After spending an entire day in flights and taxis to get Shillong, my first real taste of Meghalaya came in Nongpoh, with a comforting plate of jadoh — yellow rice with pork — which felt like a quiet prelude to the chaos ahead.
This was also my first-ever concert experience, which I admitted shyly to another festival-goer. She grinned and said, “That’s perfect — you won’t know what to expect.” She was right.
The following morning, the city prepared to host its celebrated music fête, the Cherry Blossom Festival. Strolling the narrow, bustling streets, packed with traffic as travellers from across India arrived, I could feel the city picking up rhythm, building toward a full-blown crescendo by evening when the concert began.
Across the city, festival pockets were warming up, including Ward’s Lake — home to the Japan Arena and one of the festival’s most beautiful venues, where the cherry blossom trees bloom. The setting, reminiscent of an anime sequence with its pink florals, torii gates and lanterns, is a homage to the cultural ties between Japan and Meghalaya. From stalls selling fruit wines to origami workshops and photo points with patrons in kimonos, this quaintly pink corner lived up to its status as a festival landmark.
Scenes from Shillong’s Cherry Blossom Festival
| Photo Credit:
Nainu Oommen
Earlier, a few music artists from the Meghalaya Grassroots Music Project performed at this venue. One of them, Daphi Pyngrope, a diehard Adele fan, said, “I am so excited to be here at this festival, and I am looking forward to watching The Script.”
Hip hop, Alt rock and wrestling
This unpredictability — strobing lights, sharply dressed crowds, and the sheer scale of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium — hit me all at once as adL and Dappest opened the night. Thousands had gathered at the auditorium for an evening of musical spectacle.
Scenes from Shillong’s Cherry Blossom Festival 2025
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Originally from Shillong, the hip-hop-R&B duo, adL and Dappest, says, “It feels amazing to perform here. It’s our home turf, and the music culture here is fantastic.” The act lasted 30 minutes, consisting of originals from their albums At Your Service and Heartbreaks and Heartbeats. The duo combines lyrical quality of hip-hop while maintaining a smoothness in sonic texture, as heard in R&B music.
At the second venue, I caught the Shillong-based alt-rock band, Bending Waves. Their act featured an unreleased original called Pain, and a few other tracks.
The festival ground featured a mix of events from a pageant competition to arm wrestling. It was fascinating to watch the men’s and women’s categories battle it out, while the crowds cheered them on. The wrestlers had coaches on their side, giving them tips and motivating them to push after each bout.
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When the adrenaline got me hungry, I joined the crowds at the food stalls, offering tender crispy pork and buttery fried silkworms. The smoked pork refried in the oil with onions and chillies, were little crispy salt bombs, combining beautifully with the slight sweetness of lightly fried onions. The green chillies give it an extra kick. Other dishes in the menu included smoked beef, prawns and chicken drumsticks.
Scenes from Shillong’s Cherry Blossom Festival
| Photo Credit:
Nainu Oommen
The Headliners on heartbreak
Canadian dancer-actress Nora Fatehi set the stage on fire dancing to Yo Yo Honey Singh’s ‘Payal’ and ‘Kusu Kusu’ sung by Dev Negi and Zara Khan from the movie Satyamev Jayate 2, among others. She sang and performed her original, ‘It’s True’, featuring CKay, on stage. Nora also crooned her song ‘Oh Mama! TETEMA’, sung by Shreya Ghoshal and Rayvanny. While the actor’s moves brought a burst of energy to the evening, her singing could have been better.
Nora Fatehi at Shillong’s Cherry Blossom Festival 2025
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Jason Derulo took the stage with his track Swalla featuring Nicki Minaj. He pushed up the tempo with ‘Let Me Take You Dancing’ and ‘Spicy Margarita’. The crowd erupted when he sang his iconic ‘Jalebi Baby’, featuring Tesher.
Headliners The Script got on the stage a few minutes after eight. The lead singer of the Irish rock collective, Danny O’Donoghue, made a dramatic entrance through the visibly delighted crowd. The band, which was performing in India for the first time, began with a rendition of ‘The Man Who Can’t Be Moved’, moving the crowd with soulful verses about heartbreak, born out of personal experiences. They also dedicated their song ‘If You Could See Me Now’ to the late Mark Sheehan.
The most moving moment came when they invited a fan, Mihir to perform with them. Mihir and Danny played ‘Never Seen Anything Quite Like You’ on the piano, while the stadium joined in. Holding up a banner with a chat screenshots of Danny promising him a video call, Mihir ran up to the stage, cheering, as if he had waited his whole life for that moment. “I always keep my promises,” Danny stated on stage before asking him, to sit down and play the piano with him. Mihir was asked to play a single key. He also sang a few lyrics of the song on the mic.
The collective sang their hits ‘For the First Time’ and ‘Break Even’ during their set. They concluded with the song Hall of Fame, which proved an emotional song for the crowd and me. The lines, “You can move a mountain, you can break rocks,” resonated with many of us in listening and waving our hands, as we await our hall of fame moment in life.
Published – November 15, 2025 06:06 pm IST
