Musiang

Musiang¹

Betsame Lamar

The market, IawMusiang at Jowai, as usual, is engaged with all its hustle and bustle: bargains, trading and purchasing, and all distinct ventures otherwise. It is, however, no different from any other bazaar located in its vicinity, yet there is a certain aspect, a peculiarity at that, that makes her the cynosure of all eyes.

            On a standard day, she goes about her engagements with little or nothing to await, excepting the quotidian, the monotonous life, that has almost contrarily become amiable with the humdrum attached to it. Notwithstanding, her existence is sustained robustly, and an elementary life is led candidly by her: no apprehension whatsoever.

            Regardless of the customary convention, on a Musiang she undergoes an amazing metamorphosis in which everyone is dazzled and filled to the summit with awe and astonishment. To this, she receives immense reverence which has been in continuation since the days of yore, and is reflected likewise by her regards to the respect. And not forgetting, she maintains her dignity and always creates an air of refinement and of elegance. After all she is endowed with a bold poise.

            Precisely from day break, on the foregoing day, she is affectionately received by men, women and children, who either lodge within reach or far away from her. Neglecting the distance, all the people have a unanimous affection, a fondness for the aura that she bears and a certainty that she cannot be replaced. Everyone is vehemently ardent about a Musiang, an essence in particular which computes to her esteem.

            Musiang, the market day of the town, makes the market, the Iaw in particular, rise up like a phoenix from the mundane week that has foregone: a reinforced birth, a revival that is triumphant to the people. Apart from the selling boots which are approximately not pukka in nature, a lot of makeshift stations are established, which virtually have nothing but the produce that has been nonchalantly laid out in the intricate handmade creels, a sheer craftsmanship, that are being placed ostentatiously on the terrain, a small dumpy stool for the seller and obviously a Libran scale.

            Moreover, rather than being confined to a particular spot, she is spread out from the taxi terminals which is always under a thick atmosphere of blaring car horns and of cracked, coarse voices of drivers, who, like a blizzard, come drawing and towing for consent to a ride; to the black shady interiors of the market, with minutely narrow winding alleys, perfumed by putrid dried fish and conflicting scents of fresh vegetables, poultry and meat, whereby a shopping stroll involves an efficient finesse of jumping over burnt umber and dark chocolate stained puddles, obviously created by leaking water from punctured pipelines, mainly caused by acts of vandalism or occasionally due to the utter negligence by the higher authorities. Aside from the hopping, the perplexing task includes moving through hordes of people, which is always of a stifling experience, and to be heavily laden with goods whilst trying to balance out the hilarious uneasiness in meeting up with the collies, who blithely rush through the crowds like enraged and agitated bulls at the bullring, is always an exceptional experience.

            Her charisma is also noticed on the diminutive hill top, devoid of any vegetation, a barren patch at the most, with nothing much but dust and earth, equally represented by an arid, barren desert. Here, like elsewhere, the merchants are caught under the scorching heat of the sun, which owes to their tanned, ebony complexion. Although a clear distinct contrast can be made amongst the traders, which is marked by their peculiar dialect, a common typical perception can be drawn from their physiques: sweet adversity that they habitually abide by. Besides this, all along the avenue, the footpath in particular, is crammed and congested with commodities from seeds and saplings to betel and bidis, that sporadically however, gets washed away by the eviction tsunami of the municipal corporation, whereof is reasonable but wretched and distressing to the sentiments of fellow beings.

            The subtleties of the Iaw, encompasses her energetic dynamism, which would not have been doable without the active, effective participation of the hoi polloi. Her pervasive benevolence captivates and alluringly pulls all the shades of the rabble. IawMusiang is vibrant with all the shopping alacrity of the exuberant masses, the sharp intense odor and scents of gutters and of merchandise and articles. Notably, it is always a complete bedlam with all the clamor and commotion of the piercing sounds of whistles and honking cars; of motion and activities; of paperboys flashing about their papers; herbal healers blowing their own trumpets over the array of psychedelic pills and potions; the kwai² and bidi kids with grubby faces and tainted mouths, taking the streets with firmness; the balloon-wallah with alluring balloons, pride about the lanes and streets; babbling gossip and stories rise up around every nook and corner –there is a method to the madness.

            In the course of time, however, the Iaw conceived and delivered an offspring, who, of lately, dwells uphill and is currently at the genesis of evolving into a striking and a dignified daughter. She tries to catch-up with her mother and lures shoppers to herself: a certainty that she has found her image. Yet, the image is enigmatically opaque, and heaven forbid that she should die out, but there is always that doubtful vagueness.

1.   1.   A weekly market held at the town of Jowai, Meghalaya.

2.    2.  A piece of betel nut with betel leaf and a dab of lime.