By Our Reporter
Shillong: Gone are the days when Shillong was an idyllic and cosy little town noted for its salubrious climate. Time and the apathy of citizens have wrought havoc on the city which is now bursting at the seams. So says the foreword in the book Heritage Shillong released on Saturday by former Home Minister J M Pariat at the Aurobindo Institute of Indian Culture in the presence of an august audience.
The book pieced together meticulously by late Prof Dipankar Banerjee in collaboration with Shankar Lall Goenka, Managing Trustee, Jeevan Ram Mungi Devi Goenka Charitable Trust (JRMDCT), records the history of Shillong, its heritage sites, and its little known hubs.
Earlier Professor Banerjee had scripted a similar coffee table book called Heritage Guwahati.
Banerjee, a historian with an instinctive sense of history, has done what the people of Shillong have left largely undone. Heritage Shillong contains historical facts and photographs of a number of old buildings, monuments, religious sites and roads of Shillong, taking us on a journey of discovery.
“None of us had tried to venture into our heritage until all the buildings had turned into rubble and part of our past is now wiped away,” Padmashree and noted columnist Patricia Mukhim who was the main speaker at the function, rued.
Mukhim stated that this has happened because of the collective lack of respect for history and heritage. “We have been silent spectators as heritage buildings are razed to the ground to allow brick and mortar monstrosities to come up. People just protest inside their homes when they should be coming out into the street and demonstrating against this senseless demolition,” Mukhim said.
Mukhim also criticized the decision of the Government to bring down the Tara Ghar and build the Meghalaya Assembly in that place stating that it was aesthetically wrong to construct such a building near a recreational zone like the Ward’s Lake.
While stating that danger awaits a community living without a past, Mukhim said that people in the city were rampantly destroying heritage buildings and in its place constructing buildings and mind-spaces of different kinds. Meanwhile, giving a glimpse of the spirit of philanthropy, Mukhim said that Shillong has witnessed some major contributions from the Goenka family, whose relationship with this city dates back to several decades. The family was major donors to the construction of the maternity and child hospital – Ganesh Das – at Lawmali in Shillong and also the Jeevan ram Goenka memorial Hospital in the Shillong Cantonment area. .
Mukhim was critical that while Meghalaya has produced a cohort of wealthy individuals, there is as yet no charitable hospital for the poor and needy set up by even one of them. “Not even in the “paradise of affluence,” Jaintia Hills,” she stated.
Meanwhile, former home minister JM Pariat spoke at length about the past glory of Shillong stating that Shillong is undergoing rapid deterioration with the emergence of influx, encroachment and apathy.
“However, there is still hope in restoring Shillong to its former glory by taking one step at a time but, a lot depends on the policies of the government”, Pariat added.
Six individuals who have contributed their mite to the growth and culture and Shillong were also awarded by the Trust. They included Lou Majaw, Shillong’s most enduring cult figure in the field of music, Prabhat D Sawyan, founder of the Shillong Lajong Football Club and an architect of repute, DN Joshi, former MLA and former minister, Dr KK Jhunjhunwala, editor, Eastern Panorama, Dr BB Dutta former MP and also the chief architect of Aurobindo Institute of Indian Culture, (late) Kong Bon Marbaniang, a prominent member of the Hill State Movement and a traditional healer.
Later, internationally-acclaimed folk dancer Gulabo Sapera and her troupe from Rajasthan presented a delightful performance.
Prof Banerjee’s wife and children were present at the function which paid glowing tributes to his contributions as an insightful historian.