The Pineapple Fest, a slice of Meghalaya in Delhi

The three-day-long Meghalaya Pineapple Fest 2023 organised in Delhi by the Meghalaya government aimed to celebrate and promote the northeastern state’s wide array of agricultural and horticultural produce. Rooted in traditional practices, most of these crops are cultivated in an organic manner. Among these, the Kew pineapples, the Khasi mandarin and the Lakadong turmeric are already famous and have made their way into European and West Asian markets.

Held at Dilli Haat, August 18-20, the festival’s chief guest was the Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Conrad Sangma. During the inauguration, he outlined what made  Kew pineapples popular.

“The Meghalaya pineapples are famous for their high sugar content [their Brix value is 16-18; one degree Brix is 1 gram of sucrose in 100 gms of solution], and they are less sour. They are mostly being cultivated without any use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides, resulting in significantly lower heavy metal and pesticide residue in the fruit,” he said.

True to its name, much of the festival revolved around the fruit. Amidst the sprawling Haat, a repository of India’s cultural diversity with stalls from almost all states, the guests were greeted with cutouts and installations of pineapples before the smell of the fruit was delivered on the promise of sweetness.

In the central marquee of the Haat, the guests were encouraged to buy pineapples. If they wished to taste it on the spot, volunteers sliced and served the fruit. For many, these fruits provided much-needed relief from the harsh heat of Delhi. For others, it was simply a reminder of home.

“When I came to know that the Pineapple Fest was happening, I wanted to come and have a feel of home. I am familiar with Dilli Haat but I wanted to experience it in a different light,” said Rusali D Shira, from Meghalaya’s East Garo Hills, who has been living in Delhi for the past seven years.

The pineapples were the star attraction for her. The festival also aimed to create a networking opportunity for the rural population of Meghalaya, the majority of which is deprived of institutional financial aid.

All along the exhibition centre, the state’s produce was displayed in all its variety. The products on sale were almost exclusively grown in the eastern Himalayan belt. Raymond R Lyngdoh’s stall was dedicated to dehydrated fruits. Some of the most-sold items from his stall were the dehydrated sweet pineapple strips and the masala pineapple strips. The dehydrated wild apple did not move off the shelf as fast as the others as customers found it a tad expensive.

“The cost is high because preparing dehydrated wild apples is a very tedious process. The fruits have a very tight skin. Peeling and deseeding them is a task,” he explained.

Several other stalls offered indigenous Meghalayan produce such as bael leaves and perilla seeds. Bael, or wood apple, is considered a digestive booster, according to the people of the state. Its leaves are processed to make health tonics. Perilla seeds, known as bhanjeera in Hindi, belong to the mint family but they taste like sesame seeds. Rich in omega-3 fatty acids, perilla seeds contribute to heart health.

Elsewhere in the Haat, the pineapple was seen to have other uses. Pineapple fibre weaving is a dying art that is practised in a few villages of the state. Kong Sphir, from the Tynrong village in the East Khasi Hills, and one of the only remaining weavers to use the fibre to make bags that farmers use to collect fruits and vegetables from the forest, was at the fest. As was Kong Angnud, a bamboo weaver—hats, baskets and even rakhis, from bamboo fibre were her specialities.

The food of the tribes was also showcased at different stalls selling Jaintia and Khasi cuisine—including mocktails, baked goods, jhur sdieh (a vegetable dish) and dohneiiong (pork with black sesame).
The musical programmes were a good introduction to the thriving band culture of the state. Mama Tips and the Mamas Bois, LB3 and Jameer K and the Pine-Folks kept the guests entertained over the three days as they experienced Meghalaya in Delhi.