Photos

“The lower reaches of the southern slopes of Khasi and Jaintia hills are humid, warm and streaked by many swift flowing rivers and mountain streams. A species of Indian Rubber tree – (Ficus Elastica) thrives and flourishes alongside these streams and rivers. This tree can comfortably perch itself on huge boulders along side the riverbanks or in the middle of rivers and send its roots down to the riverbed. It has adapted very well to heavy soil erosion caused by the fast flowing rivers and streams that come down about 3000 feet along precipitous slopes. These trees shoot out many secondary roots from their trunks.

The ancient War-Khasi people had noticed these qualities of this tree and had adapted it to serve their need for building bridges across rivers and streams. In order to direct the roots in the desired direction, betel nut tree trunks, sliced half in the middle for their entire length, are hollowed out and are positioned according to the requirement of the bridge. The thin and long tender roots are then passed through these hollowed out betel nut tree trunks. The roots start growing towards the directed end. When they reach the other end of the stream or river, they are allowed to take root in the soil. These bridges usually have base spans numbering more than two. There are also two protective railing spans. Stones are used to fill any gaps in the base spans and over time they get embedded in the floor of the root bridge. Some of these root bridges can carry 50 or more people at a time and can be over 100 feet long. These bridges take 10 to 15 years to become fully functional. They keep growing in strength by the day. Their life span is estimated to be about 500 to 600 years after they are well formed.

These bridges are unique to Meghalaya only and are being used daily even today by people living in many villages around Cherrapunjee. The one in the photograph has two bridges stacked one over the other. It was named the 'Double Decker Root Bridge' by a local resort. The villagers of Nongriat where this bridge is located at the bottom of the valley were pretty happy to see many international tourists dropping to see the bridge, and they accepted the name and have added to it the name of the stream over which the bridge has been built. Now they call it 'Umshiang Double Decker Root Bridge'. “


Abridged from www.cherrapunjee.com