Sunday, June 5, 2016

Willong Khullen, India's very own Stonehenge!


Who knew a small village in Manipur, a rarely visited North Eastern State, could hold such a significant wonder that is on the same lines as the Stonehenge. This exceptionally intriguing monument is sadly not known by the locals of Manipur apart from those living in the villages around Willong. We were left in awe to see massive blocks of rocks many towering over 10 feet and a few over 1 meter wide. There are a total of approx 135 pillars here.


Looking at these monoliths there were tons of questions floating in our minds. The biggest were how did they manage to do this centuries ago and most importantly why? What was significance or meaning behind carrying out such a hard, time consuming and challenging task. Were they funeral stones or used for some religious ceremony or sacred stones? The massive stone blocks did not seem to be available in the vicinity so where did they procure these from? Apart from the local tales there is no documentation or script that can provide answers to the questions we had. We guess the answers would remain lost with time.


If the local tales are to be believed, the stones talk to each other at night and each stone has a name. According to them, only a man with great strength and power can think of erecting a stone. Before erecting a stone, he has to fast the whole night and perform a ritual of offering wine to the stone. He would have to venture out to far off places to find the perfect stone and the villagers would assist him if required to bring it to Willong. They also believe that it is not possible to count the stones as their placement is so confusing that you tend to miss the count, they believe a spirit confuses you from counting.


The locals don't seem to be aware of this place or the monoliths. Sadly, such an iconic site is left in ruins and the Government has taken zero steps to promote such a monumental site. It was disheartening to see sheds constructed to store construction material right in front of this monument. Tiny homes have started to encroach the land around. In a matter of time this entire monument would go invisible.



Reaching this wonder in 'Willong' could be tough as there is absolutely no public transportation available. The only way to reach is to hire a vehicle either from Imphal or Kohima and do it as a day trip. Also, there are no places to stay or eat here. Willong is equidistant from both State Capitals. One should head to Maram village in Senapati district and from there take the road that goes to Peren. 40 km on this road is Willong Khullen. As soon as you reach Willong, to your left is the Stonehenge of India. The distance from Imphal to Willong took us 3 hours one way in private taxi and for the total journey we were charged Rs.3500.