U Primrose Gatphoh u ong:
"Ki Puriskam, ki Purinam, ki Parom bad ki Khanatang ki don sawdong kane ka ri jong ngi, ha ki trep bad ki skum, sawdong ka lyngwiar dpei ba syaid bad ba rhem jong u khun Khasi Pnar baroh. Hynrei ka long kaba eh shibun ban lum ban lang, bad ban tai ban peh bha ïa ki shuwa ban pynsah ïa ki ha ka thoh ka tar kum ki mar kynti ka ri.
Kam long ka kam kaba suk ban lum na kaba shu ïohsngew ka shkor, bad kaba shu kem na ka hamsaïan shaphang kiei kiei kiba ngi ju ïohsngew bad ïa kren barabor hapdeng jong ngi, kum ïa ki khlawait, ki thma, ki kut, ki kharai bad ka jingngeit ki briew ïa ki ryngkew ki basa kiba don sawdong ki lum bad ki wah jong ngi…
Ngim lah ban ieit ïa la ka ri khlem da tip ïa ki Khanatang ki longshuwa jong ngi. Ban bud dien bad ban wad ïa ka kpait ka rukom pyrkhat hyndai, ka long ka jingsdang kaba shi kyrdan sha ka jingieit ri kaba shisha. La ki nongthoh bad ki nongïathuh ki ïapher, hynrei ki thymmei bad ki jingthmu na kiba ki la mih ki long kijuh."
"Fairytales, fables, folktales and myths are all around our hills, in huts and homes, around the warm and fiery hearth of Khasi and Pnar families. But it is arduous to collect, to select, to sift and sieve through these stories before they are preserved in the written form as valuable heritage. It is not an easy job to gather from what is heard by the ears, and to grasp from unclear accounts that are heard from here and there, about what we usually hear and talk about among ourselves, about brave warriors, warfare and the belief in forest guardians who are present in our hills and rivers…
We cannot love our community without knowing the myths and folktales of our ancestors. To follow and to search for the tracks of the old ways of thinking, is to begin at the first step towards a true and real love for community. Even though writers and story tellers are different, but the source and the aspirations from which they arise are the same."
Bunsien ngim ju kham pule ïa ki "Shi Kyntien" jong ki nongthoh kaba ki ai ha kaba sdang jong ki kot jong ki. Kane ka dei na ka kot jong u Primrose Gatphoh. ✒️📖 Ki dei ki ktien kiba ai jingtip, jinghikai bad ki pynsngew ruh ïa ka jingsngew kitkhlieh na ka bynta ka ri la jong. 🏞️🌧️
Often we do not read the introductions or the forewords given by writers at the beginning of their books. This introduction is from the book of Primrose Gatphoh. ✒️📖 These are words which give knowledge and teaching. They also reflect a sense of responsibility for the community 🌧️🏞️
🟡 English translation by @speakyourroots
