Patricia Mukhim
Of the host of tourists who visit Meghalaya and who one has occasion to meet some are very interesting, others are outright rude, noisy and uncultured while many go gaga about the states’ picturesque beauty. Facebook posts are replete with pictures of Wah Umngot, Sohra, Mawlynnong, Nongriat and the new destinations that our tourism entrepreneurs have been able to identify, develop and sell to upmarket tourists. The BaMeiRi resort run by Robert Badaplak (Baluk) Blah near Marngar, an awesome spot has been able to attract a good number of visitors and local tourists as well. So too the Café Cherrapunjee and Kharsati Park (Ri Bhoi) and many others whose owners have decided they want to leave anonymous and are sold by word of mouth. Almost all of these are booked to capacity through the year barring perhaps the winter months. One only wishes the approach roads to these resorts and eco-camps were not so back-breaking, particularly when travelling to places like Nongkhnum Falls beyond Nongstoin. Then you have the Jaintia Hills region and the War Jaintia area with their verdant forests (in areas that are not yet captured by the mining lobby), rich flora and fauna amongst which is the Pitcher Plant. Then there’s so much heritage and history in Jaintia Hills!
Even Garo Hills, with the law and order problem, still has curious visitors to some of the most pristine nature spots which Facebookers regularly post. This region too has so much to offer and I am sure with better control over militant activities tourism will take off here too.
Hence while our strengths lie in nature which comes to us free of cost the only investment that governments are supposed to make fall far short of our expectations and that of tourists who visit here. However, from what one has gathered so far, the tourists by and large carry back happy memories of the personal relationships built with the owners of these resorts and he local people they meet and that’s the unique selling point (USP) of Meghalaya. That the owners themselves are often present to entertain their guests was what made the Rock On 2 team feel so special and so much at home in Meghalaya.
Nature camps such as those hosted by CampFire Trails a venture by Aaron Laloo, Zorba Laloo and their team have been holding regular camps for groups of young people. Mountain biking and other endurance sports away from the city help the youth to discover their untapped energy and prod them to overcome their fears. Then there are the kayakers from the UK and elsewhere who spend several months here exploring the rivers of Meghalaya which they find fascinating. Meghalaya now is dotted with village and urban home-stays, eco parks and guest houses that are thriving and doing good business. This creates an entire value chain of food suppliers, a team of young tour guides, managers, house-keepers, transport operators, chefs and what have you. Nearly all of this operates outside of the government system. The least that government can do is to provide better roads and other supporting infrastructure. But government should on no account get into the business side of tourism because those in government have neither the imagination nor the drive to do a good job of what they are supposed to do. Most government ventures end up being outsourced to people who know the business. A good example is Jiva Resturant at Nongpoh which used to be run by the Meghalaya Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC). It had become decrepit two years ago and the place was going to seed. Now that the Bamboo Hut people have taken over they have transformed the entire place making it worthwhile to take a selfie in. What tourists admire the most at Jiva are the swish toilets which are spick and span and a pleasure to visit. Now government would never have the right human resource for such things would it? So government policy should change. They should stop building hotels big or small. One Crowborough in a lifetime is enough! You don’t need to repeat failures.
At the moment there’s a buzz about the newly released Rock On 2 song album amongst which is a Khasi song “Hoi-Kiw” put together by the SummerSalt team of Kitkupar Shangpliang and Pynsuklin Syiemiong which is the flavour of the season. The song is shared several hundred times over on Facebook. So there is scope for music from here to gain entry into Bollywood as well and we don’t know what doors this will open up. While I agree that Bollywood is not the yardstick for Indian cinema it has a commercial side to it which we need to tap, for, at the end of the day music cannot just be food for the soul; musicians and songwriters who put in so much effort need to be justifiably remunerated.
Another buzz doing the rounds is that of the movie Pink which features Andrea Tariang, a local youth who is also a singer, songwriter and guitarist. What makes it even better is that the co-producer of Pink is Shillong’s own Ronnie Lahiri. It was delightful to read Ronnie’s interview in a news web portal where he reminisces about his growing up years in Shillong. The idea for a movie like Pink could only have emerged from someone who grew up in Shillong, has moved to the metros and to movie making and who knows the travails that the average North Easterner, especially the young women face in Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Bangalore et al. Ronnie has paid generous tributes to Pradip Kurbah the national award winning film director whose films have always had a strong social message. What Ronnie is trying to say here is that despite the financial hurdles that regional movies face in that they never ever recover their investments, they continue to bravely venture into film making to give vent to their passion and creativity. Can the government not pitch in by way of assistance as it practiced in Assam, Maharashtra, Tamilnadu etc., where Government puts in 60% of the cost of making the movie depending on its annual budget. Film making too offers employment to several people, young and old. A policy is what is needed to drive government in the right direction. Unfortunately our elected representatives have never been seen to push the government to adopt a policy they have crafted on one or more areas of development. The role of the Opposition party MLAs is not just to fault the government. They also have to work to think of futuristic policies where our youth can find their niche.
Leilana Quinger from New Zealand who I met recently was surprised when I told her that the tribes in this region all sing and have mellifluous voices. Those who cannot sing are negligible. She said she had never sung because she did not have a voice. So yes we have a voice but have we been able to capitalize on that VOICE? Do we even have a recording studio that is affordable to the average singer who wants to make a song CD? Should that not have been Government’s mandate? There are private recording studios but they cost money which someone with a good voice but no sponsorship will not be able to afford. Talking about sponsorship, we find several business houses here that pay only when extorted by sundry pressure groups and the powers that be but will not volitionally identify or promote talents whether they be sporting, singing, music, acting, film making and other aptitudes. We need to have a policy for those with commercial interests in Meghalaya that they have to declare their corporate social responsibility layout for a particular year and in what areas. This includes public sector undertakings and banks as well. Let all this be part of Government policy for anyone doing business here. Enough of paying bribes under the table and only to those with the power to intimidate! The footfalls of such bribe givers in the Secretariat is monumental. Let them start giving to genuine causes and declare that upfront! I am sorry to end this feel good article on a dour note. Meanwhile let the talents bloom and cheers to Ronnie, Andrea, Pradip, the Shillong Chamber Choir, the Serenity Choir and all those artists and painters and songwriters and music creators – Lou Majaw, Rudy Wallang, Tiprity Kharbangar, Ribor MB…who are bursting with creative energies! The list is not exhaustive. May you soar ahead and make history!
Thank you all for the Music for Cinema for the Arts! And to the tour promoters, three cheers…