Shillong: It's biting cold but festive hot. With Christmas just round the corner, its jingle bell time once again with people all out shopping as Christmas, the biggest festival in the Christian majority hill state is less than a fortnight away.
Commercial hubs in the state capital, especially Police Bazar (Khyndailad) and Iewduh, are bustling with swelling crowds attracted by the numerous festive wares from cakes to candles and cards.
Christmas carols and various other pre-Christmas gatherings and programmes are being organised in the city and elsewhere even as special Christmas fairs are drawing enthusiasts and adding to the festive fervour.
Artistically lit paper stars adorn rooftops and banners featuring Christmas and New Year wishes are fluttering in all localities of the city spreading the message of peace and love.
Despite winter having set in and the wind chilly and biting, families are out shopping for Christmas late into the evenings. The major commercial centres are all decked up to add to the festive air and attract shoppers.
"Christmas is our biggest time for business," says the owner of a designer garment shop. Equally good is the turnover in smaller outlets.
"Though people over the years have been ordering clothes online, there is nothing like buying fashionable clothes from the stores," points out a garment shop owner, even as he caters to a large number of buyers.
The manager of a shoe store in the Laitumkhrah area in the city is busy as he welcomes youngsters into his store, which has the latest footwear on display.
Marketplaces are thriving even as churches, offices, commercial complexes and private buildings have been illuminated. Decorated Christmas trees have been put up at vantage points across the state.
Dotted with bakeries, some of which date back to the British era, the air in the ‘Scotland of the East' at this time of the year is full of the aroma of freshly baked cakes and pastries.