[Astitva]

Hello Team-BHP

We all know the North-East India as an immensely picturesque location with hills and a unique culture. There is, however another perspective for us to enjoy. I want to highlight the car culture in the small and beautiful city of Shillong.


Having lived in multiple big cities across the country such as Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Jamshedpur and Kolkata; I finally got a chance to experience the life in the hills when I got admission into IIM Shillong for my MBA.


The place is a true paradise when it comes to nature and surprisingly for petrolheads, there's a lot to see on the streets. Definitely no expensive cars but there's a huge modification scene going on here.

It seems the entire country's Maruti 800s have landed here to ply as cabs or for personal use. But what's amazing is that people are really enthusiastic about modifying their cars over here. We need to keep in mind that we are not talking about a few individuals with money to spare. Instead, the regular cabbies and the local folk buying new or even used hatchbacks ensure that they modify their cars. Apparently, it's part of their car buying process. They just can't have a stock car. What this has resulted in, is a city full of cars with oversized tyres, shiny alloys, spoilers, stickers and whatnot. In fact, the culture is so strong that it's rather hard to find a 100% stock car.
I've spoken to people driving just a few days old Grand i10 NIOS, Triber, i20 etc but sporting heavy modifications, most notably oversized tyres. The person driving the i10 told me that he took his car straight from the showroom to his local car body shop to get new tyres etc.

I am attaching a few pictures below for you all to see how the unusual-looking cars are the norm here.

[Storm2.0]

Some modifications look tasteful and some are overdone but a very interesting thing that exists in Shillong. Thanks for sharing.

[Sreesh1009]

Looks like Shillong is the Kerala of the east when it comes to cars. Some of the modifications are tasteful while some are rather ricer like.

[ABHI_1512]

Shillong and the adjoining areas see a crazy number of cars with oversized wheels specially the 800’s . Every time I go to Police Bazar I just wonder and stare at the wheels with equally crazy alloys . I am attaching a picture here which I clicked on my way back from Silchar on Shillong bypass and I will definitely like to hear about the modification part here

[warrioraks]

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[GTO]

Thanks for sharing! Some very interesting cars & choice of alloy wheels there .

One thing I noticed is that every car is sparkling clean. Don't you guys have any dust? Even that damn taxi is so clean. In Bombay, if I clean my car at 0900 hours, it's dusty by 1300 hours .

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by GTO

Don't you guys have any dust? Even that damn taxi is so clean. In Bombay, if I clean my car at 0900 hours, it's dusty by 1300 hours .

I would blame that on the dusty conditions in Bombay. For that matter, cabs in Bangalore mostly look clean but they always appear dusty (not dirty) in Bombay and Pune - The black soil kind of dust all over the car.

[payeng]

Originally Posted by GTO

One thing I noticed is that every car is sparkling clean. Don't you guys have any dust? Even that damn taxi is so clean. In Bombay, if I clean my car at 0900 hours, it's dusty by 1300 hours .

Not without reason Shillong is known as "Scotland of the East".

The word "Shillong" means "The Abode of Clouds".

[hydraulicsteer]

On my recent trip to Meghalaya I noticed lot of people washing cars, 2-wheelers on roadside and in private spaces. Cabs, private cars or trucks all were squeaky clean. Looks like clean vehicle is the trend(culture) there. This is despite the rains this area receives. Love the way they keep their cars.

[Eshan Joshi]

Originally Posted by payeng

The word "Shillong" means "The Abode of Clouds".

Hey, you are kinda mistaken. Meghalaya means "The Abode of Clouds".

[Tejas@perioimpl]

I really liked how neatly the gypsy has incorporated the extra set of doors.

Any more pics of the same?

[iTNerd]

Originally Posted by GTO

Thanks for sharing! Some very interesting cars & choice of alloy wheels there .

One thing I noticed is that every car is sparkling clean. Don't you guys have any dust? Even that damn taxi is so clean. In Bombay, if I clean my car at 0900 hours, it's dusty by 1300 hours .

Most NE states are covered are with lush green forests (in hills) and paddies and bamboos in valleys. Add to that, the soil and earth of the region is very different (damp mostly) than most part of the mainland. The region is also characterised by high wind and heavy rainfall. With little construction boom (compared to other parts of India), there is very little or no dust per se in most places. Add to that, the sun rises early in this region (almost 1 hour early than in mainland) and getting up early being the cutlure of the region, days are long and you have 4-5 hours in the morning to complete your daily chores (including washing cars) before you are at work/office by 9-10 AM.

Moreover, at my hometown, lately I had been seeing a lot of car wash shops mushrooming in almost localities that are nearby to rivers and tributaries.

[payeng]

Originally Posted by Eshan Joshi

Hey, you are kinda mistaken. Meghalaya means "The Abode of Clouds".

Thanks for the correction..

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by Astitva

Hello Team-BHP

We all know the North-East India as an immensely picturesque location with hills and a unique culture. There is, however another perspective for us to enjoy. I want to highlight the car culture in the small and beautiful city of Shillong.

Thanks for sharing. Brought back memories of my trip to this beautiful city back in March 2015. During my stay, there was hardly any car running on their roads which I didn't feel like staring. Look at any car and it would be clean, spotless cars riding on beautiful alloys!

PS: It was the first time I saw ~15 people travelling in a M800 cab, including the boot. Please share pictures if you ever get to witness it.

[Astitva]

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

I am attaching a picture here which I clicked on my way back from Silchar on Shillong bypass and I will definitely like to hear about the modification part here

That is a funny looking Nano. Took me a good while to understand what exactly is going on. And I still haven't understood, what has been done to the car.

Originally Posted by GTO

Thanks for sharing! Some very interesting cars & choice of alloy wheels there .

One thing I noticed is that every car is sparkling clean. Don't you guys have any dust? Even that damn taxi is so clean. In Bombay, if I clean my car at 0900 hours, it's dusty by 1300 hours .

It is indeed amazing that there's hardly any dust here. The most wonderful part is when we leave our rooms untouched for over a month during vacations and when we come back, there's not even a speck a dust anywhere.

Originally Posted by Tejas@perioimpl

I really liked how neatly the gypsy has incorporated the extra set of doors.

Any more pics of the same?

Unfortunately, no more pictures of this car. However, this is probably a government vehicle as there's a sign on the bonnet that says "Forest J.H.A.D.C.". I'm guessing there might be more such cars out here.

Originally Posted by ashis89

PS: It was the first time I saw ~15 people travelling in a M800 cab, including the boot. Please share pictures if you ever get to witness it.

Ah! The pain! The cabbies here stuff 6-7 people in the car with ease and even the people seem to be okay with it. Whenever we travel locally, we have to pay extra to the driver to persuade him to not make any more people sit over us.