A dance of pedestrians
It’s that time of the year again when the narrow roads of Mawbah turn into a maze and navigating them feels like solving a puzzle on foot. This densely packed neighbourhood, home to people of many faiths, often springs to life during cultural festivals — and this Sunday, it was Muharram.
Apart from the procession-goers, a swell of crowd was drawn in by the solemn beauty of the march. Some stood on the roadsides while others found rooftop vantage points. But not everyone was there to watch.
For those who had places to be, it was a different kind of parade — a gentle dance of dodging, weaving, and the occasional soft nudge. “Please make way,” they’d whisper, threading their path through the procession. Tedious? A little. But impossible? Not quite.
On an ordinary day, Mawbah’s roads are already known for their traffic snarls. But this Sunday, the vehicles didn’t stand a chance. Engines were turned off. Horns silenced. There was neither room to move forward nor space to turn around. All anyone could do was wait, and perhaps take a moment to watch the city celebrate in its own beautiful chaos.
Four seasons in a day!
Shillong’s weather can be the ultimate prankster, and helpless Shillongites are just trying to survive its chaotic comedy routine!
You step out early in the morning with your raincoats and umbrellas, bathed in the monsoon until you give up on your umbrellas and waddle to your destination, drenched to the skin. And if your happen to be unlucky, you may have your shoes filled with drain water overflowing the roads.
However, by noon the weather turns 180 degrees, and the day becomes so glorious that you’d be instantly teleported to the pristine beaches of Goa.
So, from the rain in the morning to the heat in the daytime, it seems as if there’s a hide-and-seek game between the sun and the clouds.
By night, the weather decides to transport you to the Arctic. The temperature plummets as a cool breeze permeates through the city. And if the rain Gods decide to grace you in the evening hours, you would have to prep up for your bed as if you were travelling to Siberia.
The biggest crisis is seen around the wardrobe as you negotiate the day and the crazy weather making strategies as if you were Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen contemplating your next move.
Weather apps in Shillong are as clueless as locals here, with “partly cloudy” prediction, while you’re dodging hailstones and sunburn within the same hour.
