Four days of music in the rice fields of Ziro

Every September, just as the rice in Ziro Valley turns from green to gold, a stage made of bamboo goes up in a field at Biiri and the quietest valley in Arunachal Pradesh gets loud for four days.

This year the Ziro Festival of Music ran from 24 to 27 September. It was the 13th edition, and the organisers lined up more than 40 acts from across India and abroad.

Who was on the bill

The names tell you how wide the festival casts its net. Delhi rock veterans Parikrama came to mark 35 years as a band. Sri Lankan singer Yohani and the Irish folk act Saltaire were among the international guests, alongside Midival Punditz, Vedan and violinist Apoorva Krishna.

The part we like best is closer to home. The line-up included Tribal Rain from Sikkim, Temsu Clover from Nagaland, Mood Station from Mizoram, Novo from Assam, the Chingleipak Collective from Manipur, Tripura busker Sukesh Suklabadya, and Arunachal's own David Angu. You could hear most of the Northeast without leaving the field.

More than a concert

Ziro is the home of the Apatani people, and the festival has always been built around them. The stages are put up by local craftspeople using bamboo from the valley. This year's programme included the Daminda, the Apatani harvest dance, a presentation by the Apatani Women's Association Ziro, and workshops where visitors could try pottery or learn to make an elu, a small flute cut from a paddy stalk.

There was something new as well: a corner called Cosmos, set aside for unplanned jams and for artists and listeners to simply sit and talk.

If you want to go next year

The festival is held in late September. Indian visitors need an Inner Line Permit for Arunachal Pradesh, and the valley's homestays fill up early, so plan a few months ahead. Give yourself an extra day or two as well. The walk through the paddy fields and the old Apatani villages is as good a reason to come as the music.