My mind towards Assamese Literature was literally like an Axanto Electron. (The electron is a subatomic particle carrying a negative electric charge. It has no known components or substructure. Therefore, the electron is generally thought to be an elementary particle.) Coming from an English medium school I hadn’t read anything Assamese apart from my course work all my life. SKC is responsible for turning it around. Quite late in life, I asked my friend Aporaj to suggest me an Assamese book to read. Prompt came the answer. Suran Medhi’s work. I was like... Who? And why would you suggest reading his books.
Now Aporaj being a calm and composed poet friend as well as an avid reader not to mention, a huge fan of SKC gave me a “prolonged summary” of his work and narrated some of SKC’s book scenes to me. I decided to give it a go. The first story I read was Gulam. My mum, my biggest critique and rock in life after Deuta, saw me reading SKC’s book. A sarcastic smile followed by her saying... Make sure you finish the book. Reading a signboard and completing a book are two different things. Yes it was hard in the beginning and it took me twice the time to read a page in Assamese but then... language is practice. The more you speak and read, the easier it becomes. Maa is also an avid reader of Assamese Literature and I often felt left out when she discussed about her books with her friends. I am still learning and enjoying the richness Assamese Literature has to offer.
I was hooked on SKC. I smuggled Aporaj to Panbazar and instructed him to get me the best SKC’s books and I dutifully carried them back home to London. Manoj Goswami once told me that he requested SKC to write a New Year peice for his then Axomia newspaper. SKC was reluctant and later Eta Bhaal Khobor was on the papers on one new year’s day. Altaf Da made a short film out of it , When I watched it, I was gobsmacked to see the impact, the subtleness and the beauty of narrating a story. A very well made film . I liked the angel Altafda chose for the film. I also liked the fact that SKC was subtle and was thrilled that he used a pseudo name. I write my blogs as Rukmini Boigari. Why? Well why not? It isn’t necessary for people to know you as long as they read what you wrote. A journalist once asked my=e why I chose the name. Rukmini gave from North East and I came from the same part of the world and Boiragi is a surname is secretly loved to have. It sounds like a song. Beautiful. In real life I cannot us it for that became my pseudo name. The fact that SKC writes under different name gave me a kick. Not that I am comparing him with me for that will be preposterous.
Every Time I visit Guwhaati, I am tempted to ask Altaf Da to introduce me to SKC but I shy off the idea and tell myself- Bublee Toi Jugyo Nohoi. You are not worth enough to meet such a persona. But deep in my mind I connected with him and had immense respect for his work. His passing away news came hit me like a bolt out of the blue through his Facebook SKC Fan Group. I was not prepared as I was not aware that he was ailing.
25th June is a very special and private day for me for its that day when my idol and The biggest inspiration in my life, Deuta passed away... four years ago. It is spooky that SKC passed away on the very day day. I felt as though somewhere in ether he connected with me and gave me his blessings which I couldn’t get in flesh and blood. People like him should not be mourned for he will live forever. Eti Londonor Duporiyat,bagisat rod loi moi Apunak shrodhanjali jonalu. Ehaat dobar khelor dore, hothaht apunar dehatu hera kintu apuniye hol Asomor Baputi Sahun.
It is amusing to see note that Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma thinks that the NDFB has hoisted Pakistani flag in Udalguri. I hope he knows that as soon as this act was done, the flag hoisting was reported in Pakistani media. This proves that the Muslim terrorists have an organised network from Assam to Pakistan. And the ministers of Assam are always there to cover up their crimes because of vote-bank politics. No one should dare to blame the native tribals. Our Bodo brothers have not set up villge after village in Bangladesh. It is the Bangladehis who have swarmed all our forests and fields. The state govt as well as the central govt should very well know that. The govt wants to blame...
The Opposition Asom Gana Parishad is nearing its preparation to hold the foundation day function at Golaghat town salted for October 14.The entire town is getting a fresh look as the party heavyweights are monitor the preparations to hold the party’s foundation day where its breakaway factions AGP(P), Trinamool Gana Parishad and PLP will be announcing the much-touted unification of regional forces.Senior party leaders say the Bhrigu Phukan Memorial Khsyetra is ready to host the main function and that preparations are almost completed.Postering and hoardings are in sight in the town and its adjacent areas. According to party leaders the unification will give the party a fresh lease of...
The Assam government will go for a CBI probe into hoisting of a 'Pakistan flag' in clash-hit Udalguri district.Talking to reporters on Saturday in Dispur, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said, “I would go for a CBI inquiry as they have the resources to find out the real culprits, whom we can punish and also educate the people not to be influenced by them.”He said CID will also investigate so as to immediately know who were responsible for the violence as the CBI would take sometime for the probe.According to the Chief Minister, "a judicial probe, already on, will unearth the conspiracy behind the clashes and hoisting of the flag.”Meanwhile, the Assam government spokesman Dr...
A major blast has been averted in the city when police recovered two live bomb on Sunday morning. According to information, police recovered two live bombs at Bhagaduttapur in Kahilipara area in the ciy of Guwahati. Two people have so far been arrested in this connection.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi has rushed a three member team to the violence-hit Udalguri and Darrang distircts where 62 people were killed, over 200 injured and hundreds of houses have been set on fire.According to information, the three member committee headed by former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Mukut Mithi, Shaqeel Ahmed and Malda MP AH Khan is visiting the riot hit areas and its relief camps. The team is expected to submit its report before Gandhi by October 15.On the other hand, Army's western Assam zone general officer command of 4 Corps Lt general V K Singh is also visiting these areas on Saturday to take stock of the situation. This will be followed the visit of Union...
Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed has submitted his report on the communal clashes in lower Assam’s Darrang and Udalguri districts where 62 people have been killed, several villages have been torched and over one lakh have been rendered homeless in a week. Mr Ahamed has accused the Opposition BJP and communal outfits of creating a divide between the two communities in Assam. He understood to have told Prime Minister Dr Manomhan Singh that there was an urgent need of measures for confidence building between Muslims and Bodos.It may be recalled that accompanied by two Ministers of Assam Dr Nazrul Islam and Rihon Doimari, the Minister visited three relief camps on Wednesday...
The Assam government has ordered a judicial probe into the ethnic violence in Darrang and Udalguri districts that has claimed 62 lives even as normalcy is back to these areas.During his visit on Thursday, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi announced the judicial probe and that the government will soon come out with a master plan to rehabilitate the riot hot people. He further announced a compensation of Rs 3 lakh each to the next of those killed in the clash. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, who visited the affected areas in the two districts, said there were allegations against some police officers that they had failed to contain the violence for which action would be taken against them if found guilty...
The wrath of gods seems to be descending on the religious Indian masses with perilious frequency as stampedes at pilgrimages kill more people (361 in 2008 alone, and 875 in the last ten years) than even bomb blasts. The latest in this series was the early morning stampede this month on the first day of Navratra (the nine days religious festivity celebrated all over India) outside the Chamunda Devi Temple on a hillock adjoining Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur . As a 10,000 strong crowd of devotees surged forward in the wee hours of 1 October 2008, a barricade broke and some men lost their balance on the slopy terrain, made slippery by the flowing coconut waters. The resulting mayhem left 150...
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday visited the violence-hit areas of Udalguri and Darrang districts in where at least 62 people were killed, hundreds of houses torched and over one lakh people have been rendered homeless.The Chief Minister visited the Bhakatpara and Bechimari camps, where more than 10,000 people have taken shelter. Normalcy returns to these areas and curfew had been withdrawn from most parts of the affected districts.However, both indigenous people and immigrant settlers were still maintaining night vigil as the villagers were trying to rebuild their lives as more than 120 houses had been torched with majority of the victims were indigenous people.
Despite an elaborate security arrangement, a minor blast rocked Japorijog area in Guwahati on Thursday evening near a puja pandal leaving 8 persons injured. According to information, the incident took place some distance away from the Assam State Zoo in Guwahati. After preliminary treatment, they have been released from the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital. Police said it’s a handmade bomb and the injuries are minor. Later Police cordoned off the area near the blast site nut no one has been picked up.. Police are yet to ascertain the nature and cause of the blast, as it occurred on a sand heap near a puja mandap. Due to the low intensity nature of the blast, not many people were...
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