HAIDROM (Krem)
25.254300,91.655600
Description
A stream of water issues from a south-facing cave entrance, which is 1.8 m high (BREITENBACH et al. 2010: 50), aligned in a row with another three, circular-shaped cave entrances. At least the largest cave entrance is known to lead to a subterranean estuary where a three-dimensional maze of rift cave passages at three distinct levels gives access to a perennially active, joint-controlled stream cave passage with several tributary, though generally rather small-sized rift cave passages. The accessible part of Krem Haidrom contains quite a few secondary calcite formations (including stalactitic and stalagmitic speleothems) and is peculiar insofar as it has formed and still continues to develop due to the dissolution of what is either a calcareous sandstone or a gritty limestone, which contains not only what looks like a kind of fossil oysters (ostreoid bivalves) but also a high percentage of non-karstifiable, sub-angular to rounded, course-grained sand and small pebbles, which represent an apparently quartzitic grit.At a closer look, however, the upstream part of the stream cave passage is unsuitable for high standing cave visitors insofar as it leads within 250 m (SANDFORD, E 1997a: 16) or 260 m (BROOKS 1998b: 6) to a point in the accessible upper reaches where the rift-character is lost and the cave passage widens considerably, gains a width of more than 25 m and thus deteriorates into a flat-out crawl. At this point, the ceiling of the upstream cave passage lowers down to a height of about half a metre and thus to a degree which not only unbending people consider unbecoming. ETYMOLOGY: The meaning of the standard Khasi or, perhaps, the War Khasi cave name "Krem Haidrom" has not yet been discovered. According to one suspicion, the cave name "Krem Haidrom" may derive from a War Khasi version of the standard Khasi "hynroh" or »toad« (note 1). At least, we have been told that "frogs" or, perhaps, toads were seen inside this cave (Christopher M. Smart 1995 November, personal communication; BREITENBACH et al. 2010: 50). Somebody told me that the Khasi word "haidrom", which is not listed by SINGH, N (1906), signifies a »hare« but this was never confirmed (note 2) and seems to be rather unlikely (note 3). The alternative »Krem Pubon« (BREITENBACH et al. 2009, 2010), which combines the Khasi nouns "ka krem" (note 4) and "ka pubon" (note 5), is not a cave name as such but on the one-hand side the Khasi wording commonly applied when distinguishing expressively between a natural cave and a "krem dewiong" or coal-mine or "krem mawiong" (black-rock cave) and, on the other hand, an (obsolete?) reference to a kind of an awe-inspiring local spirit who is -- or once was -- known by the name of Booban, Bubun, etc. (note 6).This cave may be seen referred to as Krem Haidrom, Mawkyrwait Breitenbach, S F M (2012.06.17 cave plan: Krem Haidrom aka Pubon, Mawkyrwait 10.06.2012).Haidrom, Mawsyrwait Breitenbach, S F M (2012.06.10, 2012.06.11, 2012.06.14 cave plan: Krem Haidrom aka Pubon, Mawsyrwait 10.06.2012)Haidrom, Mawsahew Kharpran Daly, Brian D. (after a Mawsahew village headman 1995.11.20) Hidrum, Mawsahew Brooks, S J in: BROOKS & GEBAUER (1997: "2" [but 14th page], 27; 1998: 12, 17); BROOKS (1998b: 6); SANDFORD, E (1997a: 15) Hydrum, Mawsahew Brooks, S J in: BROOKS, S J & GEBAUER, H D (1997: "2" [but 14th page]; 1998: 12) Mawkawir Kharpran Daly, Brian D. (1996 personal communication) Krem Mawsyrwait sauvikbiswas.com/tag/cave-exploration (posted 2014.12.17; accessed 2015.03.02) Pubon BREITENBACH, S F M et al. (2010: 49-52)Pubon, Mawkawi Breitenbach, S F M (2009.04.22, 2009.05.04 personal correspondence) Pubong, Mawkawi Breitenbach, S F M (2009.04.22, 2009.05.04 personal correspondence) Pubon, Mawkyrwait Breitenbach, S F M (2012.06.17 cave plan: Krem Haidrom aka Pubon, Mawkyrwait 10.06.2012.Pubon, Mawsyrwait Breitenbach, S F M (2012.06.10, 2012.06.11, 2012.06.14 cave plan: Krem Haidrom aka Pubon, Mawsyrwait 10.06.2012).SITUATION 1995: Approximately south-east below the village of Mawsahew (note 7) but from the cave entrance to Krem –>Khyndai Mat »further along the cliff« and at an estimated walking distance of about half a kilometre in an unidentified direction. SITUATION 2009a: The cave entrances to »Krem Pubon(g)« lie not only on the western side of a valley and one million and one steps uphill from the floor of a valley but also »not far« (about 5 km generally north) from the "Cherrapunjee Holiday Resorts" at the village of Laitkynsew (Breitenbach 2009.04.22 Mss: Khasi). SITUATION 2009b: The cave entrances to »Krem Pubon(g)« lie 10 minutes on foot downhill from »Mawkawi« (note 8) as the name of the village was not only seen in writing on the outer surface of a rubbish bin but also was digitally photographed (Breitenbach 2009.05.04 Mss: Re Höhlenlokationen). SITUATION 2012: The cave entrance lies near a village where no GPS position has been recorded, and which was said to be called »Mawsyrwait [note 9]« (Breitenbach, S. 2012.06 personal correspondence). POSITIONS: The cave entrances to Krem Haidrom was GPS-positioned (note 10) near (±7 m) N25°15'15.8”: E091°39'20.9”: circa 1080 m asl (WGS84, Breitenbach, S F 2012.05.19 GPS). APPROACH 2009a: The cave entrances to »Krem Pubon(g)« (Breitenbach 2009.04.22 Mss: Höhlenlokationen) can be reached by descending 10 minutes on foot downhill south from the village of Mawkawir, which lies somewhere on the plateau and at the head of a two hours long climb up across steps forming the path ascending from the village of »Nongriat« or Nongrait (note 11) on the floor in the valley of the »Umiam« or Umiew (note 12). APPROCH 2009b: The easiest way is to ask at Mawkawir for a guide (note 13). APPROACH 2010: »Starting from the road from Cherrapunjee Holiday Resorts (25°13'10” N, 91°39'46” E, 825m asl) to Sohra, and heading for Tyrna village (25°14'22” N, 91°40'52” E) [note 14], steep tracks, like stairways of stone slabs, were followed down to Nongriat village (25°14'42” N, 91°40'02” E), which is known for its living rubber-tree (Ficus elastica) bridges [note 15]. Nongriat lies on the Umpynjngithuli River in the rainforest at about 150 m asl, and provides a tiny tourist guest house. It was hoped that a guide from the village would facilitate finding the cave. The walk is quite strenuous, but the beautiful scenery and vegetation compensate for the steep and arduous tracks (such trails are a typical feature in the Khasi Hills). The local guide helped to identify the correct route to follow uphill to Pyndemkhar village, at 900 m asl, [note 16] and onward past a splendid outlook point (c. 1045 to 1155 m asl). Shortly before this village was reached the guide turned left (southward), climbing through bamboo thickets along narrow ledges on a vertical sandstone / conglomerate cliff face (probably Medlicott’s (1869) “basal conglomerate”) supposedly leading to Krem Pubon. This hunters’ trail leads to several grottos in the cliff, not much deeper than 2 m, with an average height of 0.8 to 1.5 m. After some fairly exposed climbing a return had to be made along the same ledges without Krem Pubon being located. Back on the main track, Mawlakhieng [note 17] village was reached, at which point the guide decided to return home. The team went on without him, pushing further uphill to the village of Mawkawir, about 30 minutes walk beyond Mawlakhieng and at about 1200 m asl. Here another guide willing to show the way to Krem Pubon was found, and the eager villager led the team to the cave in about 10 minutes. It lies a few dozen metres below a road that is apparently under construction (though actually appearing to be suffering active destruction)« (BREITENBACH et al. 2010: 50). CAVE DESCRIPTION 1997.1: »Estelle, Tony, Blitz, Brian and Lindsay went to Krem Hidrum, which was a large resurgence entrance. The size soon diminished to a rift and then a crawling rift, so we surveyed from that point to the entrance. The total was 250 m« (SANDFORD, E 1997a: 15-16). CAVE DESCRIPTION 1997.2: »… a cave called Krem Hidrum … situated 500 m away from Krem Khyndai Mat proved to be an active stream cave containing 260 metres of narrow stooping to crawling height stream passage … formed in what appeared to be a calcareous sandstone« (BROOKS 1998b: 6). CAVE DESCRIPTION 1997.3: »… another cave called Krem Hidrum [sic!]… The other cave, Krem Hydrum [sic!], … proved to be an active stream cave …« (S. J. Brooks in: BROOKS & GEBAUER 1997: "2" i.e. page 14). CAVE DESCRIPTION 2009a: A kind of "five entrances cave" in sandstone, which consists of a rectangular maze of rift passages, complete with a fine cave stream that runs far into the hill or rather flows from it (after Breitenbach 2009.04.22 Mss: Khasi). CAVE DESCRIPTION 2009b: »Krem Pubon(g)« (Breitenbach 2009.05.04 Mss: Re Höhlenlokationen) features unexplored, continuing cave passages and a streamlet (note 18). CAVE DESCRIPTION 2010: »The main cave entrance is surrounded by jungle and bamboo vegetation. A rivulet flows out of this entrance, and its water is collected in a man-made basin about 1.2 m wide and 0.5 m deep. A second entrance was found a few metres northeast of the first one. The cave is used as a freshwater reservoir and the circa 1.8 m-high entrance leads into a first chamber containing the remains of a low dam. Beyond the entrance chamber a number of fissure-like passages that intersect almost at right angles to form a short maze were explored, but not pushed to any definite conclusion. The dimensions vary from c. 3 m width to narrow crawls of only circa 0.5 m. Breakdown boulders are found in the larger passages. Although the horizontal cave is largely abandoned by water, the surviving rivulet marks it as a still-active system that is most likely very wet and partly inaccessible during the summer monsoon. Some limestone is probably located above the cave-bearing sandstone, as stalagmites and stalactites 5 cm to 30 cm long are found in some parts of the cave. However, Oldham (1859) described calcareous sandstones, which might provide an alternative or additional carbonate source rock. Whereas the speleothems are clean and white in colour, the passages themselves are covered with quartz sand. In some inactive areas the sandy sediment is actively overgrown by small stalagmites. The rivulet enters from a passage offset from but on the same trend as the entrance chamber. Though the inlet passage was not pushed there is still reasonable potential, as the river discharge probably shows rapid seasonal changes, and hence significant erosional enlargement would be expected. It appears obvious that cave development was guided by a rectilinear set of tectonic faults and/or joints, which were initially widened under phreatic conditions. To enlarge the resulting cracks to cave-size passages the corrasion of undissolved quartz grains under subsequent vadose conditions was probably crucial (the vertical cave cross-sections show characteristic keyhole profiles). The parent rock is reddish-brown conglomerate/sandstone, containing large pebbles. As described by Oldham (1859) this rock type is typical of the escarpment. Possibly the sandstone belongs to the uppermost part of the Weiloi Conglomerate Beds (also called basal conglomerates and belonging to the Jadukata Formation, Khasi Group, of the Upper Cretaceous) or to the lowermost part of the overlying Mahadek Beds (Oldham, 1859; Medlicott, 1869; Gebauer, 2008, Gebauer, pers. comm.). On the ascent towards Krem Pubon, the basal conglomerates are visible, exposed in the very steep cliff face. The clasts in the conglomerate are up to cobble-size« (BREITENBACH et al. 2010: 50). CAVE DESCRIPTION 2014: »Nongriat … a small network of caves … The cave, Krem Mawsyrwait, is located very near to the new village. The entrance is amazingly narrow. The interiors have very few pockets where one can stand straight. For most of it, one has to crawl over the streams. A torchlight is absolutely necessary. I took off my shoes and my jeans and kept them nicely on a natural rack. It was easy to follow the guys with lesser weight on me and with lesser stuff that could get wet. Barefoot traversal of caves is very tricky. You have better grip but there is a greater chance of injury due to sharp rocks. There are concealed pits that are about two feet deep. Since we were crawling, an accidental placement of hand in such a pit would mean losing ones balance and hitting the face. The traversable tunnels were narrow and low. Our only option was to crawl. There were areas where we had to climb down into pits. Since it is a newer cave, the stalagmites are ill formed. We found a spot where we had just enough room overhead to sit. We switched off all the lights and it was pitch dark. Opening or closing ones eyes made no difference. The only thing we could perceive was the sound and feel of water gushing over our legs. As with the last post, this post was published on 16th December due to lack of internet connectivity at Nongriat« (sauvikbiswas.com/tag/cave-exploration accessed 2015.03.02). CAVE POTENTIAL 1995: Prospects for extending the cave are principally good, except for proud and unbending, inflexible or uncompromising explorers, as the upstream cave passage continues as a crawl preventing a high-hatted approach to caving. Downstream, however, the cave comes to a final end at the entrances simply because there's no more rock around. Some, however, consider the downstream end as the cave's beginning but mean the cave excursion. CAVE POTENTIAL 2010: »On the basis of the observed grottos and another cave resurgence mentioned on the Valery Adams sketch map, more sandstone caves of similar type are expected to occur in this area« (BREITENBACH et al. 2010: 50). PALAEONTOLOGY: Franziska Lechleitner (ETH, Zürich) discovered and photographed on 19th May 2012 what looks like a kind of ostreoid bivalve fossils (oysters), up to 12 cm long, that were cemented into the rock exposed on the cave walls (Breitenbach 2012.06.06 personal correspondence). CAVE LIFE: In November 1995, Christopher M. Smart observed in »Krem Hidrum« a cave fauna, which included not only mammals represented by two edible bats (Chiroptera) that were collected for dinner, but also unspecified fish, frogs, millipedes (Millipedes), unpigmented terrestrian woodlice (Crustacea: Isopoda: conf. Oniscidae), »hand-sized« spiders conf. Heteropoda (note 19), and so-called "snot gobblers" (the larval stage of fungus gnats, Diptera: Mycetophilidae) which generally indicate a perennially moist cave atmosphere combined with an air current, and also have been interpreted to signal an extensive cave. In April 2009 (Easter Sunday), Sebastian Breitenbach confirmed the presence of spiders (Arachnida: Aranea) and bats (Chiroptera) in »Krem Pubon(g)« (Breitenbach, S 2009.04.22 Mss: Höhlenlokationen). By 25th August 2010, hoewever, we are told that »… various bats, frogs and hand-sized spiders were observed in the [i.e. what was then Krem Pubon's cave] passages« (BREITENBACH et al. 2010: 50).
NOTE 1: The standard Khasi "ka hynroh" (noun) signifies »a toad« (SINGH, N 1906: 83; SINGH, N 1920: 531; BLAH, E 2007: 309) and the Khasi word for »a frog« is "ka jakóid" (SINGH, N 1906: 96; BLAH, E 2007: 111) or "ka jakoit" (SINGH, N 1920: 193). NOTE 2: For Khasi people, the hare or rabbit is an exotic animal and known as one of those biblical creatures which peradventure may be seen in TV documentaries. SINGH, N (1920: 214) explains "a hare" as »ka jaid rabit« (a kind of rabbit) and translates it by »ka kargus« (sic!). At the same time, SINGH, N (1920: 417) translates "a rabbit" not only by the Khasi loanword »ka rabit« but also as »ka khargus« (sic!) and explains that the latter is »ka jaid mrad kaba heh kat ka miaw« or, in other words, a kind of animal which has a size like that of a cat. BLAH, E (2007: 126) evidences, though inadvertently, that the Khasi are not accustomed to hares, when translating the English "a hare" by »ka skei« -- the Khasi word for a deer -- and again when expressing the sense of "a rabbit" by »ka khnai rabit« (BLAH, E 2007: 244) when "ka khnâi" actually is the Khasi word for »a mouse« (SINGH, N 1906: 34; SINGH, N 1920: 329; BLAH, E 2007: 194) GURDON (1906) mentions neither hares nor rabbits except when pointing out , oops, that »… the average cephalic index of 77 Khasi subjects, measured by Col. Waddell and Major Hare, I.M.S., being as high as 77.3 and 77.9, respectively« (GURDON, P R T 1906: 3). NOTE 3: »More remarkable than the rarity of birds is the absence of all animals except domestic rats, as a more suitable country for hares and rabbits could not be found« (HOOKER, J D 1854-1855, 2: 305). NOTE 4: ka krem (Khasi, noun), »a cave« (SINGH, N 1906: 46; SINGH, N 1920: 63); »a cave, a cavern« (SINGH, N 1920: 63; BLAH, E 2007: 45); »a grotto« (SINGH, N 1920: 208; BLAH, E 2006: 122); »a hole« (SINGH, N 1920: 222; BLAH, E 2007: 134); »a den« (BLAH 2007: 74).NOTE 5: ka pubon (Khasi, noun) »a cave; a cavern« (SINGH, N 1920: 63; SINGH, N 1920: 208) as in ”krem kaba heh” (SINGH, N 1920: 63) = »large cave« (hdg 2013.11.30). NOTE 6: »… Musmai cavern … The Kasiah people have a tradition of its being the residence of a spirit, named Bubún, and are afraid to enter it …« (CRACROFT, W 1831: 174). NOTE 7: The village of Mawsahew, which is not indicated on the 1913 and 1938 editions of the Survey of India Survey of India 78-O/11 but sown on the 1974 edition, has been positioned near (±250 m) N25°15'30”: E091°38'50” (WGS84) modified from N25°15'30”: E091°39'00” (Everest 1830, Survey of India 78-O/11 edition 1974) N25°15'42”: E091°38'44” (WGS84, Gebauer, H D 1995.11.20 GPS Garmin 4) N25°15'40”: E091°38'54” (Everest 1830, Gebauer, H D 1995.11.20 GPS Garmin 4). NOTE 8: »… Krem Pubon(g) … liegt gute 10 Minuten Fussmarsch hangabwärts vom Dorf MAWKAWI (so stehts auf einem Mülleimer im Dorf (von denen mach ich immer gern Fotos, weil da ja die Dorfnamen draufstehen - manchmal …)« (Breitenbach, S 2009.05.04 personal correspondence). NOTE 9: Mawsyrwait -- »Wegen der Namensgebung; die ist von Brian, er war mit dabei und hatte den Namen schon vorher von den Briten, die da schon länger her mal waren aber ja keinen Plan publiziert haben« (Breitenbach, S 2012.06.16 personal correspondence). NOTE 10: A first generation GPS reading for Krem Haidrom resulted in a position near (±250 m) N25°15'27”: E091°39'05” (WGS84, Gebauer, H D 1995.11.20 unstable 4-channel GPS Garmin 4) along with a likewise unreliable altitude at about 1150 m asl (Boycott ,Tony [Antony] 199511.20 uncalibrated, digital wristwatch altimeter). NOTE 11: Nongriat (Breitenbach 2009.04.22 Mss) is rather the village indicated not only as Nongriat near (±150 m) N25°15'02”: E091°40'22” (WGS84 modified from N25°15'00”: E091°40'32” Everest 1830, Survey of India 78-O/11 edition 1974) above the west (orographically right) bank of the »Pynjingthuli Nala« or Um Pynjingthuli, and again as Nongriat at the location on the Survey of India sheet 78-O/12 (edition 1937) than the other Nongrait near (±150 m) N25°14'45”: E091°40'00” (WGS84 modified from N25°14'45”: E091°50'00” Everest 1830) on the neighbouring (adjacent south) Survey of India sheet 78-O/12 (edition 1912) above the west (orographically right) bank of the »Pynjingthuli« or Um Pynjingthuli.The village of Nongriat (Small Village), is, by the way, better not confused with Nongriat Thymmai (New Small Village) near (±150 m) N25°15'51”: E091°41'00” (WGS84 modified from Everest 1830, Survey of India sheet 78-O/11 edition 1974) about halfway up the west-facing slope above the eastern (orographically left) bank of the »Pynjingthuli Nala« or Um Pynjingthuli. NOTE 12: The »Umiam or Umiew« (GURDON, P R T 1906: 176 note) is shown on the Survey of India sheet 78-O/12 (edition 1912) to debouche as an Anglo-Indian »Shella River« (±2.5 km N25°10': E091°42'30”) into the plains of Bangladesh where it joins (N25°22': E091°40°) in the west of Chhatak (N25°02'20”: E091°40'29”: 15 m asl WGS84) the north (orographically right) bank of the Surma. So far, I saw the indigenous Khasi name of the Anglo-Indian's »Shella River« (N25°22': E091°40° Survey of India sheet 78-O/12 edition 1912) river spelled, edited or printed as Omeeam Hudson, C K in: ALLEN, W J (1858 appendix: lvii, No. 9A footnote) Omeyong Jenkins, Captain F. (1834 October 15th letter to Trevelyan, C E.- in: ALLEN, W J 1858 appendix: lvii, No. 9A) Oomeeam ALLEN, W J (1858: 81) Oomeeang ALLEN, W J (1858: 81) Shella River SURVEY OF INDIA (1912: 78-O/12) U'myang F. (1829: 253) Umiam GURDON, P R T (1906: 176 note); KIBRIA, Asjadul (2003); Roberts, H. (undated Mss in GURDON, P R T 1906: 165) Umiew GURDON, P R T (1906: 176 note); Hudson, C K in: ALLEN, W J (1858 appendix: lvii, No. 9A footnote); Roberts, H. (undated Mss in GURDON, P R T 1906: 165) Umiew R SURVEY OF INDIA (1912 toposheet 78-O/12) Umiew River AMS sheet NG46-10 Shillong (U502 series, 1959 edition) Umium River CHOWDHURY, J N (1978 edited 1998: 108) Wah Barka Colin Rogers (2001.03.16 personal correspondence) Wah Umiew American Military Service (1959: NG46-10 Shillong, U502 series) and the corresponding Bengali name as Boga Panee ALLEN, W J (1858: 81); INDIA FOREIGN … (1862: 84) Boga Pani OLDHAM, T (1859: 173, 176); ROBINSON, W (1841: 406) Boga-panee HOOKER, J D (1854-1855, 2; 287, 308) Boga-pani F. (1829: 252); OLDHAM, T (1854 / 1984: 19, 20, 21, 35, 39); OLDHAM, T 1859: 123, 124, 126, 151, 156, 157 footnote) Bogah Panee Hudson, C K in: ALLEN, W J (1858 appendix: lvii, No. 9A footnote) Bogapani MEDLICOTT, H B (1869: 170, 176, 184, 187, 192, 193, 199); YULE, H (1844: 615). Wah Umiew American Military Service (1959: NG46-10 Shillong, U502 series). NOTE 13: »10 Fussminuten Richtung S bergab mit guide aus Mawkawir village, welches oben auf dem Plateau ist und südlich des oberen Endes des 2-h Treppenweges von Nongriat village (am Umiam river im Tal gelegen) liegt. Am besten im Dorf Mawkawir fragen, dort weiss jeder Bescheid, wo die Höhle ist. Ausserdem wird von weiteren Höhlen gemunkelt / berichtet« (Breitenbach 2009.04.22 Mss: Höhlenlokationen). NOTE 14: »Tyrna village (25°14'22” N, 91°40'52” E)« (BREITENBACH et al. 2010: 50) is indicated on the Survey of India sheets 78-O/12 (editions 1912, 1937) as »Tyrna« near (±150 m) N25°14'23”: E091°40'53” (WGS84 modified from N25°14'21”: E091°41'03” Everest 1830) and at a travelling distance of 3 miles and 5 furlongs (5.8 km) approximately southwest of »Cherrapunji« (Sohra Pdengshnong). NOTE 15: The identification of the fig-tree species, which is used for the »living bridge« (YULE, H 1844) near Nongriat, as »Ficus elastica« (BREITENBACH et al. 2010: 50) is probably from MATHEW, R (2005) after HARIDASAN, K and RAO, R R (1987). NOTE 16: »Pyndemkhar … at 900 m« (BREITENBACH et al. 2010: 50) or "conquer [a] foreigner from the plains" is not shown on the Survey of India sheets 78-O/12 (editions 1912, 1937) or 78-O/11 (edition 1913). NOTE 17: »Mawlakhieng« (BREITENBACH et al. 2010: 50), from maw + la + khyieng (contracted k'ing) or "rock of hornets" is not shown on the Survey of India sheets 78-O/12 (editions 1912, 1937) or 78-O/11 (edition 1913). NOTE 18: »Krem Pubon(g) … ist aber ein lustiges Objekt mit noch ein paar Fragezeichen und einem kleinen Bächle« (Breitenbach 2009.05.04 Mss: Re Höhlenlokationen). NOTE 19: »Krem Hidrum [sic!] … had a good selection of hand-sized spiders, several bugs for Blitz [a.k.a. Christopher M. Smart] to collect, and two bats, which the local took back for dinner« (SANDFORD, E 1997a: 15-16). NOTE 20: Anonymous "Diary of Meghalaya Cave Tourism Trip - 1995" in: BROOKS, S J & GEBAUER, H D (1997 page »2« (sic!) on the true 14th page) repeated in BROOKS, S J & GEBAUER, H D (1998: 6). NOTE 21: »Sadar« (Brooks, S J in: BROOKS, S J et al 1998: 17), from "sar-dar" (Persian, Urdu), in Hindi »Sirdar -- A chief, captain, leader« (HAMILTON, W 1828, 2: 731), in English: »sirdar -- leader or commander« (LONELY PLANET, India 2005: 1111), is known in the Khasi Hills as one of the »headmen called Sirdars« (ALLEN, W J 1858: 69): »In some [Khasi] States there are village headmen, styled Sirdars, who settle cases, collect labour, and assess and receive for the chief the pynsuk, which may be literally translated as "gratification"« (GURDON, P R T 1906: 67). NOTE 22: Valery Adams (chimney sweeper), Dylan McKernan and Rodrigo Cid from Montreal, Canada, had visited the entrance of the cave and also »provided a sketch map, which proved invaluable in relocating the cave« (BREITENBACH et al. 2010: 50).
Documents
Bibliography 28/03/2016History
EXPLORATION HISTORY: A knowledgeable person, who had been understood to be the village headman (no name mentioned) of what was then understood to be the village of Mawsahew, guided Brian D. Kharpran Daly (interpreter), Christopher M. Smart (book), Estelle Sandford (compass, clino) and Boycott, Antony 'Tony' (tape) into »Krem Haidrom« where they measured the distance of 259.4 m to a quick and easy sports cavers' degree and produced the phantom of a "survey" in the shape of a total sum of survey leg lengths but no survey (cave plan) whatsoever. On this occassion, S J Brooks narrates having learned from extremely effective expedition cavers about »… a cave called Krem Hidrum [sic!] … containing 260 metres« (note 20). SANDFORD, E (1997a: 15-16), however, had discovered that »the total was 250 m« and the concurrent diary recorded »20-11-95 … Travel onwards to village of Mawsahew, met and took tea with Sadar [note 21] before being led down to visit two caves. … Brian, Chris, Estelle and Lindsay photograph and survey Krem Hidrum« (anonymous "Diary of Meghalaya Cave Tourism Trip - 1995" in: BROOKS, S J & GEBAUER, H D 1997 unpaginated page 27; repeated in the anonymous "Diary of Meghalaya Cave Tourism Trip - 1995" in: BROOKS, S J et al 1998: 17). 1996, spring: Brian D. Kharpran Daly told me to have heard of a cave called »Krem Mawkawir« (personal communication). 2009.04 Easter Sunday and few days before »16 April 2009« (BREITENBACH et al. 2009: 51), Sebastian F. M. Breitenbach (Geological Institute, ETH Zürich) and Jonathan F. Donges (Potsdam Institute for Climate Research, PIK), not only followed hints by Canadian tourists (note 22) met by chance at Laitkynsew, but also gained and lost two thousand vertical metres in the course of climbing one million and one steps first from Laitkynsew down to the valley floor of the Umpynjingthuli and from there up to the village of Mawkawir, and eventually back again to identify and sketch (grade 2b survey) an estimated 50 m of initial cave passage in what was then recorded as »Krem Pubon(g)« (Breitenbach et al. 2009.04.22 Mss; BREITENBACH et al. 2009, 2010).2012.05.19: Sebastian F. Breitenbach, Gregory D. Diengdoh, Brian D. Kharpran Daly, N. Ernst, and Franziska Lechleitner returned to what was eventually identified as Krem Haidrom, which they mapped and explored to a degree resulting not only in a survey of 295.16 m (Leica DistoX, BCRA grade 5c) but also in a survey (cave plan).
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.8 | KHYNDAI MAT, Mawsahew (Krem) | ||
| 3.8 | SYNRANG, Laitkynsew (Krem) | ||
| 3.8 | MAWJYMBUIÑ, Laitkynsew (Krem) | ||
| 3.9 | LYMBIT, Mawshamok (Kirsamer 2001) (Krem) | ||
| 3.9 | KITLANG, Laitkynsew (Krem) | ||
| 3.9 | LAITKYNSEW HALFWAY SINK | ||
| 3.9 | LAITKYNSEW RESORT SINK | ||
| 4.0 | WAH RIT (Krem) | ||
| 4.0 | THEP MAWBAH (Krem) |