‘Lost in Translation’
One vehicle in Shillong inadvertently taught us just how funny and tricky the English language can be. Spotted with a hurriedly printed sign that read “ON HOSPITAL FOR ESSENTIAL DUTY,” this vehicle’s message was just one word flip away from what it actually intended, “On Essential Duty for Hospital.”
Was the vehicle itself in need of hospitalisation? Or perhaps it was on its way to a medical facility, hoping to be treated from the daily grind of Shillong’s traffic?
Or was this a case of proving English being a funny language, where swapping just a couple of words changes the whole story?
It’s a language where “essential duty for hospital” makes the car sound like a responsible healthcare vehicle, while “on hospital for essential duty” sounds like the car itself has been rushed in for an emergency check up. Perhaps one of those classic ‘lost in translation’ moments!
The view kept the onlookers pondering about whether the vehicle is headed to serve a medical cause, or just cause a chuckle.
When Puja felt like Puja
As the Puja season rolls around, there is something more than just the autumn chill sweeping through the streets of Shillong, it is also a wave of nostalgia and a hint of disappointment. In one of the empty shops of the city, which ideally is supposed to be filled with customers, one member of the Shillong Jottings team couldn’t help but eavesdrop on an older gentleman, who, with a sigh, was lamenting how Puja just did not feel like Puja anymore.
This gentleman, dressed in his finest woolly cardigan (a sure sign he’d been around long enough to know ‘real’ Puja), recounted how his son now working in Bangalore had refused to come home for the festival. “He wants me to go to Bangalore,” he said, with disbelief, as if Bangalore could even hold a candle to Shillong’s traditional Puja celebrations.
It turns out; this was a sentiment that resonated. According to him, there was once a time when, Puja wasn’t just another festival on the calendar but instead it was the festival that brought everyone together.
And so, the shopkeeper, the gentleman, and our member had a quiet, almost solemn laugh. It was the sound of people acknowledging change but not quite being ready to let go of what was lost. Because for many, Puja will always be about Shillong, about the homecomings and the family reunions.
Stand your ground, road roller!
A road roller stands at Upper Mawprem junction like a knight in shining armour but sadly it is not saving the day for anyone, not anytime soon. Frustrated residents are now complaining about regular traffic jams on the already congested stretch of the locality road.
Every evening as the flow of vehicles increases in the vicinity, the proud road roller, refusing to budge, makes it difficult for cars to manoeuvre, especially when vehicles are approaching from both ways. And within minutes, there is a vexing traffic jam.
Road rollers are often seen in the locality to repair roads. However, no sooner than they are seen than they move along after their job is done. But this particular road roller appears to be standing its ground, in case bad roads come to bother the locals again.
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A few metres ahead, another problem continues to bother residents.
After an underground water pipe burst at Jhalupara, the ground started spewing a large amount of water on the streets. In a short span, the road was soaked and pedestrians’ shoes as well.
But the rupture was fixed, but the road had to be dug. Then it rained.
Now, not only is it an eyesore but another hurdle for passing vehicles aside from a horde of unrelenting jaywalkers.