Shillong, Meghalaya: Weather, How to Reach, Festivals & Personalities

The average weather is about 24 Degree Celcius with 70% humidity, making it an ideal tourist spot. It usually has heavy rainfall from the month of June-August. The best months to visit the Shillong are between October-November and March-April as it is neither too hot nor too cold. The city holds the 330th rank in the most populous city in India list with a population of 4.60 lakh according to the 2020 census.

Best Months to visit Shillong:  Oct-Nov & Mar-Apr

It is said that the hills around the town reminded the British of Scotland, birthing the name "The Scotland of the East". Under British colonialism, Shillong was a composite part of Assam till 1969. It was earlier known as Yeddo (locals called it as lewduh) which was later changed to Shillong as the location was below the Shillong Peak.

The Britishers were in awe of the cool climate of Khasi Hills which led to David Scott negotiating with the chiefs and the people of Sohra to allow it as a sanatorium for the Britishers in 1829. This led to an uprising from the Khasis against the Britishers invading their land. In the end, the Britishers decided that the climatic condition of Sohra wasn't favourable to them and thus set out to settle in Shillong.

In 1972 when the autonomous state of Meghalaya was given the status of a full-fledged state, Shillong was declared the capital of the state. It was a small village up until 1864. On 12 June 1897, an earthquake of magnitude 8.1 took 27 lives of Shillong, and major parts of the town were destroyed in it.

The languages spoken in the state are Khasi, Jaintia, Garo, but the official language of the state is English.

To reach Shillong visitors can take a flight from Delhi to Umroi Airport ((pls cross check and add how many kms from Shillong)) or from Kolkata, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi or any major cities of India to the Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati. The distance between Guwahati and Shillong is about 104 km. One can also travel by train to the Guwahati Railway Station. From Guwahati, one can take a private taxe or share a taxi to Shillong or can even commute via bus. Shillong is approximately 2 to 3 hours away from Guwahati city.

One of the important traditional festivals of the meghalaya is Shad Suk Mynsiem. People perform rituals and dances to signify the matrilineal Khasi society. The dance signifies that a man protects a woman's honour. Another festival is Nongkrem Festival which is celebrated every year in Smit. Some other important festivals of the State are Shad Sukra, Behdeinkhlam Festival and Wangala Festival. Cherry Blossom Festival is another important event of the state when thousands of tourist visit Shillong to get a glimpse of the blooming cherry flowers.

Indian Writer and activist Arundhati Roy was born in Shillong. Meghalaya in the year 1961. She is the author of the book 'God of Small Things' and is the first India to receive the Booker Prize for the novel. She has an architecture degree from the Delhi School of Architecture and also worked in the National Institute of Urban Affairs.

Serving as editor of Shillong Times she is also a notable social activist, writer, and journalist. She was born in the city of Shillong and did her schooling in the city itself. She completed her graduation in Arts (BA) and education (B.Ed). She got promoted as the Editor of Shillong Times in the year 2008 which happens to be the first English newspaper in the state of Meghalaya. She has also written for famous publications such as The Statesman, The Telegraph, Eastern Panorama, and Northeastern Times among many others. She also serves as the Director of Indigenous Women's Resource Centre, Shillong, and is involved with the Women's Regional Network. She was also a member of the Meghalaya Planning Board and the National Foundation of Communal Harmony under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Talking about the accolades she has achieved over years of service to the state and the country includes the Chameli Devi Jain Award in 1996 from Media Foundation, New Delhi, Upendra Nath Brahma Soldier of Humanity award. Siva Prasad Barooah National Award, O.N.E award, and in the year 2010 got included in the Republic Day honours list for the civilian award of Padma Shri.

Also widely known as the "Tambourine man" of Shillong, Lou Majaw is a Shillong-based performing artist. He is known for his tribute shows for Bob Dylan. He was born in 1947 to a poor family that could barely afford to buy a guitar or even a radio. He is a self-taught guitarist who started his love for rock and folk-rock when he was introduced to the music of Bill Haley and Elvis Presley in his friend's house. When Majaw relocated to Kolkata in his later years, he sang in bars and pubs for bands including the Dynamite Boys, Vanguards, Supersound Factory, and Blood and Thunder. Lou first heard Bob Dylan's music in 1966. He later staged a "Dylan's birthday performance" in Shillong on May 24, 1972, after being inspired by his songs. Since then, he has held a concert every year on May 24 to pay tribute to Dylan, with the performances garnering national and worldwide attention. The Governor of Assam presented Lou Majaw with the 4th Dr. Bhupen Hazarika Award for his contribution to music on October 24, 2016. He recently also came into the limelight when he celebrated Bob Dylan's 80th birthday by singing some of the soulful songs at the exotic places of Shillong like Golf Link amidst the pandemic.

Silverine Swer, also known as Kong Sil (Kong means Elder sister in Khasi), was born to a Khasi Christian family. She was an Indian social and environmental activist, educator, and public servant who lived from 1910 to 2014. She was the first tribal person to reach top positions in the Meghalaya government. She received the Bharat Scouts and Guides Award's Silver Elephant Medal, as well as the Kaisar-i-Hind Medal. In 1990, the govt of India bestowed upon her the fourth highest civilian award, the Padma Shri, making her the primary woman from the state of Meghalaya to receive the prestigious award. She earned her bachelor's degree (BA) in 1932 from Scottish Church College, part of the University of Calcutta, and carried on to earn her master's degree in education (BT) in 1936. N. K. Rustomji, the Governor of Assam's NEFA Adviser at the time, convinced her to accept the position of Chief Social Education Officer of the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA), based in Pasighat. She worked for NEFA from 1952 until 1968, and then returned to Shillong the following year for two-year tenure with the Moral Re-Armament's (MRA) Good Will Movement. Silverine Swer, a lifelong spinster, died on February 1, 2014, at the age of 103, in her home in Riatsamthiah, Shillong.

Manas Chaudhury is an Indian journalist and the former editor of the Shillong Times, an English-language newspaper based in Shillong, Meghalaya. He is currently married to Shobha Chaudhuri, with whom he has three children- Shreya, Esha, and Aneesh.

He was elected to the Shillong Assembly twice as an independent candidate from the Mawprem constituency. In 2005, the Indian government honored him with the Padma Shri, the country's fourth-highest civilian award, for his contributions to Indian media. He also founded the Ardhendu Chaudhuri Charitable Trust. On the one hand, for his bold exposé on high-level corruption, and on the other, for his fiercely independent but liberal editorial stance, he has won respect in the field of media in the Northeast in general and Meghalaya in particular. He is one of the few elected public officials in the country who has given away all of his salaries as an MLA to help the less fortunate. He created and operated a one-of-a-kind scheme named "Aahar," which provides a nourishing free supper to 300 needy and hungry individuals every day. Sri Chaudhuri submitted a detailed statement of accounts of all the money he received as an MLA and its allocation to promote transparency and integrity in public life. This project was praised by none other than India's then-Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh.

She is a visually impaired Indian educator who is best known for developing the Khasi braille system. The Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian award, was bestowed upon her by the Indian government in 2010. She was born in Shillong and suffered from retinitis pigmentosa, a disease that causes retinal degeneration since she was a child and lost her eyesight completely while in college, forcing her to abandon her studies. She investigated in Braille code and devised the code in the Khasi language as part of her efforts to overcome the disability. She is the headmistress of the Jyoti School for Visually Impaired Children, which is run by the Bethany Society. When she was named to the Indian Republic Day honours list in 2010, she got the fourth highest civilian award in the country, the Padma Shri. She was also the recipient of the Government of India's national award for Child Welfare in 2000.

Conclusion... 

Meghalaya has a myriad of attractions, from the lush green uphills and valleys to serpentine roads and numerous waterfalls. Visitors can check out many exotic locations like Nohkalikai Waterfall and also has a very interesting story behind the name. Laitlum Grand Canyon has been a popular spot as well for tourists. Some other such places are the Double Decker Bridge, the Mawlynnong Village which is also the cleanest village in Asia. Shillong has been a favourite holiday location for people over the years and has continued with its charm.