From CK Nayak
NEW DELHI, April 9: If Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Kongthong village in Meghalaya, India’s only whistling village, he will not be greeted with the usual chorus using his surname but with a special tune composed exclusively for him.
In appreciation, the Prime Minister thanked the villagers of Kongthong for composing a special tune in his honour. The Centre is dedicated to promoting the tourism potential of the state, Modi told Rajya Sabha member Rakesh Sinha who has adopted the village.
The special tune was composed by villager Shidiat Khongsit for Modi in appreciation of the steps taken by the Centre to promote the village as a prime tourism destination of the country.
“The tune in his name conveys the heartfelt gratitude of the people of Kongthong for his affection and recognition of the unique tradition,” Sinha told the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister retweeted the tune uploaded on the microblogging site.
“Hon’ble PM @narendramodiJi, please accept this special tune composed by the villagers of Kongthong in your honour & in appreciation of Government of India’s efforts in promoting the village as a prime tourism destination,” Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma tweeted.
“Grateful to the people of Kongthong for this kind gesture,” Modi had replied.
Kongthong, located in the East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya, became popular as the ‘whistling village’ due to its unique tradition of Jingrwai Lawbei under which mothers create a tune for their new-born, which is often used as a substitute for their names.
The people of Kongthong belong to the Khasi community and the village has a population of about 700.
Sinha, though not hailing from the Northeast, took a keen interest in the village and its dying tradition of naming children by whistling tunes and adopted Kongthong in 2019. ‘Whistling Village of India’ was nominated by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) in September for the Best Tourism Villages award and has also been recommended for UNESCO heritage sites.
“I first visited the village in 2018 and continued to go there over the following years. I became attached to the people. I had raised the issue of the dying culture of the whistling village in Parliament. On August 14, 2019, I adopted the village under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana and have been focusing on the development work there, to make it a model village in the region,” Sinha said.