Musical drama on Fr Vendrame in Shillong

From A Reporter

Shillong, Oct 22: A live concert and a historical musical drama on Fr Constantine Vendrame, the first Salesian (Don Bosco Father) missiory to the Northeast was staged for three consecutive from Thursday at Sacred Heart Theological College (SHTC), Mawlai in the city.

According to the organiser, over 1,500 audiences witnessed the musical, which was also attended by parish priest of Mawlai Fr Marius Thongnibh, Minister of Urban Affairs RV Lngdoh and Mawlai Phudmuri headman Sylvester Kurbah.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister of Urban Affairs said, “He is one of the greatest missiories God has ever sent to our land. We cannot explain much about him within this few hours. And the new generation may not know much about this man but through this play we surely hope to learn something about him.”

The origil script and music score of Dr Barnes Mawre, the college president, brought life in the musical on the great Italian missiory Vendrame, who came to Shillong in 1924. He is known as the “apostle of Shillong” and the pioneer of Catholicism in the region. Besides, the artistic direction of Br Jomon Augustine brought the reality in acting, the organiser said.

The director of the play acknowledged, “It’s a great pleasure to direct and stage this drama on great missiory like Fr Vendrame, whom people appreciate so much, especially in areas where he has evangelised.”

In his speech on the second day of the staging of musical, Kurbah exalted Fr Vendrame for the legacy he left behind for the uplift of Khasis in Shillong.

“He has contributed a lot for the Khasi people here in Shillong, both spiritually and intellectually. In the beginning, he built a small chapel at Mawlai, but now it has turned into a holy shrine. We need to pray for the speedy canonization of Fr Vendrame to the sainthood. He left his home and family for the betterment of Khasi people here,” the Mawlai Phudmuri headman added.

The SHTC has been successfully bringing out the musical drama once in every two years. The next musical drama will be in 2019.