SHILLONG, Dec 25: Christmas celebrations in Shillong were marked by an unprecedented rush of tourists today. After watching the conduct of church services in various parts of the city late yesterday night, visitors from outsidde the State, braving the chilly weather, thronged the tourist sites in and around Shillong to have a glimpse of what the Pine City has to offer on the festive occassion.
There were tourists coming from as far as Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The majority of them were, however, from Assam and West Bengal. Some of the tourists who spoke to this correspondent said they were not only delighted to witness Christmas celebrations in the hilly city but were amazed by the solemnity of the faithful as well.
“Initially, we thought we would see carnival-like celebrations here as in Goa. Christmas celebrations in Shillong show much more vigour in solemnity,” said Prakash Talukdar from Kolkatta.
Tourist caterers had a busy day today at Shillong Peak. They offered to arrange pictures of tourists in traditional local dress for Rs 50 each. There was a long queue of visitors who wanted to dress up for photographs in traditional Khasi attire. Shakshi Bangarapa from Karnataka, who got photographed in Khasi attire, said, “ I would have even paid Rs 200 for the dress-up because I can tell my people home that I had visited Shillong and even dressed up like these beautiful people”. the sentinel
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