Tea, tunes and strings set the Yuletide spirit in the queen of the hills

EOI, DARJEELING, DECEMBER 22, 2023 ; It was tea, tunes and strings time in the queen of the hill station, as the Darjeeling police on Friday started the first edition of the three- day Melo Tea Festival at Chowrasta. 

The mega event was the brain child of Darjeeling Superintendent of Police Praween Prakash. The moniker Melo Tea derives from joining the words melody and tea for which Darjeeling is renowned. 

"The event is based on our people outreach program and community development theme. Darjeeling is popular for its music and tea. The hills are rich in diverse cultures, heritage, food and attire. However many visitors are not aware of this aspect of the region. Therefore, we have decided to organize the event to showcase this richness of the hills," said Prakash.

Twelve rock bands from across the country including from those from the hills and Nepal will be participating in the competition. 

"We had 75 bands who registered, to select from. It was a difficult process to trim down and select the final 12 bands as all were excellent in their own right," said the police superintendent who is himself a guitar enthusiast and can strum up riffs. On the first day seven rock bands including one from the hills showcased their talent and were selected for the finals on Saturday to reach closure to the jackpot, 

The renowned Parikrama band will be performing and judging the competition. "The Parikrama band is our star attraction for the event. They will perform and also judge the competition which is a first. We will also have a surprise performance," said the SP. One of the band members of Parikrama, Sonam Sherpa, who died in 2020, hails from the district of Kalimpong. 

The organizers have decided to hand out Rs.5 lakh to the winner and Rs.3 lakh and Rs.2 lakh to the first and second runner up, respectively which is by far the highest for a rock band competition in the country. 

Music aside, the various cultural development boards set- up by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will put on display their way of life, food, attire and culture. 

"The different communities of the hills will set up stalls in Chowrasta. They will display their food, clothes they wear and the traditions they follow. This will be an eye opener for visitors," said Prakash. An added attraction is the exhibition and tasting stalls of the world famous Darjeeling tea by some of the tea gardens and orange display by the Cinchona Plantation of Mungpoo. 

The three day festival will culminate with the marathon race on December 24 which is a calendar event of the Darjeeling police. 

"We have expressive participation for the marathon from different cities of the country and also locally," said the SP. 

The Darjeeling police marathon was started in 2013 with the aim to reach out to people and build confidence measures following the statehood agitation