Heritage Hillstay
With the first rays of the sun, Bida and Bada, two young Khasi girls, rush to serve guests breakfasts at the quaint bungalow located at one corner of the hill station Shillong. The homemade marmalade laid out on the checkered table cloth, beaded jug covers, lace coasters, and croatia sofa covers, all point to an old-world legacy. As much as the décor is English, the story of this house is a lot more than that.
Aerodene cottage gets its name from arodené, a Scottish word that means ‘little knoll’ or hill, which evolved later to become ‘aerodene’. In pre-independence India, Mrs Williams, a British lady, owned a bungalow called Aerodene House that sat at the top of this hill, and which probably is the last British link to the cottage. Later, she sold parts of the compound that stretched all the way down to the Umshyrpi river in Meghalaya. Dharmananda Das, who was the last serving Chief Secretary of undivided Assam, acquired one such portion in 1950 and built Aerodene cottage on it. The place later passed down to his children and is run as a homestay by his daughter-in-law, Sharlene Das neé Chatelier, today.
Sharlene moved to Shillong in 1966 from Pondicherry when her father was transferred here. Eventually, she married her Assamese neighbour who grew up in Aerodene. Neither belonged to the local Khasi culture but embraced the hills as their home. In 2009, Sharlene quit her job with a design magazine to start the renovation of Aerodene cottage.
The challenge was to keep it close to the original structure. Built in the practical yet sturdy Assamese style made popular by the British, Aerodene followed the ‘earthquake-free’ style; Chinese wood craftsmen from the Yunna province were given a free hand to construct these kinds of buildings suitable for areas that received heavy rainfall, and which lay in earthquake-prone zones. This architecture did away with stone and other heavy construction material, giving birth to the ‘Assamese style’ houses.
The entire plinth, a wooden frame, stood on strategically placed stone supports that roughly measured about 1.5 to 2 ft in height and depth. The structure was raised off the ground to keep it dry from heavy rains and dampness, and also to keep the air circulation going since the wooden floor needed it. The walls were pine frames since it was the popular choice of timber back then.
The gaps in these walls were filled by a process called ikra; thin, cane-like weeds that are strong yet flexible, were placed closely together and then plastered with a mix of lime and sand, and later given a coat of lime wash. The exposed wooden frames were usually coated with a strong termite-resistant oil, turning the pine dark brown or black. The pitched roof collected rain water run-off, which till date is harvested at Aerodene in a 33,000-litre tank used for drinking as well as watering the garden, and Sharlene’s collection of orchids, also the largest in Shillong.
Despite all the hiccups of restoring and maintaining a relic of the past, it’s worth all the work for Sharlene. Between its Assamese architecture, British décor and homemade French breads, Aerodene is a reflection of both its owners, and the mixed past and present of Shillong. What Aerodene portrays might not be traditional in the ethnic sense, but it sure portrays a way of life that is quintessentially the Meghalaya of a bygone era, from a time before its status as an independent state.