Nohkalikai Falls

Nohkalikai Falls, one of the largest falls in India, lies almost 55 km away from Shillong towards Sohra (Cherrapunjee). The water gushes fiercely to the bottom creating a roar that is heard much before reaching the fall. We visited the falls at sunset and were mesmerised by the far off villages that appeared like hamlets from a fairy tale. Khasi, Garo and Jaintia hills of Meghalaya are filled with local fables most of which are mystic, and few gory.
Nohkalikai has its own fable. Once upon a time, there was a woman named Likai who lived in a village called Rangjyrteh. Upon the death of her husband, she had to ferry goods to Sylhet to support her young daughter. The village people suggested her to remarry as the child needed a father and so she did. But the stepfather turned out to be so jealous of all the attention that his wife gave to her daughter that one day, when Likai was out working, he chopped the daughter into pieces and cooked her meat. When Likai came back, she didn’t find her daughter and assumed that she must be out with her father or neighbours. Likai was hungry and could smell the aroma of freshly cooked meat coming from the kitchen. She ate a good meal not knowing what it was. The truth dawned upon her when she discovered severed remains of a child’s fingers in her house. She was overwhelmed by anguish and couldn’t accept that she had feasted on her own daughter. She ran out of the house and jumped into the falls. Nohkalikai literally means ‘jump of Likai’. The story might be depressing, but I long to go back to the land of clouds and explore the other tribes and their fables that are long lost and waiting to be heard.