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.
Journalists Acton Committee, Assam has organized a Journalists' Meet at Guwahati Press Club on June 22 (at 1 pm) to discuss about the issue of corruption in journalism and unethical means adopted by a section of media persons in Assam.Organized in association with National Federation of Newspaper Employees, the meeting is supposed to discuss about the increasing number of incidents of corrupt means adopted by the working journalists in the state and also its implication on the medium.Editors-journalists from both the print and visual media are invited for the meeting, stated in a release issued by Prakash Mahanta, General Secretary, JAC, Assam and Nava Thakuria, Secretary, NFNE.
There is somewhat let-up in the overall flood situation in the north Assam districts of Lakhimpur and its adjoining Dhemaji. According to information, the floodwaters start gradually receding and some 300 people have already the makeshift camps.Sources in the Central Water Commission has said the waterlevel of the river Brahmaputra river and its tributaries are flowing below the danger mark in some places.Officials here said doctors and paramedics are on full alert and visiting flood-hit areas, although there are no reports of any outbreak of waterborne diseases..The Thousands of people were returning to their homes in Assam on Wednesday with floodwaters receding as authorities sounded a...
Breaking the five hour long anxiety, army has admitted that they have arrested DHD(J) publicity secretary Paiprang Dimasa and NSCN(Z) leader Dichung for Room No 306 at the Hotel Regency in Dimapur at around 10 in the morning. The army jawans went in informal dress and even Dimapur top ranked police officials including the police superintendent was kept in dark. We earlier broke the story that rocks the north eastern region, two top insurgent cadres have been kidnapped on Wednesday morning.According to information, DHD(J) publicity secretay Paiprang Dimasa and NSCN(Z) leader Dichung have been kidnapped from Dimapur while both of them were drawing up a massive plan to a hotel at Dimapur in...
It's big big breaking news. A section of ULFA's middle rung leaders, mostly from its crack unit, are striking a deal with the government for peace process albeit both the parties have agreed to maintain secrecy.Accordingly to information, miffed at ULFA C-in-C Paresh Baruah and Chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa's autocratic style of functioning, a section top ULFA cadres have been in close touch contact with Dispur. Led by four top cadres of the ULFA’s dreaded 28th Battalion have finalised the deal on June 14 which lack support from from the ULFA supremo Paresh Baruah. The Assam government has already intimated it to the Prime Minister's Office which is set to formalise the pact.These four...
Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi has allocated the education portfolio to three ministers namely Dr Bhumidhar Barman, Gautam Bora and tourism minister Ajanta Neog.According to information, Dr Barman will look after higher education while Bora and Neog will be holding the elementary and technical education portfolios respectively. Notably, the Chief Minister was holding the education portfolio after minister Ripun Bora was arrested by CBI on June 3 while he was trying to bribe a CBI official who was probing a murder case of Gohpur constituency. The chief minister dropped him from the cabinet soon after his arrest.
There is no let-up the overall flood scenario in north Assam district of North Lakhimpur even as Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has admitted virtually his government's inability to tackle the problem.According to information, the flood waters have been ravaging more and more areas in the district with a rising death toll of 27. Lakhs of people, who have been rendered homeless are shifting to safe places. Army Jawans and civil officials are running rescue and relief operation in the flood.Army personnel using boats and rafts were transporting people, who had taken shelter on roof-tops, to safer places and relief camps set up in highlands, schools and colleges. The district administration has set...
School going girls cautiously making their way through a drowned uprooted tree as bridges and roads are in deteriorated condition due to an unprecedented flood that has paralysed movements in Sonapur area of Gohpur on 17-05-2008. Photo: UB Photos
People traveling on boat after disconnected National Highway-52 by flood water of river Ronganadi near Ganesh Udyan in Lakhimpur on 17th June 2008.Pix by ub photos
I first met Binayak, wife Ilina and their two daughters Aparajita and Pranhita at the conclusion of Pokaran to Sarnath 'Global Peace March' on 6th August, 1999 at the Central Tibetan Institute of Higher Learning in Sarnath, near Varanasi . Sarnath is the place where Gautam Buddha delivered sermon to his first five disciples after attaining enlightenment at Bodh Gaya. The peace march was symbolically between the place of destruction - Pokaran, to the place of peace - Sarnath. It began exactly a year after on the day when India tested the nuclear weapons in 1998 and concluded on the Hiroshima Day. The objective of the peace march was total global nuclear disarmament. Ilina had also brought...
The northeastern region is running with a deplorable state of affairs if the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), 2007, is any indication. Making this startling revelation, the report says enrollment in Assam was found at more than 90 per cent and the attendance in schools was only at 70 per cent. The out-of-school students in Assam were found about 6.9 per cent and about 66 per cent schools did not have toilets and 40 per cent did not have access to potable water, the report added. The out-of-school figure in the age group of 6-14 years in Tripura was higher than the national average while in Meghalaya it was almost double the national average, says the report. According to the ASER...
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