Remnants of glory
What you see in the picture above is one of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s poems written on Shillong called ‘Shillong-er Chithi’ (Letter from Shillong) translated in English, which has been recently put on display at Wards Lake.
The SJ team noticed the frame at the popular tourist spot and couldn’t help but bring it to the attention of the readers.
‘Shillong-er Chithi’ was composed by Rabindranath Tagore during one of his visits to the city.
The poem was translated by Uma Purkayastha and published in The Shillong Times on June 9, 2011.
Uma Purkayastha has expressed gratitude to the Tourism department for putting up her work on the original version of Tagore’s poem at the venue for the delight of all visitors.
One’s delight, eyesore for another
From soccer matches to classroom-type lectures, you name it; all kinds of activities are happening at the Shillong Golf Course. Scores of people have started to flock to the venue of late, especially during weekends. In a nut shell, the place is packed!
A short visit to the Golf Course revealed that more and more people are apparently throwing t
heir civic sense out the window as the vast expanse of green was covered with spots of whites — wrappers, plastics and litter scattered across the Golf Course.
At a time when people are striving to turn waste into wealth, our scenic Shillong Golf Course is turning into an eyesore due to consistent littering over the period of some weeks, recently.
Although the place is chock-a-block with people, the shrill laughs of children, sound of youths and kids playing soccer, and the sight of families sitting together for a meal under the open sky; all, somehow, seem entrancing.
Even street vendors were quite busy given the footfall of visitors. Stalls were set up in rows along two different stretches of the road bordering the Golf Course, while vehicles were seen making beelines.
About littering, the East Khasi Hills district administration had recently announced a comprehensive plan for a litter-free Golf Course which even included penalising litterers, besides regulating roadside vending. This was announced during March this year, but the second wave of COVID-19 struck in May and every productive activity was stalled with authorities channeling all their focus to combating the spread of the viral infection.
But with COVID-19 situation in the city now easing, it is high time for the district administration to take steps to address this issue as the public, apparently, has not been paying any heed to the hazards.
Footnote: The office of the Asst. Commissioner of Food Safety (DO), East Khasi Hills, has clarified that the Jottings piece titled “Fined for spitting” which mentioned the designation of ‘Food Inspector’ should be read as ‘Food Safety Officer’.