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.
6 Nov 2012 - 2:09am | Anup Biswas
To provide purified drinking water to the school children of Dima Hasao, the State Bank of India, under ‘corporate social responsibility’ distributed 'aqua guard' brand of water filters...
15 May 2022 - 7:46pm | Dr Buljit Buragohain
The annual general meeting of Society for Srimanta Sankaradeva was held at Nagaon today. The members of the Society coming from different parts of the state attended it. Dr. Sanjib Kumar Borkakoti,...
15 Aug 2012 - 2:59am | editor
Police officials probing the recent Mumbai violence on BTAD riot have raised doubts on the role of a section of politicians from Assam. They sure of a particular political party’s role with...
28 Jul 2015 - 5:49pm | SK Hasan
Several ethnic groups in Assam are facing identity crisis only because of globalization if Rofikul Hussain Baruah is to be believed.Talking to reporters in Nazira on Tuesday, the renown historian...
The Bangladeshi immigration is continuing unabated in the Northeast. In what was considered to be a problem primarily in Assam seems to be extending to the other states of Northeast as well. The latest to join Assam and Tripura in this problem is Arunachal Pradesh. It is ironic that a State which has the Inner line Permit in place for even Indians seems to be having problems with immigrants from Bangladesh who seem to be entering into the State from Assam. These immigrants have started working in various menial jobs and have even set up small shops in some cases. The heartening fact is that unlike Assam, Arunchal Pradesh has started taking concrete steps to deport the illegal migrants out...
Dibrugarh: In a significant step, Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has ordered that wages should be deducted for the month of June for Grade IV employees who went on a strike on June 8, 9 and 10 as they were dissatisfied with the fact that some of the staff was put on duty in different sections of the medical college. The announcement by Sarma for deduction of wages comes at a time when the employees have again gone on a strike since Tuesday after police arrested two Grade IV employees of the medical college in connection with the mysterious theft of a baby from the hospital on June 27. Sarma has indicated that similar or even more stringent action action may be taken for the...
Guwahati: The junior inter district football championship for the Santosh Lahkar Trophy will be organised at Kaliabor from July 15. 31 district teams are participating in the 14-day knock out meet. As is the norm, the inaugural match will give an opportunity for the hosts Kaliabor to display their talents as they take on Hojai.
One more Rhino was discovered dead in the famous Kaziranga National Park, home of the one horned Rhinoceros. The “Gar Kharga” (horn) of the Rhino was missing. A total of seven rhinos have been killed by the poachers this year for the horn. Authorities in Kaziranga had nothing much to comment as usual except mentioning that they were doing their best to curtail these killings.Organized poachers kill Rhinos for their horns, which many believe contain aphrodisiac qualities, besides being used as medicines for curing fever, stomach ailments and other diseases in parts of South Asia. Rhino horn is also much fancied by buyers from the Middle East who turn them into handles of...
Encephalitis is a viral inflammation of the brain. While some infections are mild, with few if any specific symptoms, others can be deadly. Early symptoms often include headaches, fever, and nausea. If the disease progresses, the person may suffer seizures, paralysis, mental confusion, and coma. Often the disease is accompanied by viral meningitis. Mosquitoes carry some of the most dangerous types of encephalitis, including equine encephalitis, West Nile encephalitis, and St. Louis encephalitis. In other cases, encephalitis develops as a secondary complication of other viral diseases, including chickenpox, herpes, mumps, polio, and rubella. Treatment depends on the type and severity of the...
Our correspondent Dhemaji: Encephalitis has been reported from Dhemaji. Already three children have been reported killed by the deadly disease. Medical authorities have put the area on high alert.(Further reading to understand Encephalitis, please read in the Knowledge and Development Section/ What is Encephalitis)
In a surprise statement, ULFA has claimed that P C Ram is still alive and the decomposed body recovered earlier was not of Ram. Police and Army personnel are discussing the latest update and they have decided to send in the matter from the ground from where they have recovered the body for a DNA test. Meanwhile his son Parvin when contacted has expressed surprise over the developments. He has said that if his father is still alive as claimed by ULFA, they should allow him to telephonically talk with the family which would be a proof that he is actually alive. He also wanted to understand why the Police could not think of doing a DNA test before
Unemployment is a burning problem in the country and Assam is no exception. The ever growing population has made it extremely difficult for the government to provide jobs for every educated youth. Educated unemployed are rapidly flooding the state. Government jobs have become a pipe dream. Here arises the need of introducing vocational training courses in our syllabi from an early stage in schools itself which will help the youth to be self sufficient rather than awaiting for that coveted dream job.Unlike other states the Northeast and Assam in particular has been deprived of private companies and Multi national Companies who shy away from investing in the region due to extremism. For the...
New Delhi: The Centre finetunes a slew of measures to ensure essential supply for the north eastern region following the damage of the Lumding-Badarpur railway network. Also immediate steps are there to restore the network. The Prime Minister’s Office on Wednesday morning assessed the situation and issues instructions to the ministries of railways, food and public distribution, petroleum, road transport, home to ensure the supply of essential commodities in the region.Convened by the PMO, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, T K A Nair, Assam revenue minister Dr Bhumidhar Barman and key officials of the concerned ministries attended the meeting.The Assam Government informs that...
Guwahati: The outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa on Sunday said the outfit was ready to hold peace talks with Indian Government to put an end the present impasse.'We have all along been willing to hold talks for a respectable solution to the problem. We once again reiterate that if the Indian Government comes up with any proposal for a respectable solution to the problem and it is routed through the People's Consultative Group (PCG), we are ready toconsider,' Rajkhowa said in a statement published in its fortnightly newsletter Swadhinata or Freedom.’ The lack of any political solution has resulted in the conflict in Assam turning...
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