By Enn Enn
One of the scary thoughts about going to a movie or just going out generally here in Shillong is the thought of the rest rooms or to put it more crudely-we get scared of the “toilets”. In Khasi, the word is “tieng eit”. A very apt word in many cases. The literal translation is “scared shit”. Some of us went against this common fear and on a cold winter’s evening a few days ago, we all stepped out for the late night viewing of “The Hobbit” in Dreamland Gold Cinema (Police Bazaar.) Some in our large entourage, are of a certain age where bladder control is thinning out. So before the movie began, first stop was the loo. To our genuine surprise the latter was of a very commendable standard…….”Metro standard” as some “well traveled” Shillongites would snobbishly put it. I am not here to even do a review of any movie but to talk about loos.
Now that we are getting there, with insurgency dying out etc. we still have a few challenges as Shillong wallas to go out, to make Shillong a place that is lively, way into the night. Hey you cinema hall owners, event managers, restauranteurs if you want us to come out more often and spend our money and have a good time, then make sure that we also get a certain standard of hygiene in the rest room areas. Remember they are supposed to be “rest rooms” not panicky emergency holes where we all try to do breath control. I remember often in So So Tham auditorium, a whiff of urine smell would come through the stage as the performance is going on, into the seating area hitting the front/VIP rows first. On the other hand Dreamland cinema( with all its refurbishments) is a place I would revisit and recommend to others as well. The Rs.150 spent on a ticket is worth every paisa especially with the added bonuses of the 3D glasses where birds and butterflies seem to come right to your nose. The popcorn could have been lest burnt(that is if you had caramel) and the parking lot less troublesome. Other than that, it is worth every effort. O the excitement of getting ready, the waiting, the trailers and eventually the movie seen in all its glory has finally come back to Shillong.
