By Aiborlang Nongsiej
The famous old saying says, ‘Cleanliness is next to godliness’. First and foremost I would like to clarify that I am not against the Khasi tradition, however, the beauty of nature should not be destroyed by our traditions and customs. It is very encouraging that many newspaper articles are being written to make people aware about the importance of a clean environment. Personally I appreciate the newspaper- ‘The Shillong Times’ for taking up the theme ‘Clean Environment’ as a year-long agenda for its platinum jubilee celebration of its publication. In fact, the editor of the newspaper, Patricia Mukhim, reminds the readers now and again then through her articles concerning the theme of respecting the Mother Earth. Being a Khasi I respect the customs and traditions of our society and I am proud to be a Khasi, however, these traditions and customs should not be against the beauty of nature. It is so unfortunate that not even a single electric post that stands around the city of Shillong is free from the white lime (shun) marks. I am not denying the fact that eating betel nut (kwai) is the custom and tradition of the Khasis, however I do not think that rubbing of the extra lime from the betel leaf on the wall or electric post or anywhere else is our custom and tradition as well. It is very sad to see the ugliness of the electric posts and walls due to the rubbing of lime in and around the city of Shillong. Even though the electric posts are non -living beings but I am sure they are crying in their own world for not getting the respect from us human beings. Many a time we grumbling against load shedding or fluctuation of current, but we never comprehend the extent of service rendered to us by those electric posts around the city.
Let us not forget that the city of Shillong is the educational hub of Northeast India. Consequently, it is very convenient for studies due to its pleasant weather. Also its scenic beauty invites many more outsiders to our city. As a local I am concerned about its cleanliness and at the same time I am afraid that its beauty may slowly deteriorate. The other day as I was standing and waiting for a taxi in one of the waiting sheds in the city, a person standing beside me just rubbed the extra lime from the betel nut on the wall. I told the person why not use small piece of betel leaf to throw the extra lime in a dustbin that was just beside us. The person angrily responded to me, ‘eating kwai is our tradition, why are you judging others? Look at this wall! Is it free from lime marks?’ Thus, I question myself if the tradition of eating ‘kwai’ surpasses the cleanliness of the city and the place that we live in? We cannot deny the fact that after eating kwai we don’t spit the saliva out. In general people usually spit out the saliva generated by the mixing of betel nut, betel leaf and lime and which turns a bright red colour. For this reason we could see in many places signboards with the warning : ‘ Don’t spit or rub lime here’ (Wat Biah ne Tah Shun Hangne).
However, sad to say that many a time we make the place ugly and unpleasant when we rub lime or spit on it with our betel nut saliva (Umkwai). I have heard from many people who rue, ‘Ni I kynjing da tah shun ne biah umkwai kulmar’(Oh it is sickening to see people rubbing lime and spitted carelessly). Hence we need to do something to make our city and places clean. Our tradition of eating kwai should not be considered greater than the virtue of cleanliness.
Having said that I do not mean that we should stop eating ‘kwai’ which is part and parcel of our tradition; instead we should be prudent enough to keep our places clean while keeping the tradition. It is so unfortunate that we the locals are not realizing the beauty of our own city and instead we continue to contribute towards making the city more dirty with every passing day. We have clearly seen how we have destroyed the rivers, Umshyrpi and Wah Umkhrah due to our carelessness. Therefore, we cannot afford to once again destroy the beauty of the walls or the electric posts in the city by rubbing lime or spitting on them especially when we eat betel nut. A friend of mine from outside the state once said to me, ‘Khasi people by nature love cleanliness and they keep their houses and compounds clean’. However, he said the beauty of their nature is spoiled because of the consumption of betel nut. I do not deny that people from outside the state appreciate us Khasis for keeping the house and compound clean.Personally I have heard from many non-Khasis who reallyadmire our cleanliness habits. But on the other hand, it is also very unfortunate that we do not keep that prestige given to us by the non-Khasis. Although, by nature we love cleanliness but unfortunately this is not seen among many Khasis at present. In fact, we sweep and keep the compound clean, while the collected dirt is dumped either on the roadside or thrown into the river. For this reason clothes, domestic wastes and other waste materials are found in the living river as written by Patricia Mukhim in her last article ‘Is Education Falling us and our Environment’.
The city of Shillong and our state as a whole is blessed with natural beauty. As a result hundreds of tourists visit the state daily. On the other hand, it is sad to say that before entering and leaving Shillong, tourists had to bear the stench of the city dumping place at Marten, especially when there is huge traffic jam.Thus, I would request the readers to support the initiative taking by ‘The Shillong Times’ in making the city clean once again as it was in the past where people termed it , ‘The Scotland of East’.
Lastly, I have written this article not because I hate my Khasi tradition of eating kwai. Personally I enjoy eating kwai, however we should know how to respect the things that are around us and not simply spitting or rubbing of lime at any and every place. It is also not my intention to hurt anyone but to help our society to keep the tradition with the intention of respecting the beautiful mother earth.