0:00:00 > 0:00:04and leaving at least 17 dead.
0:00:04 > 0:00:12Now on BBC News, The Travel Show.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16India, 70 years after independence.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19This emerging world power of more than a billion people
0:00:19 > 0:00:31is still changing.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34I'm on a journey to two extremes of this vast subcontinent.
0:00:34 > 0:00:35Crystal, hard crystals.
0:00:35 > 0:00:35White salt.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37Can probably taste it.
0:00:37 > 0:00:46I began in Gujarat, in the far West.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48This is genuinely incredible, I'm in heaven.
0:00:48 > 0:00:57Pretty crowded.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00This week, I've travelled 2000 miles over to the north-east.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03I'm on the banks of the mighty river Brahmaputra, and about to go
0:01:03 > 0:01:04to a very spiritual place.
0:01:05 > 0:01:06It's one of India's lesser-known regions.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09We're really high up, and just to my right,
0:01:09 > 0:01:10the border with Bangladesh.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13A part of the country which prides itself on its traditions.
0:01:13 > 0:01:19He makes it look so easy.
0:01:19 > 0:01:20It's incredibly difficult.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22But it's also looking forward and embracing progress.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26So now, I'm on my way to go and see Assam's very own eco-warrior.
0:01:26 > 0:01:39It is going to be an incredible adventure.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41India's north-east, a collection of eight states,
0:01:41 > 0:01:44almost cut off from the rest of this vast country,
0:01:44 > 0:01:46but for a tiny strip of land.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49At partition, a large swathe of this region was sectioned off,
0:01:49 > 0:01:51to become East Pakistan, which later became Bangladesh,
0:01:51 > 0:01:52leaving the Indian area landlocked.
0:01:52 > 0:02:11It's geographically and culturally out on a limb.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14This is frontier country, little-known to tourists and other
0:02:14 > 0:02:14Indians alike.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18They call it the land of cloud, that's because of the severe monsoon
0:02:18 > 0:02:31season.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33Hilly, remote, the area so crisp and fresh,
0:02:33 > 0:02:34and the view, simply spectacular.
0:02:34 > 0:02:46It's this cool climate that made the state of Meghalaya
0:02:46 > 0:02:48and its capital, Shillong, that made it a popular retreat
0:02:48 > 0:02:50for the British during the colonial era.
0:02:50 > 0:03:06They dubbed it the Scotland of the East.
0:03:06 > 0:03:07It's pretty crowded!
0:03:07 > 0:03:08What about the city today?
0:03:08 > 0:03:10There's only one way to find out.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12I take a bus into the city centre.
0:03:12 > 0:03:20So it's a modern industrial town these days, Shillong.
0:03:20 > 0:03:21Whoa, feel it!
0:03:21 > 0:03:24I think those breaks may need a bit of work.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26So tell me, what do you think about Shillong.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28This is your home city.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30What do you think about this place?
0:03:30 > 0:03:31The culture here is so different.
0:03:31 > 0:03:40You see the people here.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16More than half of the population of Meghalaya belong to the Khasi
0:04:16 > 0:04:19tribe, and here at the British-built polo ground, a traditional British
0:04:19 > 0:04:29sport is thriving, but it sure ain't Polo.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32Every afternoon, hundreds of people gather from all around to take part
0:04:32 > 0:04:37in a really interesting daily ritual.
0:04:37 > 0:04:48This is called teer, derived from the Hindi
0:04:48 > 0:04:49word for arrow.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53They target is mounted and 50 archers have just two minutes to hit
0:04:53 > 0:05:07it as many times as possible.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10The significance of the sport dates back to the early 1800,
0:05:10 > 0:05:12when khasi warriors defended their homeland not with guns
0:05:12 > 0:05:17and swords but with bows and arrows.
0:05:17 > 0:05:18I'm aiming for the target, obviously.
0:05:18 > 0:05:19The small one.
0:05:19 > 0:05:27Why is it going to the ground like that?
0:05:27 > 0:05:31Spectators get involved by taking bets on the number of arrows that
0:05:31 > 0:05:40hit the target.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43Crucially, it's only the last two numbers of the total
0:05:43 > 0:05:59score that matter.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02They are all added up, and the last two digit
0:06:02 > 0:06:03will be the result.
0:06:03 > 0:06:13690, five arrows.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17Meghalaya became one of the few states to legalise gambling in 1982.
0:06:17 > 0:06:33People here are very superstitious.
0:06:33 > 0:06:34They'll dream about their dead family.
0:06:34 > 0:06:46A dog, a cat.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49And they'll try to make it into numbers.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52So I have 200 rupees of my hard earned money here.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55I want to go and gamble, can you show me how to do it?
0:06:55 > 0:06:57Let's go to one of these counters.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59I want to gamble on a lucky number.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01Two digit, lucky number.
0:07:01 > 0:07:02I'm going to go for...
0:07:02 > 0:07:0239.
0:07:02 > 0:07:10And I'm going to put 100 rupees on 39.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13And on my other bet I'm going to bet on...
0:07:13 > 0:07:1677, can you fix it so I win(!) LAUGHTER That depends
0:07:16 > 0:07:16upon your fortune.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19I had a dream last night, I had a dream...
0:07:19 > 0:07:23That a strange dog walked past me, and that dog had the number 39
0:07:23 > 0:07:26on it, is that the kind of dreams we have.
0:07:26 > 0:07:45Wish me luck.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48It's a tense moment as the numbers are counted...
0:07:48 > 0:07:48310, 320...
0:07:48 > 0:07:50And my dream turns out to be...
0:07:50 > 0:07:51A shaggy dog story.
0:07:51 > 0:08:0677 was my number, 97 is the result.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09Still, two of my lucky numbers, nine and seven.
0:08:09 > 0:08:24Next, I head out the city to the region's famed Khasi
0:08:24 > 0:08:25hills and villages.
0:08:25 > 0:08:38Incredible to think that despite landscapes like this,
0:08:38 > 0:08:41the north-east is one of the least visited areas of India.
0:08:41 > 0:08:42But things are slowly changing.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44We've been travelling out of Shillong into the countryside
0:08:44 > 0:08:47towards the Bangladesh border for about two hours,
0:08:47 > 0:08:49it has been pretty bumpy and rough roads until suddenly,
0:08:49 > 0:08:52we have reached this bit and it is beautifully smooth road,
0:08:53 > 0:08:55would not look out of place in a major town.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58We are heading towards a village which has a really interesting
0:08:58 > 0:08:58reputation.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02The Khasi Hills are the only place in the world that you will find
0:09:02 > 0:09:05a bridge grown from the roots of the Indian rubber tree.
0:09:05 > 0:09:06Or Ficus elastica.
0:09:06 > 0:09:061840.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09This bridge was meant for the villagers to cross over
0:09:09 > 0:09:12the River when they go back to their daily life.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14During that time there was no partition, no Bangladesh,
0:09:14 > 0:09:16no Pakistan, so we had that link.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18During monsoon, the Khasi hills are hit by record-breaking
0:09:18 > 0:09:21downpours, more than 20 feet of rain in a month.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24These are some of the wettest places on the planet.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27But people here have found an ingenious way to harness nature
0:09:27 > 0:09:30in order to prevent the village being cut off by floods.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32Just tell me what they are doing right now.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36Now they are tying them, to cross on both sides of the river,
0:09:36 > 0:09:39so that the roots of this tree will be woven along here.
0:09:39 > 0:09:51Bamboo acts as a scaffolding, which helps connect routes
0:09:51 > 0:10:09from trees growing on opposite river banks.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11This is skilled and occasionally dangerous work.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13Thanks to continuous repairs, bridges like this have stood
0:10:13 > 0:10:24firm for generations.
0:10:24 > 0:10:38And will probably remain for many more to come.
0:10:38 > 0:10:43So we leave Meghalaya and head to Assam.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46Passing through some of the 25,000 tea plantations that have made
0:10:46 > 0:11:01this region world-famous.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04We're on our way to Jorhat, a few hundreds kilometres
0:11:04 > 0:11:07from India's border with China, and the jumping off point
0:11:07 > 0:11:13for the next adventure.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16I'm on the banks of the mighty river Brahmaputra, and about to go
0:11:16 > 0:11:19to a very spiritual place, the island of Majuli,
0:11:19 > 0:11:21one of the biggest river islands in the world.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25Now there's 150,000 people on that island, and only six ferries a day,
0:11:25 > 0:11:32each one is really crammed.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35Just looking at the list of prices for all the different categories:
0:11:35 > 0:11:37passengers, 15 rupees, that's OK, that's reasonable.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40Then you go down, pass the vehicles, animals have today, Buffalo has
0:11:40 > 0:11:41to pay 45.
0:11:41 > 0:11:42Bull, cow, 30.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45And then the poor elephant has to fork out 907 rupees!
0:11:45 > 0:11:46Perhaps fortunately, none of these creatures
0:11:46 > 0:11:48were travelling with us today.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50And incredibly, after a few last-minute panics,
0:11:50 > 0:11:51we are set to go.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54I climb onto the corrugated aluminium roof to join men who do
0:11:54 > 0:11:56this trip day in, day out.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59Starting in Tibet, the Brahmaputra river is nearly 2000 miles long,
0:11:59 > 0:12:02second only to the Amazon, in the volume of water that
0:12:02 > 0:12:05rushes through it.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07Interesting game of cards going on here, I think
0:12:07 > 0:12:17they are playing whist.
0:12:17 > 0:12:23I'd like to join in.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25But it may be a private game.
0:12:25 > 0:12:31High stakes.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34We arrived at Majuli and it is turmoil again trying
0:12:34 > 0:12:48to get off the boat.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53To avoid the queue, there is a sneaky way out,
0:12:53 > 0:12:56which involves climbing onto another boat and going down that way.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00You know what, I think I'm going to take that one.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09Well, he we are, on land, doesn't look quite as spiritual
0:13:09 > 0:13:12as I imagined, but if you look away into the distance,
0:13:12 > 0:13:14it's just one big flat land of desert.
0:13:14 > 0:13:27Let's see.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39The island is home to 22 monasteries, or Satras,
0:13:39 > 0:13:44initially established in the 16th century by the Assamese guru,
0:13:44 > 0:13:44Sankardeva.
0:13:44 > 0:13:55Boys are instructive from a very young age in the religion
0:13:55 > 0:13:57that he preached, Vaishnavism, an offshoot of Hinduism.
0:13:57 > 0:14:03The monks are celibate and according to their beliefs they worship only
0:14:03 > 0:14:06one God, follow a vegetarian diet, and reject the caste system.
0:14:06 > 0:14:23And here, the doctrine includes this special art form.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53This form of classical dance is now recognised by the authorities
0:14:53 > 0:14:55as a genre in its own right.
0:14:55 > 0:14:57Many of these monks have performed around the world.
0:14:57 > 0:14:58That was amazing.
0:14:58 > 0:14:59Thank you very much indeed.
0:15:00 > 0:15:06I know you spend a lifetime learning the skills of this,
0:15:06 > 0:15:08but can I have a go, can I try?
0:15:08 > 0:15:09Arms through here...?
0:15:09 > 0:15:19Very good.
0:15:19 > 0:15:20Thank you so much.
0:15:38 > 0:15:39One, two, three, four.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42There are 64 positions in this classical dance and I'm having
0:15:42 > 0:15:48trouble with the first two.
0:15:48 > 0:15:49It's very difficult.
0:15:49 > 0:15:50One, two, three...
0:15:50 > 0:15:57Without the grace, as well.
0:15:57 > 0:15:58No grace whatsoever.
0:15:58 > 0:15:59He makes it look so easy.
0:15:59 > 0:16:00And it's incredibly difficult.
0:16:01 > 0:16:12I'm going to leave it to the experts.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15Sometimes you have to give up and let them carry on.
0:16:15 > 0:16:16An exquisite performance.
0:16:16 > 0:16:31But there's one problem, one very big problem,
0:16:31 > 0:16:34and that is, that this island may simply not exist in just
0:16:34 > 0:16:46a few decades time.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50Hard to believe at the moment but there is a genuine worry that
0:16:50 > 0:16:52Majuli will be submerged and destroyed within 20 years.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56In the last 70 years it has shrunk in size by two thirds.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59And a majority of the original 65 monasteries have gone.
0:16:59 > 0:17:04Every monsoon, the Brahmaputra river swells, eroding
0:17:04 > 0:17:20the terrain around it.
0:17:20 > 0:17:31Bit by bit, land is disappearing.
0:17:31 > 0:17:32But there is hope.
0:17:32 > 0:17:37So now, I'm on my way, in a tractor, to go and see a man whose life 's
0:17:37 > 0:17:39mission has been to tackle the flooding that has
0:17:39 > 0:17:40afflicted this island.
0:17:40 > 0:17:52He is Jadav Payeng, basically Assam's very own eco-warrior.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54Sadly, these areas that get completely deluged,
0:17:54 > 0:17:57when the monsoon hits, there is some water there,
0:17:57 > 0:17:58we have to cross...
0:17:58 > 0:18:07For the last 36 years, he has taken on an extraordinary
0:18:07 > 0:18:09challenge, to save this land from vanishing.
0:18:09 > 0:18:18And so, his lifelong calling began.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48And so, his lifelong calling began.
0:18:48 > 0:19:00Jadav is known today as the Forest man of India.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03He began planting trees so the roots would bind the soil,
0:19:03 > 0:19:05soak up excess water, and prevent the land
0:19:05 > 0:19:07from being eroded by flooding.
0:19:07 > 0:19:17From a barren landscape, he has created a forest the size
0:19:48 > 0:19:52So we are now going to do the ritual that every guest that comes
0:19:52 > 0:19:55here is asked to do, which is to plant a tree.
0:19:55 > 0:19:56What kind of tree is this?
0:19:56 > 0:19:58I'm going to put this in here...
0:19:58 > 0:20:05It's good.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08He has spoken at environmental summits all around the world,
0:20:08 > 0:20:08and his roll call of guests is equally international.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25I do know that everyone who plants a tree, when it grows,
0:20:25 > 0:20:28they put a plaque down with their name on it,
0:20:28 > 0:20:39and I'm going to have that privilege, fantastic, thank you.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54And so to my final day in Assam, and a different kind of ritualistic
0:20:54 > 0:20:54celebration of nature.
0:20:55 > 0:21:03If there's one repairing theme throughout my trip
0:21:03 > 0:21:05in the north-east, it's the sense of community,
0:21:05 > 0:21:08everywhere, really, and there's nothing better to illustrate
0:21:08 > 0:21:09that than this...
0:21:09 > 0:21:16A local village going down to the river, to celebrate harvest.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19This community was started in 1939 by a young woman who came
0:21:20 > 0:21:21from the mountains in search of food.
0:21:21 > 0:21:26I believe she found that this place was better for her
0:21:27 > 0:21:29because it is coated in water, and civilisation needs water,
0:21:29 > 0:21:36she brought friends and family here, followed by a brother.
0:21:36 > 0:21:41The entire family of her own clan...
0:21:41 > 0:21:43All from that one woman?
0:21:43 > 0:21:43Really, fascinating, wow.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46This is a much-loved annual celebration and people of all ages
0:21:46 > 0:21:50gathered to mark in, using fishing methods that have been
0:21:50 > 0:21:56passed down the generations.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58'Then you pull it towards you...
0:22:13 > 0:22:15Pull the stick...
0:22:15 > 0:22:16This is today's catch...
0:22:16 > 0:22:42Wow!
0:22:43 > 0:22:44That is pretty good.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46And this, you will cook, now?
0:22:46 > 0:22:48Excellent.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51So my trek across India from border to border is almost over,
0:22:51 > 0:22:54and it's been a real journey of discovery for me off
0:22:54 > 0:22:55the beaten track.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57This isn't India "on tap", instant gratification,
0:22:57 > 0:23:00which some people are accustomed to, but the rewards, if you make
0:23:00 > 0:23:01the effort, are immense.
0:23:03 > 0:23:03Can they bite?
0:23:04 > 0:23:04Yeah, it does.
0:23:04 > 0:23:05It bites.
0:23:05 > 0:23:06Is it poisonous?
0:23:06 > 0:23:08No, not much.
0:23:08 > 0:23:10Not much?!
0:23:10 > 0:23:19LAUGHTER Can I get out now?