Shillong, Dec 13: Renowned musician and cultural icon Lou Majaw was honoured with the Shyntor Excellence Award for lifetime contribution to music and cultural heritage.
The award was presented to Majaw at a ceremony held yesterday at Shyntor Bulia village in Ri-Bhoi district.
The award ceremony formed a key highlight of the three-day Shyntor Festival 2025, being organised for the first time from December 11 to 13.
The award function and festival witnessed participation from the local population of Shyntor Bulia and neighbouring villages, towns and rural areas of Ri-Bhoi district, as well as visitors from different parts of Meghalaya including Shillong and Jowai. Tourists from outside the state, including Nagaland, Assam, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai, also attended the festival, along with international visitors from Nepal and Austria, lending the event a multi-regional and international character.
Apart from Lou Majaw, the recipients of the Shyntor Excellence Award 2025 included the Rotary Club of Guwahati, which received the Community Leadership and Sustained Public Service Excellence Award, the North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd. (NEDFi), selected for the Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Builder Excellence Award, noted artist Seyievinuo Chuzho (Sheyi), who was named Youth Icon and Cultural Ambassador Excellence Award winner, and acclaimed filmmaker Biswajeet Bora, selected for the Emerging Leader in Cinema and Media Excellence Award. While NEDFi, Seyievinuo Chuzho and Biswajeet Bora could not be present at the ceremony, their selection and award categories were formally announced during the programme.
The Shyntor Festival, organised jointly by the Rongjeng Welfare Foundation and the Dorbar Shnong Shyntor Bulia, marks a significant milestone as it is being held in a remote and underdeveloped village inhabited by only 65 marginal farming families. The initiative aims to promote community-led eco-cultural tourism while generating livelihood opportunities for local residents.
The festival featured a wide range of activities including football matches, traditional cultural performances and live music concerts. As many as 16 bands performed, presenting a mix of Bollywood numbers, Western music and local Khasi songs, drawing large audiences during the evening sessions.
Local Self-Help Groups (SHGs) actively participated in the festival by setting up stalls selling traditional food items, handicrafts and handloom products, enabling direct income generation for village women and artisans. The Shyntor Food Ground, located beside the Umsha River, emerged as a major attraction and has effectively transformed into a vibrant festival and tourism hotspot over the last two days.
The organisers also expressed gratitude to the personnel of the local police station for their presence and cooperation in maintaining law and order and ensuring the smooth conduct of the festival.
