By Lamphrangbor Nongspung
In its third edition yet, the Hills Festival that transpired on November 4th and 5th, is a two-day music festival held in the incredible locales of Umbir village and Umiam Lake. Tapping on its theme for this year which is ‘Spirit of Meghalaya’, encompasses a combination of two major elements — eco-tourism and empowerment of local communities. Exploring in depth, Sunday Shillong puts forth a first hand account of the festival; its varied facets and factors complimenting its popularity and footfall.
Snack Corner
The two-day festival witnessed an eclectic mix of international and homegrown musical sensations such as Bloodywood, Taba Chake, Hanumankind, Trance Effect, Featherheads, 
DBryn, and Da Minot among others.
Besides music, the highlight of the year festival is the ‘Food Pavilion’ where regional cuisines from various parts of the state were served to the people who visit the festival.
The Forage Aisle is a special layout of indigenous forage and the local wild edibles from Meghalaya which is a culinary exchange between Chef TZac and local chefs. The chefs will come together and share stories and ideas while curating interesting dishes along the way.
Talking about this collaboration, Chef Tzac said that he runs a platform known as the ‘The 
Locavore’, which is a platform to champion local regional cuisine and food across the country through storytelling and through partnership, collaboration, events and experiences.
“What we want to do through the platform is to focus on local Indian and regional food. Right now it is suppressed and food is becoming very homogenous. We are losing our tradition and values,” he said.
According to him, he has come on board as a partner to put together this food experience and to honour and celebrate local Meghalaya food.
Chef Tzac stated that Meghalaya has an incredible, rich and diverse local cuisine and indigenous food.
“However, I think it is suppressed and laid back. There are other states and communities that have been able to push their food to be more widely recognised and accepted,” the famous Indian chef said.
According to him, it is not that Shillong and Meghalaya do not have incredible cuisine.
He said that he is collaborating with local chefs and cooks to put together a menu by using only local ingredients and reimagining it in a way where people locally from here would not have really tasted before.
“What is lacking is there is no sense of community among the local chefs. Many of them are meeting for the first time and are very talented. There is a sense of suppression and pride when it comes to their own food. They have no other choice but to cook other cuisine,” Chef Tzac said.
The famous Indian chef also observed that it is unfortunate that it has taken someone like him to come and bring credibility to the local food and cuisine which are available here..
“As a brand, we want to connect people back by taking back to the past in a fun modern way. Ultimately, the food needs to taste good. People who comes to the festival needs to have a delicious experience,” he said
Chef Tzac also stressed that there is a need to build a community of young chefs who are passionate about driving the local cuisine and ingredients.
The famous Indian chef said that his platform will help this in a different way through story telling in our platforms or events.
“What is important is for the local people to take pride in it. Twenty or thirty years down the line we are going to lose these recipes if we are not able to preserve now. It is going to be a sad world to live in if we are not eating a handful of dishes and the same vegetables over and over again. It is going to be homogenous and it is going to be boring,” he 
stated.
Another attraction is the ‘The Pig-Out Affair’ – a community cook-out producing pork dishes distinct from their tradition and culture. The Pig-Out Affair is much more than just a platter of pork dishes but a get-together of communities, instilling a sense of belonging through food.
Offbeat people and ideas
In a first of its kind, the festival also has a special PlayCare section “Bubbles Waddles Care” for children’s care.
The idea of having this section was to have quality time for themselves while leaving their children at “Waddles Care”. The organiser tied up with the Waddling Classroom, an initiative of a young entrepreneur, Reaia Phira.
Phira said that this is the first time that she is making this kind of arrangement in a festival.
“I came up with the concept “Waddling Classroom” after I had left my job at a school. I started a classroom in my house. This is how it all began,” she said.
Phira said that she used to organise a three month session for ten toddlers in batches.
‘I want to teach children the way they want to be taught. I still recall that I used to be bored while sitting in the classroom. What I realise is that if the children are happy then they will be able to learn more,” the young entrepreneur said.
She said that the play care section has been divided into different zones like carnival street like bowling, balloon darts, musical street, fishing tub and wooden toys where they want to teach the young minds that they can live without plastic.
One of the highlights of this year’s festival is the launch of many green initiatives. Besides offering patrons a rich and thrilling experience, the organising team has managed to spread the message of being mindful of one’s surroundings.
As a way to promote sustainability and eco-friendliness, the installations were built entirely with recycled and repurposed materials created by local artists and artisans. The installations depict the mythical tales of this region. The Living Root Bridge, or Jingkieng Jri, as it is called locally, were also displayed on stage
“We aim to let the world know of our natural wonder that exists nowhere else on the globe except in the magical land of Meghalaya. Jingkieng Jri or Living Root Bridge has made it to the tentative list of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites,” said Sahil Majaw, founder of the festival.
Keeping the wellbeing of the environment in mind, the organisers had introduced several green initiatives and all the promotional backdrops and the art installations will be built using environment-friendly materials. To make sure there’s cleanliness and waste is managed, there will be arrangements of RO water stations, biodegradable service ware, and recycled paper and bamboo.
All well in paradise?
While meticulous thought and planning went into ideating the fest and laying a forum for local artisans to showcase their talents, there were question marks if the recent violence during the public rally sponsored by the Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP) would keep people away from attending this annual music, food and cultural festivals.
The vision of the festival, which is organised by Helping Young People Entertainment (HYPE) Meghalaya and backed by Meghalaya Tourism, is to put the festival on the tourist map of the state and make it an attraction point.
The organiser of the festival has revealed that many people who had already booked their tickets had posed questions on social media to inquire about the incident.
According to the organiser, they have clarified that it was safe to attend the festival since the venue of the festival is far away from Shillong city where the violence had taken place.
A tourist from Upper Assam, Razibuddin Ahmed said that he heard and read about the incident. Ahmed said that this incident has not created any doubts in his mind not to attend the festival since he is aware it is being held far away from Shillong city.
“Such incidents affect the tourism sector as people do not like to visit or travel to any places where there is a law and order problem,” Ahmed who came with his family to attend the festival said.
He, however, said many of his friends wanted to come for the festival.
“There are no bookings available in hotels. I think that the organisers should have made some arrangements for tourists to attend the festival,” he added.
A doctor in the military service, Dr Shailja Karki said that she really wanted to attend the festival as this makes for a reason to revisit Shillong.
“I was posted in Military Hospital, Shillong in 1992. Currently, I live in Missamari, Assam. I have come along with my mother since I was yearning to revisit Shillong,” Dr. Karki who is currently posted at Missamari in Assam expressed.
The two friends from Guwahati-Sajid Zaman and Ahmed Zakaria shared their concerns about the recent fiasco saying that they heard about the violence which had occurred last week.
“We had no second thoughts since we had already planned to attend the festival, in prior. We were informed that the situation in Shillong is limping back to normal now,” the two friends said.
Besides international and national artists, several local talents (music, art, crafts, dance, and food) partook at the festival, who had the opportunity to sell their products and also conduct interactive workshops. In addition, there was also a volunteer programme across the state for college students to participate in the festival.
From artisans to musicians, renowned personalities from all districts of Meghalaya found a befitting forum to come together to share their knowledge and culture, but what gets one thinking is of the overall agreeable conditions to make such initiatives an absolute success.