The Christmas Spirit
The Christmas star symbolises the star of Bethlehem, which, according to the Biblical story, guided the three kings, or wise men, to the baby Jesus. The star is also the heavenly sign of a prophecy fulfilled long ago and the shining hope for humanity.
With Christmas due in less than a fortnight, most households in Shillong – belonging to the faithful – are seen adorned with a colourful star, besides other decorative lights.
However, the usual buzz of excitement associated with Christmas, is yet to be noticed in the city. During the pre-COVID days, markets in the city would have been chock-a-block with residents coming out in droves to make purchases ahead of the festivities. The same is yet to pick up, at least for now.
Traders in the city are waiting with their fingers crossed as the festivities draw near. Business may be down but the spirits are soaring, with expectations of better days to come.
While the pandemic has taken its toll on the entire human race and left a trail of devastation along its path, it has certainly not dampened the human psyche. The SJ team hopes that the Christmas spirit overcomes all negativity and becomes a shining hope for humanity like the Star of Bethlehem.
It’s ‘Gluten Free’
“Buy one, get one free”; “free service”; “free classes”; the word “free” has for long drawn the attention of humans.
But this time, this word caused a small furore at a well-known departmental-cum-bakery store in Shillong recently after one customer bought a packet of Nachos.
A conversation between the store staff and this customer ensued, which was overheard by an SJ team member.
The customer bought a packet of Nachos and just as he was about to leave the store, he stopped to read what was written on the packet and then returned with a question for the storekeeper: “Am I not supposed to get something free with this?”
Caught unawares, the salesman looked at the packet and realised that the words “Gluten Free” were printed on the packet.
The salesman certainly couldn’t provide a technical explanation as to how the product was ‘Gluten Free’ but the customer, nonetheless, understood his point and they both parted with shrieks of laughter.
A bottle of water
Most restaurants and eateries in the city have stopped serving drinking water to customers and have instead started serving bottled water.
At some eateries in Shillong, customers are told to buy packaged water bottles that cost Rs 20 a litre and Rs 10 for a half-litre pack. They have apparently mandated it.
The restaurants and eateries purchase the bottled water at almost half the printed price and serving bottled water and charging customers for the same is no doubt a good ploy to make additional profit. However, the basic question here is whether a customer can be denied normal water is he/she is unwilling to purchase the bottled water?
In an exquisite experience undergone by the SJ team on Sunday, the owner of one such eatery in the city insisted that water be bought when asked for free water.
Contending this person’s bidding, this SJ team member argued that he didn’t want to purchase water, while insisting that water must be provided free of cost to customers as per rules. “Not everyone can pay Rs 10 for water,” the SJ team member told him.
Interestingly, the owner replies, “Aaj kal kiske paas 10 rupaiaya nahi hota hai? (These days who doesn’t have at least Rs 10)”.
He continued, “Rs 10 for a bottle of water is quite cheap. Anybody can shell out the cash for a bottle of water.”
The SJ team member pulled out a tenner from his purse, bought a bottle of water and exited with a thought on his mind — should we not have free access to clean water and pure air.