Mesmerising Meghalaya – IV

In the world of Instagram and Tiktok, it is often easy to fall for an image online and be disappointed in real life. The iconic wooden swing in Bali comes with a queue that’s two hours long. The gates of the fire temple in Bali look like that only if you place a mirror as you take the picture. There are many many places like this in India and abroad that tempt you with an illusion, but the reality is a wholly different story. I was afraid that Dawki in Meghalaya would be the same story.When I Googled Dawki, my screen was flooded with images of a river so clear that it looked like glass! The water was an alluring bluish green and boats appeared to be sitting atop a pretty glass sheet. The first time I saw a photo of this incredible place, I knew I wanted to go there. And I did not want to just go by myself but take along a group so they could wake up to the magic of what India has to offer. Luckily for me, Dawki did not disappoint. In fact, the picturesque beauty of Dawki is just as mesmerising in reel and real..Popularly known as Dawki, the Umngot River flows along the border of Bharat and Bangladesh. It is said to be the cleanest river in the world. It manages to maintain its status of ‘cleanliness’ because of the absence of human settlement waste and mineral-mining pollutants, as it flows through a steep, uninhabitable landscape in the lower Jaintia Hills. Also, the efforts by nearby villages to keep the river clean cannot be ignored and the very culture to not dirty and pollute the things that keep them alive—something we have all conveniently forgotten in the city.If you aren’t a scenic nature lover and prefer adventure, Dawki offers a range of activities including camping, angling, ziplining, kayaking, snorkelling, and more. My group and I decided to go kayaking and cliff diving. The kayaking was surreal - one of the most beautiful things I have done. But what was even more unforgettable was the cliff diving.Imagine diving into a lake where you can see the bottom because it’s so clean - things look deeper and scarier. Many of my students were scared to take the first jump until a little local 5-year-old boy pushed past us and jumped off the edge without batting an eyelid. Ego crushed, we decided to follow our little leader! If this little fellow could do it, so could we! All we had to do was trust and let the magic happen.Enroute to Dawki Lake, we visited Mawlynnong village which is recognised as the cleanest village in Asia in 2003. It is a result of the villagers' commitment to cleanliness. Every fortnight, all the villagers come out to clean, sweep and remove any plastic in sight. How cool is that?.The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.Oprah Winfrey

Mesmerising Meghalaya – IV

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