Skendrowell Syiemlieh

Who was Skendrowell Syiemlieh?

Skendrowell Syiemlieh was a Khasi folk and Gospel singer. He was a master musician and an accomplished artist of the folk instrument duitara. He was also the first playback singer for the first Khasi film U Manik Raitong. He was the recipient of many awards like the best vocalist award in 1975 and also the U Tirot Sing Award for Arts and Literature in 1991. He was actively associated with the All India Radio Shillong since 1962. He was posthumously awarded the prestigious Padma Shri Award in Arts by the Government of India on December "The Telegraph" reported on January 5, 2009:

A major lacuna in tribal societies is the absence of documentation of their cultural wealth and of recognising personalities who have enriched their culture through songs, poetry, literature and the performing arts. Khasi bard, singer and radio artiste Skendrowell Syiemlieh spent a good part of his adult life serving the society through songs for which he created his own lyrics and tune. Every singer is in some ways a historian who is either lamenting the current state of affairs, extolling the immediate past or inspiring hope for the future. The Khasis have a natural flair for singing. This is perhaps one reason why no one is celebrated as an outstanding singer. Syiemlieh died this year, unsung and unrecognised by his own people. It took a Guwahati-based trust, the Jeewan Ram Mungi Devi Goenka Charitable Trust to recognise this humble soul with a lifetime achievement award, posthumously, on December 6, 2008