Shillong celebrates platinum jubilee

The archdiocese of Shillong, which was once the base of mission in northeast India, celebrates 75 years of its existence with a host of programs.

The week-long celebrations include honoring couples who have completed 50 years of marriage and couples celebrating 25 years of marriage this year.

Meghalaya Governor R.S. Mooshahary, chief minister D.D. Lapang and deputy chief minister B.M. Lanong would be among guests attending the Nov. 7 concluding programs of the week-long celebrations.

Archbishop Pedro Lopez Quintana, the Apostolic Nuncio who represents Pope in India and Father Pascual Chavez Villanueva, the superior general of the Salesians of Don Bosco would join celebrations.

Salesian missioners led the evangelization of the hilly tribal dominated seven states in the region, since 1921 when the area was entrusted to them.

German Salvatorian missioners began work in the last quarter of 19th century and Prefeture Apostolic of Assam was established in 1898. Outbreak of World War I forced the Germans to return to their country with Jesuits taking up the mission. Later Salesians took over.

Shillong diocese was created in 1951 and over the years was divided several times to create more dioceses as the Church grew faster. In 1969 it was made Shillong-Guwahati archdiocese, and was further divided in 1992 to create Guwahati diocese.

During the past 75 years, the Church has grown and spread all over Northeast India. The Church has 15 dioceses, each owing its initial mission to the Church based in Shillong.

Salesain Archbishop Dominic Jala of Shillong said part of the celebrations would honor couples who have completed golden jubilee of marriage and those celebrating silver jubilee this year. He said this Nov. 6 program was to stress family as the most important unit of society and of the Church.

On Nov. 5, the Catholic Church will honor more than 1,000 church leaders who are the mainstay of its mission in the towns and villages stressing the role of laity in the mission of the Church.

The celebration would start with a performance by Rexband, which proposes to spread cheer through music. Rex, a Christian musical band, fuses together musical styles, including Indian classical and folk music.

The archbishop said he invited the Kerala-based band to encourage the music-loving youths of Shillong and inculcate the values of life through music.

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Rock band Lost Angels to perform in Shillong

SHILLONG, Oct 2 – The rock capital of India, Shillong is all set to witness yet another international rock concert on October 3 with the performance of an all-star band – Lost Angels.

Lost Angels features John Corabi of Motley Crue, Troy Patrick Farrell of White Lion, Eric Dover of Jellyfish, Slash’s Snakepit and Alice Cooper and Muddy Stardust of Gilby Clarke and LA Guns.

The concert is being titled as ‘A tribute to the King of Pop Michael Jackson’. The concert is being organized by Mad Dog Xclusive Pvt Ltd, Shillong and Purple Rain Entertainment in association with News Live, a news TV channel based in Guwahati and Rong, a new entertainment channel which is being launched from Guwahati this October.

“The band performed on September 29 in Dimapur and will perform on October 3 in Shillong. The band will be performing numbers from the respective bands in which they have been associated and will also perform some special numbers of Michael Jackson”, said Andrew Ropmay, the man behind the show, who is the chairman of the event company. The band arrived in India on September 27.

“Shillong will experience an ultimate rock music”, said Ropmay. “This is the debut show for Lost Angels and the first international event being organized by Mad Dog Xclusive. Splitz, a local rock band will be doing a supportive act in the concert.

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The quaint hill town of Shillong

The quaint hill town of Shillong Shillong, Meghalaya, India Monday, May 25, 2009  06:18 Entry 1 of 1 | show all | print this entry Shillong, the capital of the state of Meghalaya, in North East India, has always evoked great nostalgia in me. I spent many happy summer holidays there, escaping the scorching heat of Kolkata. My first memories of the beautiful hill town were of an idyllic month spent in a rented cottage at the Shillong Club. The Club has cottages for tourists, surrounded by gaily colored flowers and lush green grass and pine trees. The tranquil green waters of Ward Lake, teeming with fat black and orange fish form a backdrop to the cottages. Ward Lake is set in the middle of the town, bordered by flowering shrubs, with swans floating by on the water. Visitors can hire paddleboats and roam around the lake. There is a greenhouse with plenty of exotic plants. A narrow wooden bridge stretches across the Lake. A great favorite with kids and adults alike is the Lady Hydari Park and Zoo. Surrounded by misty grey hills, the Park has beautiful landscaping, with a strong Chinese influence. Weeping willows cascade over a pond where ducks, pelicans and geese swim and dive for fish. Red water lilies float on another adjacent pond. There are flowers of every hue, pansies and poppies in the spring and hydrangeas and hibiscus in the summer. Visitors can sit in miniature pagodas and look out at the children's park, usually full of lively young boys and girls. The Zoo has many species of birds and animals, including the Himalayan black bear, eagles, owls, monkeys, deer and jackals. Shillong is a fascinating mixture of old and new, historical and modern. Traditional rice and tea stalls selling fried fish, vegetable and egg curries, rice, tea and sweets stand alongside modern cafes offering pizza, hotdogs, hamburgers and milkshakes. Rosy cheeked pretty Khasi tribal women carrying babies on their backs chew betel nut as they walk around the hilly roads. Purple morning glory flowers creep over the rocks of the hillsides. Breathtaking views of high hills sweeping down to the sunset hued waters of the spectacular Burrapani Lake are a feature of evenings in Shillong, with picturesque wooden cottages surrounded by cream colored lilies and crimson roses built in steps up and down the hillsides. Local handicrafts include painted wall hangings of dignified old matriarchs, beautiful handmade tribal necklaces of wooden and glass beads and painted ceramic, miniature Khasi household implements, woolen shawls and woven straw mats. The weather is always cool and becomes very cold in winter. It rains fairly often, but the sun also shines brightly, encouraging impromptu picnics. Police Bazaar is a large shopping area and has many hotels and restaurants. Local flowers and fruits such as strawberries are sold at small roadside stalls. Fashionably dressed young women walk briskly while the ubiquitous black and yellow taxis, both shared and reserved, form a steady stream of traffic. Shillong is comparatively large and covers a wide area, unlike other hill towns in North East India. Several call centers and IT companies have set up base in Shillong. There are many government offices in the town because it is the capital of Meghalaya. Business is booming and the town is vibrant and bustling during the day though night falls fast in the hills and shops generally down shutters by 8 p.m. in most areas. The relatively disturbed political scenario is symbolized by groups of khaki clad soldiers carrying guns walking around. There is militant and terrorist activity in North East India but Shillong is mainly untouched by the bombs that frequently rip through places like Guwahati, the capital of Assam. There are many well known schools and colleges in Shillong and each student proudly bears the uniform of their educational institution. Khasi is the regional language. Healthcare is effective in large private hospitals like Nazareth and Woodlands and free medical care is offered by government funded hospitals. Most people in Shillong are Christian and attend church regularly on Sundays. Beef and pork are sold at local stalls and in the large neighborhood markets. It is possible to live a good life on a relatively low income and housing rents are still much less than in the metropolitan cities of Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi. The sheer beauty of the sloping hilly terrain, the extensive forests and cascading waterfalls like the Elephant Falls can be seen on a trip up to Shillong Peak, the highest point overlooking Shillong which offers a splendid birds-eye view of the town. Photographers and nature lovers will delight in this beautiful town, and morning and evening walks up and down the hilly roads afford much pleasure. Stop for a cup of coffee at Flavours restaurant in Laitumkhrah and perhaps an American breakfast. Shillong has something for everyone and you will rediscover the peace of mind you may have lost in the stress of living a fast paced modern life. If you would like to find out more about North East India, you can visit the online bookstore at  www.chillibreeze.com and buy James Perry's Electronic Travel Guide titled "North East - India's Paradox Worth Visiting" priced at $25.

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APJ Abdul Kalam To Launch Hi-Tech Computing Facility In Shillong

The Northeastern Hill University (NEHU) in Meghalaya is all set to get a supercomputing facility for bio-informatics and computational biology. The super computing facility called PARAM Sheersh will be inaugurated by former president of India, APJ Abdul Kalam on Sunday (January 4). The state-of-the-art computing facility has been developed by the Pune-based Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC).

 

Built with an investment of 20 million, the facility at Shillong will be utilised for conducting research in strategic areas of weather, seismology, bio-informatics, physics, computational fluid dynamics, material sciences, besides life sciences. Talking about the new hi-tech computing facility, NEHU Vice-Chancellor Pramod Tandon said that the main aim of installing such a facility is to establish a centre of excellence in the north eastern region. The soon-to-be-operational facility will enhance research in the field of advanced information technology.

 

Pramod Tandon further said that the computing facility will help the students, faculty and researchers of the region to attain substantial knowledge to solve challenging problems. It will serve a platform for everyone in the field of academics and research.  The entire management task and running of the facility will be handled by an on-site engineer, provided by C-DAC. The Shillong facility will provide Intensive training on Parallel Programming, Linux and cluster system administration. Network and storage administration and usage of supercomputing is also a part of the activity.

 

sinlung.com

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