Bah Deng Nicholas
The village called Pashang is at a crossroad. The tarred road from Smit ends here. Further south of Pashang lie the villages of Mawlang and Syntung. If one goes west, he would reach the relatively prosperous village of Nohron. Pashang, also known as Mawkhoh, is located at this intersection and is a fairly new village. People from nearby villages started settling in Pashang only about thirty five years ago.
Nicholas is referred to as Bah Deng – a Khasi term of address for the middle brother of a family. His name is pronounced as “Nicholat” (with a - t) in Khasi. Thirty three years old, he is originally from Pashang and works in the state horticulture department in Shillong. He lives with his wife Kong Rit and three year old daughter, Andressa in a small rented room in Shillong.
Bah Deng finished his middle and high school from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya at a place called Nongpoh, about four hours away from his village. Before that he studied at the lower primary school in Pashang. He remembers the time he went for a school picnic from Pashang. That was the first time he ever sat in a bus. Recounting this trip, he told us of how he was initially not at all excited about going for the picnic. But the moment he heard the horn of the bus in the morning and saw his friends trooping towards the bus, he could no longer resist. To top it all, the bus broke down on its way back to Pashang and they had to come back in a jeep. He remembered his excitement about that day when he got to sit in a bus and a jeep for the first time – both on the same day! He fondly remembers that trip and said it was much more exciting than forays with his friends to the nearest village on market days, hitching rides on trucks.
Even though Bah Deng lives in Shillong, he tries to visit Pashang as often as possible. His ageing parents are still in the village and his daughter loves the company of her innumerable cousins and relatives there. He has the choice of taking three buses to his village – the Mawlang, the Syntung or the Nohron bus. However, he always takes the Nohron bus. The driver of the Nohron bus – Bah Synshar, is a good friend of his and Bah Deng cannot think of travelling on any other bus but this one.
Bah Deng had agreed to take photographs for us on one of his journeys to Pashang. The day he was travelling with the camera, his daughter and niece were also going with him to Pashang. His niece met a friend who was travelling on the Mawlang bus and she wanted to go with her on that particular bus. Bah Deng, of course, could not think of travelling by any other bus but Bah Synshar’s. So he simply let his daughter and niece take the Mawlang bus while he took the Nohron bus. When asked if he was not worried about his three-year old daughter travelling alone, he stated nonchalantly, “she’ll reach home”, and shrugged his shoulders.
Bah Deng took photographs of the buses at Smit, of people squished against one another inside the bus, of people sitting on top of the buses, of Sumo taxis parked at Smit, of his family and relatives in Pashang.