Strange rules, stranger enforcement
The other day a middle aged gentleman was seen leaving the State Bank of India, Laitumkhrah Branch, furious. Accompanying him was his 85-year-old mother, a pensioner, who was made to be physically present at the Bank to prove that she is still alive and that someone else is not claiming her pension. Fair enough.
But after the lady recorded her attendance at the Bank she was also told to bring a certificate from the local headman or any other authority that she is single and has not remarried.
The lady’s son a respectable gentleman and a teacher in an institution of repute was so stung by that weird requirement that he left the premises in a huff with his mother in tow.
It was a humiliation that stung at his and his mother’s self respect. But why do institutions like Banks and government departments come up with such stupid rules?
Do women past the age of 80 who are only concerned with the last stages of their earthly sojourn have to be subjected to such scorn for a measly pension they have earned through the sweat of their brow?
The lady was once a teacher in a government school. And why are such archaic rules followed mechanically? Why can’t someone knock the doors of the courts to remove such arbitrarily created, thoughtless bureaucratic rigmaroles?
And we are supposed to be in the 21st century!
Is this a case of football fatigue?
Some summers ago an over 6000 strong crowd cheered the rival teams engaged in a Shillong Premiere League football tournament tie at the first football ground at Polo (currently under renovation).
The setting dates back to August, 2011 when the then JN Stadium was still months away from hosting its first I-League match of the 2011-2012 season. Two years later, the venue for the SPL is a swish JN Stadium that boasts of an artificial turf, floodlights and much improved facilities when compared to the earlier centre of action.
But for some strange reason, the enthusiasm of football fans for the local matches seems to have dimmed perhaps because they are so used to the I-league matches. Also too much of a good thing often takes away the charm off anything.
It may also be a case of viewer fatigue. But whatever the reason the comparative lack of interest in the SPL is certainly not good news for the funds starved local clubs which could have benefited immensely if the scenario was otherwise.
Perhaps the organisers of the SPL need to do some aggressive marketing – a thing that they are not very familiar with. They have been busy organising the match. Little do they know that packaging it is an equally essential part of the game.
Posters, stickers and merchandise are crowd sourcing gimmicks…This is the name of the game. Football indeed has changed its profile!
Winter 2013 – the boot camping begins
Shillong is the fashion capital of the North East so come winter the young and stylish folks and some elders as well are seen sporting the latest boots to keep their feet warm.
Guess where the latest and most fashionable boots are to be found? In Happy Valley of course where Mizo vendors make a killing not just selling boots but also blankets, quilts, jackets, all kinds of electric heaters and what have you.
Once upon a time boots were associated with men. Today boots have a female connotation. The swarm of boots would have many imagine that we have snow here.
But so what if there’s no snow! There’s fashion in its place! For many who don’t know that a thriving market exists in the eastern side of town ‘Glory’s Plaza’ the Tibetan market is the port of call where every shop has the same thing for the same price and the same reductions after a heavy bargain.
Big bulky shoes are now the latest trend. But come summers and the boots are stored away and sandals and high-heels come back with a bang!
And now that Christmas is knocking at our doors the garments stores in downtown Shillong are flooded with shoppers.
Salesmen don’t have the time or inclination to be civil with customers who come looking for warm clothes. In terms of woollen wear Shillong has a huge variety of them.
Not even Delhi the national capital has such a range of sweaters and cardigans! When it comes to style you Shillong is the tops!