The festive spirit arrived early in Darjeeling with the coming together of music, tea, culture and fun.

MELOtea, one of the biggest music festivals in the country in terms of prize money, strummed its way to a colourful start on Friday with 12 bands from across India vying for the final slots.

Tourists and local people swayed to their tunes and there was an air of festivity at Chowrasta — the most famous square of Darjeeling.

“MELOtea fest (which is inspired by the words melody and tea) is a community development programme of Darjeeling police that aims at promoting the rich and famous culture and tradition of the region,” said Praween Prakash, SP, Darjeeling.

Of the 12 bands, seven bands from Darjeeling, Mirik, Sikkim, Calcutta, Delhi, Uttarkhand and Shillong have made it to the finals to compete for the prize award worth Rs 10 lakhs.

The fest was inaugurated by Anit Thapa, chief executive, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration. The fest, however, is not just about music.

Various communities have put up traditional food stalls, while visitors can also savour the Darjeeling tea experience. A photography, orange and orchid exhibitions have also been put at Chowrasta.

On Saturday, a pre-Christmas celebration will be held followed by a fashion show with cultural dress. “The finals of the band competition will be followed by the performance of the famous Indian band Parikrama,” said an organiser.

In fact, three members of the Parikrama band judged the 12 bands on Friday.

Saurabh Choudhary, guitarist of Parikrama and one of the three judges said: “It is such an honour to be here in your beautiful land. What an incredible day it was, there was so much talent on display. We were to select five bands for the finals, we then thought of selecting six bands because of the talent on display.”

The judges, which also included Gaurav Balani and Abhishek Mittal from Parikrama, will have to judge seven bands as the sixth spot was a tie.

Parikrama will be performing on Saturday as a tribute to its band member Sonam Sherpa from Kalimpong, who died in 2020. Abhishek is filling Sonam’s place in the band.

The MELOtea will end with the famed Darjeeling Hill Marathon on Sunday where runners will compete in 21 and 10 kilometres for the Rs 9.8 lakh prize money on offer.

A 4.5-kilometre fun walk has also been organized.

Darjeeling police have made “run the race, defeat the chase” this year’s tagline for the marathon.