The run-up to Christmas in Darjeeling could not have been grander with the coming together of tea, tunes, strings, races and prize money.

Darjeeling police have decided to stir up the winter atmosphere during Christmas week by holding a two-day Darjeeling MELOtea Fest. It will be preceded by the annual Darjeeling Hill Marathon — the biggest running event in the region that attracts international participants.

The marathon that is being conducted by the Darjeeling police will be held on December 24. The MELOtea Fest is scheduled for December 22 and 23 and will mainly have a music contest. MELOtea is inspired by the word “melody” and the famous Darjeeling tea.

“Talking to people here, I realised that they have immense musical talent, the musical legacy is also great. We just thought of creating a platform to help grow music and also tourism,” Darjeeling superintendent of police Praween Prakash said.

The events have been planned on a grand scale.

The marathon’s 10th edition will be held this year and will have rewards worth Rs 9.8 lakh in total, the biggest prize amount for the hill run. The participants can choose to run 21km and 10km or even “walk for change” on a 4.5km stretch.

“We will have a contest for bands during Darjeeling MELOtea Fest,” said Prakash.

MELOtea — with its punchline tea, tunes & strings — carries a total prize money of Rs 10 lakh, one of the highest amounts of reward in the country for a rock festival.

Given the prize amount, bands from across India are expecting to participate in the contest. “In fact, we have already started getting queries from Nepal and Bhutan,” said Deven Gurung, a popular singer from Darjeeling who is also helping the police with the event.

Musical fests in other parts of the country have helped boost the economy of the respective place through tourism.

Ten bands will be selected for the competition. The finalist will be judged by one of India’s best rock bands Parikrama, which is based in Delhi.

Subir Malik, a member of Parikrama, said the prize money was very attractive even at the national level.

“It is also a way of paying tribute to a well-known musician from the region, Sonam Sherpa,” said Prakash.

Sonam, a member of Parikrama, died in 2020. The band members will also be performing at Chowrasta in Darjeeling to pay their tribute to Sonam.

This year, the marathon is focusing on the de-addiction theme. “Even during policing, our focus is on making the region drugs-free. We have managed to break some of the main supply chains in the region,” said a police officer.

The Darjeeling police have made “run the race, defeat the chase” as the year’s punchline for the marathon.