Mandatory Poison and other Shillong Things  (English, Paperback, Bikika Laloo Tariang)

Travel guidebooks may be common today (especially thanks to the Internet), but a book that looks beyond the landmarks and the dos and don’ts for tourists/travelers (there is a difference between the two) is fairly rare, and all the more so when written from the author’s personal perspective. The city of Shillong has always fascinated newcomers and seasoned travelers alike and has received its fair share of exposure, owing to the onslaught of print and electronic media, especially the Internet. What else is there to know, right? Yet, here is a book that reveals how inhabitants of a city routinely live, from their conversations, to their food habits, to their idiosyncrasies, right down to how they treat their dead. Tidbits that may or may not be found in other information sources, but surely attention catching in the unique style used by the author, sprinkled with humour and even poetry. In the melee of information sources on Shillong jostling for the readers’ attention, this book offers content that will serve not only the tourists/travelers – it is a cozy read that will warm the cockles of even the non-travelers’ hearts.