The Kwai-tastic spit!
placed next to ground covered in spit stains. (ST)
The Kwai-tastic spit!
The ever-smiling Kongs with their red-stained lips are a common sight in Shillong, grinning through their Kwai-soaked teeth. But here’s the kicker: A Kwai enthusiast cannot simply go long without a dramatic spit!
And when suddenly that Kwai residue wants out, where does one go? Run like the wind? Hunt for a drain? Pray for a spittoon sighting? Or maybe, just maybe, you contemplate finding a nice patch of sand. Because let’s face it, Kwai waits for no one!
Come on, let’s be real, in a city where you have to walk around kilometers to find a public dustbin, a frequent spittoon sighting can only be a distant dream.
So, how practical is a spit-free Meghalaya? But being fully aware of the health hazards of public spitting, it indeed has to take more than a hand and a leg to bring about this revolution of a spit-free utopian Shillong.
More Cherry Blossom trees, please
Winter is coming; the breeze says it all. But it’s not winter alone that many have to look forward to this year. A range of festivities line up in the queue, too. Now that that has set the mood, let’s talk about Cherry Blossom — not the festival concerning it but the trees, and not their aesthetics, too, but what ails them.
The Cherry Blossom trees in the city, which boasts of hosting one of the most popular festivals in the Northeast, the Cherry Blossom Festival, are not lush — this is not at all befitting of the grandeur the festival is bestowed with.
If one would want to even take a picture of a tree, a hunt would ensue.
Cherry Blossom trees in abundance can be found at Wards’ Lake and Golf Links areas.
Apart from that one may sporadically see a tree or two in the city.
But how can this change? This may change with some community involvement.
Some of the attention, vigour and manpower invested on events such as concerts, can be directed towards an annual tree plantation campaign involving all the Shnongs in the city.
Every year, one of the Shnongs can be declared triumphant and feted for growing Cherry Blossom trees and ensuring its upkeep. Being the community that it is in Shillong, it is highly likely that more and more hands would be inspired to be part of this campaign.
Imagine both the left and right sides of the stretch of road from Mawlai till Jaiaw sprawling with Cherry Blossom trees; it could mesmerise and enchant anybody.
Is it a pipedream or a vision?