Bridle Paths

Bridle Paths

From Maoflang a bridle path ran north and westward through Sohiong (7 miles), Mairang (15 miles), and Nongkhlao (25 miles) to the border of the Kamrup district, 30 miles beyond Nongkhlao. There were Inspection Bungalows at Mairang and Nongkhlao.
This was the old road (Scott’s Road) which connected Assam with the Surma valley before the headquarters of the district were transferred to Shillong.

All over the country there were Khasi paths which were generally passable by a mounted man. Across some of the streams that intersect these hill paths the Khasis had constructed living bridges. In 1903-04, 94 miles of cart road and 356 miles of bridle path were maintained in the district.

 

The Khasis had their restaurants, and along the more frequented paths there were little sheds where tea and rolls could be purchased by the thirsty traveller. At Mahadeo, between Cherrapunji and Therria Ghat, it was the regular custom for coolies coming up the hill to halt for a substantial meal of fish and rice.

The King Edward VII Memorial Pasteur Institute and Medical Research Institute is another venerable institution that defines Shillong. The proposal to build an Institute in Assam for antirabic treatment, was first put forward by Dr. Macnamara in 1906.

In 1906, Allen noted that Shillong lay at the foot of the Shillong Peak, an elevated tract of land about 4 miles in length and more than 6,000 feet in height[1]. It was situated on a fine plateau from 2.5-4 miles in breadth, which was bounded on the north by the gorge of the Umiam. The level of the plateau here fell sharply to the river bed about 1,500 feet below, and on the north-west the view was bounded by the great mass of the Dingiei hill, whose summit was 6,077 feet above sea level.

On a clear day, to the north-east, there was a magnificent view across rolling hills to the Assam Valley. Forty-five miles away the broad stretches of the Brahmaputra gleamed in the middle distance, half-way between Shillong and the blue wall of hills which shut in the valley on the north. Beyond the outer ranges there was a chain of snowy peaks over hundred miles away. These were the giants of the Himalayas towering into the air.

The Shillong plateau was broken up with hills, and streams, and valleys. It was watered by the Umshirpi and Umkhrah, both of which were precipitated in magnificent cascades, known as the Bishop and the Beadon falls, into a deep gorge and then united in one stream to join the Umiam. These falls were situated a little to the west of the Gauhati road, about 2 miles from the cutcherry, the path to them led through tame and uninteresting fields, which suddenly terminated in a precipitous ravine several hundred feet in depth.

The station had been very tastefully laid out amongst the pinewoods, and since 1897 all the buildings have been constructed of timber, reeds, and plaster, and so were practically earthquake-proof. Shillong possessed various attractions which were not to be found in most of the hill stations of the Himalayas. There was a full sized polo ground and a fine race course.

There was a charming cricket ground, excellent golf links, beautiful roads along which to drive, and fine breezy downs for a morning gallop. By 1906, a hotel had recently been opened, and Allen was of the view that as soon as the place had been rendered more accessible to the outside world, it would probably become one of the most popular summer resorts in India.

The dense pinewoods which were such a feature in the scenery of the station in 1906, did not seem to exist in the early 1860s. The steep sides of Shillong hill were said to have been partially clad with jungle and brushwood, but the slopes and plateau of Yeodo were mostly devoid of trees. Before the advent of the British, the valley of Yeodo seemed to have been very sparsely populated.

Some of the Khasis, in fact, considered it to be part of the Bhoi or low country and it was said, apparently quite erroneously, to be a feverish place. The bazaar at Yeodo, the present burra hat, was largely attended as it was connected with the religion of the khasis. The place was said to be a sacred one and solemn sacrifices were offered there and dances held. On these occasions the people attending the bazaar had the privilege of paying double the ordinary toll.

Under Act V (B.C.) of 1876, Shillong was constituted a station in 1878. Its affairs were managed by a Committee of 12 members, presided over by the Deputy Commissioner. The total area of the town, including the cantonment, was nearly 4.75 square miles, and it was served by 16.5 miles of metalled and nearly 6 miles of unmatelled roads. An excellent supply of drinking water was obtained from springs rising in the Shillong range, and was distributed in pipes all over the town. The cantonment covered an area of 445 acres.

All public works were entrusted to an Executive Engineer. He was concerned with the maintenance of the line of communications from Gauhati to Companyganj in Sylhet, via Shillong, Dumpep and Maoflang, Cherrapunji, and Therria Ghat. He was also in charge of the bridle paths from Shillong to Jowai, and from Cherrapunji to Shella, and of one or two other roads in the neighbourhood of Shillong.

In the decade 1901-10, Kench's Trace and Laitumkhrah were placed under Shillong Station Committee. The Board of Trustees of the Quinton Memorial Hall was executed on 10 September 1908 and registered on 23 September 1908. The Loreto Convent School was the Catholic Salvatorian Missionaries’ first High School and it started on 8 May 1909. They made consistent efforts in starting several other schools in the beginning of 19th century.

In 1909 Shillong was constituted a Municipality and in 1912, with the annulment of the partition of Bengal, the administrative unit was reverted to a Chief Commissioner's Province (Assam plus Sylhet). On 15 November 1910, the Station of Shillong was upgraded to a Municipal Board under the Bengal Act III of 1884 covering the area bounded by Laitumkhrah, Hopkinson Estate, Malki, Laban, Mawkhar and Umkhra river. According to another source, Mawprem and the areas between Laban and Laitkor forests were also included.

The first settlements were around Police Bazar, the Cantonment, European Ward and Jail Road and beyond the Civil Station in Laban and Mawkhar. In 1910, Shillong was made a full fledged municipality. Interestingly, the Polo Gound got its shape by diverting the Umkhrah river which was initially flowing straight[2].

 

In 1910 the Indian Tea Association supported a proposal which had been put forward that part of the Eastern Bengal and Assam King Edward VII Memorial Fund should be devoted to the construction of the Pasteur Institute, and in 1912 Shillong was selected as the most suitable location[3].

In 1911, the motor service contract was taken over by the Planters Stores (of tea garden). On 2 January 1911, the Government of India conferred on Amjad Ali the honorary title of Khan Sahib, the first in Shillong.  

Shillong become the Capital once again (after a gap of 7 years from 1905) on 7 April 1912. Since then horizontal and vertical expansion have been taking place both within and outside its Municipal area[4].

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[1]Assam district gazetteers, Volume 10, B.C. Allen, Baptist Mission Press, 1906, Harvard University. http://www.archive.org/stream/assamdistrictga00allegoog#page/n48/mode/1up.

[2]Sengupta, Sutapa. & Dhar, Bibhash. & North-East India Council for Social Science Research. 2004, Shillong: a tribal town in transition / editors, Sutapa Sengupta, Bibhas Dhar  Reliance Pub. House, New Delhi:Shillong 1991-2001: An Observation.

[3]Souvenir The Indian Empire, Christophers,S.R., Tracker’s Directories, Calcutta, 1927. Osmania University Library. http://www.archive.org/stream/souvenirtheindia029434mbp/souvenirtheindia029434mbp_djvu.txt   

 

[4]Sengupta, Sutapa. & Dhar, Bibhash. & North-East India Council for Social Science Research. 2004, Shillong: a tribal town in transition / editors, Sutapa Sengupta, Bibhas Dhar  Reliance Pub. House, New Delhi:Spatial Growth of Shillong Since 1991, N.N. Bhattacharya.