Meghalaya: Low-key 'Song Kristan' held in North Garo Hills

TURA:

The annual ‘Song Kristan’ was held at Bangsi Apal village near Dainadubi in North Garo Hills (NGH) on Saturday.

The event was a low-key affair as the NGH district administration had earlier warned the organisers of repercussions over COVID-19 protocol violations which led them to cancel the event.

However, despite being cancelled, people from nearby villages flocked to the venue.

The Song Kristan is an annual event held on January 2 at the Bangsi Apal School playground. It also witnesses the participation of people from across the region, including nearby Assam.

“We discouraged people from coming to the venue because of the pandemic, but people still came to dance and sing,” said one of the organisers, Jaffrey Momin.

Song Kristan is part of Garo tradition in which people flock together to sing and dance while playing the drums, flutes, and cymbals.

Previous events would attract over 10,000 people to the venue, and people from the five districts of Garo Hills and those from nearby West Khasi Hills have also been part of the mega-event.

“We hope the situation improves this year so we can once again go back to dancing in praise of the Lord as we have been doing for centuries now. The people came today to continue the traditions of our forefathers and showed that traditions will be cherished,” Jaffrey added.

(Edited by Andre Kongri)

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