Live Root bridges, A Bonding With Mother Nature
There is no other intelligent being like humans. To adapt to any situation, and makes that situation favour of them the human race has no comparison with any other living being.
The humans always stood more ahead than any other living. Today I will give a very perfect example of how humans can use nature in favour of them.
Meghalaya, a northern area state of India. It is situated inland in the Himalayas. It rains a lot all year round. Due to this rainfall, rivers and streams from small to large are created here throughout the year.
These rivers and streams create a lot of problems for the common people here, who have to travel from one place to another for necessity. Bridges are needed to cross these currents. But in this remote hilly area, bridge-building materials are not easily available.
Then the tribal of this area “Khasi” and “Jainita” has invented a superb way to makes bridges on these rivers and streams. Lots of rubber trees are found in this area. The roots of this rubber tree are very flexible.
Observing these flexible roots, a great thought came to the minds of the indigenous people of these remote areas about two hundred years ago from the present days.
They have made this
A bridge made of living roots.
How did they make it?
They took the help from hollow canes of Areca nut palm to make it. They entered the roots of rubber trees into the hollow canes. Then those roots were properly nurtured and cared for until they reached the opposite shore, fully intertwined with each other, and enabled themselves enough to carry heavyweights.
Some of the interesting facts about these bridges are:
The Living Root Bridges are made from rubber tree roots also known as Ficus elastica tree.
Some of the root bridges are over 100 feet long and take 10 to 15 years to attain the perfect shape.
Once fully grown, these roots last for as long as 500 years. While some of the roots decay because of their continuous association of water, others grow and make up for the decayed, thus providing the required stability to the bridge.
Of all the Living Root Bridges in Meghalaya, the double-decker root bridge in Cherrapunji and the single-decker root bridge in Shillong are the unique bridges in the world and make for prime attraction in the Northeast.
Living Root Bridges in Meghalaya are recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Sites.
These live root bridges are excellent examples of human bonding with mother nature.
