Bedecking the town
Come spring and beauty queen Shillong gets a refreshing look with a generous bloom of colourful flowers. Most private dwellings, especially those having a frontage, public places like Wards Lake and Lady Hydari Park come alive with seasonal flowers which provide an enchanting feeling to the viewers. In a path-breaking private initiative, recently city’s posh market area, G.S. Road has been bedecked with immaculately created flowerpot pedestals and hanging pots.
Already a talk of the town, the move has earned plaudits from one and all. Plaudits are also due to the public who, to their singular credit, have not plucked a single flower or have defiled the sleek flower pots, both on ground and hanging from above. For once, Shillong’s all-pervading kwai stains and much-familiar lime marks are starkly missing. This obviously means that the citizens have silently welcomed this flowery embellishment.
However, many citizens are left wondering if individually we can do it in our private dwelling places, what prevents all of us from paying a little attention towards beautifying the public places with flowers. Come to think about it, except for a tiny plot at General Point in Cantonment area, there is no noticeable effort at decking up the town. It’s time to restore Shillong’s lost visual charm.
A disciple or a child labour?
It is a pleasant evening at Fire Brigade area near Jingkieng when a high-pitched voice calls out to passengers to board a bus. It goes: “Mawblei-Mawblei-Mawblei…” To us, locals, the words are conventional but the sound this time seemed a bit odd. The SJ team then took a closer look only to find out a lad parroting the words of the bus conductor.
Both stood on the footboard of the bus and called out to passengers. There were even times the conductor let the little one take the lead.
The sight, which brings to one’s mind the harrowing child-labour aspect, appeared not as intricate as is the general perception. The boy looked spirited regardless and their faces exhibited no insincerity.
It seemed as if it was simply a depiction of Eklavya and Dronacharya, of a sort.