Music to his ears: Meghalaya village composes tune for PM Narendra Modi; video viral

Tribune Web Desk
Chandigarh, November 27

A village in Meghalaya made Prime Minister Narendra Modi part of its tradition that goes back centuries, NDTV said in its report.

In Meghalaya’s Kongthong, a village located in the state’s rolling hills and also known as the “whistling village”, mothers compose a special tune for each child when it is born, NDTV said in its report.

Known as “jingrwai lawbei”, meaning “song of the clan’s first woman”— a reference to the Khasi people’s mythical original mother—the custom means that everyone in this Khasi village gets a special tune assigned to them when they’re born, and their conventional “real” names are rarely used, the report said

The village lies 60 km from capital Shillong, and the nearest town is several hours trekking away, NDTV said. The Ministry of Tourism recently nominated the village for the UNWTO Best Tourism Villages Contest from India, NDTV said.

The tune was in response to this. It was composed by a woman in the village, tweeted  Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and retweeted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

Grateful to the people of Kongthong for this kind gesture. The Government of India is fully committed to boosting the tourism potential of Meghalaya. And yes, have also been seen great pictures of the recent Cherry Blossom Festival in the state. Looks beautiful. @SangmaConrad https://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 honour & in appreciation of GoI’s efforts in promoting the village as a prime tourism destination,” Sangma tweeted.

 “Grateful to the people of Kongthong for this kind gesture. The Government of India is fully committed to boosting the tourism potential of Meghalaya. And yes, have also been seen great pictures of the recent Cherry Blossom Festival in the state. Looks beautiful. @SangmaConrad,” Modi replied.

In the video, a woman identified as Kong Shidiat Khongsit is seen sitting outside a wooden hut humming a tune for the prime minister, with the lush green hills in the background.

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