Skip to content Skip to navigation

Assam2008 held in USA

The NRI Assamese get together, Assam2008 of North America was held again this year on the 4th of July weekend. This annual event is part of an on-going effort to bring together the scattered Assamese community in North America for a celebration of Assamese heritage and culture. As always there is good fellowship, fun filled activities, cultural programs, special workshops, special presentations and of course lot of good food - catered and home baked. It was a 3 day event. The 1st day, July 3rd started with reception, registration, and then a group dinner at very nice restaurant where people can chat & socialize. The evening would have ended with dance to DJ Music. However, due to some family tragedy in one of the families this event was cancelled for the night. July 4th & 5th were filled many activities including options for families to go site seeing tour of nearby Valley Forge National Historical Park and Long Wood Botanical Garden during morning and early after noon.

Our guest artist for the event was well known Ms. Tarali Sarma, the only Assamese National Film Award winner for Best Female Playback Singer for the film Akashi Torar Kothare in 2004. She is a regular performing artist of All India Radio & Dooradarshan. She is a singer, composer, director, & philanthropist. Tarali not only performed on both days, but she also participated with our local talented artist Sankumani Sarma in a duet and played the harmonium in another song. She simply got everyone involved in singing and dancing on both days. Everyone had a blast having a good time and enjoyed her down to earth personality. We wish the best to Ms. Tarali Sarma and her family. Folks also bought Tarali’s latest CD like a hot cake.

In addition to our guest artist there were plenty other very talented artists who performed many different cultural items from flute recital, karate, Satriya dance, Assamese modern dance, Bihu dances, Husori, Hindi songs, Gazals, of course lot of Assamese songs, Bihu songs, Boro dances, too many to mention here. Thanks to all the talented local artists, without their support and participation we could not hold these events . The cultural show on 4th was started with a chorus specially composed for the event. Thanks go to Mrs. Anuja Bala Devi of Guwahati for composing. Music was given by her son Mr. Sankumani Sarma. Thank you Sankumani!

Some of the other highlights of the event was a workshop on CPR & Heimlich Maneuver, something everyone should know. Thanks to Dr. Nirode Das for this work shop where many got hands on training. FASS, Friends of Assam and Seven Sisters, USA representative Mr. Rajen Barua gave a very informative presentation on FASS and on the myriads of much needed projects the group is working on. He also showed the 1st ever Assamese audio-video show of a folk tale for children by Ankur Bora. And last but not least released "Learn Assamese with Flash Card", which sold like hot cakes.

By Dhruba Das, Pennsylvania, USA

Comments

Utpal Kumar Sharma's picture

Hi everybody there in US. Myself is Sankumani's elder brother from Guwahati. I was very happy to see the good works done by u people in US for Assamese culture and heritage.

Pages

Add new comment

Other Contents by Author

A special operation unit of the Assam police apprehended a hardcore ISI activist on Friday from the city. The arrested activist S M Alam alias Mujhibulla Alam alias Ashif Alam hails from Dhaka in Bangladesh and has been actively operating in the north eastern region. Prior to it, he was a Jammat-e-Islamic activist closely associated with Chatra Sibir. In 1993 he joined the Pakistan based Jehadi outfit, Harkat-ul-Mujahiddin after undergoing training in the Pakistan occupied Kashmir. In 2005, he worked as a Jamatul Mujahiddin activist in Bangladesh. From 2006 and onwards he has been working as an ISI activist. Now he is the ISI’s keyman operating in the north eastern region and has been...
The School of Journalism, Southern Illinois University Carbondale (USA) in association with Guwahati Press Club has organised a two-day media workshop for mid career journalists on strengthening media professionalism and the NGO-media interface in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka for HIV/AIDS coverage. The workshop, to be held at Guwahati Press Club, will begin on January 4.The workshop will include joint sessions for all participants together including one headed by a Guwahati physician who is expert in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, and breakout sessions specifically for journalists, journalism educators and Non-Governmental Organizations.The programme will be led by two American faculty...
The injured Asom Gana parishad MLA Padma Hazarika has been shifted to the Guwahati Neurological Research Centre on Saturday morning. According to information, doctors here say the legislator from Sootea needs more treatment and suspect more bullets might be there inside his body.The regional party has condemned the attack on Mr Hazarika and has demanded immediate arrest of the miscreants involved in it.In a memorandum to the Union Home Minister, the party demanded that the Assam Government should be dismissed immediately after its failure to maintain law and order. He said that the Government has lost all credibility to remain in power because of lack of administrative control.The party...
Asom Gana Parishad general secretary and former Union steel minister Birendra Prasad Baishya was seriously injured at a car accident in Silchang under Nelie police station in Marigaon district on Friday at eleven in the morning. Two people died and several others injured in the accident.The accident took place while an Indigo car had its head on collision in Silchang with the Tezpur bound car where the AGP leader Mr Baishya was on his way to Tezpur with his two escorts.. The driver and a passenger of the Indigo car died on the spot. The deceased have been identified as Jyotish Chandra Baruah and Reha Chandra Boro.The seriously injured Mr Baishya was later rushed to the Guwahati Neurological...
Asom Gana Parishad MLA, from Sootea, Padma Hazarika was shot by some unidentified miscreants in his home town on Thursday night. Further, the miscreants set on fire his vehicle.According to information, the miscreants sprayed five rounds of bullets and he fell injured. Later he was rushed to the hospital where his condition is said to be out of danger.Investigation is going on but no one has so far been picked up in this connection.
A Powerful Bomb has been exploded in Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express in early morning at 1 AM. 5 person have been killed and many people injured. The explosion took place between Naojan and Sungajan area (Near Bokajan) of Golaghat district. The bomb was placed in a railway track which derailed 4 coaches off the train. Details awaited.Update:The National Security Guards officials will assist the probe into the blast that cracked the New Delhi bound Rajdhani Express at the dead of the night on Wednesday by the Assam Adivasi Liberation Army leaving five people killed and four others injured in between Naojan and Chungajan.Confirming this in New Delhi officials with the Union home ministry say...
"They had migrated to Asom about 150 years ago as labourers for tea gardens and are not the sons of the soil here. When the Bodos are not given tribal status in other parts of the region like the hill district of Karbi Anglong in Asom and Meghalaya, how do the Adivasis consider themselves as indigenous tribals?" -- Anjali Daimari The above statement made by Anjali Daimari, the advisor of the Indigenous Women's Forum of North-East India, who is also the President of the Bodo Women Justice Forum, regarding the ST politics in Assam justifies her stand on the issue. If the whole thing is observed apolitically the matter finds its just solution...
Darrang College, a premier institution of higher education in the northern Assam, is organising a two-day national seminar on "Sustainable Growth of Eco-tourism in North-East India with special reference to Tezpur" on February 2, 2008 at the college premises.Organised by the Department of Commerce and sponsored by the University Grant Commission (UGC), the sub-themes of the workshop will be community-based eco-tourism, eco-conservation of nature, eco-friendly destination planning and marketing, environmental impacts, prospects of rural tourism in Assam, eco-tourism and economic benefits, management problems of eco-tourism etc.KOUSHIK HAZARIKA
A population estimation of the eastern swamp deer was carried out at Kaziranga National Park on December 6. A total of 681 swamp deers were counted, out of that 189 are male, 382 female and 107 yearlings. The eastern swamp deer, known Dal Horina in Asomiya, is a schedule I animal species under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. It may be mentioned here that the Kaziranga swamp deer is the last surviving population of the eastern swamp deer group. Other world population are the central group found in the Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh and the northern group found in Uttar Pradesh and along the Indo-Nepal border.KOUSHIK HAZARIKA, BOKAKHAT
The Duliajan AASU unit has called for a 36-hour Oil India Limited (OIL) Chaka Bandh from Saturday morning to protest against OIL’s failure to honour the AASU’s 21-point charter of demands.According to information, the student organisation will stop plying of OIL vehicles on the road during this period forcing the authorities to beef up security.Speaking to Assam Times over telephone from Dibrugarh, the district AASU leaders say despiterepeated assurances, the OIL authorities, nothing has happened. “We are bound to continue our agitation,” they say.Notably, the AASU inked a pact with the OIL in full view of the district administration in 1990 to fulfill the AASU...