Silbi Passah

Silbi Passah is an artist and retired Hindi teacher from Shillong who has worked to promote the music and culture of Meghalaya. She was named for the Padma Shri in 2024 in the field of art, from Meghalaya ^[1].

Teacher

She was born on 3 March 1952 and, after a degree in Hindi, began teaching the language at a government school in Mawkhar, Shillong, in 1982 ^[2]. She took part in All India Radio Shillong’s “Hindi Lesson” programme, and in 2005 was sent to the Central Institute of Hindi in Agra to help prepare a Hindi–Khasi contrastive grammar ^[2].

She has also been a resource person for the state’s education department, training teachers in art and craft, acting, dancing and singing ^[2].

Artist

With her troupe, Passah has performed Khasi traditional music and dance at cultural festivals across India ^[2]. According to her citation, she was the first Khasi woman to produce a Hindi skit for Doordarshan Shillong ^[2].

She received a national award for teachers in 2006, Meghalaya’s U Tirot Sing award for art and literature in 2014, and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for 2021 ^[2].