Thanga Darlong conferred with first Atal Behari Vajpayee LTA by Tripura Government

Thanga Darlong, the 99-year old tribal musician and music guru, has been conferred the first Atal Behari Vajpayee Life Time Award for preserving the musical form during the 37th Agartala Book Fair in Tripura. Darlong is the last tribal musician to play Rosem – a bamboo made a flute-like musical instrument. Earlier, in January 2019, he was conferred with the prestigious Padma Shri award for his contribution to the field of music. Born on 20th July 1920 at Muruai village of Tripura, Thanga Darlong was initially trained in folk music from his father Hakvunga Darlong. He was later taught and groomed in the nuances of playing Rosem – a traditional musical instrument of the Darlong community by traditional music maestro Darthuama Darlong. In 2016, he was also showcased in ‘Tree of Tongues in Tripura’, directed by the National Awards winner Joshy Joseph Josy Joseph.