SHILLONG: Beth Hume the internationally famed kayaker achieved her last great feat on November 5 last year when she excitedly jumped with her kayak into the swirling waters of the pristine Umngi river beyond Phlangwanbroi, close to Mawsynram.
On Sunday, the family of Beth Hume which included her father Charles, mother Ruth, sister Jessica and brother Christopher, gave a befitting farewell to Beth in a solemn ceremony which was attended by the people of surrounding villages and the elders. Syiem of Hima Malai-Sohmat, Francis Sohmat, was present as also the Rangbah Shnong of the two villages of Phangwanbroi and Kenbah.
Addressing the gathering Charles Hume (Beth’s father) said his daughter was a fearless lady. “As Beth grew up she developed into an amazing woman, always challenging friends and family to live life to the full. She loved the complexity and diversity of the world and was a great fan of adventure sports. She was equally at home in the snow, the water or the mountains and enjoyed dancing at the best parties as well,” Hume said, adding that Beth was amongst the six best kayakers in the world.
Beth Hume worked in Norway to train kayakers there in undertaking the toughest challenges. Hume said that in her later years the family worried about her appetite for exploring more challenging rivers around the world.
When she left last autumn the family prayed with her and bade goodbye to her amidst great trepidation, Hume said.
By age 30 Beth Hume had travelled all over the world exploring rivers in other parts of India and Nepal but it was the rivers of Meghalaya that fascinated her the most, narrated her friends and fellow kayakers of whom Zorba Laloo of Campfire Trails is one.
Her father said she loved the Khasi Hills and its people and somehow he feels she was destined to leave this world from this place that she loved best – a place that Beth herself defined as, “the most beautiful river in the most beautiful part of the world”.
Charles Hume and his family have collected a sum of Rs 5 lakh which they handed over to the Syiem of Malai-Sohmat for upgrading and improving the drinking water supply system to the two villages of Phlangwanbroi and Kenbah.
Hume said the family was happy to have personally visited the last resting place of his daughter and to shed some tears for her. They were also here to meet those village volunteers who spared no pains to dive into the Umngi River to try and retrieve Beth’s body which has not been found till date.
The Hume family paid rich tribute to the villagers who have accepted them as part of their family, especially Tyngshain Dewkhaid and his family with whom they were staying. A short prayer service was also held after the village elders had reciprocated their gratitude to the family.
Earlier, the Hume family conducted a sack race for the children of the village and gave out prizes to the winners. This was followed by a feast (dinner) in which the entire village participated.
Just before the start of the function there was a thunderstorm followed by hailstorm. The hailstones were the size of marbles. Then followed a strong gale and heavy rainfall and within minutes the rain had stopped and a rainbow appeared in the distant horizon just above the Umngi River.
“It couldn’t have been a more propitious sign that Beth was present at the function,” her sister Jessica remarked.
For the Hume family this marks a closure of an incident that left them grieving for four months. For the villagers of Phlangwanbroi and Kenbah it was a poignant moment to meet with a family from the UK and for Zorba Laloo and his team of international kayakers who love and cherish the memory of Beth it was the final farewell to a dear friend and fellow kayaker and also a healing of their pain and loss.
