Llandre in Wales makes DM Pariat wish to revisit the Shillong of 50 years ago
IT WAS a sunny day with a cloudless blue sky in this Welsh valley and here I am, slouched in my chair on the lawn of the house with a tall glass of Welsh ale in front of me. The house is perched on one side of a valley amidst trees of all shapes and sizes, shrubs, flowers and carpets of green meadows all beautiful in their different shades of green dotted with white fluff which turned out to be sheep. A truly beautiful summer day and in a relaxed and redolent mood I uttered to myself, “Yes, God’s in heaven and all’s well with the world.”
Hardly had these words left my mouth when another thought crossed my mind, “Hmmm, hang on, God may be in heaven but all’s not well with this world.” What about the fighting and the killing in West Asia, Ukraine, Africa, South America, Southeast Asia; what about the hatred between people with different beliefs, what about the millions of hungry and sick people in many parts of the world? What about my beloved home town of Shillong?
Yes, Shillong, once a little paradise now totally transformed into a monstrous modern town with its multiple problems of power and water shortage, dirt and garbage, traffic congestion, overpopulation and deteriorating law and order situation. With a huge sigh I quaffed some of the ale and looked around and suddenly it struck me that these hills are similar to the hills back home and my mind drifted back to the Shillong of more than 50 years ago when things were very much like what they are here now –greenery and flowers all around, trees standing tall, no dirt or garbage to be seen and no congestion of any kind. Most office goers walked to office and back daily, roads were clean and dust free so that shoes required cleaning only once a week on a Sunday before church.
From our house at Wahingdoh one could see below the thick Lawmali forest coming down to river Umkhrah whose water was clean and abounded with many types of fish. On the opposite side only the police thana could be seen on top of the hill surrounded by an open area with only trees and shrubs. Behind it one could see the lovely Noh Si Lai Lang waterfall, whose water rushed down to river Umkhrah and in the rainy season presented a beautiful sight. Towards the south, on the Laitkor Peak ridge, one could discern the thick forest right across the ridge with not a single building in sight.
Our Montessori School, run by an Italian lady named Mrs Piazada, was located at Law Dum (dark forest) through which flowed the crystal clear waters of the Wah Pom Dngiem. From where the Mizo church now stands, a thick forest of tall pine trees extended all the way up to Don Bosco and on the other side the area was bare up to the top where A.I.R. is now situated. Law Dum was a dark and foreboding place and it was no wonder that I nearly gave my mother a heart attack when one day I ran away from school when I was hardly able to carry my school bag – I still remember trying to make my way to Don Bosco Square, walking under the tall thick trees which allowed very little sunlight to come through and the total silence of the place, no humans or cars to be seen or heard. Another lovely feature of the place was a series of steps connecting the lower reaches to Don Bosco Square at the top with the delightful name Jacob’s Ladder, which sadly has been done away with. This area now bears a fancy name, Oakville.
A few days ago, near the pub, I passed a young girl riding her horse and this transported me back to the horse racing days in Shillong at the Polo Ground area. This was another beautiful part of the town adjacent to the well known golf course which, at one time, was the only 18-hole course in the Northeast. Saturday was an exciting day for that was the day when the horse racing was held and hundreds of people would throng the race pavilion (now the CRPF camp), excitedly placing bets on their favourite horses. The dividends were very small, a two-rupee bet would get you at the most, triple the amount but money then had value and going home with an extra five rupees in your pocket was something to talk about and generated great excitement. The race track started from the pavilion area and carried on to the end of the flat ground which held the football grounds where it looped round (where the stadium is now) and ran alongside the river and back to the pavilion, a distance of about eight furlongs.
For us kids, Saturdays were picnic days at Polo when we would place ourselves on the slope overlooking the race tracks (now the SRGT parking lot) and, in between bites, cheer on the jockeys whom we had chosen as winners depending on the shirt colours that we liked. I still recall the thundering hooves of the horses and the bright coloured shirts of the jockeys as the horses rushed past, the shouts of encouragement of hundreds of people, the happy shouts of exclamation of those who had won and the groans of those who had lost – exciting days indeed. Yes, exciting and innocent days those were indeed as proven by my father in law, who, in the excitement of having won a few rupees, excitedly rushed back home with his friends to celebrate and clean forgot to take back his bicycle. On going back for it next day, he found it exactly where he had left it.
The next question then hit me: What happened to that little paradise? How did it disappear? Who was responsible? Was it the price we had to pay for so-called progress? Was it because of the rush from rural areas or because of the influx of outsiders? Was it our system of land holdings that allowed uncontrolled growth of houses and buildings? Was it the lack of respect for Mother Nature which had been subsumed by our greed? Or was it the non-payment of income tax which allowed us to make ill gotten money hand over fist without fear of the tax man? Or was it the lack of right-thinking leaders? Or was it because the Ten Commandments have been thrown out of the window to be replaced by a single one which says: “Thou shall make money by hook or by crook.”
Perhaps it’s a combination of all of the above. The whole scenario presents a dismal picture and many feel that the future is doomed. But there is hope. I have faith in our young generation, many of whom are now aware of the damage done to the society and the environment by uncontrolled greed for money and power. Rise up youngsters, take the bit between your teeth, use your youth power and show what you can do to steer the ship back onto the right track – you do not owe it to us old fogies who have failed you miserably but you do owe it to the generations that will follow after you.