SHILLONG: The people of Kongthong village which is famous as the whistling village, lived up to its tradition and invited Prime Minister, Narendra Modi to visit their village through a musical whistle.
The people of the village made the invitation to the Prime Minister, when Rajya Sabha MP, Rakesh Sinha visited the village on Wednesday. He had earlier spoke about the village in Rajya Sabha and demanded that the village should be included in UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Talking to media persons after visiting the village, he said that the village is unique as every mother there have a tune for their children and the village highlights the uniqueness India’s rich culture and diversity
Stating that the unique tradition in the village should be preserved, he reiterated that the village should be included in UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage as Kuskoy village in North Turkey have been included in the list which has similar characteristics like the Kongthong village.
Asserting that the village has huge tourism potential, he added that the village needs better communications be it road or mobile connectivity and other facilities.
“It was my moral duty to visit the village and meet the people after I took up the matter in Rajya Sabha,” he said
Sharing his experience in the village, he said that people are very welcoming and they welcomed him with the national anthem.
He also said that there should be an archive of such tunes in museum where the whistling tunes can be preserved while adding that he would soon take up the matter with some Universities including the North Eastern Hill University to start a department for conducting research study on such unique traditions which will help it evolve
According to him, he has a special interest in North East and the region is the mainstream part of the country
“We say Beti Bachao Beti padhao because daughters are ill-treated but in Manipur, you have the biggest market which is run by woman and the region is a perfect example of woman empowerment,” he said.
Maintaining that the region has saved itself from the onslaught of technology, he added that technology must be commanded by human beings and not the vice versa.
“Community life is strong here and the rest of India must learn from the region on how to preserve tradition with modernity,” he said.