Bandh
The 12-hour dawn to dusk bandh called by the NGOs agitating over enrolment of dubious voters in the state, last Monday was what newspapers would call “a grand success.” While people have learnt to defy the habitual bandh call by militant outfits on January 26 and August 15, there appears to be either a pro-active response to the bandh call or a genuine fear to defy it. With 33 cases of arson during the night road blockades many people said they were unwilling to take a chance with their vehicles. Shop owners too don’t wish to take a risk. For the larger public of Shillong that is employed by government and other institutions a bandh is a paid holiday. And what a coincidence that the bandh should happen on a ‘Black Monday’ when people are usually lazy to stir out after their Sunday rest! “Does this indicate a convergence of minds between bandh callers and bandh enjoyers?” questioned a wit? Be that as it may those who enjoyed the most were children as every street, lane and bye-lane turned into a football or cricket field. The road behind Raj Bhawan was like a regular stadium as nearby residents’ cheered two teams that played a football match. But their cheers and jeers irritated others who wanted to take a much deserved nap. Some residents were seen coming out of their homes to yell at the footballers and their cheerleaders!
Tinted helmet?
The ongoing drive against tinted glasses in vehicles in the city is different from the rest of the country. This scribe witnesses a biker who was targeted by traffic personnel for wearing a black helmet with his front shade looking more like a tinted glass of a vehicle.
The biker was stopped and asked to remove his helmet, which was later examined by the enforcement officials. The angry biker quarreled and asked them to invest their time and energy to remove the glasses from the VIP vehicles. A witness to the incident said, “This is interesting. I wonder if the Supreme Court order has also directed that men in black helmets a la Masked Riders be targeted?”
A by- stander whispered to this scribe, “Next they will target people in vehicles and motorbikes who were dark sunglasses.” Interestingly many bikers removed their sun-shades as they approached the, “Operation tinted film removal” site. When asked, a traffic official jokingly said that since there is always some protest whenever they touch a vehicle and since most vehicles in the city look like they belong to VIPs, it has become increasingly difficult for them to conduct their operation of removing tinted films. Is that why they are pouncing on bikers with black helmets and dark shades?
Visitors despite the bandh
Shillong is never short on international tourists. Many are here not simply to gaze at nature but also to glean some wisdom from the matrilineal practices of the Khasis. And they are willing to brave inclement weather both political and physical.
Most scholars wish to understand whether there is an attrition of this practice, such as whether land ownership is gradually shifting into the hands of male members of society and that therefore women are increasingly becoming landless. It’s interesting that such intriguing questions never engage our minds here.
But these societal issues of matrilineal Meghalaya evoke a lot of interest amongst international the audience. After all, matriliny could soon become extinct if a section of votaries for patriarchy within the Khasi society have their way!