Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih is an Indian poet, novelist, short story writer, editor and translator. He writes in Khasi, the language of his tribe, and English. In 2008, he received the first Veer Shankar Shah-Raghunath Shah National Award for Tribal Literature from the Government of Madhya Pradesh for having ‘given a large canvas to the life and traditions [of his tribe] through literature’. [1] [2]
Contents
1 Life
2 Works
3 Awards
4 See also
5 References
6 External links
Life
Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih was born on 4 April 1964 in Sohra (Cherrapunjee),[3] East Khasi Hills district, Meghalaya, to Perisibon Nongkynrih and O. Surong. He belongs to the Khasi (Khynriam) tribe. He was educated at Ram Krishna Mission Primary School, Maraikaphon, Sohra, and Government Boy’s High School, Shillong. He completed his BA in English literature from St. Anthony’s College and his MA and PhD from North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU), Shillong.
He teaches literature in the Department of English, NEHU, Shillong. [4] He served as the Deputy Director of NEHU Publications and the university’s Public Relations Officer between 2001 and 2007. Before that, he was a lecturer at Sankardev College, Shillong, which he joined after resigning from his post as an Auditor in the office of the Accountant General’s (Audit), Shillong.
While teaching at the college, he also became, in 1994, the Founder Editor of Apphira Daily News, [5] Shillong, and remained there till 1996. Between 1998 and 2000, he was the editor of Dongmusa, a weekly newspaper. He also edited NEHU News and served as the Associate Editor of The NEHU Journal (https://nehu.ac.in/nehu-journals) between 2001 and 2007.
Works
He published his first books, Moments: A First Collection of Poems (Writers Workshop) [6] and The Sieve: A Collection of Love Poems (Writers Workshop),[7] in 1992. These were followed by his third and fourth collections, The Season of the Wind (Pine Cones Publications, available at Ri Khasi Book Agency [8]) and The Fungus (Pine Cones Publications) in 2008. His fifth and sixth collections of poetry, The Yearning of Seeds (HarperCollins) and Time’s Barter: Haiku and Senryu (HarperCollins) [9] were published in 2011 and 2015, respectively. His co-edited poetry anthologies include Anthology of Contemporary Poetry from the Northeast (NEHU Publications) and Dancing Earth: An Anthology of Poetry from North-East India (Penguin). His creative works in prose include U Sier Lapalang (2005, Katha), Around the Hearth: Khasi Legends (2007, Penguin),[10] The Legend of U Thlen: A Graphic Novel (2013, Blaft Publications) and Manik: A Play in Five Acts (2018, Dhauli). In 2021 he published his 1024-page debut novel Funeral Nights (Context/Westland for India, And Other Stories for the UK and the US),[11] described by Nilanjana Roy as ‘—extraordinary, a big, ambitious, gorgeous book in every way.’ [12] His second novel The Distaste of the Earth is being published in May 2024. His other prose works include A Handbook for Apphira Journalists (1994, Apphira Publications), The Story of Khasi Archery: From God-given Gift to Poetry and Dream Psychology (2010, Pine Cones Publications), Hiraeth and the Poetry of Soso Tham: A Study of the Great Unconventional Elegy and the Poetry of the Khasi National Bard [13] (2011, Ri Khasi Book Agency & North Eastern India for Indigenous Studies, Shillong) and several co-edited anthologies of critical essays. His books in Khasi include I Moiñ Moiñ Syiar [14] (a book of amusing anecdotes, 1993, R. Khongwir) Ki Jingkynmaw (an edited anthology of poetry, 2002, S. G. R. Lanong), Ka Samoi jong ka Lyer [15] (first collection of poetry, 2007, Pine Cones), Ki Mawsiang ka Sohra [16] (second collection of poetry, 2007, Pine Cones Publications), Ban Sngewthuh ïa ka Poitri [17] (a critical work on understanding poetry, 2009, Gautam Brothers & Himalaya Book Stall), Ka Jingïapeiñ jong ka Por: Ki Haiku bad Senryu [18] (a third collection of poetry, 2009, Pine Cones Publications & Ri Khasi Books Agency), Ka Mother Teresa: Ka Kmie ki Kam Isynei (a biography on Mother Teresa, 2010, Gautam Brothers & Himalaya Book Stall), Ki Miet ka Jingtriem[19] (a play in three acts, 2011, Pine Cones Publications), Ka Pyrkhat Niam ki Khanatang [20] (a critical work on myths and Khasi religious philosophy, 2011, Pine Cones Publications), and Ki Kyrwoh: Ki Khana Phawer [21] (a collection of moral tales, 2015, Pine Cones Publications & Ri Khasi Book Agency). Kynpham’s poetry has been widely published and read. Some of his poems have been translated into Welsh, [22] Swedish, Irish, Gaelic,[23] Italian, Portuguese, Spanish [24] and several Indian languages, including Hindi, Bangla, Kanada, Tamil and Marathi. Some of his plays in Khasi, including Ka Jingngiah ïa ka Bneng (The Distaste of Heaven) or Ka Khanatang U Klew bad ka Sngi: A Khasi Musical [25] have been staged, and one, Ki Miet ka Jingtriem (Nights of Terror), has been made into a film by State of Mind Production for Doordarshan Kendra, Shillong. [26] Kynpham has translated several children’s books from English into Khasi for the National Book Trust, India, New Delhi. He has translated poetry (including Soso Tham’s [27]) and short stories (including S. J. Duncan’s [28] and Wan Kharkrang’s [29] from Khasi into English for Indian Literature (Sahitya Akademi), Dancing Earth: An Anthology of Poetry from North-East India (Penguin), Where the Sun Rises, When Shadows Fall (Oxford University Press), Katha anthologies, and others. As part of his literary editing experience, he has been an Associate Editor of The NEHU Journal (2001-07); a Copy Editor of Man and Society, ICSSR Shillong (2003-05); a Nominating Editor for Khasi for Katha [30] translations, New Delhi, (2005); a Guest Editor for Poetry International Web, Rotterdam (2008); [31] [32] a Consultant Editor for India International Centre Quarterly (Monsoon-Winter 2005, New Delhi), [33] and a Guest Editor of New Frontiers (Journal of North-East Writers’ Forum, 2007-08). He is a Life Member of the Poetry Society of India, [34] New Delhi, and a founder member of North-East Writers’ Forum, [35] Guwahati. He is also a member of All India Tribal Literary Forum, [36] New Delhi, Muse India, Hyderabad, and Khasi Authors’ Society, Shillong.
Awards
He received a Fellowship for Outstanding Artists 2000 from the Department of Culture and Tourism, Government of India; the first North-East Poetry Award 2004 [37] from the North-East India Poetry Council, Tripura; the first Veer Shankar Shah-Raghunath Shah National Award for Tribal Literature [38] [39] from the Government of Madhya Pradesh in 2008; the prestigious Tagore Fellowship from IIAS, Shimla [40] [41] in 2018; Sparrow-R Thyagarajan Literary Award 2022, from SPARROW, Mumbai (https://www.sparrowonline.org/sparrow-literary-awards/).
See also
• List of Indian English poetry anthologies
• Literature from North East India
References
[1] [2][3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46] [47] [48] [49]
- ^ ^ Jump up to: a b Dutta, Aiyushman; Nongkynrih, Kynpham Sing (18 May 2010). https://aiyushmandutta.wordpress.com/2010/05/18/the-power-of-verse/ Retrieved 22 August 2021.
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- ^ ^ Jump up to: a b https://nehu.ac.in/faculty/display/275/Prof-KS-Nongkynrih Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ ^ Jump up to: a b https://www.newspapers.in/newspapers_details/ref_id-80903/language-english/periodicity-daily/district-east%20khasi%20hills/%20shillong/state-meghalaya. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
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- ^ ^ Jump up to: a b Dutta, Aiyushman; Nongkynrih, Kynpham Sing (18 May 2010). https://aiyushmandutta.wordpress.com/2010/05/18/the-power-of-verse/ Retrieved 22 August 2021.
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- ^ Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih (poet) - India - Poetry International
- ^ Khasi hills and Khasi culture: Reconnection in Kynpham Sing
- ^ Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih - Mint Lounge
- ^ A Comparative Study of John Ashbery's Where Shall I Wander
- ^ Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih - FBS UNY
- ^ 'Funeral Nights' Is an Unconventional Novel About the Khasis
- ^ Around the Hearth: Khasi Legends - Goodreads
- ^ Time's Barter: Haiku and Senryu - Kynpham ... - Google Books