By Heather Cecilia Phanwar
Kyntiewbor War is doing his bit as a citizen to preserve what is precious to Meghalaya. With mementos from nature’s abundance, collected over five decades, War has built his invaluable museum to educate visitors about the wealth of the state.
Ever Living Museum at Mawshbuit has a wide collection of not only plants and insects but also other artefacts which represent Meghalaya and its culture and heritage.
The 64-year-old explorer says there are 100 varieties of wild orchids in the museum. “I find them in the forests or people give them to me,” he says.
Some indigenous orchids like tiewdoh maw laiphew na ar jingmut, or Jewel orchid, are rare to find. There are four types of jewel orchids in the museum, informs War.
As one takes a walk through the outdoor part of the museum the collector explains the characteristics of each plant with much commitment. There are Tiewlyngksiar, or wild flowers from Mawkdok, horsetail million years plant, white rhododendrons from the forest, pitcher plants, pink orchids and Soh bang hei to make pickles. There is also a variety of ferns from different parts of Meghalaya.
There are also buttercups which smell like iodex, tiewlaron, tiewkyrwohkaw, sohkhah (Soso Tham once said Sohra is the land of sohkhah, War gives the trivia).
“I collect the orchids from places where I go for expedition. Some were donated by people. Most of the plants and orchids are very rare and it is difficult to find it here in our state,” says War as he takes the visitors on a round of the museum that is spread over 40,000-50,000 sqft and doubles as his residence.
There is a variety of orchid that looks like maize. While explaining the need for preserving these plants, War says the fruits were found with worms because of ill effect of mobile towers.
Besides orchids, there are other indigenous fruits and flowers in his well-maintained garden. For example, shlan that looks like jackfruit is from Mawkyrwat.
Locals use the leaves to make bamboo carpets. There are also orange trees from Garo Hills which taste like lemons.
Papyrus plant used in making paper is also found here.
War maintains an album of the orchids as a ready guide book when visitors come calling.
Set amid the green is the display house for the rare stones that War has collected over 54 years. One would be surprised to see and know that the rare stones are all found in Meghalaya.
A rare blue topaz sits beautifully in a glass showcase. War says it is a unique stone found in the state. And there is also the biggest crystal that locals called healing crystal for obvious reasons.
War, who started the museum with his own resources, says he collected the stones from forests, caves and also sourced it from villagers in remote areas of the state. But one needs a “keen eye” to find the treasures.
“I never thought of setting up a museum as I am more of a countryside man. But I had this land and decided to make the best use of it so that people can see my collection and learn from it,” War says humbly.
There are around four employees who help War curate.
Before entering the museum, one would find a ‘rock with a sculpted boat’ sitting majestically under a thatched structure. “A professor from UCC, who is doing research on stones, says the rock is indeed sculpted with a boat. Also, I have seen on Discovery channel that in Oman, Muscat, a similar stone is found,” informs War.
There is also a peculiar round stone in the museum. When asked, War says there is a story behind the stone. “It belonged to a village in Meghalaya and that no one person can lift this stone unless they beg in prayer to God to give them the strength to lift it up. It is not a myth,” says War with a twinkle in his eyes and offers the visitors to take up the challenge.
Rare photographs of caves in Meghalaya adorn the walls of the museum. War says he had found 9-10 caves and had also helped researchers in their expeditions.
The museum, which is yet to be acknowledged by the state government, has won accolades from outside the state. Sahapedia, an online resource on arts and cultural heritage of India and South Asia, “came to survey mini museums in India and Ever Living made it to the Top 10 list”, says War.
But the explorer and collector rues that there was no help from the government and not even the signboards to show the direction to the museum were given to him. “There are 5,000 photos and if I get help I will start a photo gallery along with a library, a seminar hall where tourist guides can be trained. It is sad that the Tourism Department has no funds for us when it is talking so much about promoting tourism. We got the signboards from India Tourism,” he says and adds that he had requested the department to train guides but with no result.
An apathetic government does not have an iota of impact on War’s enthusiasm and love for preserving nature and heritage.
“The museum is not mine but ours. I feel if I can’t contribute to the future generations then I am selfish. When I see children coming to the museum for research or any school project it gives me immense joy to think that am helping them know their past, present and future,” he says.
