British Council hosts a Welsh-Kolkata exchange tour
SHILLONG: Despite having strong literary connection between Wales and Khasi Hills, the Britsh Council recently chose a Welsh-Kolkata exchange tour of writers instead of a Welsh-Shillong tour.
An agency report from Kolkata said that in an exchange between two different corners of the world, writers of Wales and India are on a collaborative project ‘Walking Cities’. As part of the exercise, inspired by Dylan Thomas’ birth anniversary, writers from two different continents would savour the culture, heritage and delicacies of the respective home cities”.
However, a Shillong based writer said that compared to Kolkata, the Welsh and Khasi Hills have rich cultural, traditional and historical affiliations. It was by the use of phonetic Welsh alphabet that the Welsh Presbyterian missionary Thomas Jones known as father of the Khasi alphabet and literature translated the Bible into Khasi language. The Welsh mission opened schools and enriched Khasi literature in Khasi Hills. It was in 1842 that Thomas Jones introduced Roman script to form Khasi language.
More than 3 lakh Christians in Khasi Hills sing hymns in Khasi using the Welsh hymn tunes. The tune of song Ri-khasi is the same as that of the music of the Welsh National Anthem ‘Land of My fathers’.
The Khasi-Welsh connections still continue through literary works. The poems of Khasi writers Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih, Robin Ngangom and Desmond Kharmawphlang were earlier translated into Welsh language. Last year, Kynpham’s poem was published in the popular international Welsh magazine, the Planet.
There was renewed focus on Khasi-Welsh literature after the arrival of late Welsh poet Nigel Jenkins in Khasi Hills in 1992. His work ‘Gwalia in Khasis’ narrates Khasi-Welsh connections.
However, the decision of British Council to have Welsh-Kolkata exchange tour has irked many a writer here.
As per the agency report from Kolkata, after visiting Tagore’s city this year, in May 2015 the writers will visit Wales and sites of importance to Dylan Thomas, including Swansea and Laugharne, to learn more about what made Dylan the writer. They will also read at Alchemy festival at the South Bank. Johnathan Edwards, poet-author Jeet Thayil and author Tishani Doshi are the other members of the ‘City Walkers”.