'This book does justice to the fabulous find that Meghalaya is for the global whitewater community. This is pretty much the best guidebook I have ever seen and it indeed has lived up to and beyond what I expected with this book.
-Shalabh Gahlaut, pioneer of Indian whitewater
'This guidebook is an awesome resource which has put Meghalaya on the whitewater world map. It is colourful, detailed and well-researched - both in content and photos. It is the Lonely Planet for whitewater in Meghalaya!'
-Anvesh Singh Thapa, Expeditions India.
'Good river guidebooks are a joy. They excite the reader with the possible, explain and describe the probable. They tell histories, both natural and personal. They inform and entice their readers without giving it all away. This guide to Meghalaya's whitewater satisfies all these prerequisites, and does it in colour with engaging maps too. It's enough to send any whitewater enthusiast to this tropical paddling paradise.
-Roman Dial, author of Packrafting! An Introduction and How-to Guide
'The' "must-get" guidebook for anyone going to Meghalaya. This guide is simply the best tool to discover the rivers of this magical whitewater territory that is Meghalaya. Culture, flora, fauna, medical hazards, history and rivers, of course--it is all in there!'
-Philippe Doux, publisher, Kayak Session magazine
Praise and Reviews for "Meghalaya Rivers"
A joy of a guidebook; on the rivers, it tells you just enough so as to leave you that feeling of exploring and off the rivers, it answers the questions you will want to ask. Add to this anecdotes, descriptions of descents, tales of terror and exhilaration and sections on the botany, geology, geography, wildlife and culture folktales of Meghalaya and you have the complete works.'
-Dave Manby, pioneer of whitewater exploration
'Much more than just your typical kayak guidebook: an immersion in Indian culture with many interesting and useful facts both on and off the river. These three individuals have worked very hard finding and documenting these river gems. The knowledge they have in the area is unmatched by anyone and I am stoked to see all their work put together in this epic guidebook of Meghalaya.'
-Aniol Serrasolses, 2016 kayak world champion
Author Profile: Zorba Laloo
After his studies in Shillong and Darjeeling, Zorba worked with independent documentary film-makers for the BBC, National Geographic, and other leading Indian and European television. He was researcher and cameraman for the "Darjeeling Himalayan Railway", a documentary that received an award from the Royal Television Society, UK, in 2010. As a crew member for the Swiss-owned expedition company Ribexpeditions, he completed several source-to-sea expeditions under the tutelage of seasoned leaders. Inspired by rivers, he started paddling in Meghalaya and Northeast India with friends for sport and exploration. They were the first in India, and among the first in Asia, to start using packrafts. In 2012, he received the 'Golden Paddle Award' from the American Packrafting Association for his contribution in promoting paddlesports and river conservation. Disappointed by the lack of opportunities for students to experience the outdoors in Meghalaya, Zorba co-founded Campfire Trails, which has, to date, catered to almost 2000 students. Campfire Trails also works closely with villages to help design and develop sustainable eco-rural tourism projects, for which, it received the NEDFi Award for social entrepreneurship in 2015.
Author Profile:
Dan Rea-Dickins Dan has worked as a river guide in Scotland, Kenya, Uganda, Iceland and Switzerland. He has some notable descents to his name, the first and only descent of Charnia Falls in Kenya, being a safety kayaker and photographer for the first commercial rafting descent of the Murchison section of the White Nile and he also crossed Iceland by traversing the Vatnajökull glacier and packrafting the Jökulsá á Fjöllum river. Dan achieved all of this in between seasons in India. He has now shifted his focus and is training to be a paramedic in Liverpool, enjoying regular laps on the rivers of North Wales during his time off.
Author Profile:
Joe Rea-Dickins At age eighteen, Joe headed to India to work as a journalist for the New Indian Express, and with that his love affair with India began. After a second gap year, Joe moved to Aberystwyth, a secluded Welsh town to study international politics. In his second year of studies he was selected for the British Universities Kayak Expedition team and travelled to Venezuela for his first taste of expedition kayaking. In the years since graduating from university, Joe has spent almost as much time in South Asia as he has in Europe. Joe has raised money for women's education in Northern Pakistan through the release of two British-made kayak films "High" and "Too High'. He has worked in Delhi as a video editor for the Outdoor Journal, India's first international active-lifestyle and adventure magazine. Joe shot, edited and directed "The All India Kayak Expedition", a six-month rolling expedition to explore many un-paddled rivers in India. In 2016, Joe was part of a team that kayaked the Panjshir river in Afghanistan. They paddled around 130 km of whitewater and since the trip, he has raised awareness about the unique and often-misunderstood region. Now in the UK, Joe runs an aerial-photography business while formulating grand plans for more exploratory trips to far-flung locations.
About the book:
East India is the small culturally rich hill state of Meghalaya. Meghalaya receives the heaviest rainfall anywhere on Earth and all this water creates rivers that are some of the steepest and most powerful on the planet. Its rivers are steeped in a folklore that was shared over campfires and hearths back in a time when its people had no written word. These rivers are the bedrock of folklore and are surrounded by diverse natural beauty. This wild frontier has recently caught the attention of whitewater paddlers from all over the world. Six years of research by international and local paddlers has culminated into this one-of-a-kind book. More than just a guidebook, Meghalaya Rivers shares previously unpublished folk stories, personal accounts from river descents, detailed maps, insights into the unique culture, history, flora, fauna, environment and geography of this enchanting part of the globe. Not only is this book full of breathtaking photography from some of the most difficult-to-reach corners of Meghalaya, it is also packed with all the information needed to take you to these wild places. Now all you need to do is go and see them for yourself.
"Meghalaya Rivers" (2018) is a valuable book that everyone of us should have! 🏞️ Khublei Shibun @z.meghalaya for sending this! 😄🙏 Ki um ki wah ka ri Khasi ki long ki jingai ba kordor bad ba kyrhai jong ka mariang kiba la pynphuh bad pynim ïa ka jymbriew, ki riti ki dustur, ki khanatang, ki khanaparom bad ka rukom im jong ka jaitbynriew hi baroh kawei. Ki dei ki kot kum ka "Meghalaya Rivers" kiba la pyni sha ka pyrthei ïa ka jingriewspah jong ka mariang ha ka ri Khasi. Ki dei kine ki thied jingim kiba ngi dei ban ri ban sumar na ka bynta ka mynta bad ka lawei ruh kumjuh. Kumba la lam lynti ha ka kot, ngi dei ban sngewthuh ïa ka jingkynsai jong ki um ki wah jong ngi. Ka shong ha ngi ban pyrshang katba lah ban pynman pynneh ïa ki ym tang kum ki jingitynnad jong ka mariang, hynrei kum ki jingmyntoi kiban kyrshan ïa ki shnong ki thaw ha kiba kine ki wah ki tuid.