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 Apr 2016 - 9:17am | AT Kokrajhar Bureau
The election campaigning from different party and organisations in support of their candidates to the second phase of Assam assembly polls for 61 constituencies scheduled on April 11 has concluded by...
8 Aug 2017 - 9:08pm | Dibya J Borthakur
Acting on a tip off , Raha police on Tuesday arrested one person for trying to extort Rs 8 lakh from one Kanak Nath of Sariohtoli village under Raha revenue circle. According to police, the arrested...
24 Jul 2019 - 9:56pm | AT Kokrajhar Bureau
Kokrajhar: A total 144 relief camps have been opened for 125,181 flood affected peoples in Kokrajhar and Chirang districts in BTAD region.
Altogether 86,500 flood affected peoples are taking...
18 Apr 2008 - 6:44pm | editor
A 12 hour bandh is disrupting normal life in upper Assam’s Sivasagar district from 6 in the morning on Friday. Called by a few organizations to protest the recent killing of a civilian in Moran...
Guwahati : There was another high profile kidnapping in Assam. Cement Corporation of India (CCI) official Kailash Nath Jha and his security officer, Madan Kumar Bora were abducted at gun point by suspected militants at a place which falls under Bilai outpost of Bokajan Police Station, about 300 kilometres from Guwahati on Sunday. Police Officials suspect the Karbi Longri National Liberation Front (KLNLF) to be involved in the kidnapping. The KLNLF has very close links to the ULFA as well and hence officials have not ruled out the hand of ULFA in the kidnapping as well. CCI has a cement plant at Bokajan. CCI officials were not available for comments. This high profile kidnapping comes at a...
Way back in the late 1960s, there were two individuals in the then sleepy town of Jorhat who were making and dreaming music in the confines of their homes. The young boys used to go to the local music school, perform in programmes in Assam and create music with rich melodies. Gradually they started capturing the heart and soul of Assam and came to be known as Jitu-Tapan. It so happened that one day the great Mohammad Rafi visited Jorhat in Assam for a show and on the same show there was an orchestra that was presented by the young duo of Assam. Rafi was more than impressed. He called both of them the next day and requested them to teach and compose Assamese songs for him. And “...
Arunachal Pradesh is one of the naturally beautiful states of India situated in the foothills of the Himalayas and there we have the Pakke Wild life sanctuary which is fast developing as a hot spot for Tourists. The River Bhareli (known as Kameng in Arunachal Pradesh) is on the northern and western sides of the sanctuary, to the east is the Pakke River and to the south lies the Nameri National Park of Assam. In this sanctuary the endangered Black Panther species is available. The Wild Life Institute of India (W.I.I.), Dehradun and the forest department of Arunachal Pradesh detected the presence of the Black Panther through camera trapping. This collaborative programme that works for tiger...
Nameri National Park: Aranyak is a biodiversity conservation society of North-East India. It organized a workshop on Eco-Camp of Nameri National Park (a tourist resort) on tiger conservation and its problem in NNP. The Brahamaputra valley in Assam is an important stronghold of the Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera Tigris) in India and facing serious anthropogenic threats that may lead to extinction in future. The Nameri National Park is one of the designated tiger reserves in Assam. As per the latest tiger census carried out by Forest Department, approximately 37 tigers were found in the park. This accounts for 10.6% of the total tiger population of Assam. The organizer invited a variety of...
Guwahati: Noted tea industrialist Hemendra Prasad Barooah has revealed in a new book about being traced by the ULFA to Philadelphia, about his English acquaintance involved in the Great Train Robbery in the UK, and about the search for Dr Bhupen Hazarika's lost Rolex watch one dark night on a street near Sivasagar. The planter, a multifarious personality, who has remained away from media glare, shares many intimate details of his life with eminent journalist Wasbir Hussain in 'Life and Times: Story of an Assamese Tea Baron', an authorized biography. The book, published by Spectrum Publications, Guwahati/New Delhi, was released by chief minister Tarun Gogoi at a function in a...
Talap : Reports have come in that there was an exchange of fire between ULFA and SULFA in Talap on Thursday . The Sulfa member, Sriman Chetri managed to escape unhurt. This may be precedence for many such instances in the future.
Guwahati : AJYCP, Gorkha Association , have withdrawn the economic blockade that had been in force against Nagaland from last Friday. Post discussions with the Government authorities, the Organsiations have withdrawn the economic blockade.Notably, post the Naga aggression on Assamese villages which had left 3 people dead, the AJYCP, Gorkha Association alongwith the AASU and some other groups had come together to enforce a economic blockade on the roads leading to Nagaland. AASU had earlier withdrawn from the economic blockade on humanitarian grounds on 11thof July 07.
Sibasagar: There was a false alarm at Sibasagar when police received a call informing them that one Mr Dilip Chetri a ULFA member was on his way to the Indian Bank to deposit a large sum of money there. Police and Army personnel descended on the Bank and waited for almost three hours but no one turned up. Investigations are on.
Dhemaji: Floods are in full flow in Dhemaji. Almost 40,000 people have been displaced after a breach in the embankment of the Jiadhol river. 25 villages are reported to be under water and the people have been stranded at various places. People have taken refugee in schools and colleges. Military helicopters are also dropping food and other essentials, officials said on Friday. A government spokesman said that nearly 120 villages in all in Dhemaji are affected since Thursday. This is the second spate of floods to hit Assam this year after the lull in floods last year
Nasscoms had launched the Assessment and Certification Programme (NAC) for the BPO sector which is a great success. Nasscom is now in the process of launching a similar testing and accreditation offer, NAC Tech, for the IT services, according to Mr Kiran Karnik, Chairman of Nasscom. The NAC was launched as a pilot last year for the BPO sector to ensure transformation of a “trainable” workforce into an “employable” workforce. The pilot was first rolled out in Rajasthan where 2,500 people took the NAC test. By the year-end, NAC for BPO will be rolled out in various States, including Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Chandigarh, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and the North eastern...
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