Minoti Khaund: The evergreen violinist of 70's musical world of Assam, she is undoubtedly one of the most popular violinist today and can equally be placed among the best. With her disarming smile and charming manner, the bespectacled Minoti Khaund exudes a comfortable air: music, she says takes her closet to divinity and accords her peace and tranquility. It is an invigorating experience which exalts her spirits.
Born in a well to do Phukan paribar of Jorhat. Her father Manik Chandra Phukan and mother Nalini Debi. She was raised in a culturally rich atmosphere. Her maternal grandfather: Bisheswar Sharma, well-known Tea planter and a culturally gharana of Jorhat. Being a connoisseur of the fine arts himself encouraged Minoti and bought her a violin. So, she started to play at a tender age of 10.
Minoti had her early training in violin from Shri Indreswar Sarma of Jorhat, in the music school of late Darpanath Sarma. She performed in several concerts and festivals and the turning point in her life came when she was performing at the All Assam Music Conference in 1972 and violin maestro Pt. V.G.Jog heard her on stage and offered to impart his art to Minoti. Her husband Kabindra Ram Khaund and the daughter in law of Deputy Commissioner Rabindra Ram Khaund a traditional family of Assam supported her and started her apprenticeship under Pt .Jog. Thereafter started the traditional Gururshisya Parampara between Minoti and Padmavibhusahan Pt Jog.
The Rising Talent Conference at Kalamandir Calcutta in 1978 introduced Minoti as a talented artiste. There has been no looking back since then. The Amir Khan Music Conference at Rabindra Sadan Calcutta, Benaras, Burdwan, Cuttack, Bhubaneshwar, Tatanagar, Rabindra Natya Mandir mumbai, India International Center Delhi, Mehta Memorial Hall Allahabad, IIT Festival, Shankardev Kalakshetra Guwahati, National Gallery of Modern Art Mumbai, India Habitat Centre Delhi, Women's International Forum Goa, Madhusudhan Manch Kolkatta etc were the platforms that Minoti performed in and enthralled the audience and press alike. She became the foremost violinist of Assam. She was conferred the title of Sangeet Jyoti.
Minoti started her parallel studies in the field of music and attained Sangeet Nipune from Prayag Sangeet Samitti, Allahabad, in 1986, bagging a gold medal for her Sangeet Visharad. During this period she also got associated with vocalist Pt. A.T, Kanan of the Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkatta and imbibed the "gayaki ang" in her style. She also underwent music studies in the field of raga improvisations and rhythmic patterns of "tala" from sarod maestro and musicologist Pt. Buddhadev Dasgupta.
Sunita Bhuyan is a violinist of the Hindustani style and has carved a niche for herself as an upcoming musician of India. Recepient of the Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini award for Music. She was initiated into musicat a tender age by her mother Minoti Khaund. The mother daughter duo of Minoti and Sunita have performed duets all over the country and abroad, regaling the audience and the press alike with their "jugalbandi". What makes her great is: selection of her tune, her style of presentation and she stried to give a semi-classical touch which has a blend of folk western classical.
Sunita has attained a master's degree in Hindustani Music from Prayag Sangeet Samitte, with a distinction and has also studied advanced music under the apprenticeship of violin maestro Padmabibhushan Late Pt V.G. Jog.
Minoti Khaund, the award winning violin master whose musical career spanning 50 years. She has been awarded the prestigious Silpi Bata this year by Govt. of Assam.
A violin recital by Minoti Khaund and her daughter Sunita Bhuyan are on an exclusive UK tour at the prestigious Nehru Centre (the Cultural wing of Indian High Commission) on 26th June and other British cities: Manchester: Kalapremi mandal, Birmingham and Nottingham organized by Rini Kakati, NRI Co-ordinator for UK.
Also the Glasgow concert is organized by Mrs. Anima Sharma, an active member of Lancashire Hindu Association.
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday urged the Centre to explore the US community college model and set up similar colleges in Assam. He requested it to Union Human Resources Development Minister Kapil Sibal whom he met on Friday in Delhi. Gogoi pointed out that during his visit to community colleges in US in June this year he gained insight into this model and what makes it successful. Gogoi observed that such colleges must be set up in the country, including Assam.
A hardcore ULFA militant was killed at an encounter with security forces at Namsai along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border on Saturday. According to police, the encounter took place in the afternoon with 12th Assam Rifles jawans where the militant died on the spot. The identity of the militant was not yet known.
All of a sudden security has been beefed up across the state. Security forces have concentrated on Guwahati on Friday following a threat by ULFA’s anti-talk faction. According to information, police has specific inputs of ULFA’s plan to strike in Guwahati likely on Saturday. That’s why, security alert has been sounded. Security forces have been put on maximum alert following fresh threat of attack in Sibsagar, Jorhat, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia towns.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday sought more tribunals to detect and deport the Bangladeshi immigrants from the state. During his meeting with Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Friday in New Delhi, Gogoi told Shinde that the state lacks adequate tribunals to detect Bangladeshi immigrants. According to him, the cases pending before the tribunals are huge in number and that more judges are required to expedite the process. Before that Chief Minister Gogoi submitted a set of guidelines for updating the national registrar of citizens before Shinde.
Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Friday said that the overall situation in the violence-hit BTAD areas and Dhubri was normal. Talking to reporters after getting update on BTAD situation from Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi in Delhi, Shinde said that refugees in large number have left the camps. He said that those still remaining would also be rehabilitated.
An uneasy situation prevails in Nalbari town on Friday after unidentified miscreants shot dead at a local businessman in broad day light. Identified as Ashis Maskara, the victim was on his way to a bank when miscreants sprayed several rounds of bullets before looting Rs 30 lakh from his bag. Maskara was rushed to the civil hospital. But he was declared brought dead. Local people in large number came out alleging it law lawlessness and insecurity. Boxed by circumstances, police arrested two persons in this connection. Identified as Chandan Kalita and Kunaldeep Sindhu, they confessed that they attacked the businessman. Police further recovered 5 lakh rupees from their possession.
The Centre is likely to reject the Assam government’s request to set up more tribunals to clear the immigrants cases. According to sources, the Centre is likely to ask the Assam government to put the existing tribunals to better use by setting out modalities to fast track the pending cases.
Thirty six tribunals, the Centre believes, are enough to decide cases in quick time and it can be done by fast tracking 200 cases on a daily basis.
The Assam government writes to the Centre seeking 64 additional tribunals to fast track the deportation of the Bangladeshi immigrants. In a letter to home ministry, Dispur has asked for more than five extra tribunals in Dhubri, Goalpara, Nagaon, Barpeta, Cachar and Sonitpur and one each in Chirang, Baksa and Udalguri districts. The has 36 foreigner tribunals that are yet to dispose of about 3.13 lakh cases. Notably, the state has been witnessing decadal growth of a particular community in 11 out of 27 districts.
Thousands of tea garden workers are all set to go for a day long strike on September 19 demanding puja bonus on the price of ration items, tea workers of the state. The workers would sit in strike under the aegis of Akhil Bharatiya Chah Mazdoor Sangha (ABCMS) to demand a 20 per cent annual puja bonus before Durga Puja in October. ABCMS officials said that the demand is that the price of the ration items should be incorporated while calculating the annual bonus of tea workers.
Assam home department maintains strict vigil following the reports of mysterious disappearance of a section of refugees from the camps set up at the height of the BTAD violence. According to reports, some inmates of relief camps in the violence-hit Dhubri district have gone missing. These are suspected to have crossed over to Bangladesh.
Dispur has intelligence inputs suggesting that some inmates had crossed over to West Bengal but there is no specific inputs of the exact number of missing inmates. Altogether 213 camps have 1.92 lakh inmates in Kokrajhar, Dhubri, Chirang, Bongaingaon and Barptea districts.
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