Shillong (Meghalaya), May 24: Meghalaya’s bridge-maker Hally War will receive the Padma Shri from President Droupadi Murmu at Civil Investiture Ceremony-I in Delhi tomorrow.
War, an environmentalist from East Khasi Hills, has spent over five decades nurturing the Khasi tradition of bio-weaving. He trains young aerial roots of _Ficus elastica_ trees, guiding them across streams with bamboo scaffolds until they fuse into Living Root Bridges. The process takes 15–25 years, but the bridges last centuries and grow stronger with time.
His work has reconnected remote villages cut off during monsoons, replaced dangerous bamboo crossings, and restored forest paths without concrete. By keeping waterways clear and canopies intact, the bridges curb soil erosion and protect watersheds.
War also mentors’ youth in bridge maintenance, documents techniques, and promotes low-impact tourism around sites like Nongriat and Mawlynnong. Locals credit him with turning ancestral knowledge into a climate-resilient model for the world.
The Padma Shri recognizes a lifetime of weaving ecology, culture, and community into bridges that breathe.
