You might know it as Sakura but many call it Cherry blossom, a flower of many trees of genus Prunus or Prunus subg. Cerasus. They are commonly seen in East Asia, including China, Korea, and especially in Japan. But if you are in India, you can catch a glimpse of its beauty in the northeastern state of Meghalaya.
Prunus cerasoides is native to Garo Hills and Khasi Hills in Meghalaya. But it’s not the only state that turns pink at this time of the year.
They bloom in the months of October and November in states like Sikkim, Nagaland, Uttarakhand, and Jammu and Kashmir. In southern India, they bloom towards the end of August.
In several parts of the capital city of Meghalaya, the flowers blossom to turn streets and gardens pink.
The vibrant flowers grow in the wild but are easily spotted across the state. Locals and tourists wait all year long for this pleasant season that signals the onset of winter. The season is accompanied by the annual Cherry Blossom Festival that brings with it musical performances and activities involving arts and culture.
As the season has already started in Shillong, locals and tourists have already started sharing photos of the flowers on social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Here are some of them:
The notion is called wabi-sabi life, like the cherry blossom, it is beautiful because of its impermanence, not in spite of it, more exquisite for the inevitability of loss.” – Peggy Orenstein#cherryblossom #Meghalaya #Shillong#MissingHome #IMOW pic.twitter.com/IM5KNynuKl
— Szarita Laitphlang,ज़रिता लैतफलांग,জারিতা লাইতফ্লাং (@szarita) November 14, 2022
Love these Cherry Blossom Trees here… Place is so beautiful 👌🏻 #Shillong #Meghalaya is very scenic pic.twitter.com/L2QxKigiW1
— Aseem Anand 🇮🇳🇮🇳 (@aseemanand1967) November 12, 2022
Cherry blossom in Shillong. What a lovely sight.@anandmahindra @SangmaConrad
— Rahuldkalita (@Rahuldkalita1) November 15, 2022
@Meghalayatourism
Anand Sir, please do visit Shillong during cherry blossom festival. I am sure people will love to have you as their guest. pic.twitter.com/gd8SLVYrIF
The annual Cherry Blossom Festival took a break in 2021 and 2022 due to the Covid pandemic. This year, it is back in full glory and will be held in the city from November 23-26.The main activities of the festival are organised in Polo Ground but smaller events are spread across popular spots.Visitors will be able to indulge in good music, food, wine, and adventure sports. There are other attractions like Cosplay competitions, Korean and Japanese Food contests, and graffiti contests.However, Cherry Blossom Festival is primarily a music festival. Acts like Papon, HRVY, Jonas Blue, and Hyvrid Theory are headlining the event.
