Shillong

Sheeran is in India for the second year in a row on a 15-day tour, having already played in Pune Hyderabad and Chennai and with more concerts scheduled for Shillong in India's north-east and the capital Delhi.

On an overcast day, the forest, a bumpy 15-mile drive from the state capital of Shillong, was tranquil but for the sound of crickets chirping and raindrops rustling the bright green foliage.

Tiwari, a retired professor of environmental science from North Eastern Hill University in Shillong, is heartened to see that conversion to Christianity has not disconnected the people entirely from the land.

The Nongrum clan is one of three that cares for the Swer sacred forest near Cherrapunji, an area about 35 miles southwest of Shillong, which is among the wettest in the world.

The ancient skill of archery thrives in Shillong, the capital of the northeastern Indian state of Meghalaya.