SHILLONG: Traditional heads from Khat-ar Shnong asserted on Friday that Kongthong village alone could not stake claim to fame as the ‘whistling village’ as several others also practice the art.
Stating that they appreciate Kongthong’s recognition, Sordar of Raid Mawshuit, Kyntiew Khongshei, said 22 other villages in the jurisdiction of Khat-ar Shnong also communicate through tunes.
The traditional heads said the residents of these villages also compose tunes as their counterparts in Kongthong and are thus also entitled to recognition.
“We appeal that we should get the same recognition as Kongthong. Out of the 53 villages in Khat-ar Shnong, 23 villages communicate through whistling and each of us has a tune. It is disheartening to see that only Kongthong is getting recognised as the whistling village while the others within Khat-ar Shnong are being left out,” one of them said at a press conference on Thursday.
A woman from Khrang village, Teh Khongsit, demonstrated how she calls her friends by communicating through tunes much to the amazement of the reporters present.
The traditional heads said they will oppose Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Kongthong if the other villages do not get their due recognition.
An elderly woman of Kongthong has composed a tune inviting the prime minister to the village.
Currently, only Kongthong is known worldwide as the “whistling village” and Rajya Sabha MP from Bihar Rakesh Sinha has mooted the idea of including the village in UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Sinha, however, had said that other villages adjoining Kongthong also followed the same tradition.
Sinha had visited Kongthong village recently and the residents had conveyed their invitation to Modi through him.
The traditional heads demanded that the 22 villages be included in the UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
No motorable roads
Unlike Kongthong, roads to some of the 22 villages are not motorable, which, the traditional heads feel, has kept them from coming to the limelight.
Sordar of Warbah Sder, Budlang Mawpat, said cement at their village costs Rs 600 per bag and even the cost of rice is exorbitant.
The poor road connectivity is a bane for the villages. Budlang said, “Many sick people often die on the way to the health centre and pregnant women suffer, too. It is very difficult due to the poor road connectivity.”
