Most turmeric sold in India is not really from anywhere. It is a commodity blend — different harvests, different regions, sometimes different countries, pooled before it reaches a packet. Lakadong is the opposite: one named cultivar, from one belt of hills.
Lakadong
West Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya
- 7 – 12% curcumin; we pack 10%+
- Deep, almost orange colour
- Warm, faintly bitter, woody aroma
- Geographical Indication protected
Ordinary turmeric
Commodity blend
- 2 – 3% curcumin
- Pale, flat yellow
- Aroma largely polished out
- Country of origin at best
A name the Government of India protects
A Geographical Indication is not a quality certificate you can buy. It is legal recognition that a product's character comes from where it is grown — the same category that covers Champagne or Darjeeling tea.
GI Tag No. 741, published under Journal No. 185, Part 1.
Lakadong Turmeric Cooperative Union Limited, Jowai, with the Directorate of Horticulture, Government of Meghalaya.
The first turmeric variety from Meghalaya to receive the protection.
The name can only be used for turmeric genuinely grown in the West Jaintia Hills.
One root, fourteen languages
Turmeric runs through nearly every Indian kitchen and nearly every Indian language — but in the Jaintia Hills where Lakadong actually grows, it goes by a name most of India never hears.
| Language | Native script | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| Khasi (Lakadong's own) | — | Shynrai |
| Hindi | हल्दी | Haldi |
| Sanskrit | हरिद्रा | Haridra |
| Bengali | হলুদ | Holud |
| Marathi | हळद | Halad |
| Gujarati | હળદર | Haldar |
| Punjabi | ਹਲਦੀ | Haldi |
| Odia | ହଳଦୀ | Haladi |
| Assamese | হালধি | Halodhi |
| Tamil | மஞ்சள் | Manjal |
| Telugu | పసుపు | Pasupu |
| Kannada | ಅರಿಶಿನ | Arishina |
| Malayalam | മഞ്ഞൾ | Manjal |
| Urdu | ہلدی | Haldi |
Fourteen languages, one root — and shynrai is the one this article is really about.
The number most marketing skips
Curcumin is the compound behind turmeric's colour and much of its aroma. It is also the number almost nobody prints.
Ordinary commercial turmeric sits at 2 – 3%. Lakadong assays 7 – 12%. We pack only lots testing 10% or above — which is why the gap matters to nutraceutical buyers, formulators and export markets that test before they buy, not only to households who want a deeper colour.
Turmeric's essential oil carries the aromatic compounds called turmerones, and those volatile oils are the first thing lost to heat, rough handling and long storage. We cold-process rather than heat-grind, and pack in small batches, so what is in the rhizome is still in the powder.
How to buy it
- Ask for the curcumin number for the batch you are buying. "High curcumin" without a figure tells you nothing.
- Check the origin is the West Jaintia Hills — not "Meghalaya-style" or "Lakadong-type".
- Look for a batch number and harvest month on the pack.
- Expect a deep, almost orange tone rather than a bright uniform yellow.
Questions
Why is Lakadong turmeric more expensive?
A single annual harvest, a limited growing belt, hand processing, and lot-by-lot assay. It is a smaller crop sold to a stricter standard.
Can Lakadong be grown elsewhere?
The rhizome can be planted anywhere. It does not behave the same — curcumin falls, colour pales, aroma flattens. That is precisely why the Geographical Indication exists.
What is shynrai?
The Khasi name for turmeric, used in the Jaintia Hills where Lakadong is grown.
We describe Lakadong by what it is — colour, aroma, curcumin — not by what it cures. Read the full dossier in our Field Notes, or see Lakadong Turmeric.