When luck finds you
The idea of bike taxis is well perceived. Take Rapido service for example — this, of late, has turned out to be one of the quickest ways to commute within the city.
Reaching from one place to another is definitely becoming more convenient.
But we, being who we are, have apparently made the process even easier.
At a city eatery, a group of youngsters were discussing their troubles about transportation to ISBT the next morning.
Incidentally, one of the workers at the food joint was also a Rapido rider.
They took his phone number and the guy had his trips planned for the next day.
Friendly Shillongites didn’t need an app to get a ride.
Apparently, all it took was compassion among two parties, one who needed a service, and the other who was able and willing to provide it.
Not that this happens to everyone, but it does seem that it’s getting easier and easier to get a ride in the city.
Also, for the youngsters from the eatery, the next day it rained like there was no tomorrow. Wonder if the Rapido hitch was in vain.
Tough times for non-vegetarians
“When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions.” This is what Shakespeare had written in his tragedy Hamlet.
The master playwright’s words seems to have found resonance in Shillong with meat and fish lovers facing some tough days due to certain causes — some natural and some manmade.
First came the ban on imported fish after the government detected formalin in samples of fish brought from outside the state. The news about lumpy skin disease affecting a large number of cattle across the state has kept beef lovers on the edge. Add to this the omnipresent African swine fever which is adding to the woes of pork lovers.
While fish, pork and beef are still being sold across the city, the number of buyers has come down, a fact admitted to by none other than meat and fish sellers themselves.
While local varieties of fish are available on a daily basis, it is hardly enough to meet the demands.
Despite making two trips to Iewduh this past week, a fish lover in the SJ team returned empty-handed. On the third trip, the SJ member found some local fish at a shop but had to literally pay a “heavy price” to bag them.
If you really want something, you have to be able to pay the price!!!
