Ficus Khasiana, Finding the Living Root Bridges

Ficus Khasiana: Finding the Living Root Bridges by Ian Lyngdoh - This book accommodates a striking conflation of folklore and structural engineering, of philosophical musing and mega-data, of human interest narratives and ecocriticism. It is the work of a person who has trodden the meridian trails of felt experience, exploring little-revealed geographies of knowledge and emotion. The living root bridges of the Khasis provide the metaphor that there can be no existence without communication. An inspired work, this book underscores the human-nature-culture continuum in a wonderful storytelling mode. 

Ficus Khasiana is a tree of the ficus family that has been reshaped by man into a functional structure while retaining its organic properties. Its DNA intact, the tree's aerial roots are crafted into bridges, ladders, pathways etc. by the indigenous architects of the Ri War area of the Khasi and Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya, Northeast India.