Shillong is Clean :Udita Goswami

Even as the mad rush to Mumbai continues, the actress whose mother hails from Meghalaya talks about her love for the Shillong and Dehradun in contrast to the fast paced Maximum city

Mumbai is often regarded as the city which brings dreams to reality. However it surviving in it gets quite tough, especially for the people who are from calmer and greener places. Udita Goswami moved to Mumbai over seven years back as her film career kicked off. But she admits that she is yet to completely adjust to the city and occasionally makes headway back to the calmer Rishikesh where she can sit by the river Ganga and introspect.

Talking about times when she feels claustrophobic in the huge Mumbai city Udita she saw quite a few things for the first time when she came to Mumbai – like lifts with shutter and families staying in single rooms! The actress hails from the green Dehradun but she had to shift to Delhi for her modeling career. That’s when she got used to smaller houses rather than big bungalows that she grew up in. “And then when I came to Mumbai so many things surprised me – right from shutter lifts to extremely small houses! It was a huge difference,” says Udita. But the most important difference was the friend circle and the way she enjoyed while she stayed in Dehradun. “When I was in Dehradun, Saturday nights would be with my brother and his girlfriend. We all went out for a drive in the car to Mussoorie. We would have bottles of soft drinks and everyone listened to music in the car. That would cost us Rs 100 each. But Mumbai and Delhi are so different. Saturday night would be discotheques. The culture is different. And even if I wanted to go out on a drive I would dare not to because I would be afraid if getting stuck in the traffic!” she laughs out.

Interestingly she has more connection with the hills of India than just Uttarakhand. Uditas mother is from Shillong and she loves the North eastern town as much as Dehradun. “My mom is from Shillong and my father is from Banaras. Shillong is the capital of Meghalaya,” she says almost taking for granted that people are not aware of the hill station. “It’s so sad that many people don’t know the capital of Meghalaya. That’s a fact! But you know you should check that place. It is so neat and clean. People don’t throw a piece of paper on the road and they keep the city so clean,” she exclaims urging people to read up more the North East of India.

No wonder she can’t get over small towns. “Even today I rush out to Rishikesh when I need to take a break. I like calm places. There I sit by the Ganga and listen to prayers,” she reports. We are sure there are lakhs who would agree with Udita for once! Let’s hope that brings some attention to good old Scotland of East – Shillong.

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