“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
Bijni : A bomb exploded near Lasaiygaon Hosipital in a High Voltage Electricity Tower. Altogether 4 bombs were discovered and only one exploded. The rest of the three bombs were discovered alive. No casualties have been reported and power supply is also on. No one has claimed responsibility for the blast but police suspect the hand of ULFA in the blast. ULFA observes Martyr day on 27th July and hence every year it is observed that the subversive activities go up on or before this day
Sonapur : One person has been killed and many injured when one bus and one truck collided at 8 pm on Tuesday at Sonapur near Guwahati in NH 37.The person who has been killed has been identified as Dhal Chetri, Age 35 years. Many of the injured are in critical conditions and have been admitted to the Gauhati Medical College Hospital.The critically injured people are Arun Vaidya of Sapekhati, Prakash Choudhury ( location unknown) . Sajad Ahmed of Bokakhat, Pranjit Dutta of Birubari in Guwahati, Daulat Singh and Mrs Pabitri Singh of Nepal.
Dhemaji : The flood situation in Dhemaji district is improving and communication via road and train has also started.Road transport via Gogamukh to Dhemaji has been established after Army built a temporary bridge in Tengakhuwa.The Rangia Murkakselak rail route to Arunachal is operational again. This meter gauge railway line is the only connection to Arunachal Pradesh and is a major supply source to the State. This route was also badly damaged because of the flash floods caused by Kumotiya (Jiyadhal) on 12th of July 07. NF railway had worked overtime to repair it from the next day itself.
Shillong: Julius Dorphang, the chairman of the dreaded Hymmetrip National Liberation Council (HNLC), a Khasi militant organisation based out of Meghalaya surrendered alongwith four others before the Meghalaya Chief Minister, DD Lapang. The HNLC is a banned organisation. The HNLC was formed in 1992 and is the oldest militant organisation of Meghalaya.
Guwahati : AASU had called for a Rail Abarodh on Tuesday between 11 am to 3 pm. Trains services were disrupted in Guwahati, Lumding, Lakua, Sarupathar, Kokrajhar and various other places in Assam.CPRO, NF railway has communicated that a goods train was blocked in Guwahati and this delayed many outgoing trains. The Brahmaputra Mail, NE express and Amritsar Express were amongst those mails which were effected.In Sarupathar, AASU activists were lathicharged as they tried to stop the Lumding- Tinsukia inter-city.
Tezpur: The army has decided to step up action against ULFA.This was decided in a Senior Commanders meeting held at the Headquarters of IV core in Tezpur on Monday. The meeting was presided by GOC Lt General R K Chabra and was attended by the GOCs IN C's of all divisions under IV core. PRO, Colonel Narender Singh said that the decison to mount pressure on ULFA was taken to prevent the threat that ULFA creates ahead of its martyr day on 27th July and the Independence Day of India on 15th of August. It has been observed that ULFA increases its subversive activities on or before this period every year.It has also been decided to keep strict vigilance on the Assam-Meghalaya border and the...
Guwahati : Assam Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi will leave for New Delhi today for three days to attend the swearing in ceremony of Pratibha Patil, the 12th President of India. He would be returning to Assam on 26th of July 07.
Guwahati: A young couple Raj Kumar Choudhury and Priti Choudhury commited suicide in Ganeshguri Chariali at Sinha Lodge on Sunday night as they were unable to stay together as Priti was married to another person. The couple committed suicide together and left behind a note donating their dead body to the Guwahati Municipality Corporation Hospital Raj Kumar Choudhurys father is a Mouzadar in Ghagrapar in Nalbari and he himself was an active Congress worker. Priti Choudhurt and he had known each other for a long time but she was married to another person and hence due to peer and family pressures they could not come together. Priti had come to Guwahati on 14th April 2007 for Athmangala and...
Gurgaon : The “Millennium City” that’s the word that has been coined for Gurgaon. The Millennium city with its huge Assamese population formally got its own Assam Association with the completion of the registration formalities on 13th of July 2007.The association has been registered under the Societies Act 1860 of India. Assam Association of Gurgaon was formed on 11th of Feb 2007 by a group of people from Assam and well-wishers of Assam, currently residing or having his place of business in the Millennium city of Gurgaon. The association is a socio-cultural non-profit society. The main objectives of the association are to achieve harmony, bonhomie, camaraderie of the...
Golaghat : One ANLA activist was killed while three others managed to escape in a fierce fighting between the ANLA activists and a joint team of CRPF and Golaghat Police at Naojan Pachim Beelpar bordering Dhansiri Sarupathar subdivision.Golagaht police received a tip off on the ANLA activists in the area and they laid an ambush for the activists alongwith the CFPF team. The ANLA activists were armed heavily and hence heavy fighting broke out. There were no reports of casualities or injuries from the police side.
Comments
Pages
Add new comment