Shillong: Ripples Of Nan Polok And The Secret Pact

I had heard somewhere that water does have senses. It can sense our feelings, listen to our agonies and dance along the cheerful waves rippling from our points of happiness. The water, though shares some moments of joy with the human race, had always delivered the undeniable lessons of benefits of being neutral. For feelings, miseries or excitation can always overpower the fundamentals of a peaceful life; even when the earth had explosive turbulences going on in its making of life, the ultimate winner was the water. Do you know why? It never gave up its quality to retain calmness. So to learn some important lessons me and my friend had headed towards the Nan Polok or the famous Wards Lake. The lake stands right at the middle of Shillong which is one of many reasons to make it very special.

I would be quite surprised if you haven't had heard of the lake. Talking about the entry fees, it had costed us twenty rupees each and as far as I could remember the same for the children it was about ten rupees. The water body was surrounded by a hippocrepiform park flooded with lush green vegetation. The flowers were blooming like those children with great siblings and were shining brighter than diamonds. The people were roaming around, clicking pictures and laughing at lame jokes their friends made just to keep them happy. The classic white bridge which everyone is a fan of was standing right at the middle of the lake with bubbly ladies and humble guys having their best time breathing in the water-soaked air. While observing the flow of water and the maintenance of the water at a constant level we had a closer look at the drainage system. Honestly we were amazed.

The lake also harbored aquatic life which was a treat to the eyes. There was a restaurant in case someone was hungry as well as a shop for the mandatory traditional dress photo sessions. Outside the premises, the roadside vendors were standing alongside their portable shops with fresh fruits and all types of snacks. They too were some great options as well. The lights all around had been decorated and were all set to turn the place into the most romantic one at night. However we had a little time as we were kind of late and the road to our stay was not that great. The lake also had the boating facilities; we were again late for that. We sat for some time near the lake, observing it and vibing on the lakes.

Shillong gaye aur police bazaar nahi ghume toh kya kiya? The next destination was the famous Police Bazaar. The market had held some different charm in it. As the evening had advanced, the market came into life. The hustle-bustle in and around the place had slowly set the pace. The vendors sat down with all their amazing goodies, screaming the prices of the cheapest items available in their shops. You get amazed on the incredibly low prices that your subconscious mind automatically hit the idea of buying one. But as you go and ask the price of your favorite item hanging on their stalls they quadruple the prices. Mind you that they definitely do not mean to be unreasonable with the prices, they just are aware of the fact that you would obviously bargain for the item to one-fourth of the price. Even after that they would have a benefit and you would be happy at the same time. What a secret pact it is!

We were roaming around and asking the prices to compare to the prices from Fancy Bazaar of Guwahati. The sun was coming down. We were really exhausted and only a cup of tea could save us at that time. We entered into a local sweets and bakery shop. The samosas were as good as the tea. We had to return to our stay as it was getting darker. We had to pack our dinner as we were not sure about the availability of it in our stay. As we had a brief Google Search, we could find a eatery with some North-Indian food options - The Mikado Lounge. We were craving for spicy food.

We thought that place to be another regular eatery with beautiful interior and expensive alcohol bottles. But on the entrance itself a collage was hung with some musical stuff as I could recognize. Some disk jockeys were photographed while delivering a performance. Their names were written on the pictures. These had depicted the liveliness of the place. We had ordered chicken masala and butter naan and directed them to pack the food. The food was amazing. The prices were reasonable as well. As the evening was changing into darker shades of clothes, the roads were turning into wide lanes of magnificence. The evening of Shillong was mesmerizing.