Dine behind bars: Historic police station in Meghalaya reimagined as a cafe
In the misty hills of Sohra (Cherrapunji), Meghalaya, a 140-year-old colonial-era police station has been transformed into a one-of-a-kind dining destination. Belovedly, it's named as Sohra 1885.
Once known as a 'dreaded detention centre' during British rule, this heritage building now invites visitors to enjoy a meal behind bars. Literally.
This very initiative, led by Meghalaya Police and conceptualized by Superintendent of Police Vivek Syiem, aims to preserve the state's architectural legacy and supporting police welfare, on the other hand. Entrepreneur Nafi Nongrum spearheaded the restoration, retaining original British-era elements like the fireplace and flooring, while converting the lock-up area into a quirky dining space.
The café, reportedly, offers seating for up to 100 guests approximately, and features a diverse menu. Visitors can experience the thrill of dining in refurbished jail cells, making it a must-visit for both foodies and history enthusiasts.
Sohra 1885 proves to be not just 'a' cafe, but a creative blend of heritage, hospitality, and history, offering one of a kind experience, surrounded by one of India's most scenic locales.
Similar cafés like this:
Written by: Rajlekha Roy Burman
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
16 minutes ago
- Mint
Triple-hosted World Cup: huge ambition at a hefty cost to planet
The largest and most far-flung World Cup kicks off in 12 months with a record 48 teams spread across Canada, the United States and Mexico and sceptics are asking whether its frenzied growth is worth the environmental cost. FIFA, the governing body of world football, like the International Olympic Committee, insists it is working to reduce the carbon footprint. But the expansion from 32 competing nations to 48 and the resulting shift to multiple hosts both next year and in 2030, leads critics to question that claim. "Unlike the case of the Olympic Games, where the carbon footprints have been reducing over the last several editions, this is totally opposite in the case of the men's World Cup," David Gogishvili, a geographer at the University of Lausanne and a specialist in mega-sports events, told AFP. While the 2022 World Cup in Qatar was certainly compact, it drew criticism for its oversized, air-conditioned stadiums built at breakneck speed in a small country with a scorching climate. For 2026, all 16 stadiums -- ranging in capacity from the 45,000-capacity Toronto Stadium to the 94,000-capacity cauldron of Dallas Stadium -- already existed when the bid was made. One problem is the distances. Foxborough Stadium, outside Boston, is 3,700 kilometres (2,300 miles) from the Azteca in Mexico City. The Stadium at BC Place in Vancouver is 4,500km from Miami Stadium. That multiplies air travel for teams, officials, media and the "more than five million fans" who, FIFA says, "are expected to attend". Organisers say the 72 matches in the first round -- when teams will play in 12 four-team groups -- will pivot on three "regional hubs". Yet distances will still be huge. Group B, for example, has matches in Toronto as well as in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Vancouver on the Pacific Coast. For the 32 matches in the five-round knockout phase teams will be flying all over the map. FIFA, whose president Gianni Infantino proclaimed his "determination" to combat global warming at COP 26 in Glasgow, committed itself in 2018 to "measuring, reducing and offsetting" the emissions associated with its World Cups. Yet, since it was nailed in June 2023 by the Swiss Fairness Commission for boasting of the "climate neutrality" of the 2022 World Cup, without being able to prove the claim, FIFA has refrained from making assessments or promises concerning 2026. The only official estimate of the carbon impact -- a record 3.7 million tonnes of CO2 -- was made before the number of matches was increased from 80 to 104. "FIFA's insatiable appetite towards growth," Gogishvili said, means "more athletes, more fans, more hotel infrastructure, more flights. It's kind of a never-ending cycle". A joint British report on football and the environment published in February by the New Weather Institute and Scientists for Global Responsibility, punningly entitled 'Dirty Tackle', said one men's World Cup finals match generates emissions "between 26 times and 42 times that for a domestic elite game" or the equivalent of "between 31,500 and 51,500 average UK cars driven for a whole year". "With every game added to the football calendar, international football associations make the world less safe," the report said. Next year's World Cup is not a blip. "It seems that the environmental denial of the FIFA World Cups will continue," wrote Gilles Pache, professor at the University of Aix-Marseille, in the Journal of Management. He pointed to 2030 that will open with matches in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, to celebrate the centenary of the first World Cup, before switching across the Atlantic to the three hosts Morocco, Spain and Portugal for the remaining 101 matches. The 2034 World Cup, will be held in Saudi Arabia, in a climate comparable to that of Qatar, but with 40 more matches. Saudi giant Aramco, the world's leading oil company, became a major FIFA sponsor of FIFA last year.
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Mangaluru Mail: Old bogeys rich in history
At 8.10 p.m. every night from Chennai Central, a slice of history leaves the Tamil Nadu plains and heads towards the Western coast. Mangaluru Mail is one of the oldest trains in Southern Railway and its original number was 1 with the return down trip numbered at 2. Back then it was the Mangalore Mail before the Kannada twang caused a minor change in nomenclature. Having commenced operations in 1867, initially to Calicut (Kozhikode), the train moved all the way to Karnataka's coastal town. Initially pulled by a steam engine, the transition towards diesel and now electric, was gradual. Years later when computerisation of railway bookings clicked in, its numerical reference changed and now it is labelled at 12601 and 12602. The railway line to northern Kerala and coastal Karnataka was launched by the British as a tool to help transfer hill-produce, spices, tea, coffee and timber from Malabar and Coorg to the plains and Madras port. The advent of the Mangalore Mail also helped people migrate towards the Madras Presidency, for education and jobs. The original Udupi hotel owners now based in Chennai, first took this train while leaving their homes in Mangalore, Udupi and Kundapura. It was the same with Malayalis from Kasaragod to Shoranur, and they too got into setting up tea shops, hole-in-the-wall bakeries, while also seeking jobs in factories in the western suburbs. The train was also favoured by those in the field of arts. Directors like I.V. Sasi and multi-faceted artistes like Sreenivasan took this train and sought greener pastures in Kodambakkam. It is no surprise that in actor Sreenivasan's son Vineeth's recent films, the odd hat-tip to Mangalore Mail is placed. It was not just about people from the west coast rushing for a break in Chennai, this train also helped devotees from Tamil Nadu head towards Guruvayur and Mookambika with the alighting points being Kuttipuram and Mangaluru, respectively. In recent times, there are those who use this train to head to Manipal, while pursuing higher education. Over the years other trains were launched like the West Coast Express, a favourite of legendary star and former Chief Minister MGR, especially when he travelled to Mookambika temple. And the latest addition is the superfast express that leaves in the evening. A new demographic following has also latched onto the Mail thanks to migrant labourers from Bengal. Leaving at night, slithering through the Palghat Gap before dawn and reaching Mangaluru well past noon, this is a train rich in history, despite its old bogeys and the obvious need for a fresh coat of paint.
Indian Express
4 hours ago
- Indian Express
127 years in vault, veil to lift on Buddhist relics
A CRYSTAL casket believed to be over 2,300 years old was found along with four other caskets at Piprahwa (ancient Kapilavastu) in Uttar Pradesh during an excavation in 1898. The fish-shaped knob of the 5 cm x 10 cm casket contains precious gems and gold leaves. Another casket, found in a stone coffer buried 18 feet under the ground, has an inscription in Brahmi script that roughly translates as: 'the casket containing the relics of Lord Buddha was donated by Sukirti brothers along with their sisters, sons and wives belonging to the Sakya clan'. For more than 127 years, several such sacred Buddhist relics from the third century BC, including the five caskets, a sandstone coffer and 221 gems and jewels, were kept in the secure vaults of the Indian Museum in Kolkata — conserved and preserved, never exposed to the public. Now, for the first time ever, the Ministry of Culture is planning an exposition of these relics of Lord Buddha that were deposited by the Sakyas, his kin, and found in a stupa belonging to Emperor Ashoka, The Indian Express has learnt. Sources said the venue is being worked out and it will most likely be held 'at a secure and appropriate venue in the national capital' to ensure a greater degree of public participation. There's a possibility that it could be held as early as next month although the dates have not been finalised yet, they said. According to records, during the January 1898 excavation at a mound in Birdpur Estate, William Claxton Peppe — son of a British estate manager — unearthed an 18-foot shaft leading to a sandstone coffer containing the relics, which also included sacred bones and ashes. Recognising the religious importance of the relics, the then Viceroy of India, Lord Elgin II, donated the sacred bones and ashes to Siamese King Rama V. However, the caskets, coffer, and associated relics were retained in India, in the custody of the Imperial Museum, which is now known as the Indian Museum, Kolkata, its Director in-charge Arijit Dutta Choudhury told The Indian Express. Recently, the Culture Ministry sent a legal notice to Sotheby's Hong Kong to stop the auction of a part of the sacred relics that were held by Peppe's family, and asked that the items be returned to India. Although the auction house stopped the auction — slated for May 7 — India's legal claim on such items is yet to yield any result. The attempted sale of the Piprahwa Buddhist relics at Sotheby's has raised global concerns as it commodified the sacred remains believed to be of Lord Buddha. For many across the globe, such relics are not artefacts but living embodiments of faith, said Khushi Kesari, Program Officer-History Lab: Community, Heritage & Material Culture, Advanced Study Institute of Asia at SGT University in Gurugram. The Sotheby's incident has significant implications for post-colonial nations like India as it underscores a wider struggle to reclaim heritage looted or exported under colonial regimes, she said. Despite being a ratified signatory of 1970 UNESCO Convention, India faces challenges, including the burden of proof and lack of bilateral treaties, to get back such relics, Kesari said. The fact that these relics are spread between private ownership and museum collections makes it difficult for India to bring them back, she said. The majority of these relics were transferred to Kolkata's Indian Museum in 1899, and are classified as 'AA' antiquities under Indian law, prohibiting their removal or sale. While a portion of the bone relics was gifted to the King of Siam, a selection retained by Peppé's descendants were listed for auction. Choudhury said the sacred relics and reliquaries at the Indian Museum have never been loaned or exhibited. 'The Piprahwa relics housed in the Indian Museum, Kolkata are classified as *AA* category antiquities, denoting their exceptional historical, cultural, and religious significance. Due to their unique value, these artefacts are preserved with the highest standards of care in accordance with international museum practices,' he said. Upon learning of the proposed auction at Sotheby's, the Culture Ministry had asked the Financial Investigation Unit (FIU) to coordinate with its counterpart in Hong Kong to highlight the illegality of the auction and ensure compliance with international laws. In its notice to Sotheby's, the ministry had also reiterated its efforts 'to protect India's cultural heritage and ensure the repatriation of the Piprahwa Relics'. 'We call upon Sotheby's Hong Kong to immediately withdraw the relics from auction and cooperate with Indian authorities to return these sacred artifacts to their rightful place,' it said in the notice. However, experts believe that India's claim over the Piprahwa relics may be legally complicated, as they were excavated by Peppe on land allocated to him by the British colonial government. The colonial-era excavation and subsequent private ownership by Peppe's family complicate proof of illegal export, Kesari said. Also, this occurred long before India's Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972 came into effect. Divya A reports on travel, tourism, culture and social issues - not necessarily in that order - for The Indian Express. She's been a journalist for over a decade now, working with Khaleej Times and The Times of India, before settling down at Express. Besides writing/ editing news reports, she indulges her pen to write short stories. As Sanskriti Prabha Dutt Fellow for Excellence in Journalism, she is researching on the lives of the children of sex workers in India. ... Read More
