A CAVER'S PARADISE - MEGHALAYA, INDIA

Pics courtesy MMA

Meghalaya is a cavers’ paradise and so far a total of 551 km have been explored and mapped from 1992 and experts say there is more to be discovered.

 

One of the renowned cavers from the state, Brian Daly founder of Meghalaya Adventurers Association said, this year alone cavers from UK, Ireland, Austria, Netherlands, Germany, USA, and India explored and mapped 13,895m of new cave passage.

 

The 2024 caving expedition took place earlier this year. This consisted of a week-long pre-expedition that focused on exploration in the vicinity of the village of Sakhain situated some 5 km south of Sutnga in East Jaintia Hills District.

 

In the Sakhain, 10 new caves were explored yielding a total of 1,458m of new cave passage. All of the caves were situated at the edge of the sandstone plateau and were almost all associated with waterfalls at the base.

 

This was then followed by a two-and-a-half-week duration main expedition that focused on the area around the villages of Tlang Moi and Muallian, both located on the southernmost tip of the Shnongrim Ridge. The international exploration team comprised 29 members.

 

Some of the new caves explored were in the form of deep shafts. The deepest of these was Trevor Khur which had an entrance pitch of 152m depth and is Meghalaya and India’s deepest known single pitch to date.

FRENCH ENVOY THIERRY MATHOU ALL PRAISE FRO MEGHALAYA'S BIO-DIVERSITY PRESERVATION

 

French envoy coming out of the Sacred Groove at Mawphlang, Meghalaya, India 

France’s Ambassador to India, Thierry Mathou after visiting the sacred groove at Mawphlang said the world needs to learn more about environmental and biodiversity protection from the people of Meghalaya, India.

 

Mathou on his maiden visit to Meghalaya, said:  “I had the pleasure to visit the sacred forests. We have to learn from you how to protect the forest, environment and biodiversity.”

 

During his visit to the sacred grooves, Mathou and his spouse trekked about 3 km of the forest and were given a guided tour by the traditional head of Mawphlang, Tambor Lyngdoh Mawphlang.

 

Located about 25 km from Meghalaya's capital, the Mawphlang sacred grove is one of the largest such grooves in Meghalaya and spreads over 70 hectare. The local indigenous population believes that the soul of their forefathers dwells in these forests.

 

It’s forbidden to take anything from these forests, not even a twig, as it’s believed that it would offend the departed soul. The Mapwphlang sacred grove and others have therefore remained untouched for many centuries and is home to different flora and fauna.

 

Another aspect of these forests is that the locals have been performing religious rituals in these cared grooves for their well-being during war, epidemic and farming.  

 

“During COVID we performed special rituals outside the groove,” the traditional head informed the French Ambassador.  Mathou on his part said India and France share an “exceptional relationship.”

 

He said since this is his first visit he is trying to understand and get ideas on how to better economic and other cooperation. 

EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY OF A RAT-HOLE MINER TO DOCTOR

 

Defying the odds Dr. Kamphereiei Pala crawled out from the dark, eerie rat-hole coal mines to the world above to become a healer of the body and soul.

 

“I lost my way in the labyrinth of the rat hole coal mine one winter. I cried and called for help and nobody could hear me and after almost an hour of struggle I was finally rescued,” Dr. Pala who worked as a rat-hole coal miner in Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills district spoke about his extraordinary struggle.

 

Rat-hole mines are traditional coal mining practice in Meghalaya, India. It involves workers manually digging holes to enter into coal reserves. These holes are barely 3 to 4 feet in diameter and miners can barely crawl in. The miners chisel the coal as they keep digging inside and get the coal out in rudimentary trolley made of wood. 

Several miners have lost their lives in these rat-hole mines. Most of these workers come from economically weak families and some come from far off places like Nepal and remote areas of Assam. 

Meanwhile, now after completion of his MBBS degree from Guwahati Medical College, and working as an intern in the same institute, Dr. Pala recalled: “I have worked as a labourer in many trades, but rat-hole coal mining is the toughest.”

 

Dr. Pala is one of the four children brought up by a single mother, who also worked as a labourer, in Moolamylliang village, East Jaintia Hills district. He said that to pay school fees and also help the family financially he had to work as a rat-hole coal miner and also do other odd jobs.

 

“I had to work right from the time I was in class 4 or 5. I worked in shops, as handyman and many others and then as a coal miner...It pays well and why it shouldn’t, as you have to crawl over 200 meters every day to scrap coal inside a labyrinth of shafts,” Dr. Pala said.

 

The miner tuned doctor isn’t done yet and has a mission before him now. “In our villages early marriage results in broken families and then a cycle of poverty ensues, just like in the case of my family. I want to stop that,” he said.

 

His goal is now to become a pediatrician, so that he can interact directly with mothers and also their families. “I don’t know what the future holds for me, but I believe my calling is from my district where there is poverty and such cases of early marriages and broken families,” he added.

 

Dr. Pala with his mother

Dr. Pala said that in his journey so far, several people including the WeCare foundation founded by BR Medhi, have mentored and helped him financially to pursue his studies. “It doesn’t matter from where you came from, what matters is, where you are going,” Dr. Pala reasoned.

FRENCH FOREIGN LEGION TRULY MULTINATIONAL

 

The French Foreign Legion (FFL) is a symbol of multinational unity, which attracts recruits from Mongolia to the West Indies, Europe to Africa.

 

“I discovered FL’s recruitment from YouTube. There are three Mongolians in the FL now. I love the cheese in France, but I miss those from my home in Ulaanbaatar,” said Kush Enhuush, a Mongolian soldier in FFL, who participated in the 14-day India-France military exercise “Shakti” which concluded at Umroi, in India's northeastern state, Meghalaya on May 26.

 

Similarly, Blake from St. Vincent Islands, West Indies misses cricket, the sun-kissed beaches back home. Blake, a corporal in the FFL, says he tries to visit home, but the 10 hour flight plus the tight vacation schedule doesn't always allow it.

 

“I have been in the FFL for the past six years and I sometimes miss my home,” Blake said.

 

Barry from Guinea, Africa has risen to the rank of second platoon commander after starting as a recruit, the lowest rank in the FL. “My home is a six hour flight from France. There are also recruits from Kenya and Chad,” Barry said with a heavy French accent.

 

Sundar Singh from Haryana, a 24-year-old went to France in search of work and ended up being in the FL. “I thought why not try in the army and I joined. We are paid well. It's about Rs. 1.5 lakh per month and goes up to Rs. 2 lakh when we serve in a foreign country,” Singh informed.

 

Twelve Nepalese soldiers are part of the current exercise. S. Thapa from the FFL’s infantry regiment mentioned that most Nepalese recruits are aged 24-25 years and bond well with other nationalities in the FL mess.

 

The FFL, established by King Louis Philippe on March 10, 1831, allows foreign nationals to serve in the French Army, primarily to protect French colonies. At its peak, France had over 80 colonies, second only to Britain’s 120. Today, France has 12 overseas territories, necessitating foreign recruits to serve globally.

 

It’s not that the FFL served only for the interest of France’s colonies, but they also took active part in different wars, including World War I and II, although in limited operations.

 

The FFL now constitutes about 7 to 8 percent the France army’s total strength and is the only unit in the French Army open to people of any nationality. About 90 percent of FFL’s commissioned officers are French and only 10 percent Legionnaires normally rise up to the rank of an officer.

 

For many FFL’s recruit from developing nations, one of the prizes is French citizenship after a five year contract in FFL. “My citizenship papers are being processed,” Barry smiled. (Eom)