Prime Minister Narendra Modi is honored with a tune in the village whistling Kongthong Of Meghalaya
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was grateful for the good deed. (File)
Meghalaya’s Kongthong village, also known as the “whistling village”, recently honored Prime Minister Narendra Modi by making him part of a unique tradition dating back centuries.
In this village, set in the lush, rolling hills of the northeast of the state, everyone’s name is a tune that mothers compose a special tune for each child when it is born. Everyone in the village, inhabited by the Khasi, then addresses that person with a small tune or whistle for a lifetime. They also have the usual “real” names, but they are rarely used.
Kongthong, about 60 kilometers from the capital, Shillong, has long been cut off from the rest of the country, a difficult few hours’ walk from the nearest town, and the center has launched an initiative to bring the village together. on the map by promoting tourism.
The Ministry of Tourism recently nominated the village in the UNWTO’s Best Tourism Village Competition from India.
To thank the Prime Minister for his efforts, a tune was composed by a village woman in his honor. A similar video was shared by Prime Minister Modi after it was posted on Twitter by Minister Meghalaya Conrad Sangma.
Grateful to the people of Kongthong for this good deed. The Government of India is fully committed to promoting the tourism potential of Meghalaya. And yes, also got to see some great pictures of the recent Cherry Blossom Festival in the state. Look so beautiful. @SangmaConradhttps://t.co/9ibr8eM1zd
– Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 28, 2021
“Hon’ble PM Narendra Modi, please accept this special tune composed by the villagers of Kongthong in your honor and appreciate GoI’s efforts in promoting the village as a top tourist destination. head,” the prime minister tweeted.
“Very grateful to the people of Kongthong for this good deed. The Government of India is fully committed to boosting Meghalaya’s tourism potential. And yes, also got to see great photos of the nearby Cherry Blossom Festival. here in the state. It looks beautiful. @ SangmaConrad,” replied the Prime Minister.
In the video, a woman named Kong Shidiat Khongsit can be seen, sitting outside a wooden hut, humming a tune in honor of the Prime Minister. The video clip also shows the scenery of the melodious village with hills and green forests.
The custom of assigning melodies to the inhabitants is called “jingrwai lawbei”, which means “song of the first woman of the clan”, a reference to the original Khasi mythological mother.
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