SHILLONG: Kerios Wahlang defined Khasi music, culture and heritage. His duitara tunes had the power to transport the listener to another dimension. His voice had the depth to drown one in a surge of emotions. But beyond the music, Wahlang’s humility and simplicity touched a thousand hearts.
“I do not know, probably 85,” Wahlang had told The Shillong Times during an interview in 2017. He had laughed when he was asked about his age. He was oblivious to time and tide. Music, he had said, was his lifeline.
“Ki sur ba nga im/ki sur ba pynpangnud (the tune that I live for/the tune that pains my heart)”, he sang. There was pathos in his voice. The poignant lyrics reverberated in the hills. But his spirit was indomitable. Even at 85 and ailing, he did not think twice to bring out his duitara, which was made by him, and strum a few tunes.
Wahlang was a regular artiste at AIR and Doordarshan. His talent was also appreciated and acknowledged in the national arena. But he remained unknown and unacknowledged in his own state. Though he was the showpiece performer at the Mawphlang Monolith festival in 2016, none of the successive governments took the initiative to recognise the folk talent.
Wahlang, who spoke fluent Hindi, was more than a singer. He was a philosopher whose songs transcended the earthly boundaries. Music was his soul and he yearned for it even when he was ailing. The duitara was his soulmate but he could also play harmonium.
The death of Wahlang has created a vacuum in Khasi culture. He never yearned for fame and recognition. And neither did the state and central governments bother to acknowledge his immense contributions to the field of folk music. But legends never die. And so won’t Kerios Wahlang.
