What you don’t see with your eyes, don’t witness with your mouth
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They say that rumours are just like a jar full of moths. Once they come out they are all over the place.
It may be partially because rumours are surprising, funny, or shocking, and the teller wishes to entertain the listeners.
There are some people who tend to believe in them without actually trying to find out the real truth behind it. People would easily believe in what they hear or in some case see and react so intently that they close their eyes and ears to the truth.
A recent case of a rumour that spread across the city like wild-fire on a windy day makes for an interesting reading. The air in Shillong was filled with rumours about a three-headed snake spotted at Mawlai Mawiong which has not only led to anxiousness among people but at the same time displayed the lack of common sense among the public.
“They say that they have spotted a three-headed snake in Mawiong and I have even seen the picture and it seems true,” one person said, narrating the incident. However he could not give any reply when asked about the origin of the rumour. He simply said: “my friend told me and he heard it from his friends and so on and so forth.”
However, a cursory glance at the image (which is obviously morphed) supplied through the refracting medium of rumor, is utterly far from reality.
It is absolutely clear that the people shown standing in the background do not belong to the State as may be made out from the kind of dress (lungis etc.) worn by them.
Secondly, the fake picture of the three-headed snake has been circulated in recent years all over the world. So this is probably a two- or three year- old picture which the people have been claiming as clicked recently.
Interestingly the inbox of The Shillong Times was flooded with mails sent by some of the readers who claimed to have had encounters with the three-headed snake. To ease the air or rumour, a photograph of a normal, one-headed snake has been digitally manipulated to create a second picture of a three-headed version of the snake.
It may however be mentioned that animals including snakes are indeed sometimes born with more than one head, a condition known as Polycephaly. However, the fake picture of the three-headed snake does not depict a genuine case of Polycephaly.
So next time, if a rumour happens to foreshadow news then the most sensible thing to do is to look for a better explanation to substantiate the rumour monger’s claims. (By Ibankyntiew Mawrie)