The Bridge That Became My Muse

A couple of centuries ago, a bird sat on a tree next to a stream, enjoying a rubber-fig fruit. A fruit which seed it dropped on a rocky surface next to that stream. Wedged between rocks there, the nutrition rich abundant supply of water helped that seed to sprout, sprout to sapling. And then, humans arrived there. Wanting to cross that stream. They saw that little sapling. Don’t worry, they didn’t cut down that sapling. This is not that kind of story. Instead, something beautiful happened there. Man and nature confided to create a bridge, a rare kind of bridge. Instead of nuts and bolts, beams and supports; this bridge was made of roots, just roots, and nothing but roots. A bridge that not only carried people across but also nourishment for the tree from which they were directed, traversing the breadth of the stream. A bridge that is alive in every sense. Right from its components to decoration. The living root bridges of Meghalaya. A spectacular example of what can be achieved when human becomes one with nature.

Yes, I visited those double decker root bridge in Cherapunjee, but I didn’t take a single photo of the structure. I just couldn’t. All I did was sit there. Marvel at this living structure. Looking at the details of it. Wondering how it came to be. Some say the tree was deliberately planted there, but I prefer the poetic narrative from earlier. The hopeless romantic in me wants that narrative to be true.