“My father Sir Keith Cantlie served in the Indian Civil Service from 1910 till his retirement in 1947. So, in a way I consider myself daughter of Assam, a land of outstanding natural beauty with distant views of the snow and Himalayas”
With her disarming smile simple down to earth and smiling manner the bespectacled Dr. Audrey Cantlie welcomes you with a big smile at her door at Oxford street as if somebody of her own. She has an emotional bond for Assam and the Assamese people.
I still remember the day I met her sometime in September, 1998 at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies, London) I introduce myself as an Assamese I could see the sparkle in her eyes: said to me "How many Assamese people are in London? I love to meet them". Dr. Audrey Cantlie was born in Shillong in 1923. She spent her six years in Jorhat where her father was Deputy Commissioner. So, in some ways she consider herself a daughter of Assam.
After taking a degree in Sociology at the London School of Economics, she returned to Assam for fieldwork and carried out a study of a village near Jorhat, which was later published under the title of ‘The Assamese’. It is perhaps the only intensive work done in the plains of Assam and I like to think of it as a small contribution to understanding a unique way of life and, more particularly, the religion founded by Sankardeva.
After working on the staff at the London School of Economics. She moved to the School of Oriental and African Studies where I still teach part-time to the present day.
Few weeks after we have organized the 550th Sankar Jayanti at Wembley when we invited her as our chief guest. The speech she delivered about Sankardev was so informative. Since then Dr. Cantlie always shares every Assamese Community function in London. Her guidance and support is very valuable to me at my work in a women oriented matter.
From studying, Sociology at the London School of Economics and to teach at (School of Oriental and African Studies. Her beautiful past as an Assamese is still in her mind. She wrote “The Assamese” dedicated to the memory of her father Sir Keith Cantlie who served 40 years in the state of Assam. How beautifully she expressed the qualities of Assamese people in this book.
Call her a professor, teacher, academician for rest of our Assamese society in London she is just our “Cantlie baidew”
During her stay at Guwahati, we have organised an interactive session with teachers, academicians, journalists and students at Sudmersen Hall, Cotton College on Wednesday 13 February, 2008 at 4:00pm.
PermalinkSubmitted by Utpal Hazarika on Sun, 16/11/2008 - 01:32
I am from BANI MANDIR, a publication house from Assam since 1949. Many people want to buy this book, but due to the price 99% people cannot effort. If I get the publication right I can reprint the in Indian cheaper price and most of the people can buy and can preserve the book. I tried with the author but could not contact. Can anybody passon this message to the author of the this book.Thanks.
Utpal Hazarika
banimandir@gmail.com
An inclement weather makes it all the more difficult for BSF and NDRF jawans to fish out bodies of the boat mishap victims in Dhubri on Tuesday.
The day long intensified operation in Medatori ghat and Lakhipur by and large failed to achieve notable success till the evening. But over 200 people are still missing and a section of local residents who came to see the mishap believe that those missing might have met watery grave.
On the other hand, a CCTV new crew led by bureau chief had a narrow escape from heavy storm on the river when they were covering the incident on Tuesday evening. BSF jawans later rescued them from the middle of the river.
The four member Central China...
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Tuesday has set up a one man panel to probe the Dhubri boat mishap on Monday.
Addressing a press conference in Dispur on Tuesday, Gogoi said that additional chief secretary Jitesh Khosla will probe the incident. He said that the one man commission would submit the report by the next thirty days.
Grief and anger reigned Dhubri a day after the district witnessed the country’s biggest ever boat tragedy that left over 250 dead.
Thousands of people thronged both sides of the river Brahmaputra in Dhubri and Goalpara districts to see the search operation by BSF and NDRF.
The personal belongings of the victims were seen floating on the river suggesting that over 250 people who could not swim out of the water were dead.
Local residents blamed private ferry operators for running the overloaded boat services flout the official norms.
They said the boat owners do it only to make money. The government figure of casualty is not correct since several bodies were rushed to their...
The Assam government has announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs1.5 lakh each to the next of kin of those who died in the boat tragedy in Dhubri district on Monday. The announcement came from Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi who has rushed ministers, medical teams to the spot. Assam Transport Minister Chandan Brahma rushed to the Fakirganj area on Tuesday and took stock of the situation.
Apart from this, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for next of kin of those killed in the boat mishap. Dr Singh, who is in constant touch with Assam Chief Minister, has assured Dispur of all help in the search operation.
Finally Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Tuesday allocated portfolios to his parliamentary secretaries. Gogoi keeps Mansingh Rangpi in finance giving home to Sarat Saikia.
Raju Sahu gets Labour and Employment employment while revenue affairs was given to Pradan Baruah. Bidya Singh Engleng was given planning and development. Public Health Engineering has gone to Chandan Sarkar while Jon Jonali Baruah gets Urban Development affairs. Monilal Gowala gets PWD and Sumitra Patir Social gets welfare department. Illias Ali gets irrigation while Maneswor Brahma was tourism department. Jiban Tara Ghatowar was given to health...
President Pratibha Patil and vice president Dr Hamid Ansari have expressed grief over the loss of life in the shocking boat incident on the Brahmaputra river on Monday where over 250 were feared to have met watery grave.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke to Chief Minister of Assam Tarun Gogoi to convey his condolences and assured the state government of all possible assistance in relief operations and also for assistance from the Prime Ministers National Relief Fund to the families of the deceased.
Rescue operations are going on the Brahmaputra riverbed to fish out the bodies a day after an overloaded ferry capsized in Dhubri at the height of a storm that lashed the district on Monday.
BSF and NDRF jawans are on an intensified search operation in the middle of the river where over 250 people are feared dead in the world’s one of the largest boat mishap that took place in Dhubri district on Monday. The search operation has been concentrated mainly on Lakhipur ghat in view of the strong current of the river waters.
According to information available with assasmtimes, over 100 bodies were fished out during the last 15 hours whole as many as 250 others are still missing...
The entire country stands bereaved when over 150 people were feard to have met watery grave on the river Brahmaputra in Dhubri on Monday. Prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh called up chief minister Tarun Gogoi over telephone and condoled the death of the passengers when the ferry capsized on the river. Assam governor JB Patnike also expressed deep shock over the incident. An inclement weather makes it quite difficult for security forces to carry out search operation on the river Brahmaputra in Dhubri where atleast 150 people were feared dead when the ferry carryin over 200 people capsized on Monday.
Over 150 people died when a ferry carrying them capsized on the river Brahmaputra in Dhubri on Monday. The incident took place near the Buraburhi than when the ferry carrying 200 people was on its way to Jaleswar at around 6 in the evening.The ferry capsized at the height of the storm that lashed the district for an hour. Over 70 bodies were fished out. Operation is going on. Chief minister Tarun Gogoi has expressed shocked over the incident and rushed chief secretary to the spot.
ULFA’s anti-talk faction on Sunday comes down heavily on Arabinda Rajkhowa alleging that the chairman was trying to compromise the outfit’s original demand. The outfit asked Rajkhowa to leave the government’s favour. In a statement sent to media on Sunday, the outfit’s publicity leader Aronodoy Dohotia said that sovereignty and independence were not negotiable and that nobody has given Rajkhowa or any one to compromise it. The outfit has asked Rajkhowa to come back to the main body failing which they would fill up the post with constitutional process.
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