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.
10 Jan 2008 - 2:44pm | Dibya J Borthakur
Preparations are in full swing to hold the two day Dimasa conference under the auspices of Kampur Kacharipar Dimasa Sangathanik Samiti starting from January 17 with a number of programmes. The...
1 Mar 2020 - 9:50am | AT News
Here comes the spring with beauty and bounty in nook and corner of Assam. Gurgling steams, blooming buds and chirping birds keep reviving the minds and spirits of millions of the people irrespective...
30 Jun 2020 - 9:31pm | AT News
Professor S B Roy, Chairman of the Indian Institute of Bio-Social Research and Development and Manoj K Das, MD of the North East Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation (NERAMAC) are in...
6 May 2016 - 6:07am | AT Kokrajhar Bureau
A workshop cum awraeness programme was organised on FICN by 16th bn SSB Ranighuli on Thursday at Ranighuli in Kokrajhar district. Rakesh Chetia, Assistant Manager , SBI Branch Kokrajhar presented...
Amid an elaborate security arrangement 42 lakh voters are voting on Wednesday in the third phase of panchayat polls. the polling began in the morning to end at 5 in the evening. Asa many as 38,000 candidates are in the fray in this phase. The poll-share slated for 141 zila parishad constituencies, 741 anchalik panchayat members, 741 Gaon panchayat presidents and 7410 gaon panchayat members.
On the eve of the third phase of panchayat poll, Gauripur legislator andan associate of the ruling Congress and two others have been seriously injury while they were beaten up by the local people on Tuesday wee hours for distributing blankets after the end of poll campaign.According to information, the MLA Mohibol Haque was distributing blankets at a secret poll meeting on Monday midnight in Gauripur. Local people rushed to the spot and mired in altercation. Mr Haque fled from the spot but the people of the area followed him an assaulted him. His security personnels opened fire but fell injured.Later Gauripur police came and rescued the MLA and rushed to the Guwahati medical College...
The Assam Government is drafting a proposal to ban three more outfits operating in the state. According to information, Dispur seeks ban on All Adivasi National Liberation Army (AANLA), Dima Halam Daoga (Jewel) and the Karbi Longri National Liberation Front (KLNLF).The government has hoped that it will boost the anti-insurgency operations in the state.
The struggle against poverty must be linked with the ongoing struggles for land rights, restoring dignity to human life, and against the value system which makes most under-represented communities vulnerable to undue exploitation, is the essence of the documentary film 'The Padyatra' ('Padyatra' means a foot-march).Making of the documentary 'The Padyatra' was an attempt to educate the masses about their human rights and constitutional safeguards meant for them, said senior social activist and film-maker of 'The Padyatra' Mr Vidya Bhushan Rawat. Rawat has made several documentaries and authored many books on issues around human rights, dalits, women and minorities."Democracy can only...
Veteran Assamese film producer, director, three-time National Award winner Siva Prasad Thakur passed away at Guwahati on 05-01-08 at an age of 71. He died after brief illness. Thakur directed films as well as documentaries in Assamese. Some of his famous films are 'Bowaari', 'Son Moina', 'Asaanta Prahaar' and 'Aheer Bhoirab'. Pix by UB Photos.
The flow of picnic parties to the soil conservation premises at Kahara, Karbi Anglong district on January 1 was less in comparison to its previous years. Only 137 parties came to this attractive spot for picnic this year. The Karbi Anglong forest department earned Rs. 7,040100 while on the otherhand it had earned Rs 18, 260.00 from 246 picnic parties in January 1, 2007, and Rs. 1,37,000.00 for the whole year.KOUSHIK HAZARIKA
A two-day media workshop for mid career journalists has begun at Guwahati Press Club today. Organized by the School of Journalism, Southern Illinois University Carbondale (USA) in association with GPC, the workshop is aimed at strengthening media professionalism and the NGO-media interface in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka for HIV/AIDS coverage. The workshop witnesses participation of journalists and the Non-Governmental Organizations workers. The first session of the workshop was addressed by Dr SI Ahmed, chairman of AIDS Prevention Society, who highlighted the convincing role of media in fighting against the HIV-AIDS menace around the globe. The programme is led by two American faculty...
The lady is a social worker with a unique talent. She renders melodious songs in Assamese, Bangali and other languages in different places in order to collect donations for 'Thalassaemia patients'. The name of the lady is Sarbani Mazumdar. She is the wife of Bhibas Mazumdar, a resident of Kandi in the district of Murshidabad in West Bengal. She visited Raha on December 26 last and sang a number of songs before a large crowd. On that vary day her singing talent and efforts for the benefit of 'Thalassaemia patients' was highly praised and appreciated by all. The gatherings donated her Rs 3,000 for her cause.
Monthly magazine Jiban has selected top 10 persons of the year 2007 as below: Indira PP Bora whose tireless efforts have brought sattriya dance to the international stage. In 2007, she toured UK and conducted demonstrations, lectures, workshops in leading universities, museums and prime dance locations. In the same year, she also marked her golden jubilee year of dancing career. She has been an icon in establishing sattriya as career option and developing awareness among the new generation. Umananda Duwarah of Moran, a curator of cultural heritage. His own museum has over 1,700 gramophone records that include the original voices of Jyotiprasad, Bishnu Rabha and Phani Sarma, besides the...
Pressure has been mounting against the detention of Dr Binayak Sen in Chattisgarh with swelling number of people demanding unconditional and immediate release of Sen. Petitions addressed to the Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Chattisgarh Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh, and others are swelling with numbers of people signing up from not only India but from expatriate community globally. Association for India's Development activists expressed their grave disappointment at the rejection of Dr Sen's bail by the Supreme Court of India. Dr Sen was arrested on 14 May 2007 under the draconian law - Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act (CSPSA) 2006, which gives the state...
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