By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Dec 11: Cabinet Minister James Sangma on Saturday urged the youth to follow in the footsteps of Pa Togan N Sangma, and strive to be an asset to the society.
James said that after unveiling a portrait of the Garo freedom fighter at Synod College during the observation of the latter’s 149th death anniversary.
Speaking on the occasion, James said the unveiling of the portrait is a befitting tribute to one of the greatest freedom fighters from Garo Hills. “Today we pay tribute to the sacrifices that he made towards the freedom struggle,” the minister said.
Meanwhile, Benedict Skhemlang Hynniewta, who painted the portrait, said it was quite a challenging task since to get the job done as there is no documentary photograph of Pa Togan N Sangma.
“I tried to search for references from other sources and what other artists have done before. Based on this, I tried to recreate. It is almost 20 per cent of references and 80 per cent of my imagination,” Hynniewta said, adding, “It took two months to complete this portrait.”
It may be mentioned that Hynniewta is currently working on a portrait of U Kiang Nangbah, which will be unveiled on December 30 at Synod College.