“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
Three persons died when a speeding train rammed into a tempo in which they were traveling in the outskirt of Guwahati on Friday.
The accident took place in Chaygaon in Boko early in the wee hours where the Chilarai Expressed rammed into a tempo when it reached the Bamunigaon Nadiyapara. Three persons died on the spot while another was seriously injured. The deceased has been identified as Safiqul Hauque, Robin Rabha and Hantiram Boro.
A small group of ULFA managed to sneak into Assam to monger trouble in the run up to the Independence Day celebrations. This is what available with police. According to information, the ULFA group sneaked into Assam from their camps in Myanmar and some of other cadres are currently sheltered in Tirap, Changlang and Lohit districts of Arunachal Pradesh and Mon district of Nagaland.
Senior ULFA anti-talk faction leaders including Nayan Medhi and Rajiv Das are in Majuli River island and directing cadres in the region to plan subversive activities. Tibrajit Hazarika, Rupanta Kakati, Arpajyoti Lahkar and Pradeep Gogoi are holed up in districts in Tinsukia and Dibrugarh to strike.
A general security alert is in place across the state in view ULFA’s move to monger trouble with subversive activities in the run-up to Independence Day celebrations. According to police, a general security alert has been sounded and security tightened throughout the state. It is apprehended that ULFA faction led by Paresh Baruah is in a mood to desperately to carry out subversive activities to show its presence felt.
The recent ULFA attack in Goalpara district was planned by senior ULFA leader Drishti Rajkhowa who has recently shifted to Garo Hills of neighbouring Meghalaya and has been staying in a camp of Garo National Liberation Army.
Assam Chief Minister's Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau raided R H Khan for second consecutive days on Friday. A team of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau led by Raunaq Ali Hazarika, conducted the Friday’s raid at his farms house in Chachal area in Guwahati.
Notably, on Thursday the Bureau officials raided the residence of the accused located in Tarun Nagar area. The officials said that some documents were seized from the residence. Khan, currently lodged in Guwahati Central Jail, was arrested in 2009 after the multi-crore scam of diversion of development fund allotted to the N C Hills Autonomous Council to DHD(J) came to light.
One person was crushed to death by a train in Guwahati on Friday. The accident took place in Bharalumukh in the morning where Pramod Chandra Daimary, a retired employees with an insurance company was crushed to death by the speeding Rajdhani Express. Police suspect it to be a case of suicide.
Army said that the jawan accused in the molestation case would have to face the action very soon. In a statement, army said that the inquiry into the allegations of molestation of a girl was complete. According to army, unlike the normal court process, in the Army a court is formed to try a particular case to ensure speedy justice as we believe that justice delayed in justice denied.
The Army's Dah Division in an letter to the All Tai Ahom Students' Union (ATASU) and a women organisation Mahila Samiti, said the Army took over the case from the civil court to ensure speedy justice for the victim. Notably, the girl was allegedly molested by an Army jawan near Nitaipukhuri in Demow in...
The situation in BTAD areas and Dhubri is rapidly improving. But the security forces are still patrolling in these violence-hit areas.Flag-march by army and patrolling by police and para-military was continuing with security pickets being set up in the affected areas.In Kokrajhar, 19 fixed security pickets have been set up with 15 in Chirang, four in Dhubri and six in Bongagaigaon districts so far.A delegation of Jamatia Islamia, National Integration Council along with several other organisations have visited Kokrajhar and urged the government and the Centre to ensure that such incidents of violence do not repeat.
Dispur on Friday made it plain and simple that only genuine people displaced in violence-hit BTAD areas and Dhubri would be rehabilitated. Disclosing this, an official statement said that there is an apprehension among people that people who were not displaced during the recent happenings in the BTAD area will also be rehabilitated in those districts.
It further reads that only the genuinely displaced people of the area will be rehabilitated and there is no need of any apprehension that anyone who was not displaced during the recent incidents will be rehabilitated in the area.Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had announced that the August 15 was fixed as deadline to send back the inmates of the...
Police on Friday arrested four poachers in the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary. They were arrested a joint team of the police and forest personnel in Morigaon district. Acting on a tip-off, a joint team of police and forest personnel launched a joint operation at Jhargaon village and arrested the poachers. A 2.2 mm pistol and several rounds of ammunition have been recovered from the poachers who have been identified as Abdul Hussain, Faizul Haque, Mohammad Abdullah and Ismail Ali.
In a significant move, the Golaghat Bar Association (GBA) suspended five of its member advocates from the association and issued show-cause notices to them. The suspended advocates were Jayanta Kumar Goswami, Bituparna Gogoi, Ranjit Soreng, Mintu Kumar Bora and Pratul Borbora. “The Bar Association at an Executive Body meeting held on 24th and 25th of July passed a resolution suspending the Advocates for their alleged professional misconduct” said association secretary Tridiv Bezbarua. It was also decided by the association that a show-cause notice would be issued to the suspended Advocates as to why they conducted such professional misconduct, Bezbarua said. It is to be noted...
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