“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
Celebrating freedom is a basic human right. But the people of Assam or the northeast for that matter have been deprived of this joyous occasion for so long that it has lost its charm completely. The shadow of guns have always prohibited the people to let their hair down freely on these special days be it a Republic Day or an Independence Day.When the entire nation erupts in joy celebrating these days of national significance Assam watches waiting on the sidelines awaiting a day when it too can partake in the festivities.The people are unable to exercise their basic rights freely due to the decree of rebel organizations. As expected a series of serial bombings across the state marred the...
Assam Association, Delhi has celebrated the 61st Independence day at their Cultural Centre Srimanta Sankaradeva Bhawan located at Qutub Institutional Area. This was the second consecutive year that the association has been celebrating the occasion.The National Flag was unfurled jointly by the President and General Secretary. Speaking on the occasion, the President Mr. A Barua said that this is a very historic occasion as India celebrates its Diamond jubilee year of independence. It was in the same year a few people from Assam formed the 'Assam Sangha"- which later was renamed as "Assam Association, Delhi". India has made tremendous progress against many odds. It is growing...
Guwahati: To mark the 61st anniversary of Indian Independence Day, a function was organized on the campus of the Guwahati Press Club on Wednesday. On the occasion, the National flag was hoisted by noted litterateur Nirupama Borgohain and veteran journalist Dhirendranath Chakrabarty led the rituals of paying tributes to the martyrs of the freedom struggle. The function was organized in response to the call given by 16 journalists, who asked the people of the State to celebrate the Independence Day defying the diktats of the militants.Hoisting the flag, Ms Borgohain underlined the significance of Independence Day celebrations in today's context and she called upon the young generations...
New Delhi : The President has approved Kirti Chakra award to Shri Tarun Kumar Dutta (Guwahati) posthumously. Shri Tarun Kumar Dutta, Senior Intelligence Officer of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Guwahati. He was a brave officer who was actively involved in the checking of smuggling of drugs in Shillong region. He was made a target by the drug mafia and killed on 12 September, 2006 at Guwahati. The other Kirti Chakra winners are Capt Abhinav Handa of 9 Maratha Light Infantry and Lt. Pankaj Kumar of 7/11 Gorkha Rifles. Dutta, originaly an Inspector of Central Excise was on deputation to Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, which works under the jurisdiction of Central Board of Excise...
Guwahati : A 12 hour long statewide Assam bandh disrupted normal life in the state from early in the morning. The Bandh was called by a forum of 12 political parties to protest against the killings of Hindi-speaking people by the ULFA and KLNLF militants in Karbi Anglong district. The Bandh is total and barring a few stray incidents, the situation is reported to be normal. Schools, colleges, banks and other commercial establishments remain closed and the government, semi government and private offices registered thin attendance. Very few vehicles are plying on the streets and all long distance buses are lying idle. A few state transport buses are on the streets and that too with police...
New Delhi : Though it is hard to believe, an India Air Force team recovered the dead body of an Assamese airman, who had gone missing thirty years back from Chandrabhaga peak of Himachal Pradesh on 2nd of August. The airman has been identified as Mahendra Nath Phukan of Sivsagar district in upper Assam. Altogether three dead bodies have been recovered from the site. All the three had gone missing since February 7, 1968 after the IAF plane that they were travelling in crashed near the 20,500-foot high Chandrabhaga peak in Himachal Pradesh. The dead bodies had been located in a remote Himalayan valley and flown to Chandigarh air base, a Defence Ministry spokesperson said on last Friday....
Guwahati : Security forces have decided to launch joint operations against ULFA and KLNLF militants according to well-placed government sources This is obvious, as militants had killed 34 Hindi speaking people in the last five days in Karbi Anglong. Earlier a meeting of the Strategic Group of Unified Command Structure held at Guwahati today discussed about the situation and decided to send 15 more company Para-military forces to Karbi Anglong immediately. Assam chief Minister Tarun Gogoi presided over this meeting, where Special Secretary (Internal Security) of the ministry of Home Affairs, M L Kumwat, and Director NE of the ministry A K Goel, DG, BSF, A K Mitra and his CRPF counterpart...
Guwahati : Three Bihari organizations, Akhil Assam Bhojpuri Yuba Chatra Parishad, Akhil Assam Bihari Yuba Manch and Purbottar Hindustani sammelan have called a 12-hour ‘Assam Bandh` on 14th August to protest the killings of Hindi-speaking people in the Karbi Anglong by ULFA and KLNLF in last week. Twelve other political parties also joined their hands and have called a 12-hour bandh separately on the same day. The parties are Asom Gana Parishad Pragatisheel (AGP-P), Assam United Democratic Front (AUDF), CPI and CPI (M). The Kamrup Chamber of Commerce (KCC) has also declared support to the bandh
NEW DELHI: The UAE Govt has launched a scheme for granting amnesty to foreigners who are illegally staying in the country. The scheme was launched to give a chance to all foreigners illegally staying in the country to regularize their status. Till date according to the Ministry of External Affairs more that 28,000 Indians have returned to The Indian consulate general in Dubai informed in a statement that it had already distributed around 19,100 of the 40,000 Indian passports received from immigration authorities. It may be mentioned that most of these people are contract labourers who come for a particular period of time. The consulate also said it had delivered 31,500 emergency...
Comments
Pages
Add new comment