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The Green Unknown: Travels in the Khasi Hills
The Green Unknown is about walking, without a map or a plan, across the Khasi Hills in the Northeast Indian state of Meghalaya—a place of jungle canyons and thousand-foot waterfalls, where it rains more than any other inhabited place in the world, where each village has its own dialect or even its own language, and where the people grow living bridges from the roots of trees. The book is an attempt to express what it’s like trying to explore, mile by mile, village by village, valley by valley, a place that’s beautiful, complex, and fascinating, but most of all, unique.
140 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 18, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
November 19, 2017
A fascinating book about a man who's been all over the North Eastern state of India, lots of interesting interactions with locals, notes about environment and wildlife - it had it all for a travel log. Longer review to come later!
December 29, 2017
Synopsis from Goodreads
The Green Unknown is about walking, without a map or a plan, across the Khasi Hills in the Northeast Indian state of Meghalaya—a place of jungle canyons and thousand-foot waterfalls, where it rains more than any other inhabited place in the world, where each village has its own dialect or even its own language, and where the people grow living bridges from the roots of trees. The book is an attempt to express what it’s like trying to explore, mile by mile, village by village, valley by valley, a place that’s beautiful, complex, and fascinating, but most of all, unique.
Mini Review
Firstly, thank you to the author, Patrick Rogers, for sending me a copy of his book to review.
I read this in two sittings, although there was a gap of a couple of weeks between starting and finishing due to that thing called Christmas.
This is an interesting and entertaining read about the authors travels to far flung corners of the earth. I enjoy TV documentaries of this kind, so I knew I'd enjoy reading about places that possibly many people know little or nothing about.
It is written with humour and a light-hearted approach so it was easy to follow and having the break at 43% for a few weeks didn't have a negative impact on the flow.
What I enjoyed the most was hearing about the natural world Northeast India has, the indigenous people that have settled there, and the fact that they have mobile phones! What?!! Does that mean that the eye-sores that are phone masts are popping up in the most heavenly of places? I know folk need technology wherever they are these days, but this really surprised me!
I was fascinated by the living bridges made from the roots of trees, and the sheer beauty of this place. India is on my bucket list of countries to visit, and Rogers has introduced me to places I definitely won't be brave enough to explore. Off the beaten track is an understatement, and without a map or plan, he certainly is a traveller with guts.
I did struggle to pronounce many of the place names, and even referred to a detailed map on Google to get a sense of where he actually was. Overall, a very interesting and educational account with stunning photographs accompanying the journey throughout. This makes Bill Bryson's 'A Walk in the Woods' sound like a Walk in the Park!
Patrick also has a blog all about his adventures which accompanies his book:
https://thegreenunknownblog.wordpress...
April 9, 2018
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*
This book is just what the title implies--travels in the Khasi Hills. It's very much like a travelogue, where Patrick tells us about his exploits through these not often toured areas and the people he meets along the way.
At times the narrative did not seem to flow well. This was due to the fact that the stories being told, while all concerning the same traveler and his interest in root bridges, were not necessarily all connected in a linear way. Most of the time this was fine, but at certain points I was surprised to find myself following along a different adventure than the one mentioned only moments before.
The most appealing thing about this is the fact that I knew very little, if not nothing, about the Khasi Hills going into this. It was informative and interesting regarding the villages and the people. It doesn't cover things the way a textbook might, but is a more genuine account of what Patrick experienced.
An interesting read that made me curious about this region of the world.
This book is just what the title implies--travels in the Khasi Hills. It's very much like a travelogue, where Patrick tells us about his exploits through these not often toured areas and the people he meets along the way.
At times the narrative did not seem to flow well. This was due to the fact that the stories being told, while all concerning the same traveler and his interest in root bridges, were not necessarily all connected in a linear way. Most of the time this was fine, but at certain points I was surprised to find myself following along a different adventure than the one mentioned only moments before.
The most appealing thing about this is the fact that I knew very little, if not nothing, about the Khasi Hills going into this. It was informative and interesting regarding the villages and the people. It doesn't cover things the way a textbook might, but is a more genuine account of what Patrick experienced.
An interesting read that made me curious about this region of the world.
February 20, 2018
3 1/2stars
More soon
More soon
January 18, 2018
Travel writing can be as fraught with danger as the most adventurous of travel itself. There is the temptation to document every single thing that one came across on one’s travels. There is the equally great temptation to show off just how much one knows, and to fill up the travelogue with fantastic facts. There is the urge, far too often given in to by newbies (and some not-newbies) to talk down to the people back home in a condescending way. Look where I’ve been, look what I’ve seen.
Which is why a Bill Bryson or a Gerald Durrell is so exactly my idea of what a good travel writer should be. Informative, yes, but in a contained way. Entertaining, and preferably with a good sense of humour. And, importantly, possessing the ability to laugh at oneself.
To Bryson and Durrell, I’m adding another name that’s now become a favourite of mine: Patrick Rogers. The Green Unknown, his slim little book about treks through Meghalaya’s Riwar area in search of ‘living root bridges’ is an amazingly entertaining and delightful memoir. The living root bridges—crafted from the massive roots of Ficus elastica, sometimes several centuries ago—are the main topic of Rogers’s quest, but not the only topic. En route, as he describes his travels through the Khasi Hills, he introduces us to all the many fascinating little things he encounters along the way. Pineapple curses; the malevolent spirits that haunt the countryside; the usual food of the people (with much about the near-addiction to kwai or areca nut); the conflicting and sometimes contiguous relationship between Christianity and animism. The rain. The torrential rainwater, the hailstorms, the lightning.
There is plenty of humour here (the butt of much of which is Rogers himself), there is a very vivid description of not just the root bridges but the beauty of the land itself, waterfalls and streams and jungle and all. And there is a strong and deep sense of Rogers’s own love and affinity for the land and its people. (There are also some wonderful photos, taken by the author, throughout the book).
I had only one complaint with The Green Unknown: it’s too short. I’d have liked more, especially perhaps an appendix giving more practical information for those who might be intrepid enough to want to follow in Rogers’s footsteps…? That aside, though, a book that’s worth reading, if only to be transported to a small and fascinating corner of North-East India that almost nobody knows about.
Which is why a Bill Bryson or a Gerald Durrell is so exactly my idea of what a good travel writer should be. Informative, yes, but in a contained way. Entertaining, and preferably with a good sense of humour. And, importantly, possessing the ability to laugh at oneself.
To Bryson and Durrell, I’m adding another name that’s now become a favourite of mine: Patrick Rogers. The Green Unknown, his slim little book about treks through Meghalaya’s Riwar area in search of ‘living root bridges’ is an amazingly entertaining and delightful memoir. The living root bridges—crafted from the massive roots of Ficus elastica, sometimes several centuries ago—are the main topic of Rogers’s quest, but not the only topic. En route, as he describes his travels through the Khasi Hills, he introduces us to all the many fascinating little things he encounters along the way. Pineapple curses; the malevolent spirits that haunt the countryside; the usual food of the people (with much about the near-addiction to kwai or areca nut); the conflicting and sometimes contiguous relationship between Christianity and animism. The rain. The torrential rainwater, the hailstorms, the lightning.
There is plenty of humour here (the butt of much of which is Rogers himself), there is a very vivid description of not just the root bridges but the beauty of the land itself, waterfalls and streams and jungle and all. And there is a strong and deep sense of Rogers’s own love and affinity for the land and its people. (There are also some wonderful photos, taken by the author, throughout the book).
I had only one complaint with The Green Unknown: it’s too short. I’d have liked more, especially perhaps an appendix giving more practical information for those who might be intrepid enough to want to follow in Rogers’s footsteps…? That aside, though, a book that’s worth reading, if only to be transported to a small and fascinating corner of North-East India that almost nobody knows about.
August 2, 2018
A brilliant effort by Patrick to chronicle the known and unknown living root bridges in Meghalaya. One will be surely consumed by wanderlust while reading his month long journey to the remotest villages to accumulate the knowledge of creating and preserving these botanical architectures.
November 13, 2020
A travel guide with some history
A travelers narration of a part of Meghalaya with its government, politics, tales, good, etc....
The literature could have been better...
A travelers narration of a part of Meghalaya with its government, politics, tales, good, etc....
The literature could have been better...
December 22, 2018
Book 91 week 51
The Green Unknown by Patrick Rogers
Rating: 3.5/5
My mum is a voracious reader and when she is out of books to read, she downloads random books on Kindle. This was one of those books she downloaded and read, a book about an American's travels in Meghalaya looking for living root bridges.
At first, the concept of the book seemed boring to me. But when my mom finished reading it and told me how much she enjoyed reading it, I was intrigued to try it. And I wasn't disappointed! In fact, I loved it!
This book chronicles the experiences of Patrick Rogers from the USA in Meghalaya. He was researching on living root bridges... Natural bridges made by roots of trees, used by mankind in dense forests.
Armed with a huge backpack full of crap, and rudimentary bollywood hindi and 4 words of khasi, the local language, Rogers braved the unforgiving terrain and weather of the deep jungles of Meghalaya, and the strange but warm Khasi people.
In his book, the author describes the indescribable beauty of Meghalaya, the valleys and rivers and hills and canyons and gorges and pools and jungles. He talks about the warmth of the Khasi people who look deceptively small but devour mounds of rice with questionable meats in a jiffy. People who have names like Washington, Morningglory, and even, a Panty. People who believe in. Voldemort like shape shifting serpent myth of the Then very seriously. People who live in tiny makeshift huts and brave the forces of nature with so much enthusiasm and hope, with barely any infrastructure or development provided by the State. People who are at the same time fascinated by and scared to death of Pharengs (foreigners, like the author). People who love and respect the environment around them and coexist in harmony and symbiosis, and also eat literally everything from ants to tadpoles to rats. People who are obsessed with WWE more than anything else on TV and are capable of singing bollywood songs perfectly without understanding a single word!
From trekking through dangerous gorges and valleys, to eating weird food, to waiting out an apocalyptic storm in a bamboo hut, to visiting some of the last living root bridges in the world, this book is a fascinating chronicle of the author's experiences, full of interesting anecdotes and a lot of humour.
Before reading this book, I knew nothing of living root bridges or of Meghalaya, but now I'm motivated to try even harder to visit North East India for the first time soon.
It may be a very niche genre, a travelogue based in Meghalaya, but I'd highly recommend it for any and everyone, there is so much to learn and so many chuckles waiting for you here. Do check it out on Kindle/Amazon.
The Green Unknown by Patrick Rogers
Rating: 3.5/5
My mum is a voracious reader and when she is out of books to read, she downloads random books on Kindle. This was one of those books she downloaded and read, a book about an American's travels in Meghalaya looking for living root bridges.
At first, the concept of the book seemed boring to me. But when my mom finished reading it and told me how much she enjoyed reading it, I was intrigued to try it. And I wasn't disappointed! In fact, I loved it!
This book chronicles the experiences of Patrick Rogers from the USA in Meghalaya. He was researching on living root bridges... Natural bridges made by roots of trees, used by mankind in dense forests.
Armed with a huge backpack full of crap, and rudimentary bollywood hindi and 4 words of khasi, the local language, Rogers braved the unforgiving terrain and weather of the deep jungles of Meghalaya, and the strange but warm Khasi people.
In his book, the author describes the indescribable beauty of Meghalaya, the valleys and rivers and hills and canyons and gorges and pools and jungles. He talks about the warmth of the Khasi people who look deceptively small but devour mounds of rice with questionable meats in a jiffy. People who have names like Washington, Morningglory, and even, a Panty. People who believe in. Voldemort like shape shifting serpent myth of the Then very seriously. People who live in tiny makeshift huts and brave the forces of nature with so much enthusiasm and hope, with barely any infrastructure or development provided by the State. People who are at the same time fascinated by and scared to death of Pharengs (foreigners, like the author). People who love and respect the environment around them and coexist in harmony and symbiosis, and also eat literally everything from ants to tadpoles to rats. People who are obsessed with WWE more than anything else on TV and are capable of singing bollywood songs perfectly without understanding a single word!
From trekking through dangerous gorges and valleys, to eating weird food, to waiting out an apocalyptic storm in a bamboo hut, to visiting some of the last living root bridges in the world, this book is a fascinating chronicle of the author's experiences, full of interesting anecdotes and a lot of humour.
Before reading this book, I knew nothing of living root bridges or of Meghalaya, but now I'm motivated to try even harder to visit North East India for the first time soon.
It may be a very niche genre, a travelogue based in Meghalaya, but I'd highly recommend it for any and everyone, there is so much to learn and so many chuckles waiting for you here. Do check it out on Kindle/Amazon.
December 14, 2017
The Green Unknown: Travels in the Khasi Hills by Patrick Rogers
The story of the author as he travels through the remote areas of India. I've read other works from other authors of similar areas and this author describes the area in such detail you feel as if you are there.
Love the information i learned about living root bridges and jackfruit and benefits of each and how they make money by selling parts. Comical parts about WWE, who knew! Scenery as described along with traditional tribes and the political hierarchy is so profound.
How infants are named and the impact of our music on them, astounding!
Like hearing of the things tourists leave behind like garbage and how it effects the natural parts of this country.
Scary things like kwai and experiences using it and damage left behind by the mining processes.
Enjoyed this read so much I will search for other books by this author.
Love the beautiful cover of the living roots! Website also has many other pictures of other locations in the area of the bridges. I am terrified of heights but would go across once in my lifetime if given the chance.
Received this review copy from the author and this is my honest opinion.
The story of the author as he travels through the remote areas of India. I've read other works from other authors of similar areas and this author describes the area in such detail you feel as if you are there.
Love the information i learned about living root bridges and jackfruit and benefits of each and how they make money by selling parts. Comical parts about WWE, who knew! Scenery as described along with traditional tribes and the political hierarchy is so profound.
How infants are named and the impact of our music on them, astounding!
Like hearing of the things tourists leave behind like garbage and how it effects the natural parts of this country.
Scary things like kwai and experiences using it and damage left behind by the mining processes.
Enjoyed this read so much I will search for other books by this author.
Love the beautiful cover of the living roots! Website also has many other pictures of other locations in the area of the bridges. I am terrified of heights but would go across once in my lifetime if given the chance.
Received this review copy from the author and this is my honest opinion.
September 12, 2018
This is an interesting little book, easing you gently into the Khasi Hills, rambling at times, and very sincere throughout. Patrick Rogers approaches his journey with humility, and talks of his interests (root bridges) and his friends in the hills with genuine warmth. The writing goes off on a tangent at times, and the book isn't necessarily well-structured, but the hills absorb you completely. What the book sorely lacks is good editing - it's hard to forgive some glaring errors. On the whole, Rogers has a fascinating subject at hand and he acquits himself pretty well.
May 6, 2021
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The book is about the authors journey in Meghalaya of India. Although his purpose of journey was to record the living root bridges in Meghalaya, the book has a lot more. It gives a perspective on how life is in the hilly terrains of Meghalaya, general knowledge on region, culture , different districts .
It's a short read and a different genre of book to venture into.
It's a short read and a different genre of book to venture into.
February 27, 2018
I love travel memoirs. I used to read quite a few but haven't read one in a long time. It was such a delight to get to read this one.
This book was absolutely captivating from beginning to end. I had always thought that I wasn't interested in India, but this was about a part of India that I knew nothing about. It was so interesting. Patrick's detailed descriptions of this beautiful land really made me feel like I was transported to another place. The people, the landscapes, the homes, the food, and the "living root bridges" (never heard of these before). I learned a lot reading this book and feel like I at least know a little more about I place I never even knew existed. Those are the best books!
I have to give Patrick props for being such a brave soul (either that or he's crazy, maybe a little of both? LOL) to go to someplace so different and - to me, scary but beautiful!
An added bonus that I did not expect - gorgeous pictures! Oh my, seriously I kept looking at them over and over. It really made me want to go there. Patrick if you ever need a travel companion...
This book was written with such abandon and honesty (and with a touch of humor). It was refreshing, entertaining, intriguing, and beautiful. I hope Patrick continues to travel and writes to tell us all about it. I would love to read more about his travels.
I voluntarily posted this review after receiving a copy of this book from the author - Thank You!!
This book was absolutely captivating from beginning to end. I had always thought that I wasn't interested in India, but this was about a part of India that I knew nothing about. It was so interesting. Patrick's detailed descriptions of this beautiful land really made me feel like I was transported to another place. The people, the landscapes, the homes, the food, and the "living root bridges" (never heard of these before). I learned a lot reading this book and feel like I at least know a little more about I place I never even knew existed. Those are the best books!
I have to give Patrick props for being such a brave soul (either that or he's crazy, maybe a little of both? LOL) to go to someplace so different and - to me, scary but beautiful!
An added bonus that I did not expect - gorgeous pictures! Oh my, seriously I kept looking at them over and over. It really made me want to go there. Patrick if you ever need a travel companion...
This book was written with such abandon and honesty (and with a touch of humor). It was refreshing, entertaining, intriguing, and beautiful. I hope Patrick continues to travel and writes to tell us all about it. I would love to read more about his travels.
I voluntarily posted this review after receiving a copy of this book from the author - Thank You!!
February 28, 2018
The Green Unknown: Travels in the Khasi Hills is Patrick Rogers' first-person account of traveling by foot in northeast India in order to document the presence and locations of a rare architectural eco-wonder known as a "living root bridge." These are found only in northeast India. No comprehensive listing of them exists. It had been thought that they were few in number. But on previous travels in India, Rogers had heard rumors of the existence of far more root bridges than the few that had been identified and catalogued. And so he headed into the Khasi Hills alone to find them. On his first trek, besides his backpack he had only a hand-drawn map from a native to the area. On subsequent treks, he ventured further in without a map, relying on his experience and information he could obtain from Khasis that he met along the way.
I read The Green Unknown on board a cruise ship headed for the Caribbean. The Green Unknown was on my Kindle; I had also picked up a travel anthology from the ship's library. Initially I read the two books together. But I quickly returned the anthology to the library and concentrated on the far superior Green Unknown. The anthology was written by dilettantes like myself--folks who travel in comfort to well-known locales and work their musings into anecdotal essays. It was popcorn. I love popcorn, but not when I have steak.
The Green Unknown is steak. Rogers, who hails from Newark, Delaware, USA, is not some first world dilettante but the real deal. He is a youthful explorer who ventured far out of his comfort zone and returned with something new to add to the body of knowledge of both Living Root Bridges and of northeast India. This is an area that has been under the formal rule of a variety of political powers over the centuries but in practicality has governed itself autonomously from village to village. Rogers traveled alone through the remote regions of the state of Meghalaya, visiting villages whose people continue to follow a way of life hundreds of years old. He wandered--and was welcomed--into places where 'pale giants' like him had rarely if ever been seen. His writing actually adds to our knowledge about a locale and way of life not well known by 99% of the world's population--and that includes the citizens of India itself! The book is the story of his treks through the Khasi Hills.
Although he traveled somewhat on a lark, it was not without purpose. The Living Root Bridges of northeast India represent bio-architecture at its finest. Khasi and Jaintia natives of the area take the pliable roots of the Ficus elastica (rubber fig trees) and train them, shape them, and construct from them living bridges that span hard-to-traverse rivers, chasms and ridges. This allows for traffic from village to village that would otherwise require long, circuitous routes through mountainous forest terrain. The people of the Khasi hills have been doing this for centuries. They are quite surprised that their traditional means of making difficult terrain easy to traverse is an object of wonder to the world.
The Green Unknown is not quite a tale of an innocent abroad, since Patrick Rogers had traveled extensively in India before this. But the Khasi Hills of Meghalaya offered surprises at every turn. The weather was impossible, rainy for days on end and fraught with lightning and thunder storms so ferocious that they threatened to blow away the huts in which he sheltered with the villagers. Going for a swim in a beautiful natural lake under a waterfall could be deadly. The food was not standard to a western diet. And World Wide Wrestling could be found in the remotest parts of the forests! So what is this book really about? Let's allow the author to speak for himself:
"One could characterize the book as being about heartbreaking beauty arrived at unexpectedly through weird tangents. ... You may well get a little disoriented. I could make it easier on you, and portray the world into which I stumbled as simpler, and easier to mentally digest, than I know it to be, but in the end, I think the rugged, cluttered, truth of things is just more interesting."
This book is an easy read, full of adventures in weather, eating, recreation and exploration. We meet the older Khasis who are surprised to find that their root bridges are cause for wonder, and the young Khasis eager to learn how to stimulate local economies by eco-tourism, such as the villages that host the well-known root bridges have experienced. We see photographs of breath-taking beauty, and to my delight these are all pictures of the landscape or the people, no photos of the author himself facing the camera as if to insert himself into the land. For some reason that touched me. Ego in an author is to be expected, but here there is none.
You can obtain The Green Unknown; Travels in the Khasi Hills on Amazon at the Kindle Store. I hope to see it in print some day.
I read The Green Unknown on board a cruise ship headed for the Caribbean. The Green Unknown was on my Kindle; I had also picked up a travel anthology from the ship's library. Initially I read the two books together. But I quickly returned the anthology to the library and concentrated on the far superior Green Unknown. The anthology was written by dilettantes like myself--folks who travel in comfort to well-known locales and work their musings into anecdotal essays. It was popcorn. I love popcorn, but not when I have steak.
The Green Unknown is steak. Rogers, who hails from Newark, Delaware, USA, is not some first world dilettante but the real deal. He is a youthful explorer who ventured far out of his comfort zone and returned with something new to add to the body of knowledge of both Living Root Bridges and of northeast India. This is an area that has been under the formal rule of a variety of political powers over the centuries but in practicality has governed itself autonomously from village to village. Rogers traveled alone through the remote regions of the state of Meghalaya, visiting villages whose people continue to follow a way of life hundreds of years old. He wandered--and was welcomed--into places where 'pale giants' like him had rarely if ever been seen. His writing actually adds to our knowledge about a locale and way of life not well known by 99% of the world's population--and that includes the citizens of India itself! The book is the story of his treks through the Khasi Hills.
Although he traveled somewhat on a lark, it was not without purpose. The Living Root Bridges of northeast India represent bio-architecture at its finest. Khasi and Jaintia natives of the area take the pliable roots of the Ficus elastica (rubber fig trees) and train them, shape them, and construct from them living bridges that span hard-to-traverse rivers, chasms and ridges. This allows for traffic from village to village that would otherwise require long, circuitous routes through mountainous forest terrain. The people of the Khasi hills have been doing this for centuries. They are quite surprised that their traditional means of making difficult terrain easy to traverse is an object of wonder to the world.
The Green Unknown is not quite a tale of an innocent abroad, since Patrick Rogers had traveled extensively in India before this. But the Khasi Hills of Meghalaya offered surprises at every turn. The weather was impossible, rainy for days on end and fraught with lightning and thunder storms so ferocious that they threatened to blow away the huts in which he sheltered with the villagers. Going for a swim in a beautiful natural lake under a waterfall could be deadly. The food was not standard to a western diet. And World Wide Wrestling could be found in the remotest parts of the forests! So what is this book really about? Let's allow the author to speak for himself:
"One could characterize the book as being about heartbreaking beauty arrived at unexpectedly through weird tangents. ... You may well get a little disoriented. I could make it easier on you, and portray the world into which I stumbled as simpler, and easier to mentally digest, than I know it to be, but in the end, I think the rugged, cluttered, truth of things is just more interesting."
This book is an easy read, full of adventures in weather, eating, recreation and exploration. We meet the older Khasis who are surprised to find that their root bridges are cause for wonder, and the young Khasis eager to learn how to stimulate local economies by eco-tourism, such as the villages that host the well-known root bridges have experienced. We see photographs of breath-taking beauty, and to my delight these are all pictures of the landscape or the people, no photos of the author himself facing the camera as if to insert himself into the land. For some reason that touched me. Ego in an author is to be expected, but here there is none.
You can obtain The Green Unknown; Travels in the Khasi Hills on Amazon at the Kindle Store. I hope to see it in print some day.
April 25, 2018
THE GREEN UNKNOWN by Patrick Rogers is a climb into the past Literally. This trekker, who dared to go through jungles and over cliffs in Northeastern Inda, to places where some people had never seen foreigners before, revealed his enchantment through stunning color photographs. He also recounted his daily adventures in a breathtaking world of danger and beauty.
He told of the long slippery stairs to villages, hundreds of rock stairs that were brutally treacherous on the way down. He shared what he went through as he tried to conquer the stairs, as people in their seventies and eighties passed him carrying crops on their heads.
The author was able to show his search for living root bridges in deeply personal ways. When he came to hanging root bridges, they were usually sturdy and well-built. But he also shared what happened when weather got the best of them. Often, they hung over perilous gorges where sucking water waited for anyone who made a mistake. He told about what happened when someone miscalculated a river hole. Scary.
The beauty of this book is the author's stories about the villagers he befriended and stayed with. These were people challenged in every conceivable way, yet their ability for friendship, laughter, and yes, survival amazed.
He told of the long slippery stairs to villages, hundreds of rock stairs that were brutally treacherous on the way down. He shared what he went through as he tried to conquer the stairs, as people in their seventies and eighties passed him carrying crops on their heads.
The author was able to show his search for living root bridges in deeply personal ways. When he came to hanging root bridges, they were usually sturdy and well-built. But he also shared what happened when weather got the best of them. Often, they hung over perilous gorges where sucking water waited for anyone who made a mistake. He told about what happened when someone miscalculated a river hole. Scary.
The beauty of this book is the author's stories about the villagers he befriended and stayed with. These were people challenged in every conceivable way, yet their ability for friendship, laughter, and yes, survival amazed.
July 10, 2018
Interestingly, I read this title while I was traveling myself. It's only 140 pages, so it was a wonderful passtime for me on the bus on the way back from a vacation. My destination wasn't as interesting as the one in the book though!
The Green Unknown tells us about the Khasi hills, which might be better known to you by the living root bridges that can be found there!
What are living root bridges?
You know what they are – they're those amazing ones built out of tree roots in the middle of the jungle.
You've definitely seen them somewhere on the internet. If you're curious, there is more info on the author's site here. I loved reading Patrick's experience of traveling in Meghalaya! Admittedly, he is no literary talent (sorry, Patrick!), but that's not what the book is for!
The book written is so that you can experience the travel as if you went there yourself, with a little help from your imagination and a few images in the book. And that goal has definitely been achieved!
I felt transported, and all the social and cultural detail that Patrick Rogers mentions was incredibly interesting.
The Green Unknown
doesn't focus on anything in specific, it's literally just a story about how he traveled the area, but it gives a lot of small anecdotes about the people or Patrick's adventures, the dangers he went through, the way of thinking that is predominant in the area and the way that people live there, which is especially interesting because in some ways, it's as far away from our lifestyle as possible, in others – almost exactly the same.
The book doesn't cost much on Amazon at all, so if you want to broaden your horizons, definitely do grab it – it was an engaging and fun read.
I thank the author for giving me a free copy of the book in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
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I thank the author for giving me a free copy of the book in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
Read Post On My Blog | My Bookstagram | Bookish Twitter
February 4, 2018
Patrick Rogers is truly an intrepid explorer. This book, 170 pages longs, and beautifully enhanced with some stunning photographs, mainly focuses on a little-known natural architectural form called living root bridges, set in a little-visited part of the world known as Meghalaya, in the Khasi Hills, in North East India.
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These, in short, are living bridges, many some hundreds of years old, created from the living roots of the Ficus Elastic tree. The roots are trained to grow across e.g. a riverbed, and entwine with many other roots to form an environmentally-friendly, sustainable and cost-effective means of bridge-building.
Unfortunately, the needed art and skills are dying out, any many of the bridges are falling into disrepair. The region is subject to monsoon weather, and the resultant flash-flooding can and has torn away older bridges. Steel bridges are being increasingly seen, so Rogers’ book is a timely reminder about and window into sustainable alternatives. The book also gives a general teaser about daily life in the Khasi hills, so broadens the appeal of the work.
Overview:
The People:
It excites the reader about the locale, and gives great insight into the daily lives (and incredible villager hospitality of the WAR people [read the book!], once the headman has approved the Phareng (foreigner) to stay. Rogers stays away from sentimentality, and condescension, which could easily have filtered in. These are a hardy race of people (a 70 year old women, fully laden, passes out the author on the way UP a narrow stony path to her village, arriving several hours before him!), and a people well attuned to their local environment and rugged terrain. They are far better equipped to survive there than the author, and still are able to partake in ”modern cultural events” like WWE wrestling [read the book!!], and mobile phones.
Religion:
The region has had its share of missionaries, with various Christian branches having made converts, but the old Animist ways still persist in parallel. There seems none of the tensions that are elsewhere in the world, although the author seems to reference a not-too-distant time when the villages were at war with each other. I found it fascinating to see how the locals blended the various religious strands, to make a stronger community (a coincidental parallel with the living bridge, perhaps?).
Mythology:
We also get a flavour of the local mythology, such as the Pineapple curse, the Ghost Babies, and the Blood Hunters, which is also in the great tradition of travel writing. The villagers seem uniformly to be afraid of deep water, and they cannot understand the foreigners love for it. A sad tale is told of an accident that happened to an acquaintance of Rogers, in a river.
Weather:
Be prepared! Monsoons, lightning storms, hail the size of small rocks, coupled with humid jungle days. It sounds thrilling!
Food:
No travel book is complete without discussing the local delicacies, and Rogers tells of his attempt at eating the highly-prized tadpoles, the jackfruit, and passing the time chewing Kwai (also known as paan, or betel nuts). The locals plied him with much more than he could possibly eat, and unusually for India all foods were on the menu, even pork.
Commercial:
The author spends a lot of time with two individuals, John Cena (a local, not the real deal), and Morningglory (a young guy who’s driving the tourist side of things), and the contrast between the two is a fascinating read in itself, and you are left with hoping that they will succeed in making their home more tourist-friendly. At the very least, that the pagan Cena can “download” his inherent knowledge of the flora & fauna and the landscape, as he is probably among the last of his “kind” with such a store of memories.
There were aspects to the book I did not like as much.
For me, the one-on-one conversational piece did not work. It may be that the author was trying to get across how difficult it was to communicate, in an improvised pidgin of mixed languages, but for me this device fell a bit flat.
The final chapter was to a place , the arrival in which would be worth the travel risk. All very exciting, especially with the description of a literal cliff-hanger walk. However, in the book we never actually got to this village, and the books ends slightly anti-climactically with the author (and us) still traipsing through the jungle.
Summary:
As a travel book, it works.
The author is not shy at poking fun at himself, to be the gangly ill-fitting outsider completely out of his comfort zone and experiences. He gives great words of advice for the traveller, and the world at large - "Ignore the tourist blurb, and discover the country for yourself", "Just be nice", and "never bitch when people invite you for tea".
As mentioned, some of the photography is inspiring. The author tells the tale with humour, intelligence, and respect for the people he came in touch with. You are definitely left with the sense that there is still so much to be seen in this area, and that it must be saved before it is lost forever.
I would recommend it to anyone travelling to this region, and to anyone with an interest in ecological solutions to issues in under-developed parts of the world. For the general audience, it allows you to travel and experience a place that you probably never heard of, and that in itself is a great thing.
Thank you to the author for sending me a free copy of his book for an honest review.
Read More Book Reviews at It's Good To Read
These, in short, are living bridges, many some hundreds of years old, created from the living roots of the Ficus Elastic tree. The roots are trained to grow across e.g. a riverbed, and entwine with many other roots to form an environmentally-friendly, sustainable and cost-effective means of bridge-building.
Unfortunately, the needed art and skills are dying out, any many of the bridges are falling into disrepair. The region is subject to monsoon weather, and the resultant flash-flooding can and has torn away older bridges. Steel bridges are being increasingly seen, so Rogers’ book is a timely reminder about and window into sustainable alternatives. The book also gives a general teaser about daily life in the Khasi hills, so broadens the appeal of the work.
Overview:
The People:
It excites the reader about the locale, and gives great insight into the daily lives (and incredible villager hospitality of the WAR people [read the book!], once the headman has approved the Phareng (foreigner) to stay. Rogers stays away from sentimentality, and condescension, which could easily have filtered in. These are a hardy race of people (a 70 year old women, fully laden, passes out the author on the way UP a narrow stony path to her village, arriving several hours before him!), and a people well attuned to their local environment and rugged terrain. They are far better equipped to survive there than the author, and still are able to partake in ”modern cultural events” like WWE wrestling [read the book!!], and mobile phones.
Religion:
The region has had its share of missionaries, with various Christian branches having made converts, but the old Animist ways still persist in parallel. There seems none of the tensions that are elsewhere in the world, although the author seems to reference a not-too-distant time when the villages were at war with each other. I found it fascinating to see how the locals blended the various religious strands, to make a stronger community (a coincidental parallel with the living bridge, perhaps?).
Mythology:
We also get a flavour of the local mythology, such as the Pineapple curse, the Ghost Babies, and the Blood Hunters, which is also in the great tradition of travel writing. The villagers seem uniformly to be afraid of deep water, and they cannot understand the foreigners love for it. A sad tale is told of an accident that happened to an acquaintance of Rogers, in a river.
Weather:
Be prepared! Monsoons, lightning storms, hail the size of small rocks, coupled with humid jungle days. It sounds thrilling!
Food:
No travel book is complete without discussing the local delicacies, and Rogers tells of his attempt at eating the highly-prized tadpoles, the jackfruit, and passing the time chewing Kwai (also known as paan, or betel nuts). The locals plied him with much more than he could possibly eat, and unusually for India all foods were on the menu, even pork.
Commercial:
The author spends a lot of time with two individuals, John Cena (a local, not the real deal), and Morningglory (a young guy who’s driving the tourist side of things), and the contrast between the two is a fascinating read in itself, and you are left with hoping that they will succeed in making their home more tourist-friendly. At the very least, that the pagan Cena can “download” his inherent knowledge of the flora & fauna and the landscape, as he is probably among the last of his “kind” with such a store of memories.
There were aspects to the book I did not like as much.
For me, the one-on-one conversational piece did not work. It may be that the author was trying to get across how difficult it was to communicate, in an improvised pidgin of mixed languages, but for me this device fell a bit flat.
The final chapter was to a place , the arrival in which would be worth the travel risk. All very exciting, especially with the description of a literal cliff-hanger walk. However, in the book we never actually got to this village, and the books ends slightly anti-climactically with the author (and us) still traipsing through the jungle.
Summary:
As a travel book, it works.
The author is not shy at poking fun at himself, to be the gangly ill-fitting outsider completely out of his comfort zone and experiences. He gives great words of advice for the traveller, and the world at large - "Ignore the tourist blurb, and discover the country for yourself", "Just be nice", and "never bitch when people invite you for tea".
As mentioned, some of the photography is inspiring. The author tells the tale with humour, intelligence, and respect for the people he came in touch with. You are definitely left with the sense that there is still so much to be seen in this area, and that it must be saved before it is lost forever.
I would recommend it to anyone travelling to this region, and to anyone with an interest in ecological solutions to issues in under-developed parts of the world. For the general audience, it allows you to travel and experience a place that you probably never heard of, and that in itself is a great thing.
Thank you to the author for sending me a free copy of his book for an honest review.
December 20, 2017
I would actually give this book 3.5 stars.
This book reminded me of the fun I had learning about other cultures in my college anthropology classes. I think it will appeal to anyone with a hunger for knowledge about the world and the diverse people who populate it.
The book flip-flopped between reading like a narrative with specific anecdotes about the author's travels and experiences and more textbook-sounding informative sections. These differences in writing style were made all the more pronounced by the fact that he wrote most of his personal narrative in past tense, while he switched to present tense when giving general information. Those tense shifts were not always predictable, and I found them rather jarring.
I really enjoyed the narrative sections of the book. The author's exploits were amusing, adventurous, and sometimes a bit insane. I can't imagine agreeing to climb a cliff face over a waterfall while wearing a backpack! And some of the stuff he ate? *shiver* His descriptions were good, and he had just enough irreverent humor to keep the stories light even when the subject matter could go another way. Editorial mistakes were minimal, not enough to distract, and the pictures were lovely.
The more generally informative sections, in which there was no real narrator but just an overview of information, were colorfully written but had a tendency to be rather verbose. The language was significantly different from the narrative sections, and there were often vague, sweeping statements without specific examples. I much preferred seeing his adventure through anecdotes.
There were a few nit-picky things that grated on me and prevented me from enjoying the book as much as I otherwise would have. The topics were split into chapters, and each chapter had a theme, but the scenes in those chapters were sometimes disjointed and I had no real idea of the timing of events or how they corresponded to each other. There is one character who was sometimes called John Cena and at other times was Stevenson. It's fine for a person to go by two names, but for clarity sake, the author should have just picked one and stuck with it. There is a place he talked about called, Mawlynnong, ‘The Cleanest Village in Asia.’ Every time he referred to Mawlynnong, he included the full name extension. While it's a fun fact to point out, and worth saying once, reading "Mawlynnong, The Cleanest Village in Asia" over and over in a passage was quite tiresome and gave the text a mocking tone.
Lastly, the end of the book was a little... incomplete feeling. In the final chapter, the author set out for the village of Kangthong, at the heart of the Katarshnong area. He stated, "I had to reach Katarshnong, for I knew that what I would find there would be worth the risk." Who knows how he knew that without the benefit of hindsight, but we'll let that go. What was implicit in that statement was a promise that we, going along on this journey with the author, would also be rewarded once we reached his destination. But, we never did. At least, not as I understood it.
Right before the end of the book, there was a section where the author talked about his preconceptions, the kaleidoscope of memories he'd gained from his travels, and how a person could spend a lifetime traveling through Riwar and never really know it. While reading it I thought, "Ah, this is the end of the book. It sums up his experiences and conclusions very nicely." While we hadn't reached the village of Kangthong, he transitioned nicely into his exposition and tied it all together in a satisfying way. It seemed his realizations were what he found at the end of his journey, and his sharing them with us fulfilled his promise.
Then there was another section AFTER that. This section put us back into the narrative and talked about the songs people whistle to each other in the night. It was a very nice bit of information that would have been great if it had appeared anywhere else in the book. Since that's what he decided to end with, this shifted the promised reward to hearing those whistled songs as the payout he was so sure he'd get. However, since he brought us back into the narrative, I was expecting to finish the trek to Kangthong. Instead, he abandoned me on a hill in the jungle in the middle of the night.
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book reminded me of the fun I had learning about other cultures in my college anthropology classes. I think it will appeal to anyone with a hunger for knowledge about the world and the diverse people who populate it.
The book flip-flopped between reading like a narrative with specific anecdotes about the author's travels and experiences and more textbook-sounding informative sections. These differences in writing style were made all the more pronounced by the fact that he wrote most of his personal narrative in past tense, while he switched to present tense when giving general information. Those tense shifts were not always predictable, and I found them rather jarring.
I really enjoyed the narrative sections of the book. The author's exploits were amusing, adventurous, and sometimes a bit insane. I can't imagine agreeing to climb a cliff face over a waterfall while wearing a backpack! And some of the stuff he ate? *shiver* His descriptions were good, and he had just enough irreverent humor to keep the stories light even when the subject matter could go another way. Editorial mistakes were minimal, not enough to distract, and the pictures were lovely.
The more generally informative sections, in which there was no real narrator but just an overview of information, were colorfully written but had a tendency to be rather verbose. The language was significantly different from the narrative sections, and there were often vague, sweeping statements without specific examples. I much preferred seeing his adventure through anecdotes.
There were a few nit-picky things that grated on me and prevented me from enjoying the book as much as I otherwise would have. The topics were split into chapters, and each chapter had a theme, but the scenes in those chapters were sometimes disjointed and I had no real idea of the timing of events or how they corresponded to each other. There is one character who was sometimes called John Cena and at other times was Stevenson. It's fine for a person to go by two names, but for clarity sake, the author should have just picked one and stuck with it. There is a place he talked about called, Mawlynnong, ‘The Cleanest Village in Asia.’ Every time he referred to Mawlynnong, he included the full name extension. While it's a fun fact to point out, and worth saying once, reading "Mawlynnong, The Cleanest Village in Asia" over and over in a passage was quite tiresome and gave the text a mocking tone.
Lastly, the end of the book was a little... incomplete feeling. In the final chapter, the author set out for the village of Kangthong, at the heart of the Katarshnong area. He stated, "I had to reach Katarshnong, for I knew that what I would find there would be worth the risk." Who knows how he knew that without the benefit of hindsight, but we'll let that go. What was implicit in that statement was a promise that we, going along on this journey with the author, would also be rewarded once we reached his destination. But, we never did. At least, not as I understood it.
Right before the end of the book, there was a section where the author talked about his preconceptions, the kaleidoscope of memories he'd gained from his travels, and how a person could spend a lifetime traveling through Riwar and never really know it. While reading it I thought, "Ah, this is the end of the book. It sums up his experiences and conclusions very nicely." While we hadn't reached the village of Kangthong, he transitioned nicely into his exposition and tied it all together in a satisfying way. It seemed his realizations were what he found at the end of his journey, and his sharing them with us fulfilled his promise.
Then there was another section AFTER that. This section put us back into the narrative and talked about the songs people whistle to each other in the night. It was a very nice bit of information that would have been great if it had appeared anywhere else in the book. Since that's what he decided to end with, this shifted the promised reward to hearing those whistled songs as the payout he was so sure he'd get. However, since he brought us back into the narrative, I was expecting to finish the trek to Kangthong. Instead, he abandoned me on a hill in the jungle in the middle of the night.
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
December 28, 2017
Patrick Rogers is a Trekker. A traveler, hiker, adventurer of a hidden and little known area of Northeastern India. The Khasi Hills are part of the Garo-Khasi range in the Indian state of Meghalaya, and is part of the Patkai range and of the Meghalaya subtropical forests eco region. Yes, it is a bit off the beaten path. The author of this book on the region shares with us his adventures and interactions with the people, their culture and language as he treks deeper into the region in search of its living root bridges.
Rodgers, the author of The Green Unknown: Travels In The Khasi Hills starts of with a disclaimer, claiming for himself the title of a “semi-professional wandering eccentric.” He also admits that he is no expert and that “reading (his book) might feel like heading up a cultural creek without a paddle.” And he is correct. The book is a literal feast of experiences written much like a narrative diary. It is enjoyable and educational. A social anthropological buffet of sorts. You will see and hear of interesting characters named John Cena and Morningglory (yes one word). It seems folks are named for anything interesting or perceived interesting. A person may be named Panty or Brassiere (man or woman) because the villagers parents thought it sounded interesting having no clue to its meaning in English.
In all, this is a nature walk to end all nature walks. The region is a majestic punch of deep valleys, plunging waterfalls, monsoon rains and ancient root bridges. The natural and living phenomenon are best described just as their name indicates. Bridges that are alive, nurtured over decades from the roots of trees into walking paths to help ferry the regions people across gorges and swelling rivers. The citizens of the region live in far off mountainside villages, many so secluded each has its own dialect. The author does include us in his attempts at dialogue in each village. One scene in with he attempts to understand why a chicken, dead and covered in soot is stuck in a roof thatch is quite amusing.
The authors walks carry him, “hill by hill, valley by valley” into the homes of each village that welcomes the Phareng (foreigner) and feeds him more than he could possibly ever need. At each village he attempts to ascertain the locations and information of any root bridges in the area. I have included some links that hold some pictures of these Root Bridges at the website inhabitat.com below. The author includes some in his book as well, but as it is a digital copy and not conducive to pull directly from it, so I felt this would do just as well. My only beef about this work is its abrupt ending. I wanted to know just how it all ends. The last most discomforting trek Mr.Rogers made with his companions. So it is a literal cliffhanger. This may not be a perfectly written book, but that is explained by the author, “…I think the rugged, cluttered, truth of things is just more interesting.” I am glad to have had the opportunity to gain previously unknown knowledge of a relatively unknown place. It was entertaining. It is a short 170 pages. If you enjoy travelogues and discovering, or nature and ecology. This just may the book for you.
Photo sources and more information on Patrick Rogers: https://inhabitat.com/interview-how-o...
For more information on The authors Root Bridge Project visit: https://livingrootbridges.com/
I would like thank the author for the opportunity to read his work in exchange for my honest review. I will be looking forward to reading his next adventure in the Kahshi hills very soon.
Rodgers, the author of The Green Unknown: Travels In The Khasi Hills starts of with a disclaimer, claiming for himself the title of a “semi-professional wandering eccentric.” He also admits that he is no expert and that “reading (his book) might feel like heading up a cultural creek without a paddle.” And he is correct. The book is a literal feast of experiences written much like a narrative diary. It is enjoyable and educational. A social anthropological buffet of sorts. You will see and hear of interesting characters named John Cena and Morningglory (yes one word). It seems folks are named for anything interesting or perceived interesting. A person may be named Panty or Brassiere (man or woman) because the villagers parents thought it sounded interesting having no clue to its meaning in English.
In all, this is a nature walk to end all nature walks. The region is a majestic punch of deep valleys, plunging waterfalls, monsoon rains and ancient root bridges. The natural and living phenomenon are best described just as their name indicates. Bridges that are alive, nurtured over decades from the roots of trees into walking paths to help ferry the regions people across gorges and swelling rivers. The citizens of the region live in far off mountainside villages, many so secluded each has its own dialect. The author does include us in his attempts at dialogue in each village. One scene in with he attempts to understand why a chicken, dead and covered in soot is stuck in a roof thatch is quite amusing.
The authors walks carry him, “hill by hill, valley by valley” into the homes of each village that welcomes the Phareng (foreigner) and feeds him more than he could possibly ever need. At each village he attempts to ascertain the locations and information of any root bridges in the area. I have included some links that hold some pictures of these Root Bridges at the website inhabitat.com below. The author includes some in his book as well, but as it is a digital copy and not conducive to pull directly from it, so I felt this would do just as well. My only beef about this work is its abrupt ending. I wanted to know just how it all ends. The last most discomforting trek Mr.Rogers made with his companions. So it is a literal cliffhanger. This may not be a perfectly written book, but that is explained by the author, “…I think the rugged, cluttered, truth of things is just more interesting.” I am glad to have had the opportunity to gain previously unknown knowledge of a relatively unknown place. It was entertaining. It is a short 170 pages. If you enjoy travelogues and discovering, or nature and ecology. This just may the book for you.
Photo sources and more information on Patrick Rogers: https://inhabitat.com/interview-how-o...
For more information on The authors Root Bridge Project visit: https://livingrootbridges.com/
I would like thank the author for the opportunity to read his work in exchange for my honest review. I will be looking forward to reading his next adventure in the Kahshi hills very soon.
August 19, 2019
The book Green Unknown by Patrick Rogers is a travel memoir. Patrick writes about his travel in Khasi Hills of Meghalaya, one of the Northeast Indian state. The author had come to Meghalaya on a trek earlier and was mesmerized by the living root bridges, and hence later returned again to explore more living root bridges and thereby getting to know a lot more about Khasi villages and its people and their unique traditions. This book is a compilation of his travel experiences.
Meghalaya means the abode of clouds in Sanskrit. During the British rule of India, the British imperial authorities nicknamed it as the "Scotland of the East". Meghalaya was previously part of Indian state Assam, but on 21 January 1972, the districts of Khasi, Garo and Jaintia hills became the new state of Meghalaya.
Living root bridges—bridges created from the roots of the living ficus elastica tree, a form of rubber tree are botanical architecture marvels. The famous Double Decker living root bridge is quite interesting too. These are more than hundred years old, could be much more than that, however some are still functional.
Meghalaya is a land with many unique wonders. Few of these which are mentioned in the book are- Living root bridges, Cherrapunji (locally known as Sohra) is the wettest place on earth (that is, before Mawsynram took the title), the singing village of Meghalaya where everyone has a musical name, the matrilineal culture (daughter takes care of parents and inherits property), Khasi language, Mawlynnong (the cleanest village in Asia), Khasi food, Kwai (paan served with a generous dose of areca nut, betel leaf and lime), innumerable small villages and their own local languages.
Apart from the wonders of Khasi Hills, the author also discusses the other side, that is not so good things which affects the region. Some of these are- loss of the living root bridges (there are huge benefits of living root bridges over steel ones, however due to time constraints and lack of old knowledge, these days steel bridges are preferred), environmental damage to the region due to tourism, increasing population in the region and reducing forest cover.
The Khasi word for rain is 'Slap', and it is author's favorite word in Khasi. The way, the rains and the scenic beauty of Khasi Hills are described by the author during his treks, it can tempt anyone to visit the place. (I too want to visit it soon!) The pictures are amazing too.
'Khublei' (thank you in Khasi) to the author for describing the uniqueness of Khasi Hills and thereby showing us the beauty of Incredible India's mesmerizing Meghalaya.
Meghalaya means the abode of clouds in Sanskrit. During the British rule of India, the British imperial authorities nicknamed it as the "Scotland of the East". Meghalaya was previously part of Indian state Assam, but on 21 January 1972, the districts of Khasi, Garo and Jaintia hills became the new state of Meghalaya.
Living root bridges—bridges created from the roots of the living ficus elastica tree, a form of rubber tree are botanical architecture marvels. The famous Double Decker living root bridge is quite interesting too. These are more than hundred years old, could be much more than that, however some are still functional.
Meghalaya is a land with many unique wonders. Few of these which are mentioned in the book are- Living root bridges, Cherrapunji (locally known as Sohra) is the wettest place on earth (that is, before Mawsynram took the title), the singing village of Meghalaya where everyone has a musical name, the matrilineal culture (daughter takes care of parents and inherits property), Khasi language, Mawlynnong (the cleanest village in Asia), Khasi food, Kwai (paan served with a generous dose of areca nut, betel leaf and lime), innumerable small villages and their own local languages.
Apart from the wonders of Khasi Hills, the author also discusses the other side, that is not so good things which affects the region. Some of these are- loss of the living root bridges (there are huge benefits of living root bridges over steel ones, however due to time constraints and lack of old knowledge, these days steel bridges are preferred), environmental damage to the region due to tourism, increasing population in the region and reducing forest cover.
The Khasi word for rain is 'Slap', and it is author's favorite word in Khasi. The way, the rains and the scenic beauty of Khasi Hills are described by the author during his treks, it can tempt anyone to visit the place. (I too want to visit it soon!) The pictures are amazing too.
'Khublei' (thank you in Khasi) to the author for describing the uniqueness of Khasi Hills and thereby showing us the beauty of Incredible India's mesmerizing Meghalaya.
February 15, 2018
I received a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The Green Unknown: Travels in the Khasi Hills follow Patrick Rogers as he explores Meghalaya, a remote state of Northeastern India. Proving a complete and immersive experience, the reader can easily visualize his journeys for themselves.
I’ve always been fascinated by Asia, but India is a country I know far too little about. This book drew me in from the beginning and did not disappoint.
The initial focus is on ‘living-root bridges.’ As denoted by the name, they are formed through the careful arrangement of a living tree’s roots. Spanning across gorges and streams, these natural bridges can be hundreds of years old. Environmentally-friendly but time-consuming to construct, they provide an intriguing introduction to a region that is practically another world.
These bridges are discussed throughout the book, but they do not remain the primary focus. Little by little, the reader is able to explore the Khasi Hills alongside Rogers, discovering little known villages and examining local culture. Though the villages are small and not very far apart, the geography of the land makes travel between them difficult. As a result, many of these villages have customs that are vastly different to each other.
Roger’s writing is witty and engaging. Unlike some travel books, which can read more like text books, The Green Unknown is an adventure in and off itself. The care put into this book is evident throughout. and the reader is never left feeling bored.
I do feel that the book ended abruptly. Most of it was perfectly paced, spending just the right amount of time on each subject discussed. When I reached the final pages, however, there was not much of a conclusion to tie everything together. It dropped off suddenly and I was left genuinely surprised to find it finished.
Overall, I have to give The Green Unknown 4.5 / 5 stars. Anyone interested in travel and Asian culture should check it out! A quick, intelligent read with accompanying photographs, this book will take you on a journey of your own.
The Green Unknown: Travels in the Khasi Hills follow Patrick Rogers as he explores Meghalaya, a remote state of Northeastern India. Proving a complete and immersive experience, the reader can easily visualize his journeys for themselves.
I’ve always been fascinated by Asia, but India is a country I know far too little about. This book drew me in from the beginning and did not disappoint.
The initial focus is on ‘living-root bridges.’ As denoted by the name, they are formed through the careful arrangement of a living tree’s roots. Spanning across gorges and streams, these natural bridges can be hundreds of years old. Environmentally-friendly but time-consuming to construct, they provide an intriguing introduction to a region that is practically another world.
These bridges are discussed throughout the book, but they do not remain the primary focus. Little by little, the reader is able to explore the Khasi Hills alongside Rogers, discovering little known villages and examining local culture. Though the villages are small and not very far apart, the geography of the land makes travel between them difficult. As a result, many of these villages have customs that are vastly different to each other.
Roger’s writing is witty and engaging. Unlike some travel books, which can read more like text books, The Green Unknown is an adventure in and off itself. The care put into this book is evident throughout. and the reader is never left feeling bored.
I do feel that the book ended abruptly. Most of it was perfectly paced, spending just the right amount of time on each subject discussed. When I reached the final pages, however, there was not much of a conclusion to tie everything together. It dropped off suddenly and I was left genuinely surprised to find it finished.
Overall, I have to give The Green Unknown 4.5 / 5 stars. Anyone interested in travel and Asian culture should check it out! A quick, intelligent read with accompanying photographs, this book will take you on a journey of your own.
January 24, 2018
The Green Unknown is a travel memoir. Author Patrick Rogers takes us to the North East India state of Meghalaya, to the Riwar area. This is an area which is far removed from the politics, administrative controls and religion of the rest of India.
Patrick describes himself as a trekker and documenter of the living root bridges—bridges created from the roots of the living ficus elastica tree, a form of rubber tree. Over years of cultivation some of the tree roots have been guided over rivers and chasms to form much needed and eco-friendly bridges, leaving the tree alive to co-habit with man.
This part of India is full of steep rocky river gorges, hot humid jungle and diverse groups of people who speak a multitude of languages and dialects. Patrick found that just moving from one village to its nearest neighbour often resulted in a change of language, making communication a real challenge. Some of the villages were so remote that many of the inhabitants had never seen a white man.
As well as the root bridges, Rogers’ book also covers some of his jungle treks, the locals use of Kwai (a mild drug created from Areca nuts, betel leaves and lime) and local beliefs and myths. I was very interested in the root bridges and would have been happy with a larger part of the book being taken up with these, plus more details about the jungle flora and fauna, especially during the treks. Before reading this book I’d never heard of root bridges, so learning about the them and the eco-tourism plans of a young man named Morningglory had me making my own searches for more details.
The difficulty with any travel memoir is getting the balance right between a book which fills in the gaps for friends and family who all knew parts but not the whole of any trip, and making it appealing to a wider audience. This book was certainly interesting, but I think there needs to be more on the root bridges, giving them more prominence for this to grab the attention of readers.
Patrick describes himself as a trekker and documenter of the living root bridges—bridges created from the roots of the living ficus elastica tree, a form of rubber tree. Over years of cultivation some of the tree roots have been guided over rivers and chasms to form much needed and eco-friendly bridges, leaving the tree alive to co-habit with man.
This part of India is full of steep rocky river gorges, hot humid jungle and diverse groups of people who speak a multitude of languages and dialects. Patrick found that just moving from one village to its nearest neighbour often resulted in a change of language, making communication a real challenge. Some of the villages were so remote that many of the inhabitants had never seen a white man.
As well as the root bridges, Rogers’ book also covers some of his jungle treks, the locals use of Kwai (a mild drug created from Areca nuts, betel leaves and lime) and local beliefs and myths. I was very interested in the root bridges and would have been happy with a larger part of the book being taken up with these, plus more details about the jungle flora and fauna, especially during the treks. Before reading this book I’d never heard of root bridges, so learning about the them and the eco-tourism plans of a young man named Morningglory had me making my own searches for more details.
The difficulty with any travel memoir is getting the balance right between a book which fills in the gaps for friends and family who all knew parts but not the whole of any trip, and making it appealing to a wider audience. This book was certainly interesting, but I think there needs to be more on the root bridges, giving them more prominence for this to grab the attention of readers.
December 5, 2017
Patrick Rogers began trekking in the Khasi Hills in northeastern India in 2010, and he has returned many times since, drawn by the beauty of the region, with its canyons, its waterfalls, its raging rivers, and, above, all its living root bridges. These extraordinary bridges, trained from the roots of the ficus elastica, can reach a length of nearly 200 feet and rise almost 100 feet above the streams they span. They are, the author says, “among the world’s exceedingly few examples of architecture which is simultaneously functional and alive.”
Rogers takes readers along as he travels from village to village, mostly on foot, in Meghalaya, an area that is small but diverse: language, customs, religion vary from one place to the next. From time to time Rogers meets someone who knows some English, but mostly he communicates piecemeal, in words he’s picked up from Hindi and dialects or, more effectively, by signs. This seems to work. He gets along well with the people he meets, who generously offer hospitality to a bedraggled foreigner—a Phareng—whose purpose in being there they probably find unfathomable.
The book’s style is casual, but Rogers’s travels—and travails—are strenuous. He navigates hair-raising terrain, encounters massive storms, eats things I suspect most of us would rather avoid—boiled tadpoles!—and he writes about it all with a nice self-deprecating humor.
The best parts of the book focus on his many quests to find bridges, and I especially enjoyed one excursion when he is accompanied by two entertaining and enterprising guides: a youngster of 17, named Morningglory, who is interested in promoting ecotourism; and an indefatigable fellow called John Cena, who has a deep knowledge of the local fauna and flora, as well as the ability to move agilely “up and down dangerous almost-vertical forest slopes, through impenetrable bamboo thickets, and along the edges of sheer precipices with only inches between himself and oblivion.” Rogers struggles to keep up—and upright—in his wake.
Rogers can’t—and doesn’t try to—provide a cultural overview of the region or in-depth information about living root bridges. He feels he doesn’t know enough, and as he makes clear, this is not a reference work. It's a personal account of his journeys and an appreciation of a place and its people. But while I found his modesty refreshing, and am glad that he didn’t claim to know more than he does, I would have liked a clearer picture of life in the intriguing villages he visited, so apparently remote and yet not without cell phones.
Rogers is a good travel companion, and The Green Unknown is very enjoyable. Little seems to be known about the history of living root bridges, which are now disappearing, and I hope that this book, with its enthusiasm and terrific photographs, helps generate the interest and research needed for their preservation.
Rogers takes readers along as he travels from village to village, mostly on foot, in Meghalaya, an area that is small but diverse: language, customs, religion vary from one place to the next. From time to time Rogers meets someone who knows some English, but mostly he communicates piecemeal, in words he’s picked up from Hindi and dialects or, more effectively, by signs. This seems to work. He gets along well with the people he meets, who generously offer hospitality to a bedraggled foreigner—a Phareng—whose purpose in being there they probably find unfathomable.
The book’s style is casual, but Rogers’s travels—and travails—are strenuous. He navigates hair-raising terrain, encounters massive storms, eats things I suspect most of us would rather avoid—boiled tadpoles!—and he writes about it all with a nice self-deprecating humor.
The best parts of the book focus on his many quests to find bridges, and I especially enjoyed one excursion when he is accompanied by two entertaining and enterprising guides: a youngster of 17, named Morningglory, who is interested in promoting ecotourism; and an indefatigable fellow called John Cena, who has a deep knowledge of the local fauna and flora, as well as the ability to move agilely “up and down dangerous almost-vertical forest slopes, through impenetrable bamboo thickets, and along the edges of sheer precipices with only inches between himself and oblivion.” Rogers struggles to keep up—and upright—in his wake.
Rogers can’t—and doesn’t try to—provide a cultural overview of the region or in-depth information about living root bridges. He feels he doesn’t know enough, and as he makes clear, this is not a reference work. It's a personal account of his journeys and an appreciation of a place and its people. But while I found his modesty refreshing, and am glad that he didn’t claim to know more than he does, I would have liked a clearer picture of life in the intriguing villages he visited, so apparently remote and yet not without cell phones.
Rogers is a good travel companion, and The Green Unknown is very enjoyable. Little seems to be known about the history of living root bridges, which are now disappearing, and I hope that this book, with its enthusiasm and terrific photographs, helps generate the interest and research needed for their preservation.
December 10, 2017
*Gift copy for an honest review.
This book was a very fun and informative read. In the preface, Rogers says that the read may feel a little disorienting since it parallels his own adventures, but I was never lost. It was easier to follow along than he made it sound. Because the book is written from his perspective, with him including his mistakes and troubles, it actually makes learning about the area a lot more interesting and fun. It's one thing to be told about kwai and its potential side effects. It's another to read about the author going through those effects after a bad dose. Not to mention the massive storm he, Morningstar and Cena went through was made way more scary when written from his perspective.
Before reading this book, I had no idea what a living root bridge was. There is a noticeable lack of verified information on the subject.. After I learned what they are, I was hopeful that there would be a lot of myth-like stories about them to inspire the imagination. Turns out, the locals look at them the same way we do a sidewalk. Nothing too special about it. I do wish there were more pictures of them, but the author didn't find many of them as the practice is dying out.
I greatly enjoyed this excursion to a new world where the safest paths are still some of the most difficult to access. Where the struggle to get somewhere makes the destination all the more beautiful. Where almost every TV that has a satellite signal is watching WWE. I absolutely loved Rogers' depiction of the local children.
If you're interested in a non-fiction about a little-known place in India with beautiful photography and funny stories, I highly recommend this book. It's a short book, but it's definitely worth taking a look.
This book was a very fun and informative read. In the preface, Rogers says that the read may feel a little disorienting since it parallels his own adventures, but I was never lost. It was easier to follow along than he made it sound. Because the book is written from his perspective, with him including his mistakes and troubles, it actually makes learning about the area a lot more interesting and fun. It's one thing to be told about kwai and its potential side effects. It's another to read about the author going through those effects after a bad dose. Not to mention the massive storm he, Morningstar and Cena went through was made way more scary when written from his perspective.
Before reading this book, I had no idea what a living root bridge was. There is a noticeable lack of verified information on the subject.. After I learned what they are, I was hopeful that there would be a lot of myth-like stories about them to inspire the imagination. Turns out, the locals look at them the same way we do a sidewalk. Nothing too special about it. I do wish there were more pictures of them, but the author didn't find many of them as the practice is dying out.
I greatly enjoyed this excursion to a new world where the safest paths are still some of the most difficult to access. Where the struggle to get somewhere makes the destination all the more beautiful. Where almost every TV that has a satellite signal is watching WWE. I absolutely loved Rogers' depiction of the local children.
If you're interested in a non-fiction about a little-known place in India with beautiful photography and funny stories, I highly recommend this book. It's a short book, but it's definitely worth taking a look.
March 5, 2018
Here’s a fact about me that you probably don’t know: I have zero sense of direction. Like, I need to use my GPS to be able to find the correct major highways to get to my friend’s house… even though I’ve been there several times. I once got lost in the woods behind my house and made a seven-mile circle as I looked for the correct trail. Right after I got my driver’s license, I tried to visit my grandma who lived about 120 miles northwest. I somehow ended up 70 miles northeast, bawling on the side of the road with no cell phone service. Like I said, zero sense of direction.
So when I read a book like this, where the author willingly dumps himself in the middle of nowhere, a remote region of the world where he barely speaks the language, actually gets where he’s trying to go using hand-drawn maps (that are actually wrong!), puts himself fully at the mercy of the locals, and finds amazing things along the way, I’m more than a little impressed.
Also, I don’t think I’ve mentioned it in quite a while, but I have a degree in linguistics and the idea that these villages can be so close together and yet have such wildly different languages is just so interesting! I would love to know how that happened and if I were still a linguistics student, it would make a great research project. Unfortunately, I am Officially Old and have to focus my daily life on my real job.
Traveling stresses me the heck out, but this book makes me want to drop everything and head to a different country and just hope for the best.
I received a free copy of The Green Unknown from the author in exchange for my honest review. Thank you!
So when I read a book like this, where the author willingly dumps himself in the middle of nowhere, a remote region of the world where he barely speaks the language, actually gets where he’s trying to go using hand-drawn maps (that are actually wrong!), puts himself fully at the mercy of the locals, and finds amazing things along the way, I’m more than a little impressed.
Also, I don’t think I’ve mentioned it in quite a while, but I have a degree in linguistics and the idea that these villages can be so close together and yet have such wildly different languages is just so interesting! I would love to know how that happened and if I were still a linguistics student, it would make a great research project. Unfortunately, I am Officially Old and have to focus my daily life on my real job.
Traveling stresses me the heck out, but this book makes me want to drop everything and head to a different country and just hope for the best.
I received a free copy of The Green Unknown from the author in exchange for my honest review. Thank you!
May 26, 2018
A Geographical Delight
I came across this book with an interesting summary. A tourist making his way in the state of Meghalaya all by himself without a proper map or guide. I've never been to the scenic escapade so thought of picking this book to understand the authors perspective of a state in India which is one among the six sisters. Best part I got this book for just Rs. 9 on Kindle.
The authors quest is to see nature's marvel i.e. Living root bridges which is one of its kind and found in the state. I admit I wasn't aware of it. In his quest to see the bridges he had to travel extensively in the hilly area. The book is a narrative of his Rendezvous with nature, with turbulent weather in the state, with different people who barely understand Hindi, with culture of the state, with meals of the place and so many short tales detailing his agony.
Some tales are hillarious while some are scary with author having to go on a trail where he could've lost his life. It also tells various folk stories and beliefs of the people residing there. The narratives are short and crisp, never stretched at any place. Book also has snaps of his adventurous trips, though I wish I could get to see some more. The description makes you fall in love with the state which I am sure to visit in near future.
Overall it's a geographical delight. I would rate this book a 4.5/5.
Follow my book reviews on https:/readitbyroma.blogspot.in
I came across this book with an interesting summary. A tourist making his way in the state of Meghalaya all by himself without a proper map or guide. I've never been to the scenic escapade so thought of picking this book to understand the authors perspective of a state in India which is one among the six sisters. Best part I got this book for just Rs. 9 on Kindle.
The authors quest is to see nature's marvel i.e. Living root bridges which is one of its kind and found in the state. I admit I wasn't aware of it. In his quest to see the bridges he had to travel extensively in the hilly area. The book is a narrative of his Rendezvous with nature, with turbulent weather in the state, with different people who barely understand Hindi, with culture of the state, with meals of the place and so many short tales detailing his agony.
Some tales are hillarious while some are scary with author having to go on a trail where he could've lost his life. It also tells various folk stories and beliefs of the people residing there. The narratives are short and crisp, never stretched at any place. Book also has snaps of his adventurous trips, though I wish I could get to see some more. The description makes you fall in love with the state which I am sure to visit in near future.
Overall it's a geographical delight. I would rate this book a 4.5/5.
Follow my book reviews on https:/readitbyroma.blogspot.in
June 17, 2019
The abode of clouds - Meghalaya
I have never been to Meghalaya and know little about the place. This travelogue is written from a foreigner's vision as a traveller to this place. He has discussed a lot about the root bridges, fooding habits, names and forests in the villages. The book is humorous at times but becomes uninteresting at some point of time.
The way he has given words to expressions of the native people living there is appreciative and managed a great deal in living and conversing with them on his trip. The book should comprise diverse topics and is limited to a few only. More than Meghalaya in general , his conversation with friends and villagemen are highlighted.
I have never been to Meghalaya and know little about the place. This travelogue is written from a foreigner's vision as a traveller to this place. He has discussed a lot about the root bridges, fooding habits, names and forests in the villages. The book is humorous at times but becomes uninteresting at some point of time.
The way he has given words to expressions of the native people living there is appreciative and managed a great deal in living and conversing with them on his trip. The book should comprise diverse topics and is limited to a few only. More than Meghalaya in general , his conversation with friends and villagemen are highlighted.
December 28, 2017
This book was a solid “worth the read” and allows the reader to experience a small region of northern India that few Westerners ever get to. The book reads much like a travelogue from the early 1900s, where the author has to explain in anthropological fashion what he sees around him. This mostly works as I, like most readers, has no context for the Khasi Hills in northern India. Chapters switch between this more academic look at the region and the author’s own travels. Read to widen your knowledge of our world from a curious and empathetic writer.
September 30, 2019
I like this book. And, I must say thank you to Patrick Rogers for exploring Meghalaya and sharing his experiences with us.
I have been fascinated by Meghalaya (and the rest of the North East) for a long time. However, I don't know too much about Meghalaya
Patrick Rogers writes in an extremely engaging style. It keeps you going. His descriptions of Meghalaya, the hills and customs are detailed enough, without going over the top. There is enough fodder for further research.
Altogether, a very good book indeed.
I have been fascinated by Meghalaya (and the rest of the North East) for a long time. However, I don't know too much about Meghalaya
Patrick Rogers writes in an extremely engaging style. It keeps you going. His descriptions of Meghalaya, the hills and customs are detailed enough, without going over the top. There is enough fodder for further research.
Altogether, a very good book indeed.
November 1, 2020
Having a close association with Meghalaya and Shillong to be specific, the topic held an instant attraction for me. And I wasn't disappointed for a minute. An excellent piece of writing, brings out the true essence of the Khasi Hills at the interior and it's people and their life. Never derogatory, compassionate at the same time hilarious. The details about the " Living root bridges" were of course fascinating. I enjoyed it thoroughly.
Recommended for those who want to know more about the unknown and remote corners of our country.
Recommended for those who want to know more about the unknown and remote corners of our country.
November 2, 2017
This is a fascinating book about a part of the world most folks know very little about, full of wonders like giant living root bridges and tribespeople whose names are songs. Rogers is often hilarious (and apparently borderline insane!) as he describes forays into remote Khasi villages, some of which have never seen a westerner. Touches upon natural beauty, tadpole-eating, WWE, and misadventures in betel nut appreciation!
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