SHILLONG: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma inaugurated the Me'gong Festival, which strives to showcase the Garos' culture, variety, and way of life.
The three-day festival will include beverages from all throughout the area. Apart from Meghalaya, exhibitors from Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Assam usually display their indigenous beverages, which are generally composed of rice and fruits, during this year's festival.
The main motive of the Me'gong festival is the showcase of the lifestyle of the indigenous people and their ways of food habits through food exhibitions. The event will also showcase the traditions and cultures through games, shows and performances.
Babadam, an inconspicuous Garo village tucked in a region famed for tribal way of life conservation, is filled with technologists, artists, and the who's who of event management as last-minute arrangements for the first-of-its-kind Me'gong Festival are put in place.
Keith Wallang's Springboard Surprises of Shillong is organising the Me'gong Festival, which is financed by the Meghalaya government.
This celebration was given the name Me'gong after a flower that grows abundantly in the Garo Hills. It is in great abundance at this time. The immature shoots that emerge during the jhum season, when the first rains fall, are collected and eaten as part of the local cuisine.
"The event is a part of the many events to honour Meghalaya's 50th year of statehood and India's 75th year of Independence," said chief minister Conrad K. Sangma at the festival's opening on the outskirts of Tura.
"The tourist economy has suffered as a result of the Covid epidemic," he added. "As the Covid condition improves, the State Government has scheduled numerous activities to encourage and attract more tourists to the State."
The Chief Minister introduced the logo for 'Meghalaya at 50' in the participation of MLAs Thomas A Sangma and Marcuise Marak, as well as Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Sweden in India Gautam Bhattacharya.
He reminded the crowd that in the run-up to the state's 50th anniversary, a variety of festivities and celebrations would be staged around the state, culminating in a spectacular celebration on January 21 next year in the state capital and other regions of the state.
Taking advantage of the occasion, the Meghalaya chief minister informed the audience about the famous "Tribal Research Institute" (TRI) that would be built at Chidikgre, Babadam. He stated that the institution (TRI) will provide opportunities for tribal cultural research and training. He also stated that the research center will be opened next year to commemorate (L) PA Sangma's birth anniversary.
He also assured the crowd that the government plans to expand the event next year and add more activities.
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