Dawki — where clear waters run deep

Where shadows float

The border between India and Bangladesh runs through the Umgot river at Dawki, Meghalaya.

Dawki is near the village of Mallynnong, famous for being Asia’s cleanest village. It’s about a 3-hour drive from Cherrapunjee, where we had put up the previous night. We reached Dawki around noon, which incidentally is the best time to see the clear waters.

Though we’d seen a couple of photos of Umgot earlier, the river took our breath away. The first thing you notice is that the waters are absolutely crystal clear. You can see the shadow of boats reflected deep below.

Many of the boats are rowed by boys and young men. Our boatman said that kids as young as 8 come for a couple of hours to help their elders during tourist season.

We took a boat ride, and at one point, we could see stones at the river bed twenty feet below.

The famous single root bridge at Mallynnong

Truly, India has some wonders tucked away in corners.