Benedict Skhemlang Hynñiewta is a Lecturer in the Centre for Cultural and Creative Studies, North Eastern Hill University pursuing PhD in the Folklore Department. He is also a versatile flautist performing in various prestigious international music arena. He has been the member of Lalit Kala Akademi and the North East Zonal Cultural Centre and associated with the local musical band ‘Na la Rympei’.

Benedict has a new series of paintings entitled ‘Destiny’, which comprise of visual representation of sound in the square blocks that reflect the melody of his musical composition embedded in each and every block of the artwork. His consistent involvement in visual arts and music has brought about this new dimension of aesthetic expressions.

Dream offering (far left) by Benedict S Hynñiewta is the manifestation of the mother as the custodian of an inclusive matrilineal family and her fecundity for the sustenance of mankind. Sigmund Freud puts it “The interpretation of dreams is the royal road to a knowledge of the unconscious activities of the mind”. The Khasi folk archery is the pastime for social amusement, even as the serious involvement of the archer in his bid against the intruder as narrated through the tale of lamentation about ‘U Sier Lapalang’ reflected through the artwork by Skhemlang Hynñiewta ‘On Target’ (above). Although in the contemporary situation a dream in the urban folklore would predict the number for betting in the game of archery for fortune hunters. Fortune and destiny is something that an angler never dreamt of, but Harata caught a fish of fortune that became the Royal Mermaid (left), the ancestral mother of the Sutnga royal clan emerged through another artwork by Skhemlang Hynñiewta. Riti Academy hosted a colloquium on Dream, Folklore and Art for folklorists, cultural exponents, scholars of humanities, shamans, artists and any mindful practitioners of transcendental folk knowledge, with more deliberations in the offering.