities love resonance and the dam will collapse.
Sadly not published to write again to resort to the PM Atul Behari Bajpaye East West corridor from Jerobad to Nowgong to Haflong. From Haflong to Silchar and one to 8th Mile West Jaintia. Not Published and today MeECL Civil Wing has to let only 4 Ton to ply.
That Folk Lore to return and 174 MW to plunge Meghalaya unto total darkness.
How true that Khasi Folklore.
With the coal fired plants discouraged by The Madrid Agreement, what will happen.
But be as it is please please build the battery operated Alarm triggered by the dam collapse to holler to all the people downstream as far as Bhoilymbong to make them run to higher ground to save themselves.
