Civic sense just missed that bus!
May’s warmth hasn’t helped our citizens tolerance levels either. Shillong, dubbed the ‘Scotland of the East’, now feels more like a confused urban jungle that is one of the way to be a part of the reality show that can be called, ‘How to Ruin a Hill Station’.
Civic sense is rare as a unicorn and continues to elude us. From holy plastic garlands wrapped around pine trees to motorcyclists revving like it’s MotoGP, the chaos is man-made art. People think their duty ends just outside their gate, and continue to throw garbage wherever they can.
Our city is slowly turning into a museum of missed opportunities and muck. ‘Value education’ clearly got lost somewhere between report cards and real life, as civic sense does did not make it to the curriculum. Shillong needs a facelift, sure, facelift, but first it needs a group therapy and maybe a course in basic decency.
Shillong’s aftertaste
Shillong is the city we love to complain about, until we leave. We crib about Shillong, bad roads, bad traffic and civic sense taking an eternal nap. But the moment we leave, the complaints turn into poetry. This Jottings member recently overheard a former Shillong boy, now a big-city journalist, confess how he never realised what Shillong meant…until he left.
Turns out, the three-seasons-in-a-day weather, the pine-scented air, and even the moody rain have their own charm. Meanwhile, the rest of India is melting in 40 degrees, while we’re still arguing over whether to wear a hoodie or a shawl in May.
It’s the classic Shillong syndrome; love-hate while you’re here, pure nostalgia once you’re gone. We whine about power cuts and potholes, but give it a few months away, and suddenly even Police Bazar traffic feels like a core memory.
Shillong might not be perfect; not just yet, but does anything else come close?
