By Patricia Mukhim
Tourism or cultural invasion?
It’s a sad state of affairs when people from another state want to impose their diktat on Meghalaya and decide that what is a natural cave for us like the many we have across the state should be designated as a place of worship for them. But the worse story is the one about a person named Akash Sagar posing as a tourist and entering the sanctum sanctorum of a church in Mawlynnong, grabbing the microphone and singing Ram Siya Ram/ Siya Ram/ Jai Jai Ram even while his companions sat amused watching him at his pranks. Akash Sagar and his ilk are the guys we see roaming around this country but more so in Uttar Pradesh seeking to desecrate mosques and churches and to disrupt the secular fabric of this country which its freedom fighters have firmly established as an imperative in a country with so many diverse races and belief systems. Pluralism became the basis of Indian political practice because it legitimized the compromise needed to keep hundreds of jostling identities abroad the ship called – India. This was the ultimate political goal of Gandhi and Nehru to keep the diversity of a sub-continent afloat in an ark called “Democracy.” Now this idea is sought to be bulldozed by fanatic Hindus who are out to disrupt the old order where religion was a personal choice and no one imposed their faith on anyone else.
But let us look at the series of events leading to this outrageous act inside a place of worship for Christians. In the first place, how are tourists allowed to wander around without any supervision by the local tour operators? The fact of the matter is that there are far too many tourists and too few tour guides to keep an eye on tourists that have the propensity to abuse their hospitality in a place they visit. Several years ago in Mawlynnong, the bamboo bridge leading to a lookout point towards Bangladesh had a warning that not more than six tourists at a time could go up the rickety bridge but one could see about 20 people climbing up that bridge. And then one fine day it collapsed. This is what happens when a destination is quickly sold to tourism even while the local people have hardly understood the meaning and metaphor of ‘tourism;’ what it entails and how it disrupts the peace of small village communities.
So the question here is – how did Akash Sagar and his companions get to enter a church and desecrate it. Can you enter a church/temple or mosque elsewhere without supervision? Can a Christian enter a mosque or a temple and start singing Christian hymns with the objective of railroading the beliefs of others and without respect for their faiths? Where were the tourist guides? Or is it a free for all as has always been the case with Mawlynnong where tourists roam around that peaceful little village with their boom boxes and loud chatter?
This is the problem with Meghalaya’s tourism profile. Try driving to Laitlum on a Saturday or Sunday and anyone looking for peace and calm in that place will want to run away from there to some quieter sanctuary. On weekends there are hundreds of tourists at Laitlum making it a destination that’s no longer patronised by high end tourists which is what Meghalaya needs – not the loud and garish types that qualify to be called the “Ugly Indian Tourist,” who has earned a bad name for himself/herself in Bhutan and every other tourist destination.
Short-selling tourism destinations: Why should the cost of visiting the living root bridges which is an architectural marvel passed on by our ancestors be only Rs 50 or in some cases Rs 30 per head? People spend money to travel to Meghalaya and when they come here they find that the price for entering a destination is ridiculously low! So who decides the correct rate for a tourism destination? We are told that every tourist destination today is run by the community which has formed itself into a society so that the profits gained from tourism devolve to the community members by way of improved infrastructure and sale of local products. But is that really happening? There is a Rural Tourism Society at the state level which is the governing body meant to mobilise all rural destinations to form their local societies but that has not happened. Nongjrong, which attracts hundreds of tourists especially during the winter months to see the beautiful sunrise, has still not managed to form a community-led tourism society. One does not understand why the village is dragging its feet on this matter. The Tourism Department no longer believes in creating infrastructure as a top-down model. It encourages the rural tourism societies to plan and execute projects as per their specific needs. Communities should be involved and benefit from tourism instead of just a few people earning their bread out of it.
Mawphlang “Sacred” Grove demands silence
One of the irritants about entering the Mawphlang Sacred Grove today is that the tourists’ guides chatter too much. Instead of giving tourists too much information inside the forest and breaking the silence and sanctity of the place the guides should actually brief tourists before they enter the forest as to what the do’s and don’ts are. For goodness sake don’t try to sell that rudrashk while explaining about it. Indian tourists already know what a ruidraksh is. Foreigners may not be too interested in it. If at all the idea is to sell the rudrashk and other knick-knacks they should have a dedicated stall outside the Sacred Grove and let tourists visit that place.
It is high time that literature on the Mawphlang Sacred Grove is developed and sold to tourists so they carry it as a keepsake – a souvenir they can read for better understanding. Nothing can be more disruptive than talking inside the Sacred Grove. Many people come there for silence and are paying for some silence but all they are greeted with are loud and garrulous guides. One time I saw a woman picking up a mushroom from the forest. I expected the guide to tell her off but nothing of the sort happened. So what’s the meaning of “Sacred” then?
Experiential tourism: Indian tourists don’t understand the meaning of tourism. They come, see, click pictures and push off. Very few really try to understand the history and culture of the people here which is what experiential tourism is all about. Sadly, our village communities too are not adequately equipped to explain things to tourists. Tourist guides are essentially story tellers. In other places tourist guides spin all kinds of yarns just to keep the tourist engaged and give them an immersive experience where they soak in the cultures and sensitivities of the people in the places they visit. Tourists should be carrying back with them not just memories of things they see in the places they visit but they should remember their encounter with the local people.
Experiential travel actually emphasizes different areas of local life such as the culinary, culture ( music and songs) history, shopping, the environment and even archery which is an ancestral game. This forms the basis for a holistic travel experience. The goal is to more deeply understand and connect with a travel destination’s culture, people and history and not just visit it and forget that experience in a day or two. Experiential travel tends to focus on travel that is inspirational, personalized and/ or creates a path to self- discovery.
Home stay or guest house? Decide!
This is the world of Air B&Bs, guest houses, home-stays, bed and breakfast and what have you. Many in Meghalaya advertise their properties as home-stays when they are actually selling guest houses. A home-stay as the name suggests is that the owners are providing part of their home to guests. They serve the food they cook at home and invite those guests to their kitchens and also teach them the local recipes. This is an experience in itself! Many tourists have complained that they signed up for a home stay only to be in a very impersonal guest house where they are treated like hotel guests. Actually, there is a great need for tourism education in Meghalaya, more so before a destination is promoted!
Diffidence about promoting local cuisine: Meghalaya’s cuisine is not Maggie noodles. It’s the local rice snacks – pu-maloi, putharo, pu-khlein, pu-doh, pu-sla and we can even innovate some more. We once had lunch with some tourists at Shnong Pdeng and they really enjoyed the local cuisine comprising of local chicken cooked in spices, dal well cooked and fried potatoes along with some local herbs made into salads. Those who cook the food should also be able to explain what it is and how its cooked. That is real tourism and not what is passing as tourism in Meghalaya today. Sorry tour operators but you still have a long way to go. I know of some tour operators who make lasting memories with their guests but those are too few and far between.
Dorbar Shnong at loggerheads: There are tourist destinations that are now closed to the public because of a quarrel between two Dorbar Shnong. Why can’t the Syiem or the District Council resolve these differences? Some like the Nongkhnum River Island in Nongstoin are also under dispute between two shnongs. This is bad for tourism. There should be a disputes redressal mechanism for tourism destinations and the resources garnered from such places should be equitably shared. The question is who will take on this formidable job?