Meghalaya
Location
Area
Population
Largest City
Language 		: North-Eastern India
: 22,429 Sq. Km
: 23,06,069
: Shillong
: Garo, Khasi, English
About Meghalaya
Meghalaya is a dream come true for the tourist. It is a happy land of magnificent beauty, undulating hills, rolling grasslands, cascading waterfalls, snaking rivers, terraced slopes and thrilling wildlife.Some of the important tourist spots are Uniam Lake, Kyllang Rock, Nohsngithiang falls at Mawsmai, and the monoliths of Nartiang.

Meghalaya is the home of the Tribals especially the Khasis, Jaintias, Mikirs and Cacharis, who are said to have inhabited this region before the start of the Christian era. These tribes evolved out of the migration into north east by the migrants who belonged to the Indo-Chinese linguistic family, the Mon-Khmer and Tibeto-Burman. The Khasis came from the Khasis and Jaintias. The Tibeto-Burman sub-family were the Naga, Kukichin and Bodo. The Bodos were later divided into small linguistic groups such as Garo, Kachari, Mechs, Dimasa, Tippea, Lalung, Rabha, Chutiyas. The British occupied the Garo Hills in 1872. The tribal district council was established. The tradition among the tribals was kingship. The earliest Jaintia Raja is said to have ruled from 1500AD. They were influenced by the Hindu culture. The British influence in Meghalaya extended to the improvement of the landscape, development of roads. The works for progress and development of this region is still continuing after independence and formation of Meghalaya into a state.

Festivals Meghalaya

Wangala
A very important festival among the Garos is the Wangala- a harvest festival held in honour of Saljong, the Sun-god of fertility. This marks the end of a period of toil, which brings good yield of the fields. It is the time to relax and for days the hills and valleys resound with the distinctive beat of drums. The dance itself has certain subtle variations, the main motif being a queue of two parallel lines- one of men and other of women clad in their festive regalia. Young and and old join the festivities with equal gaiety. While the men beat drums, the line moves forward in rhythmic unison. The 'orchestra' of men consists of drums, gong and flutes punctuated by the sonorous music of an indigenous flute made of buffalo horn. There is a noticeable sense of rhythm in the participants, young and old, and the vigorous dance leaves a lasting impression upon the beholder.

Shad Nongkrem
The Khasis and Pnars have religious festivals as well as secular celebrations. A very important and elaborate festival among the Khasis is the Shad Nongkrem (Nongkrem dance) held annually at Smit, the capital of the Khyrem Syiemship near Shillong. This is used to be held in the past in the month of May but for some years the date has been shifted to November. An important part of this festival is Pomblang (decapitation of goats), at which goats offered by subjects of the Syiem of Khyrem are sacrificed and offerings are made to the ancestor and ancestress of the ruling clan to the first uncle to the deity of Shillong peak. Religious part of the festival precedes dances, in which unmarried girls in all their finery participate. The men's dancing is naturally more vigorous and energetic. They hold a sword in their right hand and usually a white Yak hair whisk in their left hand, keeping time to the changing beats of drums and playing of the tangmuri or pipes.

Shad Suk Mynsiem
A counterpart of the Garo harvest festival is the Shad Suk Mynsiem or the 'dance of Contentment' celebrated in April at the Wecking grounds near Shillong and at other places.

Beh-dien-Khlam
Among the Pnars, the most celebrated religious festival is the Beh-dien-Khlam. (chasing away the Demon of Cholera). Early on the first day, young men go round the village beating on gate post of individual houses. The climax of the celebration is the tussle for a large undressed beam by two groups of people in opposition to each other. This involves getting this heavy beam across a muddy ditch called Wah-eit-nar. A lot of horse play enters into this part of the proceedings when mud is generously smeared by the participants on each other. This celebration held at Jowai is one of the most well known festival in Meghalaya.

How to reach Meghalaya

Air
The state does not have any airport. The nearest airport is at Guwahati, which is only 128kms from Shillong the capital city of Meghalaya. A helicopter service operates betweenGuwahati, Shillong (30 min) and Tura (60 min), which is convenient and economical. Some helicopters land at upper Shillong and others at Umroi Helipad in the downtown.

Road
Road Network in the state is quite efficient and covers the state conveniently. National Highway 40 is an all-weather road running through the state. The road connects Shillong withGuwahati, which in turn is connected to other major cities in rest of the country.

Rail
The state does not have any train service. The nearest and railway station is in Guwahati. The state has very convenient road connection with Guwahati throughout the year.