Vedajyoti Ozah of Houston, Texas, has embarked upon the - Posoowa

NON-RESIDENT ASSAMESE (NRA) MAGAZINE 

www.posoowa.org 

VOLUME 38, ISSUE NO. 8 :: MAY 2009 

` 

Vedajyoti Ozah of Houston, Texas, has embarked upon the 

“Sattryia Heritage Project” exploring and enhancing various 

dimensions of the Sattriya dance form. 

1 

POSOOWA May 2009

2 

Dreams have Wings! 

Fervent desires most often have 

wings that make one soar higher 

and higher to achieve those goals 

and aspirations. Wings that is so strong 

that they can withstand the hardship of 

years of struggle and sacrifices. Family, 

friends and well-wishers usually provide 

the wind beneath these strong wings 

with their unwavering support... 

The All India Civil Services are made 

of such fervent desires and dreams. 

Lakhs of students and professionals 

from all over India toil away year after 

year hoping to crack it. Some lucky 

ones make it in a year or two and some 

take up to 4 years or even more to 

appear in the final list. But they make it 

nonetheless with their sheer hard work, 

immense patience and dogged 

determination. 

However, what is interesting to note 

from the results in the recent years is 

that joining the Civil Services is predominantly 

a middle class dream 

nurtured by students from small towns, 

tehsils, under-privileged backgrounds, 

economically backward areas, 

vernacular mediums etc. Their 

counterparts in the metros are, 

meanwhile, aspiring for MBAs from 

IIMs or foreign B-schools and a whole 

new breed of professions. The students 

from metro cities also seem to be losing 

their interest and charm for the Civil 

Services. While lack of fluency in 

English can be a serious deterrent in 

other professions in an increasingly 

globalized world, in the Civil Services, 

one’s vernacular medium of instruction 

could be a plus point. Joining the 

Services is a definite way by which these 

talented boys and girls can leapfrog 

onto a path of development, leaving 

their middle class backgrounds far 

behind. This is one career which can 

give unbridled power to a 25 year old 

as a District Magistrate or Collector. 

IAS and IPS is that privileged service 

that one can not be fired from unless 

the termination letter has the signature 

of the President of India on it. No other 

career in India can give you this kind of 

power, privileges, perks and exposure 

as the Civil Services. The power and 

the size of their jurisdiction make them 

almost like kings or feudal lords within 

our democratic system. The flashing 

red lights of their pilot cars, the 

cavalcade, the security around these 

officers, the pretty sprawling DM’s 

bungalows in the best locations of a 

district headquarter, the battalion of 

people to serve them, are the images 

most people associate with these Civil 

Servants. They are the images 

youngsters from small towns dream of 

and aspire to be part of. They also 

realize early on that the role these 

officers play in the development of the 

country is phenomenal. 

Though a few stories of the underdogs 

make it to the headlines every year, what 

is otherwise extremely heart-warming 

to observe is that age old caste and class 

divides are melting away in the face of 

single minded determination of our 

talented and meritorious average 

middle-class, small town students. We 

see more and more middle class families 

erupting in joy as its dream of having a 

member in the Civil Services come true. 

Even though India is divided over 27 

percent quotas for OBCs in higher 

educational institutions, this year’s 

successes have shown that students 

from underprivileged backgrounds can 

make it too given half a chance. It almost 

reads like a remarkable coming of age 

story of modern day India, in which 

hundreds of men and women have 

beaten the odds to make it to the 

country’s most privileged professions. 

However, it was not always so. It was 

once the bastion of the elite, the 

educated and the super-privileged. 

Indian Civil Service (ICS) was a 

competitive examination instituted in 

1861, for the recruitment of officers to 

help the British Empire run the country, 

considered to be their crowning glory. 

Earlier than that there was an 

examination meant for only British and 

European candidates to help the affairs 

of East India Company. Indians were 

thought to be fit only for lowly jobs. 

But things turned around in the year 

1857. The need for a team of well 

trained and efficient officers was felt 

more than ever. Thus a competitive 

examination for civil services was 

instituted in 1861. But recruitment 

rules were made very strict. The entry 

age was 21 and later on it was reduced 

to a ludicrous 19 years. To top it, the 

location of examination was London. 

This restriction made it almost 

impossible for Indians to appear for this 

“public” examination! Over the years, 

the British realized their mistake and 

the rules were liberalized regarding the 

age. The ratio of officers of Indian 

Origin which was very less and 

increased to 33% in 1923 and to 75% 

by 1935. Indian police, medical, forest, 

irrigation services etc. came under the 

purview of Indian Civil Service. ICS 

posts were the dreams for the educated 

elite, as the prestige, salary and perks 

were very high in ICS. Anando ram 

Barooah was the first Assamese to be 

selected for ICS. Examinations too later 

started to be conducted in India paving 

the path for hundreds of our educated 

youth to join it. 

After Independence, ICS made way for 

Indian Administrative Service (IAS). 

The examination to get into the Indian 

Civil Services is conducted by the Union 

Public Service Commission stationed 

in Delhi. This august body arranges 

numerous examinations for different 

posts in administration to run the affairs 

of the land efficiently. 

Every year we see, thousands of under 

graduates, graduates and post graduates 

move out of Assam and flock to Delhi, 

Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune etc. heading 

towards higher studies, city exposure 

and better career opportunities. And 

not surprisingly, a sizeable portion of 

those students nurture in their hearts 

the dream of becoming a Civil Servant. 

In Delhi especially, Jawaharlal Nehru 

University and Delhi University provide 

all the right ingredients for these 

aspirants. Whether it is books, coaching 

material, coaching institutes, the sights 

and sounds of fellow civil servant 

aspirants etc., its all around almost like 

a sub culture. While some students 

enjoy life to the hilt (after all, isn’t this 

the age to enjoy life?), you see this other 

group of students slogging away in their 

POSOOWA May 2009

You are cordially invited to attend Assam 2009 to be held in 

beautiful Colorado Springs, Colorado on 

July 3 and July 4 

3 

Tarali Sarma, the national (India) award winning singer 

will entertain. Other entertainers include Bonmayuri 

Kalita and Vedajyoti Ojah. Names of additonal entertainers 

are still being finalized. Please mark your calendar. 

Vacation in gorgeous Colorado before or after 

Assam 2009! 

http://www.assam2009.org 

POSOOWA May 2009

hostel rooms; their lives put on hold at 

the altar of civil services. From personal 

experience, I know for a fact, that most 

of these civil servant aspirants were not 

exactly flush with pocket money to 

enjoy the good life in Delhi. 

This year, eleven candidates from 

Assam have cleared the Civil Service 

Examination, 2008 conducted by the 

Union Public Service Commission, 

Govt. of India. The Commission has 

already announced the results of the 

examination in early May. They are 

Varnali Deka, Ashiq-uj-Jaman, Biswajit 

Pegu, Prakash Borgohain, Pritom Dutta, 

Shiladitya Chetia, Padmapani Bora, 

Pallavika Dutta,, Rakesh Pandey, Montu 

Kumar Das, Sankar Prasad Sarma. Out 

of these 11 successful candidates from 

Assam, 5 are from JNU. They are 

Biswajit, Pritom, Shiladitya, Padmapani 

and Pallavika. 

We offer our heartiest congratulations 

to all of them. Posoowa Delhi Bureau is 

very pleased to interact with some of 

the success stories in Civil Services 

from Assam. In this issue we are 

carrying interviews of Padmapani Bora 

and Nabanita Chakrabarti and we 

promise to bring you more such stories 

in our future editions. We believe that 

with more and more of our youth 

getting into the Civil Services with their 

idealism and zeal, it is one sure shot 

way of ensuring progress and 

development of Assam. Though we 

understand that candidates can only 

state their preferences and getting 

home cadre is not in their hands... 

However, we still see them as 

harbingers of hope! 

Barnali Das 

Delhi 

Posoowa’s Interactions with Padmapani Bora, successful 

candidate in the Civil Services Examinations ’09 

(Awaiting service allotment - he is expecting IFS or IPS) 

By Posoowa Delhi Bureau 

Posoowa: Posoowa offers its heartiest 

congratulations to you and your family 

on your success. 

Padmapani: I extend my thanks to the 

editors of Posoowa for giving me this 

opportunity to interact with their readers. 

Posoowa: Please tell us about your 

school education and academic career. 

Padmapani: I did my primary schooling 

from Jorhat Moktab L.P School and 

completed high school education from 

Jorhat Government Boys’ high school 

in 1999. I joined Cotton College for my 

college education in 1999. Till higher 

secondary my medium of instruction 

was Assamese, but during my B.A. I 

shifted to English medium. I completed 

my B.A. in Political Science from Cotton 

College, Guwahati in 2004 and 

joined Jawaharlal Nehru University, 

New Delhi. I have done my M.A. and 

M.Phil from JNU in Political Science 

and International Relations respectively. 

Posoowa: How and when did you start 

thinking of joining the Civil Services? 

Or was there someone else other than 

yourself who was very instrumental in 

making this decision? 

4 

Padmapani: Actually, I started thinking 

of civil services since the first standard. 

However, my father too was quite 

instrumental in this whole process. My 

cousin brother Sanjay Kr Krishna, IAS 

was a great inspiration. 

Posoowa: Considering the fact that 

preparing for the Civil Services is very 

time consuming, how supportive was 

your family? 

Padmapani: My family was always very 

supportive and specially my father who 

insisted that I clear it. 

Posoowa: Please tell us a bit about your 

family. Is there any other Civil Servant 

in your family? 

Padmapani: My father is a retired Government 

employee and I am sorry to 

say that my mother is no more. I have 

one elder brother and sister in–law and 

a nephew. Yes, I am from a family which 

has contributed for the society to a 

great extent. One of my cousins is an 

IAS officer and two others are in Assam 

Civil Services and Assam Police Services. 

My uncle is also a retired ACS 

officer. 

Posoowa: What were your subjects in 

Prelims and Mains and how did you 

start preparing for them? 

Padmapani: Political science was my 

optional subject in Prelims and in 

Mains, I had Political Science and 

Assamese literature as my optional subjects. 

I started preparing for these subjects 

since my M.A days. For Political 

Science, I was mainly dependent on text 

books. I collected some articles from 

different sources. For Assamese literature 

I made some notes which have 

proved to be really helpful. Some of my 

seniors especially Pranabjyoti Nath, IAS 

and Nayanjyoti Nath, IRS have helped 

me a lot in this connection. 

Posoowa: What do you have to say 

about the choice of your subjects? Do 

you regret anything? 

POSOOWA May 2009

Padmapani: For my Optionals I have 

no regrets at all since I have scored very 

good marks in both the Optionals. They 

were the right choices for me. 

Posoowa: How did you prepare 

for your Interview? How 

much time did you get for preparing? 

Posoowa: Did you expect your rank or 

it went against your expectations? 

Padmapani: Well, No doubt it went 

against my expectations. I expected my 

rank to be within the top 100. 

Posoowa: Did you take any coaching? 

How effective was it? 

Padmapani: Not exactly. But took 

some guidance for preparation for the 

Interview, which was highly effective. 

Posoowa: How many attempts did it 

take for you to crack it? 

Padmapani: I have cracked it in two 

attempts. 

Posoowa: What did you do when you 

couldn’t handle the stress any longer 

during your preparations? 

Padmapani: In such situations I used 

to roam around in the JNU campus and 

used to listen to Bihu songs. 

Posoowa: Besides studying really hard 

during your preparations was there time 

left for anything else? 

Padmapani: Yes, I managed time for 

quite a few things actually. During my 

preparations, I was pursuing my M.Phil 

as well. I was also involved in a number 

of socio-cultural and students’ activities 

in JNU as well as outside. 

Padmapani: Interview is all 

about your personality and that 

can not be built in a week. So 

far as my knowledge on my 

bio-data is concerned I consulted 

some articles, websites 

and directly contacted some 

retired civil servants. I devoted 

much time on speaking rather than 

reading. 

Posoowa: What all were you asked? 

Padmapani: Most of the questions in 

my interview were revolved around my 

bio-data. It confined to JNU, my home 

state Assam and on my subject political 

science. 

Posoowa: As a civil servant do you have 

any specific goal you want to achieve in 

your career? 

Padmapani: No doubt I have some 

goals. However, I don’t want to reveal 

those goals right now. My work will 

speak those in the coming years. 

Posoowa: Did you have any back-up 

plan if you hadn’t made it? 

Padmapani: Well, I have an excellent 

academic career since I am pursuing a 

PhD. But I have never thought of any 

back up plan. I was quite confident of 

getting through. 

Posoowa’s Interaction with 

Ms Nabanita Chakravarty, IFS 

(2008 batch) 

Padmapani Bora's supportive father 

Prabin Kumar Bora 

Posoowa: Which state cadre have you 

opted for? 

Padmapani: My first priority is my 

home cadre Assam-Meghalaya. Rest of 

the things depend on the rules of Government 

of India. Since I am in all India 

services I am ready to serve in any part 

of India. 

Posoowa: If it isn’t your domicile state 

cadre, what are the reasons behind 

choosing that other particular state? 

Padmapani: Actually, it is not up to us. 

It is the prerogative of the Govt. of India. 

We can not choose any cadre. We 

can only give the preferences. 

Posoowa: Tell us about your hobbies 

and extra-curricular activities. 

Padmapani: My hobbies are basically 

listening to music (mainly Assamese) 

and short story reading. Otherwise, 

most of the time I engage myself in social 

activities. 

(Posoowa wishes Mr Padmapani a grand 

career). 

Posoowa: Posoowa offers its heartiest 

congratulations to you and your family 

on your success. 

Nabanita: Thank you very much indeed! 

Posoowa: Please tell us about your 

school education and academic career. 

Nabanita: I did my schooling from 

Kendriya Vidyalaya, Khanapara, 

Guwahati till class 12 th . Then I joined 

5 

Cotton College, Guwahati for 

B.A. English Hons and then I 

moved to Delhi to join JNU 

for my MA in English. 

Posoowa: How and when did 

you start thinking of joining 

the Civil Services? Or was 

there someone else other than 

yourself who was very instrumental 

in making this decision? 

Nabanita: I have always wanted to be a 

diplomat ever since I can remember. 

But my parents played a stellar role in 

shaping my dream, sustaining it when 

chips were down and showed ways of 

realizing it. I am eligible to write this 

only because of them. 

Posoowa: Considering the fact that 

preparing for the Civil Services is very 

time consuming, how supportive was 

your family? 

POSOOWA May 2009

Nabanita: Even though one name appears 

in the final merit list, the entire 

family takes the exam, at least in my 

case it was so. My parents have been 

the wind beneath my wings. They believed 

in me when I lost faith in myself. 

My mother suffered my temper and 

mood swings without complaining. My 

sister and brother-in-law too have been 

extremely supportive. My friend 

Gayatri Sashidharan has been a pillar 

of strength. Mr.Sanjay Haider ( Sanjay 

Bhaiyya) guided me without losing patience. 

I would not have been where I 

am without these people. 

Posoowa: Please tell us a bit about your 

family. Is there any other Civil Servant 

in your family? 

Nabanita: My father Mr.Syamal 

Chakrabarti is a retired officer of 

State Bank of India. My mother Nina 

Chakrabarti is a home-maker. My 

sister Paramita Dey, who lives in USA, 

is a home-maker and my brother-inlaw 

is an engineer. I have a nephew 

and a niece. 

I am the first civil servant in the 

family. 

Posoowa: What were your subjects in 

Prelims and Mains and how did you 

prepare for them? 

Nabanita: My subject in Prelims was 

Indian History and for Mains they were 

History & English Literature. I started 

preparing for the Civil Services right 

after my PG. 

Posoowa: What would you say about 

the choice of your subjects? Do you 

regret anything? 

Nabanita: My optionals were natural 

choice because of my background and 

interest. I did not follow the myth of 

scoring subjects. Of course I don’t have 

any regrets. 

Posoowa: Did you expect your rank or 

it went against your expectations? 

Nabanita: I expected to clear the civil 

Service Exam for sure but 16th rank 

was beyond my wildest imagination. It 

is almost a year now, but I still have to 

pinch myself to believe it! 

Posoowa: Did you take any coaching? 

How effective was it? 

Nabanita: Yes I took coaching, but it 

should be supplemented with lot of introspection 

and self study. Coaching 

surely saves one from groping in the 

dark. 

Posoowa: Is your alma mater an important 

factor in preparation or it 

doesn’t matter? 

Nabanita: My alma mater did not play 

any role. 

Posoowa: How many attempts did it 

take for you to crack it? 

Nabanita: 4(Four) Attempts. 

Posoowa: What did you do when you 

couldn’t handle the stress any longer 

during your preparations? 

Nabanita: A look at the ray of hope in 

my parent’s eyes was enough to put me 

back in track. Motivational quotes & 

stories of inspiration helped a lot. 

Posoowa: Besides studying really hard 

during your preparations was there time 

left for anything else? 

Nabanita: Not really. But one shouldn’t 

give up living just because one is preparing 

for the exam. 

Posoowa: How did you prepare for 

your Interview? How much time did you 

get for preparing? 

Nabanita with Parents 

Nabanita: Interview is not a test of one’s 

knowledge but how one presents oneself 

and whether the candidate is able 

to articulate her thoughts in a coherent 

manner. Usually one gets 15 days time 

but it varies. 

Posoowa: What all were you asked in 

the interview? 

Nabanita: I was asked on literature. As 

my first choice was IFS, I was asked on 

foreign policy. Of course, economy and 

govt policies were also touched upon. 

Posoowa: As a civil servant do you have 

any specific goal you want to achieve in 

your career? 

Nabanita: Ambassadorship to any 

country would be fine. There can be 

nothing more honourable than representing 

INDIA. 

Posoowa: Did you have any back-up 

plan if you hadn’t made it? 

Nabanita: I would have gone for MBA 

or PhD. 

Posoowa: What are your hobbies and 

extra-curricular activities? 

Nabanita: Quizzing, reading, watching 

movies. 

(Nabanita is undergoing training at 

the Foreign Services Institute) 

6 

POSOOWA May 2009

Sattriya Dance Workshops 

in France 

For the first time, the three foremost 

cultural organizations Tendanse, 

Ajna and Preserver Majuli of France, 

jointly organized three workshops on the 

monastic Sattriya Dance from 17 th April to 

5 th may2009. Bhabananda Barbayan, an 

exponent of Sattriya Dance and Music and 

the Adhyapak of Sattriya Dance Academy 

at the Srimanta Sankardeva Bhawan, Delhi 

was invited to conduct and teach the 

Sattriya dance form in these workshops . 

There were a total of 40 participants in all. 

Almost all the participants came from 

different parts of France and other 

countries. Some of them even came from 

Colombia. The first workshop was 

organized in Rodez, a city and commune in 

southern France, in the Aveyron 

Department of which it is the capital. 

Existing from at least the 5th century BC, 

Rodez was founded by the Celts. The 

second one was in Toulouse, a historical 

city known as the pink city of France; besides 

being one of the prime centres of the 

European aerospace industry, with the 

headquarters of Airbus, Galileo 

Positioning System, the SPOT Satellite 

System and CNES’s Toulouse Space Centre 

(CST), the largest space center in Europe. 

The last one was in Montpellier, a 

picturesque city in the south of France, 10 

kms inland from the Mediterranean Coast 

located on the bank of River Lez. 

These week long workshops were scheduled 

from 10 am to 6 pm, followed by a Lecture- 

Demonstration on different topics of 

Sattriya. The morning sessions were 

dedicated to Matiakharas or ground 

exercises for improved physicality, 

Abhinaya or expression was demonstrated 

post lunch and ‘Nach’ or pure dance was 

explained at the end of the day. Besides 

these three workshops, Mr Barbayan also 

took part in the following: 

On 26 th April 09, he took part in a 

discussion session on cultural exchange 

program, organized by ‘Faculte d’ 

Administration et de communication’ of‘ 

Universite De Toulouse’. 

On 7 th May 09, Mndapa, a Paris based 

institute, dedicated to promoting Indian art 

and culture invited Mr Barbayan as a guest 

of honour for the evening program. 

On 8 th May 09, he took part in a discussion 

session about performing procedures of 

Dance and Drama on the stage with some 

technical personalities of Zaman Art of 

France held at the Auditorium of “Musee 

Du Quai Branly” in Paris . 

(Source for the details of cities in France: 

Wikipedia) 

Profile of Adhyapak Bhabananda 

Barbayan 

Adhyapak Bhabananda Barbayan is an accomplished 

Sattriya dancer, Khol-player, 

singer, choreographer and teacher based in 

Delhi. He was fortunate to be born within 

the culturally and spiritually rich environs 

of the Uttar Kamalabari Sattra, a Vaishnavite 

monastery in Majuli, Assam. He grew up 

soaking in the rich 550-year-old Satriya traditions 

combined with the colourful tribal 

culture as well as the surrounding natural 

beauty of this unique riverine island. The 

Sattras in Majuli are the treasure troves of 

classical song and dance and folk culture 

that has evolved from the days of 

Mahapurush Srimanta Sankaradeva. 

Bhabananda was inducted into the folds of 

the Uttar Kamalabari Sattra at the tender 

age of four and started receiving training in 

the art forms of Nrittya, Gayan, Bayan etc. 

from the renowned Gurus at the Sattra. 

He has always been a stellar performer and 

has been a recipient too of various scholarships 

from the CCRT, Delhi and Sangeet 

Natak Akademi, HRD Ministry, Govt. of 

India etc. He also has two post-graduate degrees 

in Geography and Assamese Literature 

from Dibrugarh University. Right now 

he is enrolled for a PhD programme at the 

Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata and 

doing research on Tala Patterns of Sattriya 

Dance: An attempt to systematize the diverse 

forms as practiced in different Sattras. 

He has to his credit quite a few drama publications 

like ‘Sita Haran’, ‘Bali Badh’, ‘Setu 

Bandhan’ etc. all written in Brajawali language. 

He has also produced and choreographed 

various Sattriya dance dramas and 

Bhaonas; some of them being quite innovative 

concepts. As a performer he has been 

performing and dazzling the audience since 

the age of eight till date at various prestigious 

zonal, national and international level 

events and platforms all over India and 

abroad. As an Adhyapak, he has been teaching 

too in various institutes and at present 

he is deeply involved with the ‘Sattriya Dance 

School’ established by the Assam Association 

Delhi in Srimanta Sankaradeva Bhawan, 

New Delhi. 

Posoowa wishes him good luck in all his 

future endeavours and may we see and hear 

a lot from him about the timeless living art 

form from Xonor Oxom! 

By Manoj Das and Barnali Das, Delhi 

On 27 th April and 3 rd May 09, he 

performed for mass audience in Toulouse 

and Montpelleir cities respectively. 

7 

Children recently performing Sattriya in Colorado Springs 

during a dance recital 

POSOOWA May 2009

Saleena Kalita’s Artwork 

Saleena was born in 

1998 in Torrance, 

California, to my 

long-time friend Dhruba 

Kalita and his wife Hilly. 

From a very young age, 

she has been keenly 

interested in various 

artistic forms. She won an 

award of excellence in Art 

when she was in Grade 2 

from Seaside School in 

Torrance. 

As she grew older, she has 

taken great interest in 

drawing Japanese 

animation characters, 

such as, Naruto, Avatar: 

The Last Airbender. 

Lately, she has sketched 

and painted nature and 

realistic objects, including 

a quiet home in a 

beautiful forest. 

In addition to drawing 

and sketching, Saleena is 

pursuing Kathak and has 

had many performances. 

She plays the guitar and 

plans to have a band of her 

own. She is doing well in 

Tae-Kwan-do and tennis. 

She is an animal lover and 

has adopted a puppy, 

Nibbles, from shelter. 

She speaks Assamese 

fluently and loves visiting 

her two grandmothers in 

Assam frequently. 

By Jugal Kalita, CO 

8 

POSOOWA May 2009

Rongali Bihu celebration in Bahrain 

The small but big-hearted Assamese 

community of Bahrain celebrated 

the Bohag Bihu in Manama City, 

capital of Bahrain on 17th April, 2009 with 

pomp and gaiety. The beautiful and sunny 

Kingdom of Bahrain was made colorful with 

the Rongali utsav of the community. 

The celebration started with the serving of 

traditional Assamese delicacies like til pitha, 

ghila pitha, larus, chunga chawal, etc., 

especially prepared by the ladies and also 

flown in all the way from Guwahati. The 

special guests, namely Mini and Jatin 

Bhagawati, Dipika and Jogendra Mohan Das 

of Assam and Nand Kanwar Pareek from 

Saudi Arabia, were felicitated by Nivedita 

Dutta, Chief Organizer. The special guests 

have timed their visit to Bahrain to meet 

their near and dear ones, to be present in 

the Bihu festival and also to enjoy the 

Formula#1 Race to be held in the last 

weekend of April in Bahrain. 

Addition of six newcomers to Bahrain 

namely Sanjib Changkakati, Hemanta Kr 

Bora, Raju Das, D.D.Rabha, Shiva Doley and 

Aroop Kumar Brahma has strengthened 

the Assamese community of Bahrain. They 

were introduced and offered a token 

welcome gift by Nivedita Dutta. This was 

followed the cultural program performed 

by the talented members of the community. 

Welcome song was sung by Pinki Sarma, 

Mimi Bora, Sangita Choudhary, Anshumala 

Kakaty, Sangita Deka, Ankur Bora, Amitav 

Kakaty, Ujjwal Sarma, Biman Sarma and 

Arnab Choudhary. An Assamese modern 

dance performed by child artist Hiya was 

followed by a Bihu dance by two child artists 

Chumpi and Adit. This was followed by 

keyboard play by master Anshuman 

Choudhary. 

Bihu tuned Assamese songs performed by 

Ujjwal Sarma, Ankur Bora, Amitav Kakaty 

and Layan Ch. Hazarika and the solo 

numbers by Saswati Bora and Alok Kr Das 

kept the audience spellbound throughout 

the evening. 

The most awaited part of the evening was 

the Bihu Dance performed by Antara 

Banikya and Mimi Bora who made the 

audience jive in to their moves. 

In addition to the cultural program, there 

were a few innovative game shows and quiz 

competitions among all the members 

present. The quiz revolved around 

questions from Assam. The groupings 

were named as Doi-Chira, Bundia-Bhujia, 

Cup-Plate and Sarai-Gamucha with the 

Doi-Chira group coming up as winners. 

The most entertaining part was singing of 

the same popular Assamese number in 

Ojapali Style, South Indian Style and Bhajan 

Style. The performers invented their own 

way to entertain the audience. and game 

shows were conducted by Pinki Sharma, 

Mimi Bora, Pankaj Deka and Biman Sharma. 

The children especially enjoyed the tekeli 

bhanga game. Saswati Bora and Amitabh 

Kakati won the coveted prize of best-dressed 

lady and gentlemen respectively. 

The newcomers Sanjib and Hemanta 

proved their mettle by the superior quality 

of their dance. The Assamese society, 

Bahrain can certainly expect more from 

them. 

The program ended with a Vote of Thanks 

ably conducted by Layan Ch Hazarika, the 

overall supervisor of the celebration 

committee. He thanked all those who were 

present and without whom the program 

would not have been possible. 

Hazarika stated that no words were 

sufficient to thank the gorgeous couple of 

Nivedita Dutta and Madhab Dutta for 

keeping the Assamese community lively and 

making everyone feel at home away from 

home. Nivedita Dutta has been actively 

involved in various socio cultural activities 

in Bahrain for close to two decades. As 

President of the Indian Ladies Association 

of Bahrain during the year 2007-2008, the 

Indian community of Bahrain appreciated 

her initiatives. Madhab Dutta has been in 

Bahrain for the last 23 years working for 

the Oil Company BAPCO. 

Madhab Dutta, Bahrain 

9 

POSOOWA May 2009

The Assamese community of 

Minneapolis and St. Paul and 

neighboring areas gathered at the 

Shakopee Lions Hall on the 18 th April, 

2009 to celebrate the most anticipated 

and loved event, Rongali Bihu. It was 

celebrated with unprecedented fun 

and enthusiasm. The vivacity of 

all the kids and the zeal of all 

the adults helped make this 

year’s Bihu an event to 

remember. It was a perfect 

spring day in this northern 

“land of ten thousand 

lakes”, the best Bihu 

weather we have had in a 

long time. 

Minnesota Rongali Bihu 2009 

It was a day filled with 

fun, games, good food and 

a grand cultural show. 

The anticipation and 

excitement for this joyous 

day started long before April. 

The making of the Bihu 

banner, the purchase of the 

music system, the practice 

sessions accompanied by delightful 

dinners (which made us feel we 

should have practice sessions so very 

often!) and planning the details set the 

mood for the big day! 

Sanjeev Bordoloi gave a welcome speech 

and we started the colorful day with the 

rendition of a ladies chorus “Mur-e 

Bharotore”. Husori followed the opening 

song and the enthusiastic men, as always, 

pushed the already electric Bihu mood to 

a high gear. The catchy Bihu geets 

accompanied by the sound of tal-toka and 

gogona made the husori team live up to 

its tradition. 

Our sprightly kids enthralled us with their 

performances and they started with a 

chorus ‘Bilote Halise’- an evergreen 

feature in our Bihu celebrations. The 

adorable preschoolers Nimisha, Geet, 

Kabita and Ruhi danced to the song of “Ek 

dui tini” followed by an Oxomiya adhunik 

geet by brother sister duo Ayan and 

Ashmita. A comedy skit “The Ipod 

Human” was splendidly presented by 

brothers Nibir and Samir and so was a 

Zubeen Garg song by Devika. Tanish, our 

budding singer, got the audience to sing 

along with his lively performance. Another 

highlight was the kids fashion show where 

the dashing kids walked down the ramp 

leaving all of us in the audience with the 

oohs and aaahs!. Pooky, Ashmita, Riyah, 

Nibir and Ayan captivated us with a dance 

10 

to the 

p e p p y 

tunes of “Jai Ho”, 

beautifully choreographed by Parvez. 

The ladies Bihu dance was graceful as 

always. Skilled dancers, Mili, Ankita, Purabi 

and Namita danced to a modern and 

melodious Bihu number setting the 

cameras in the hall go “flash, flash, flash, 

flash…”. “Geetor Godhuli” was an encore 

performance from Minti, Pranab and 

Deepankar, with Saroj accompanying the 

group on the guitar. They sang a collection 

of Bihu geets, Assamese songs of 

yesteryears, adhunik geet and Hindi songs. 

By this time the Bihu toli was reverberating 

with some everlasting Assamese tunes. 

The ladies jhumur dance and a modern 

dance by Parvez and Ankita sparkled the 

dance floor. And last but not the least the 

men’s chorus (Bhupen Hazarika’s 

“Manuhe Manuhor Baabe”) and a rocking 

performance of “Rock On” added special 

flavor to the cultural evening. On a lighter 

note we saw our “deka dol” shopping till 

the last minute for a snazzy look for their 

much anticipated performance of the 

evening!! The fun games (both indoors 

and outdoors) were also quite the 

highlight of 

the day. 

E v e r y o n e 

enthusiastically played 

the koni juj (even though 

there was a request that their koni’s 

be boiled for the koni juj!), tug of war. 

musical chair, marble in a spoon race and 

the sack race. The inner kid in all of us 

showed in plenty while playing the games. 

The perfect weather added some more fun 

to our games. 

An exhibition of “Cultural Artifacts of 

Assam” was very informative and 

educational for all the kids. 

The Bihu bhoj, starting with the jolpan, 

was a feast in the true sense. All the ladies 

took special effort in making laroo, pitha 

and a host other traditional Bihu snacks. 

The sumptuous dinner was the perfect 

ending to the great day. 

It was a day where we came together to 

share the joys of our beloved festival. We 

may be far from home but the spirit never 

does change. We take pride in celebrating 

a slice of our heritage which is so rich. It 

was truly a day filled with good moments 

that memories are made of. 

-Sabina Zeenat- 

Collage by Geeti Das 

POSOOWA May 2009

Rongali Bihu Celebration by Asom Sangha Canada 

Asom Sangha Canada celebrated the 

onset of the Assamese New Year 

and Rongali Bihu on April 11 at 

the River Grove Community Centre in 

Mississauga, Ontario. The event 

witnessed a large gathering and 

enthusiastic participation of the Assamese 

families and individuals based here in the 

greater Toronto Area and also guests from 

USA and Assam. 

Established in 1971, Asom Sangha is the 

oldest Assamese organization in North 

America. This year marked the 39th 

edition of the Rongali Bihu celebration by 

the Sangha. The evening was made special 

and a memorable one by the presence of 

guest artist Rabin Goswami and his wife 

Arundhoti Goswami. 

The children’s cultural event started with 

a chorus participated by Ruchi, Rubin, 

Jishnu, Garggie, Shreya, Paul and Riana 

which was followed by a Bihu dance by 

Garggie. Shreya and Anwesha’s melodious 

songs and Jishnu’s recital of a poem by 

Rupkonwar Jyoti Prasad Agarwala set the 

tone for a wonderful evening. Garggie, 

Innika, Sneh and Priya did a wonderful 

dance choreographed to the song 

“Bonoriya ami bonor sorai.” 

The cultural program started with the 

chorus “Sreemoyi Asomi” which was 

followed by Rita Barua welcoming the New 

Year with her composition “Bohagi 

Adoroni”. A graceful Bihu dance by 

Gitimoni Barua brought the audience to 

its feet. Iswar Chakravartty recited a self 

composed poem while Bikul Das played the 

11 

khol. Mitali Sarma Barua’s songs were 

mesmerizing; she was accompanied by 

Nabya Ranjan Baruah, Kaushik 

Bhattacharjee and Jeet Das on the 

instruments. 

Guest artist Rabin Goswami enthralled the 

audience with his melodious voice – a voice 

that reminded us of the legendary Dr 

Bhupen Hazarika and took the audience 

down the memory lane. His wife 

Arundhoti Goswami joined him for a duet 

and also sang a solo song. 

Urvashi Sharma and Rabin Goswami were 

adjudged winners of the best traditional 

wear awards. Earlier in the evening, Palash 

Thakur, President of Asom Sangha 

Canada, welcomed the gathering, the new 

families, individuals and new-borns to the 

community fold: Arnab Hazarika, Rimli 

and Sanjeev Dutta, Dr Manash Sharma 

and Nayana Sharma, Roma and Avinash 

Dabrai; babies Abir (son of Suranjita and 

Mousam Hazarika), Nish (son of Jayashree 

and Subrata 

Chakravarty), 

Rivan and Shivan 

(sons of Rimli and 

Sanjeev Dutta), 

Tvisha (daughter 

of Urvashi and 

Palash Thakur) 

and Ashaz (son 

of Shahana and 

Parvez Rahman). 

The Assamese 

community also 

bid farewell to 

Bikul Das and 

family who are moving to California. A 

minute’s silence was observed for the 

departed souls of victims of violence in 

Assam and relatives of the Assamese 

community in Canada. 

The Cultural program came to an end with 

“O Mor Aponar Desh” followed by Husori 

and Mukoli Bihu led by Nabya Ranjan 

Baruah, Jibeswar Talukdar and Rita Barua 

with active participation from one and all. 

At the end, Dibyajyoti Gohain Barua, 

Secretary of Asom Sangha, delivered the 

vote of thanks to all the participants, 

sponsors and the anchors for the evening 

- Debi Sarma, Ruchi Barua and Uma 

Talukdar. A sumptuous dinner 

(sponsored by Bikul and Britta Das) 

followed by a mukoli husori with active 

participation from one and all summed up 

the evening’s proceedings. 

Palash Thakur, Canada 

POSOOWA May 2009

Rongali Bihu Celebration 

in Phoenix, Arizona 

Otikoi Senehor Bohagar Bihuti Napati Kenekoi Thaku 

Rongali Bihu celebration has always 

been the most awaited event for the 

Assamese community and their 

friends of Phoenix, Arizona. It was a nice 

sunny early evening of April 18, 2009, 

filled with a mild cool breeze in this “Valley 

of the Sun” City. We gathered at Neon and 

Ankita Talukdar’s residence for this 

celebration with great enthusiasm. It 

started with various games and quiz for 

the little kids. While the Bihu songs and 

music were filing the air, the 

mouthwatering snacks enriched with sira 

doi, narikolor pitha, tekeli pitha, and nimki 

started bringing a Bohagi atmosphere of 

Assam for us. 

The cultural program followed this snack 

time. It stared with the jatio sangeet “O 

Mor Apunar Desh” and all time melodious 

chorus “Asom Amar Rupahi”. These songs 

were beautifully directed by Shamala Das. 

Children including Brinda, Broto, Diya, 

Neil, Sanmaan, and Sthuthi showed their 

talents by singing, chanting slokas, and 

12 

performing comedy act. This was followed 

by a dance recital by Nikita Bhuyan who 

performed Meera Bhajan. Their 

presentations drew great appreciation and 

made all of us a very proud Assamese 

community here. Egg fighting (Koni juz) 

game was then arranged amongst the kids 

that entertained all of us. All kids were 

then awarded with gifts and certificates of 

appreciation. 

The sumptuous bihu bhoj, cooked and 

contributed by every family, was prepared 

to Assamese taste. Dishes like masor 

tenga, chagoli maangso, bengena pitika, 

lao bhaji, mahor dali, kofta, and dessert 

like paayas and pera enhanced the 

atmosphere with Assamese flavor. We 

thanked all ladies (Ankita, Bobby, Korobee, 

Poonam, Rachna, Rashmi, Sewali, 

Shamala) as well as Chandan and Samar 

who prepared all these delicious dishes. 

The cultural program continued after 

dinner. One of the most enjoyable 

moments was during adult’s extempore act 

where each of us was asked to present a 

particular comic theme individually and 

in couple. This innovative theme was 

devised by Sewali Bhuyan. The cultural 

night was then culminated with Hussori 

and Mukoli Bihu dance. Everyone 

participated in these programs by dancing 

in group as well as in couple. This Rongali 

Bihu celebration was concluded with 

serving tea and then words of thanks and 

blessings to everyone. 

As we returned home in the middle of the 

night to begin a new year, we were filled 

with memories of this proud celebration. 

We look forward to bringing more festive 

moments like this in future. 

Samar and Rashmi Bhuyan, Phoenix, 

Arizona. Photos: Samar Bhuyan, Neon 

Talukdar and Satish Reddy 

POSOOWA May 2009

NE USA Bihu Celebrates Tradition 

and Second Generation Talents 

After a bitter cold and long winter 

in the NE part of the US, even the 

weather agreed to welcome the 

Assamese New Year with sunshine and 

warmer temperature. And a generous 

crowd of about 200 people mingled with 

each other, relished traditional snacks, 

listened to music and celebrated the spirit 

of Rongali Bihu in Princeton, NJ on the 

18 th of April 2009. 

Keeping with the traditions built over 

centuries back home and the ones that 

the community has been building over the 

decades- the Bihu celebrations showcased 

activities and talents in various fields. The 

festivities began with hoisting the “gamosa” 

to the tune of “Sreemoyi Axomir” by 

Abhisekh Choudhury. A traditional 

Hussori, practised and perfected over 

weeks blessed the community. Kalpana 

Bordoloi of NJ welcomed the Hussori to 

the “bihutoli”. The kids and the adults alike 

enjoyed various games with much 

enthusiasm. And while the adults 

socialized, the kids dressed up, frolicked, 

painted, and performed. In a way this year’s 

Bihu celebrated the children spanning a 

range from preschoolers to the ones who 

are on the threshold of college life. 

So when the cultural activities began- they 

emceed, they danced, they sang, they 

played instruments and entertained 

everyone. It was very encouraging to 

witness their involvement and traditional 

performances. The dedication of the 

children, their parents and the teachers 

clearly deserve a special mention. Their 

effort to keep the culture alive half the 

world away from its root is amazing. The 

participants for the cultural show were 

Pokhi Barbara, Deisha Brahma, Anuj 

Dutta, Risov Dutta, Naya Kalita, Rashmi 

Hazarika, Sukanya Handique, Ruhika 

Patra, Ananda saikia, Abhijaat Sarma, 

Arunabh Sarma, Amit Sarma , Pongkhi 

Sarmah, Meghna Sarmah, Varsha Sarma, 

Paulash Sarmah, Priya Sarma,Devika 

singh and Suranjana Thakuria.. Partho 

Hazarika and Anoushka Barpujari emceed 

the event. Deesha Sarma’s description of 

Bihu set the tone for the cultural function. 

Rick and Nick Bhuyan entertained the 

gathering with their impeccable rendition 

of popular songs. 

Sankumani Sarma (NJ) and Gayatree 

Sarma’s (NJ) songs were the awaited adult 

performances of the evening and they 

were delightful. The cultural function 

ended with the rendition of “Jatiyo Sangeet”. 

Dinner and the snacks, as always, were 

outstanding affairs – completely created 

and served by volunteers. If the afternoon 

snack table was covered with ladus and 

pithas, the dinner and dessert tables 

proudly displayed all authentic Assamese 

delicacies in abundance. 

A new year has been added to the “probaxi 

axomeeya” life. While praying for 

happiness and peace with “Xorai –Gamosa” 

for themselves, the North East Assamese 

community extends the same wishes for a 

prosperous New Year to everyone around 

the world. 

Gayatree Siddhanta Sarma 

Poughkeepsie, NY 

13 

POSOOWA May 2009

Celebration of The Rongali Bihu 

2009 in London 

Campion hall for Champion Bihu 

The London Bihu Committee 

(LBC), UK, held its annual 

Rongali Bihu celebration last 

Sunday, the 3rd May 2009. The event 

was held in a new location in 

Hornchurch, East London and the 

changeable British weather kindly held 

up for the occasion. 

The Committee deliberately chose a 

larger venue on the back of Rongali 

London Bihu 2008’s staggering success. 

The Campion School is of Catholic 

denomination and the multicultural 

and inclusive nature of the British 

Assamese community could not be 

better summed up than celebrating the 

reaping of the Brahmaputra-induced 

harvest in front of Mother Mary 

herself. 

The hall itself was decorated with 

ample xorais, japis gamosas and 

incongruously hung balloons on the 

pillars. One keen observer noted the 

hall wasn’t sure if it was supposed to be 

a temple or a kid’s party! The ladies of 

the LBC did themselves proud by 

making a range of home made 

Assamese jolpan sira-doi-gur (Suravi 

Lahon), narikol laroo (Krishna Baruah) 

, ghila pitha (Geeta Borooah), tilor laroo 

(Neera Borkakoti). These were 

complimented with a variety of cakes 

(Ilu Ahmed) and children’s food (Geeta 

Sikdar) and children’s snacks (Neeta 

Borkakoti)...all much appreciated by 

the eager crowd. 

After an energetic opening speech by 

Neera Borkakoti, the LBC President, 

the cultural show featured some of the 

youngest members of the British 

Assamese community displaying their 

dancing talents to such good effect that 

there was a repeat performance in the 

second half - back by popular demand! 

The main guest artist was Prija 

Goswami from Guwahati, who wooed 

the crowd with her splendid Satriya and 

Bihu dances. We then had the usual 

display of Husori, singing, dancing and 

musical performance that we have 

come to expect from the cultural show. 

The Vote of Thanks was once again 

this year given by the LBC General 

Secretary Sanjay Sikdar in his own 

inimitably laid back style, and as usual 

he didn’t forget to thank anyone, 

including the chap who was rolling out 

the dough for the puris. 

This year, it is fair to say that London 

Rongali Bihu broke its own records set 

last year in terms of attendance and 

popularity. The hundreds of revellers 

present enjoyed the time set aside for 

Bihu dance, and the atmosphere 

generated by the enthusiasm of the 

audience meant that the drinks flowed 

freely. Some people certainly seemed 

especially thirsty. 

The finale of the evening was the Bihu 

Bhoj with tender chicken, spicy okra 

and melt in the mouth with lamb 

amongst a plethora of other dishes. The 

Rasomalai police were also out in full 

force to prevent the premature 

consumption of the hall’s favourite 

dessert and fortunately they did not 

have to make too many arrests! 

All in all it is understating things to say 

we are all looking forward to next year. 

Rongali Bihu: what do we do? Usually 

drink, usually dance, usually bhalkoi - 

khau. 

Jayanta Borkakoti, Rishi Kakati 

London 

14 

POSOOWA May 2009

Bikul Das at Stanford awarded 

Gates Foundation Grant 

An Assamese doctor, Bikul Das, has 

been awarded a prestigious grant under 

the Gates Foundation’s Global Health 

Grant to explore the role of stem cells 

in the management of tubercular 

infection. Dr Das has received $100,000 

Grand Challenges Explorations Grant 

for Innovative Global Health Research. 

His project is one of 81 grants 

announced out of over 3,000 

applications by the Gates Foundation 

in the second funding round of the 

Program, an initiative to help scientists 

around the world explore bold and 

largely unproven ways to improve 

health in developing countries. 

Dr. Das grew up in Sualkuchi, is a 

graduate of the Gauhati Medical 

College and Hospital and had worked 

in Assam and Bhutan before moving to 

Canada for further research. His Ph.D. 

work involved work on cancer at the 

Hospital for Sick Children, University 

of Toronto, Canada, where he identified 

a novel signaling pathway of cancer 

drug resistance and metastasis. 

Following his Ph.D. training, he was a 

fellow in the stem cell and 

developmental biology program of the 

hospital he focused on isolation of lung 

cancer stem cells. He recently moved 

to Stanford University Medical Center 

to continue with his research. 

Dr. Das was recently awarded the 

prestigious Scholarin-training award 

jointly by the American Association of 

Cancer Research and the Japanese 

Cancer Association. Dr. Das has written 

a popular medical book about the 

health-benefit aspect of antioxidants. 

He is also a recipient of Hind Rattan 

Award given out on Republic Day 

(India). 

Dr. Das’s German-born wife Britta Das 

is the author of the well-received book 

“Buttertea at Sunrise” about a year she 

spent in Bhutan. It is a travel memoir 

about Britta’s journey to the mysterious 

kingdom of Bhutan, which has been 

isolated from the rest of the world for 

many centuries. The book is a sincere 

account of the experiences of a 

volunteer physiotherapist at a remote 

referral hospital. 

Jugal Kalita, Colorado Springs 

15 

Continued from page 15.. 

Once a Cottonian, Always a Cottonian! 

The old order as we all know yields place 

to the new. Likewise the old alumni 

committee should pave the path for the 

formation of a complete new and fresh 

committee. The veteran and experienced 

past office bearers should remain as 

advisors or patrons for the fresh 

committee. No matter how good they were, 

they should give way for the new and fresh 

people. • • 

That is where confusion starts. That day 

we saw a kind of conflict of interest in the 

process of forming a new committee. I feel 

that just for the sake of the glorious 

tradition of Cotton College, unexpected 

activities should be avoided. The general 

public and student community as a whole 

are much more interested in seeing fresh 

workers on the prestigious committee. • • 

The whole process ought to have taken 

place most amicably. My shock and 

anguish have prompted me to write these 

lines. Because such degeneration is beyond 

my wildest expectations. We expect from 

Cotton College a kind of excellence that is 

in par with the best on the globe. • • 

What we can do? The new Alumni 

Association should liaise with the alumni 

of Cotton College around the globe. We 

will try to organize visits from various 

Universities in UK to our College. 

Cambridge and Oxford university 

students and faculty regularly visit Indian 

universities. • • 

Last year the VC of Cambridge University, 

Prof. Alison Richard and a group of people 

from Cambridge University came to India 

to meet the Alumni Society of India. St. 

Xaviers in Kolkata organized their visit to 

Kolkata. I spoke to Dr. Siddhartha Ghosh 

the Director for Cambridge-India 

Partnership Program, who lead this group 

to Kolkata. I was told they might consider 

arranging such a visit to Gauhati 

University in future provided they have 

the invitation well in advance.• • 

So I am sure if we all start to do the 

networking process together we can take 

further the name of Cotton College and 

Gauhati University, the two most 

prestigious educational institutions of 

entire North-East.• • 

Rini Kakati•, London•• 

POSOOWA May 2009

A New Web site SupportAChild-Assam.com Started 

Asoftware engineer, a doctoral student and a 

tireless social worker, Ankur Bora of Dallas, 

Texas, has started a new Web site called 

SupportAChild-Assam.com with a view to helping 

children in Assam and Northeast India financially in 

pursuit of education. He has also started a group 

called 

SupportAChild-Assam@yahoogroups.com 

for the same purpose. According to the Web site, 

Ankur started the endeavor inspired by many 

examples of generous individuals who have taken 

initiatives in “embracing impoverished children, 

showing kindness and compassion, bringing back 

hope and joy in their little innocent hearts by opening 

their own.” 

Ankur’s goal is to find individuals to support the 

educational cost of a child, which along side can also 

provide for emergency food and clothing, and medical 

and dental care. The initial plan will be to find between 

Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per child per year. The money 

will be used in meeting with their basic requirements 

like expenses of books, clothing and nourishment. 

The sponsor will enjoy being a visible supporter of 

the child by receiving photos, personal letters, e-mails, progress 

reports and the like. The sponsor will be able to watch the child 

grow and flourish, knowing that he or she is making it all possible. 

The sponsors will be encouraged to send letters, cards and photos 

from their country of residence which besides building a bond 

between them will make the child feel cared for and loved. 

By providing help and guidance of a supportive adult early in 

their life, the sponsor will be making perceptible difference in a 

child’s life by 

16 

· Keeping a child off the street, 

· Helping a child understand their future may be different 

from their parents 

· Breaking the cycle of poverty, 

· Visiting the child during trips to Assam and showing 

that someone successful cares. 

According to the Web site, there are also other ways to contribute 

to this effort: 

· Volunteering: An NRA or his or her children can volunteer 

to teach in one of the schools during vacations 

in Assam. The teaching can include areas of spoken 

English, basic computer training, art and music, computer 

animation using audio and video, and others. 

The long-term objective is to impart marketable skills 

to these children - enhancing their prospects of employability 

- hence guiding them on path to a dignified 

living and self-reliance. 

· Leadership and Personality Development: For older 

students, one can also arrange workshops, training 

camps to be conducted by the visiting non-residents. 

These can be in the areas of public speaking, interpersonal 

communication, group discussion, the technique 

of power point presentation and interview techniques. 

· Joyful Learning: An NRA can also donate storybooks, 

audio video CDs, coloring books and other resources 

to the school libraries. The Web site can also arrange 

art exhibitions by the participating non-residents and 

local artists. Ideas like “charity walk and run”, “art and 

craft auction” to raise funds for these schools can also 

be arranged. 

Ankur Bora is working with many individuals and organizations 

in his selfless quest. It must be noted that Assam Society of 

America has had a similar program called “Adopt-A-Child” for 

more than a decade, spearheaded by individuals such as Vijeet 

Sarma (New Jersey), Geeta Chowdhary (New York), Jugma Bora 

(California) and Bonti Mahanta (Missouri). In this program, 

approximately $100 was given to schools in Assam to provide 

for educational expenses of each selected student. Winners were 

chosen from a pool of applicants after announcements and 

reports were published in newspapers in Assam seeking 

applications. The program was discontinued a few years ago due 

to non-receipt of timely records from schools on time. In addition, 

a few years ago, Assam Society of America, decided not to have 

its yearly convention and donated several thousand dollars to 

the Blind School for Children in Guwahati for educational and 

other expenses at the school. 

Posoowa admires Ankur’s record in bring together people from 

various backgrounds, organizations and continents for 

exemplary philanthropic activities and wishes this endeavor great 

success. 


POSOOWA May 2009

Once a Cottonian, Always a 

Cottonian! 

During my visit to Guwahati each 

time, I take a walk from my family 

home (Barpetia Para) passing 

Harisava, Gauhati Dairy, Mahamaya to the 

New Cotton College Administrative 

Building – to revive my cherished old 

memories. The entire route to my college 

had a different kind of spirit at 8:30 am, 

marked by the eager faces of school and 

college going students and gentle yet brisk 

rhythm of the movement of office goers. 

The noise and bustle of an unorganized 

shopping area has by now overwhelmed 

the elegance of the road to my favorite 

alma mater. Still this is my favorite route, 

one that reminds me of my teenage days. • 

• 

As an Ex-Cottonian, we still cherish with 

profound pride in the innermost depth of 

our minds the sweet memories of our 

Cotton College days. We also hold the 

values that the College symbolizes very 

close to our hearts. Once a Cottonian, 

always a Cottonian! This can-do spirit in 

us continues to contribute towards 

further enhancement of the brilliant 

traditions of the alma mater through one’s 

conscious efforts. Cotton College, which 

has thus become a part of the 

consciousness of generations of 

Cottonians, is now 108 years old. We are 

all product of this college and would like 

to share with our present younger 

generation what gives us the sense of 

belonging to our much-loved College and 

to our Sikkha Gurus. • • 

General Secretary. Today we 

want that kind of spirit and 

enthusiasm from our 

younger generation. We 

want to see another Nripen 

Goswami amongst our 

student community today. • • 

During our student life at 

Cotton College, we were 

mostly into cultural activities 

and music. We still 

remember the well-known 

names and the kinds of spirit they had 

shown. The names like Lalit Shyam, 

Ramen Choudhury, Dost, Habibur 

Rahman (Louis) Dilip Barua (Ruby) JP 

Saikia, Yamini Phukan, Kaushalya Kanaga, 

Charu Seleng. The sports personalities 

included Dr. Arunima Barua, the Secretary 

of the Girls’ Common Room and the NCC 

advisers in organizing any cultural event. 

Students were not interested in politics. 

We only used to invite ministers as chief 

guests to our function. • 

During my sojourn to Guwahati this time, 

I had an opportunity to join the Cotton 

College Alumni Association general 

meeting on Sunday, 29 March 2009. To 

me it was an emotional occasion for a 

journey down memory lane to relive once 

again our memorable days in Cotton 

College. • • 

But the experience of attending the 

meeting that day has created a kind of 

unrest in my mind. As an ex-Cottonian, I 

have felt the impulse of expressing this 

The Cotton College Union Society is a most 

prestigious organization, which not only 

reflects the interest of the college but also 

expects to provide the role models for the 

future generations in Assam in every 

aspect of life. In the 1963 general election, 

Indra Gogoi took over from late Nripen 

Goswami, the lion voice of student 

community at the time who had the talent 

to create awareness and pride. The student 

community of whole Guwahati used to 

come together to Goswami’s beck and call. 

He had that much power and authority, 

could mesmerize by his heart-warming 

speeches and gather the student 

community for any cause of Assam. He 

used to visit the schools and other colleges 

of Guwahati to create social and cultural 

awareness amongst the students. When I 

joined Cotton College in 1962, he was our 

17 

leader of Cotton College. I had given up 

the proposal to be a cultural secretary not 

to contest in support of Akon Barua, my 

classmate, now the Retired. Prof. (Eng) of 

Jaysagar College, Sibsagar. Dost was Music 

Secretary in 1964.• • 

In our days teacher student relationship 

was confined to lessons and books. To go 

to principal’s room was only for an 

emergency. Our principal was Nurul Islam 

Sir.• • 

In the college, Mahesh Bhuyan Sir and 

Upen Sharma (Eng), Hemanta Sharma 

(Assamese), Narayan Sharma were our 

fact of my unrest. I know that the old days 

cannot be revived. Changes would come 

naturally and the society and particularly 

younger generation would, in their 

behavior, reflect such changes. But to my 

mind the changes are far too rapid. • • 

Somehow or other I am prepared to 

reconcile myself with some such changes. 

But the whole scenario of that meeting 

did put me in a state of shock and surprise 

and spoiled the joy of attending the alumni 

meet. • • 

Continued on page 15.. 

POSOOWA May 2009

18 

The Art of Saying ‘No’ 

The word ‘No’ means a 

complete and firm stop to all 

kinds of advances made to 

attain certain goals. Agreed, this 

small word ‘No’ at times, leads to a 

lot of displeasure and 

discontentment; however, it is of 

utmost importance that our children 

learn to use this word in their dayto-day 

life in a diplomatic and tactful 

manner to avert undesirable human 

actions in this modern and 

overcrowded challenging world. 

In the days of yore, when life was simple 

and needs were limited, people used to 

live happily in the society sharing each 

other’s joys and sorrows because 

those were the tension free days and 

one could afford to live one’s life in a 

leisurely way. With the advent of 

science, technology and industrial 

revolutions, although our life has 

become more enjoyable, we are 

however required to be more 

diplomatic and discreet to keep pace 

with the modern ways of living and 

to face the sharp tooth of 

competition at every step. If we or 

members of our young generation 

fail to fulfill these requirements then 

we are confronted with lots of 

undesirable mental stresses arising out 

of trifle issues. 

Some such stresses occur due to 

development of strained relations 

with friends and neighbors, tactless 

behavior of our children so on and 

so forth. It is therefore essential that 

children be trained during childhood 

on interpersonal relations and conflict 

management, and to survive peacefully 

in the society avoiding the destructive 

social strains. 

Here is a very simple example. Mr. 

and Mrs. Choudhuri are a working 

couple who remain busy from 

morning till night. They have a cute 

ten year old son, Minku who generally 

stays at home after coming back from 

school. The neighbor’s wife Sheila 

seems to be very cordial and helpful 

and often visits Minku’s house when 

the parents are away. Sheila’s eight 

year old son Suman is an unruly and 

restless boy. He used to visit Minku’s 

house while his mother took her midday-nap. 

On the other hand Minku needs 

to finish his home assignments during 

this time only as he goes for tennis 

coaching in the evening. Minku, being 

a boy with very polished manners, 

hesitates to say ‘No’ to Suman and 

has to spend his valuable time in 

playing PS2 and watching TV. They 

are so much mesmerized by its spell 

that they sit like couch potatoes 

before the television set watching 

anything and everything that is beamed 

to them. Ultimately they become TV 

addicts. Undoubtedly this has been 

very damaging to his academic 

progress. Eventually, Minku’s parents 

came to know of all this and became 

extremely agitated, and snapped off 

friendly ties with the neighbor 

forthwith. This has unduly created a 

mental strain on Minku’s parents, 

which was otherwise really not at all 

called for. This could have been easily 

avoided had Minku been trained how 

to say ‘No’ in a decent way to such 

actions of the neighbors. Refusal in a 

decent and cogent manner does not 

affect adversely in a child’s personality 

development but goes a long way in his 

Amrit Pritam wins IIFA 2009 award 

for Ghajini for Best Sound 

Amrit Pritam Dutta and Oscar 

winner Resul Pookutty have jointly 

won the 2009 IIFA Technical award 

for Sound Recording in the film Ghajini. 

International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) 

awards are given yearly by the Indian 

Bollywood industry. Amrit becomes the 

first Assamese and the first person from 

the entire North East of India to have won 

an IIFA award. The 10th IIFA awards 

celebrations are going to be held from the 

11th to the 13th of June 2009 at the 

Venetian Resort, Macao, China. Presently 

Amrit Pritam and Resul Pookutty are 

jointly working on actor/director Saurabh 

Shukla’s “Pappu Can’t Dance Saala” and 

“Blue”. 


overall mental growth and is of extreme 

importance in grooming the child for 

the future. 

The way a child refuses is of 

paramount concern. Declining a certain 

request from the friends, ‘no thank 

you’ with a smiling face will definitely 

be more convincing and also 

beneficial to the child. Hatred is a 

destructive and damaging emotion. 

While refusing something to 

someone, the feeling of hatred or 

despise must be shunned. Politely 

declining a certain request in a 

convincing manner will remove many 

misgivings in our day-to-day dealings 

and communication. Our children 

should cultivate some strategies how 

to say ‘positive no’ with polished 

behavior and manners. 

At the same time, a child should also be 

trained to share the feelings of the people 

around society. During the time of 

crisis, helping the neighbors and 

friends is a remarkable quality. To 

sum up, we may say that proper 

strategies in saying ‘No’ helps in 

proper judgment and training for the 

future leading to a five ‘D’ life as 

follows: 

· Disciplined life 

· Determination to make 

progress 

· Discrimination of good and 

bad habits 

· Devotion to 

duty 

· Dedication 

By Reena Sharma 

Reena Sharma, a child psychologist, a 

social worker and a composer and 

choreographer, lives in Delhi with her 

husband Binoy Brata Sharma, Former 

Chairman and Managing Director of 

Oil India Ltd. - Editor. 

POSOOWA May 2009

Letters to the Editor 

Re: Power Crisis-Assam, Solar and its potential 

Monday, March 23, 2009 

Dear Editor, 

Accept my heartiest greetings at the very beginning. 

I use the opportunity to congratulate Posoowa for taking 

initiatives to bring different burning issues of NE states to public 

notice. 

I am Manash Dutta and an Assamese by birth working for an 

MNC, General Electric, as steam turbine application engineer 

based in New Delhi. 

I introduce my friend Debajyoti Bordoloi, who is also a mechanical 

engineer by profession, presently working as Manager- 

Operations, India for HYTHANE LLC, USA. Hythane is into 

alternative energy/fuel sector. He is also based in New Delhi 

Sir, the major unresolved issues other than militancy in Assam 

is Power crisis. We don't have quality power available for our 

daily needs. Electrification in the villages is really in a 

horrible shape. 

This is due to many reasons such as lack of infrastructure, 

shortage of skilled man power, distribution losses, some geopolitical 

reasons, but mainly due to shortage of raw materials/ 

feed for power generation, the NE states have been suffering for 

long enough with acute shortage of power which in the long run 

has badly affected the whole economy of the region. The situation 

will never improve since we will never be able to meet our power 

demands with conventional fossil fuels (oil/gas and coal) and will 

have to suffer like this in the days ahead if nothing is done. 

Although we have a great potential for Hydro- Electric power, 

the huge capital investment pauses as the barrier to utilize this 

source of energy too. 

But we have the divine gift to address this issue, which is still 

unexplored. That is Biomass and Solar. 

In one of my recent official visits to different places in Europe, I 

was thrilled to see the vision of a company setting up a bioenergy 

power plant with a bio-fuel manufacturing unit. This 

unit was taking care of all the energy needs of the company along 

with a surplus. The raw material was dry leaves in their case. We 

also have a very good and easily available option of Biomass feed 

in our state, which is nothing but Rice residues/ husks and a few 

bio-energy plants along with sugarcane baggage. Bio-energy can 

help us in- 

1.) Huge power meeting demands 

2.) Creating job opportunities for the Assamese youth, 

3) Developing entrepreneurs and 

4) Bringing in some economic resurgence so that quality of life 

improves. 

Other major source we have in Assam is Solar power. The average 

temperature in Assam through out the year remains at above 20 

Deg. C and which is a big advantage for us to set up Solar Power 

plant. In India already different states had taken initiative towards 

this. Gujarat had recently signed different MoUs with several 

power producers to set up Solar power plant about 500 MWe 

capacity by 2010. Northeast region has the capability of producing 

15 GW per anum from Solar alone, which is more than sufficient 

to over come state's power deficit. 

19 

I would like to request Poosowa’s readers to bring this issue to 

Assam Industrial Development Corporation and Assam 

government, (we tried but unable to contact any one from these 

organizations). We have the resources, which are very clean and 

renewable, but we don't have the proper plan for exploration and 

execution. 

This is the time to take a call and address the issues before being 

too late. We are there to support for setting up pilot projects in 

some selected areas. We have the proper database available with 

us. 

Thanking you with CHEERS to GREEN and PROPEROUS 

AXOM. 

Jai Aai Axom. 

Manash Dutta and Debajyoti Bordoloi 

GE INDIA INDUSTRIAL (P) LIMITED 

Application Engineers (Steam Turbine) 

New Delhi-01 

TEL: +91-124- 4354057 

09871587984 

manash_dutta30@yahoo.com 

debojyotib@yahoo.com 

============================================ 

Re: "Mousumi Saharia: A musical career in brief …" 

It makes me a proud to see a girl from Assam doing so good in all 

respect of her life. The thing, which I would like to add, is her 

Australia visit where again she made us proud and took the good 

traditional Assamese geets to the heart and minds of those who 

might be away from there home but always want to stay near. I 

also congratulate her on her new life after marriage. It adds to it 

that the partner she chose also doing the same service to it 

motherland but wearing uniform. She recently got married to 

an army personnel. I wish she would do better in her life god 

bless her. 

Rupjyoti Das 

Hyderabad 

rupjyoti.das@gmail.com 

=========================================== 

Thanks for the Posoowa issues. The quality of the contents and 

subject selection is of high order. Please keep it up. Best wishes 

for the Assamese New Year and Rongali Bihu. 

Nilamani Sarmah, UK 

rumiruli@yahoo.com 

May 1, 2009 

=========================================== 

Dear Editor, 

What a beautiful publication, every issue is getting better and 

better. 

I enjoyed reading Rongali Bihu celebrations all around the globe 

and also the other articles. 

Congratulations and good wishes to you all. 

With love, 

Mahesh Baishya, Dublin, California 

May 1, 2009 

POSOOWA May 2009

To 

The Editor 

Posoowa. 

Sir, 

Posoowa has reached such a state of quality compilation, editing 

and get-up that I look forward eagerly to its release. I have been 

reading it since 2003 when an issue was sent to me. Last two 

issues are excellent- one on Dr Bhupen Hazarika and the current 

one on Rangali Bihu and Delhi complete with interesting and 

informative inputs. 

Congratulations to all in the editorial board for hard work that 

goes to make Posoowa a success story. I hope it reaches 

the appreciative readers around the world. 

Bijoy Kumar Bhuyan 

Guwahati. 

Fri, 01 May 2009 

bkb@vsnl.net 

=========================================== 

Dear Editor, 

I forwarded Posoowa to all Assamese families in Ontario. It is 

currently one of the biggest 

Assamese community outside India 

Best wishes 

Gokul Sarma, Toronto 

Saturday, May 2, 2009 

deepaligokul@yahoo.ca 

=========================================== 

Thanks a lot to you and your team for the great work. Interview 

sections needs special mention. 

Good luck! 

Abhishruti 

abhishruti@gmail.com 

Saturday, May 2, 2009 

=========================================== 

Dear Posoowa Editorial Team, 

Well done! Many thanks to all of you who have worked hard to 

bring this issue to such an excellent form. 

I, particularly like the Delhi Supplement; many thanks to Manoj 

and Barnali. It is very nostalgic to read the interview with Bhupen 

and Lily Barooah; I still remember the meeting with Bhupenda 

at the then newly appointed Union Cabinet Minister Fakhruddin 

Sahib's residence, soon before I left for London in January 1967. 

I wish them well. 

It is awe-inspiring to also read the write-up on Delhi Sankardeva 

Bhawan too, for we in London are initiating such a project. Many 

thanks to Gp. Capt. Barua. 

Please keep up the good work, with warm regards, 

Gagon Hazarika, London 

Sunday, May 3, 2009 

ghls21625@blueyonder.co.uk 

=========================================== 

20 

Dear Editors, 

The April 2009 Posoowa issue was indeed a treat to the eye in 

terms of layout and refreshing to the mind due to its diversity in 

content and sheer coverage of the planet. No wonder this already 

good package can be made more exciting with so many 

intellectuals involved. There can be avenues for different 

competitions like photography, short stories, etc. To me, it might 

potentially attract increased participation for even better editions 

in future. Best wishes, 

Regards and thanks, 

Simantik Dowerah 

New Delhi 

simantik.dowerah@gmail.com 

Tuesday, May 5, 2009 

=========================================== 

Dear Sir, 

It is really nice to read how we as a community have are still 

rooted in the pursuit of life and happiness. It has been really 

fascinating. Thank you for sharing the world of Oxomiya!!! 

Warm regards, 

Tituraj Das 

tituraj.das@adfactorspr.com 

Wednesday, May 6, 

=========================================== 

Dear Editor, 

Thank you very much for including me in the mailing list for 

Posoowa. I get the journal in my mailbox at regular intervals. 

And I enjoy reading it from top to toe, for it contains lots of 

information about the activities and achievements of our people 

living abroad. Because of health problems I am not always able to 

attend and participate in the interesting programs organized by 

the Assam Association in Delhi. Posoowa in one medium 

through which I keep abreast of events involving people from 

Assam. I always look forward to receiving Posoowa in my mailbox. 

My best wishes to you and all others who spare so much time 

and effort to make the Assam Association, Delhi, a vibrant 

organization. 

Yours sincerely, 

Nitish Chakravarty, journalist 

Phone 011-26518888 

nitishchak@yahoo.com 

Friday, May 8, 2009 

=========================================== 

Dear Posoowa, 

It is nice to know that energetic people have brought out Posoowa 

for all round information of Assamese people and Assam through 

net. 

I wish long life of Posoowa. 

Parag Baruah, New Delhi 

baruapk@yahoo.co.in 

Saturday, May 9 

Continued on page 20.. 

POSOOWA May 2009

Rongali Bihu in Pune 

The advent of spring brings the reverberating sweet voice of the 

cuckoo, the permeating fragrance of newly born “kopoou flowers”, 

and the most beautiful festival of Assam, Rongali or Bohag Bihu. 

It derives its name from the Sanskrit word “vishuvam” when 

day and night are rendered equal through the vernal equinox. It 

concurs with the Assamese New Year in April and corresponds 

to the end of the month of Chaitra in the lunar calendar. People 

welcome the spring season and pray for a bountiful and rich 

harvest. 

Rongali Bihu is a festival of joy and merriment with beautiful 

maidens dancing to the tune of “Dhol, Pepa, Gagana”, and sweet 

love songs sung by young boys all dressed in beautiful, eyecatching 

traditional attire. 

Like every Assamese community around the world, people 

residing in Pune celebrated Rongali Bihu on May 2, 2009 at Sylet 

Mess Ground, Bombay Sapers under the banner of ASSAM 

CULTURAL ASSOCIATION OF PUNE, ACAP. The function 

was started traditionally with beautiful Husori followed by Diha 

Naam, performed by invited Bihu artists Someshwar Koch, 

Jayanta Bhuyan, Nipul Bora, Ridip Das Pabita Bora, Anup 

Boruah and Ritu Bora from Jamugurihaat, Tezpur, Assam, 

followed by “Samuhik Aasirwaad “ given to all the people. Bonti 

Prajwalan was done by Honorable guests, Advocate Nilesh 

Nikam, Councillor, Pune Municipal Corporation and 

Bhanupratap Barge, Senior Inspector of Police. A welcome speech 

was given by Advocate Dr. A.K Borthakur, President ACAP. 

Honorable guests spoke about the rich culture of Assam and 

friendship between people of Assam and Maharashtra. Guests 

were felicitated by traditionally rich Assamese Gamosha. 

The attractive celebration was garlanded by Goalporiya lokageet 

by Pranab Saikia, Adhunik Geet by Rohan Gogoi and Utpal 

Burman, and a striking fusion dance named “Pohar” performed 

by Devika Borthakur and troupe. “Sangeetalokhya” (a mixing of 

JIkir, Bagorumba, Zumur, Missing Bihu, Borgeet, Biyanaam, 

Bihu) was performed by a group from Tezpur, Assam. When the 

beautiful maidens performed Bihu dance, encouraged by love 

songs of young boys, the electrifying performance enthused the 

crowd to rise to their feet and dance to the tunes and the sound 

of the “Dhol”. 

At the end of the cultural component, people unwinded at a 

lavish “BHOJ” dinner with fish and special “Aam Tok” made up of 

mango with various other delicacies. 

By Pranjal Saikia, Pune 

Continued from page 20.. 

Letters to the Editor 

Vote for Kaziranga at www.new7wonders.com 

We are in the second phase of the Official New7Wonders of 

Nature campaign! 261 qualified national and multinational 

nominees are now competing to make it to the top 77. You have 

one voice, and you have seven choices 

Kaziranga National Park is a national park in the Golaghat and 

Nagaon districts of Assam, India. Located on the edge of the 

Eastern Himalayan biodiversity hotspot, the park combines highspecies 

diversity and visibility. Kaziranga has the highest density 

of tigers among protected areas in the world and was declared a 

Tiger Reserve in 2006. It is also recognized as an Important Bird 

Area by Birdlife International for conservation of avifaunal 

species. 

We can help Kaziranga by voting at 

http://www.new7wonders.com/nature/en/vote_on_nominees/ 

?firstselect=6:93 to get it selected as one of the new 7 wonders. 

The live ranking is available at 

http://www.new7wonders.com/nature/en/liveranking/ 

Dear Editor, 

Many thanks for regularly sending POSOOWA. 

HEARTY RONGALI BIHU TO YOU ALL! 

Parimal Kumar Das. 

Director, 

Appropriate Technology Mission, Assam (ATMA), 

(A Non Governmental Organization of Assam). 

Department of Earthquake Engineering. 

Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee. 

Mobile No: 9435513740 

parimalkumar@sify.com 

Tuesday, May 12 

=========================================== 

Congratulations 

Dear Editor, 

The April 2009 issue Posoowa was excellent. Such a wide coverage 

is really creditable. Your reporting of Assam Bihu festival at 

ITPO was really good. Congratulate you all. Good job! 

TRIDIB SAIKIA 

tridibsaikia@gmail.com 

Wednesday, May 13 

Regards, 

Hirdesh Mishra, IFS, Divisional Forest Officer, 

Kamrup West Division, Bamunigaon, Assam. 

Wed, May 6, 2009 

21 

POSOOWA May 2009

Vedajyoti Ozah embarks upon 

The Sattriya Heritage Project 

Vedajyoti Ozah, a spirited Indian 

Classical dance soloist and 

choreographer has conceptualized 

and embarked upon a dance preservation 

and enhancement endeavor 

named the “Sattriya Heritage Project” 

wherein different dimensions and facets 

of the Sattriya tradition such as instrumental 

music (with special focus on 

unique and dying traditional instruments), 

theater, and stage props will be 

used for traditional and contemporary 

interpretation of the dance form. The 

initial phase of this project entitled 

“Novel Rhythms and Melodies: Experiencing 

Sattriya through Mridanga and 

Sarinda” was recently presented at a 

press conference at Vivekanada 

Kendra, Guwahati. 

Under this unique project, traditional 

but not so popular rhythmic instrument 

MRIDANGA and the forgotten string 

instrument SARINDA are being introduced 

into mainstream Sattriya dance 

music by Vedajyoti Ozah in collaboration 

with musicians Bhaskarjyoti Ojah 

(mridanga) and Prasanta Kr. 

Choudhury (sarinda) enriching the 

Sattriya music repertoire. The work has 

been documented through dance notation 

and digital music technology. The 

objective is to establish the mridanga 

as a major rhythmic instrument in addition 

to the khol. At present no indigenous 

string instruments that keep tune 

are in use either in sattras or other 

Vaishnava institutions as well as in 

Sattriya dance music. The sarinda is 

starting to fill the void of a string instrument 

in Sattriya dance music felt 

until now. This is an original concept 

carried out in consultation with 

Nrityacharya Padmashri Jatin 

Goswami. This is the first time in the 

history of Sattriya dance music that 

such a work involving the MRIDANGA 

and SARINDA has been attempted. 

The inspiration for this work originated 

from the necessity of a stringed instrument 

in Sattriya dance music. Intense 

22 

search of historical literature 

and contemporary literature 

paved the way for introducing 

sarinda and mridanga. 

This shows the originality of 

the work. 

In Guwahati, introducing the 

initial phase of her years-long 

project, Vedajyoti recently 

presented a piece of beautifully 

composed 

Rajaghoria Chali accompanied 

by the mridanga 

and sarinda. Thereafter 

she presented the theoretical 

foundations of her 

project with slide shows 

highlighting textual references 

in the holy biographies 

that support this innovative 

venture. The 

work was highly appreciated 

by the critics and the 

media and has received 

very good reviews in both 

the national and regional 

print media such as The 

Times of India, Ananda 

Bazaar Patrika, The 

Assam Tribune, and The 

Sentinel. 

Vedajyoti is a full time 

dancer who diligently investigates 

into and clearly 

exposes the artistic realm 

through creative choreography, 

expressive 

dance, seminars and 

workshops. Trained under Guru Indira 

P.P. Bora and Padmashri Jatin Goswami, 

both recipients of the prestigious 

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (India), 

she has performed in mainstream Indian, 

European and South-East Asian 

venues and festivals. She also credited 

with introducing, for the very first time, 

dance enthusiasts in the Netherlands 

and Austria to the Sattriya dance form 

through numerous performances and 

workshops in 2007 and 2008. Vedajyoti 

is immensely committed to performing 

Sattriya dance and exploring innovative 

elements for presenting Sattriya 

as a contemporary classical dance form 

within its traditional framework. She envisions 

herself as one who can create 

bridges – between cultures and people. 


POSOOWA May 2009

23 

World champion Archer 

Jayanta Talukdar 

Jayanta Talukdar has been hailed as the 

brightest prospect in Indian archery. 

His journey from a promising young 

archer to one of World’s top archers has 

been nothing less than remarkable. This 

23-year-old champion archer belongs to 

Guwahati and it was here, that archery 

coaches first spotted and selected him at a 

talent hunting camp in the late 90’s. He 

has been a trainee at the Tata Archery 

Academy, Jamshedpur since 2000, and is 

pursuing a BA course as well from an open 

university. The coaches at this academy 

were impressed with his physical strength 

and focused attitude. 

In 2004, Jayanta became the top performer 

of the Indian team and won the silver medal 

at the Junior Worlds in Britain. He made 

Indians proud as this was the country‘s 

first medal at a World Championship. As 

Jayanta upstaged a few seasoned stars to 

clinch the Olympic round at the 25th 

Senior Nationals in Kochi, he became 

India’s top ranking archer in 2005. His 

success story continued and eventually he 

made history by winning the Gold Medal 

in the FITA Meteksan Archery World Cup 

at Porec, Croatia, in the same year. 

Jayanta ranked second (his career best 

FITA ranking) behind Italy‘s Ilario di Buo 

in the world rankings of individual archery. 

In the SAF Games held in Colombo, in 

2006, Jayanta defeated compatriot 

Tarundeep Rai to bag the men‘s individual 

recurve gold in archery. As a testimony to 

his sparkling performance, he was 

honoured with the Arjuna Award-2006 

for Archery by the President of India, at a 

glittering function in New Delhi on 

August 29, 2007. 

Jayanta receiving Arjuna Award from the 

President of India Smt Pratibha Devisinghji 

Patil 

Jayanta has helped the Indian team bag 

the team Gold in the World Cup last year 

and two this year at Stage I and Stage II. 

The trio of Jayanta Talukdar, Rahul 

Banerjee and Mangal Singh Champia won 

India the men’s recurve Team Gold in the 

team event at the Archery World Cup Stage 

2 at Porec, Croatia, on the 9 th of May this 

year. It was the second consecutive team 

gold medal after bagging the first at Santo 

Domingo World Cup Stage 1 on April 5. 

India had beaten Great Britain in Stage 1 

final. After the Team Gold , the icing on 

the cake was provided by Jayanta when he 

also clinched the men’s individual recurve 

gold in the Archery World Cup Stage 2 at 

Porec, Croatia, the same day on the 9 th of 

May this year. In fact, Porec has been a 

happy hunting ground for Indians as 

Jayanta began it all in 2006 winning the 

individual gold, the year in which his world 

ranking rose to two. He figured in the 

World Cup finals in Mexico but finished 

last among four contestants. 

The same super trio had also bagged for 

India the first ever Team Gold in World 

Cup series, winning at Antalya (Turkey) 

in 2008 and that was followed by two more 

wins already this year as narrated above. 

In fact, the trio, along with Raju Ajonda, 

had won the gold in the 15th Asian 

Archery Championship held at Xian, 

China in 2007. Jayanta also won his third 

head-to-head contest against the Italian 

Galiazzo, all played at Porec, Croatia. He 

first tamed Galiazzo in 2006 on way to the 

gold medal, and again beat him in 2008 

and now in the final recently, this year. So, 

if past data can be extrapolated to foretell 

patterns in the future, it is amply clear 

that Jayanta is one of the few Indian sport 

superstars who has such a trailblazing 

career and he is probably only a few steps 

away from the much coveted Olympic Gold 

in 2012. 

This ace archer’s family is now waiting for 

him to hit the bull’s eye: an Olympic medal.. 

“Jayanta is confident about qualifying for 

the Olympics on the basis of his world 

ranking”, says his father Mr Ranjan 

Talukdar, a Guwahati based businessman. 

He even recently told an interviewer that 

he and his wife Satyawati would visit 

London for the next Olympics, if Jayanta 

is blessed to keep his date with destiny. 

World No. 2 Jayanta missed a berth for 

the Beijing Olympics held last year because 

of a dip in his performance as he was yet 

to adapt to new techniques imparted by 

his Korean coaches. However, to his fan’s 

delight, he has managed to overcome this 

lean patch witnessed recently. Mr Ranjan 

Talukdar said, “Jayanta adopted a new 

technique of playing at the instance of his 

Korean coach, which was one of the 

reasons he could not perform to his ability, 

as mastering a new technique needs some 

time. But now that he has completely 

adjusted with the new technique, you can 

expect more glory to come.” 

Jayanta while speaking to the Business 

Standard newspaper after his latest medal 

haul said “Of course I am proud of my 

achievements. But I would like to believe 

that this is just the beginning. As a nation, 

we have shown in the past that we can 

compete with the best”. But he believes 

that the sport needs a shot in the arm in 

India, ideally an Olympic medal. 

His next target now is the Third Stage of 

the World Championships, to be held in 

Turkey in four months. “I will continue 

to practice hard and, hopefully, repeat my 

performance” which served him well in 

Croatia. He says that working under veteran 

archer Limba Ram, who is the coach 

of the Indian Archery Team, has been a 

wonderful experience. An idol for many 

of the archers, Jayanta says Ram is more 

than an inspiration. “He knows the sport 

very well, is always there to guide you and 

his experience comes in handy.” 

Jayanta is in Kolkata now to train, beginning 

in June, ahead of the third stage of 

the World Cup. “It’s not just about working 

hard”, he says - “You also need to be 

mentally strong.” As of now, his sights are 

fixed on the tournament ahead, but his 

long-term goal remains success at the 

Olympics. For the sake of the sport in India, 

let’s hope Jayanta will continue to hit 

bull’s eye when it matters the most. 

POSOOWA May 2009

Fighting Fit Darshanjita 

FACT FILE: 

· Age: 23 

· Current Fita rank: 16 

· Best Fita rank: 2 (10.10.2006) 

· Started career: 2001 in the Tata 

Archery Academy 

Major Achievements 

2006 

2008 

2009 

24 

· Gold (individual) at World Cup 

in Porec, Croatia 

· Bronze (team) in Asian Games 

in Doha 

· Gold (individual) in SAF Games 

in Colombo 

· Gold (team) in World Cup stage 

III in Antalya, Turkey 

· Gold (team) in World Cup stage 

I in Santo Domingo, Dominican 

Republic 

· Gold (individual and team) in 

World Cup stage II in Porec, 

Croatia 

By Manoj Goswami 

(With inputs from Delhi Bureau) 

This is the story of a young 

Assamese girl who is learning 

Taekwondo in South Korea. 

Quite an unusual pursuit indeed even 

by our progressive Assamese standards. 

However, none of the stereotypes held 

her back. Darshanajita Bharali hails 

from Dhakuakhana, from the 

Lakhimpur district of Assam, with 

seven years of experience as a national 

level Taekwondo player. Well-trained 

under skilled Korean and Iranian 

coaches in Indian camps, she has won 

many medals in this field and holds a 

Dan-2 Black Belt. After completion of 

her 12 th standard she is now in South 

Korea, where she is learning different 

aspects of Taekwondo – the 

Taekwondo dance, Poomse (forms), 

breaking, and acrobatic Taekwondo – 

and is also teaching English Taekwondo 

at the Korean Taekwondo Centre. 

Darshanjita’s parents work in the 

medical department in Assam. She has 

two sisters and a brother. One of the 

sisters is married and the other two are 

pursuing their studies. Her father being 

an avid sports lover, she has been 

interested in sports since her childhood 

days. He introduced her to sports at 

the age of 13 and became her first 

coach. He wanted her to get into 

athletics initially but she could not 

pursue it due to lack of facilities and 

proper infrastructure in Dhakuakhana. 

She, therefore, switched to Taekwondo. 

Her mother had a big role to play in 

this switchover and it was her 

encouragement that gave her the 

courage to join this tough game. 

Initially, she had joined the 

Dhakuakhana Taekwondo Club where 

Mr. Krishna Kanta Gogoi had coached 

her. He used to train his students twice 

a day, in the mornings and in the 

evenings. She gained interest and 

proficiency in the game very soon and 

practiced with whole hearted devotion, 

never missing a single class. Her hard 

work bore fruit and she developed her 

skills pretty quickly. In fact, she was so 

good that her coach gave her 

permission to participate in the interdistrict 

championship when she was 

only a yellow-belt holder. She was very 

excited as normally no one under a 

green-belt (which is awarded after the 

yellow) gets permission to participate 

in such events. She was so enthused by 

this that she went on to win the gold 

medal in the event! 

She soon got a call to join the national 

camp, where she trained rigorously for 

three weeks under Coach Mr. Praban 

Saikia, who was himself an 

POSOOWA May 2009

international player. He belongs to 

Jorhat but based in Delhi with his family. 

His coaching improved her techniques 

immensely. After her training was over, 

she accompanied Mr. Saikia to Kerala 

where she took part in the Junior 

National Championship. Though she 

could not bag any medal in this event, 

she was lauded for her good 

performance as a beginner. Post that, 

Mr. Saikia invited her to Delhi for a 

month, where he further helped her 

perfect her fighting skills. In that one 

month she progressed from being a 

juvenile onto being a terrific fighter. He 

helped her change her style of fighting 

and transformed her into a player fit to 

compete in nationals level 

competitions. 

After her return to Assam, she 

participated in the National 

Championship, held in Manipur, and 

bagged the Bronze medal. She was then 

selected for the India Camp, which 

defined the happiest moment in her life, 

as she was the only one to get into the 

India Camp from her team. At the camp 

she trained with international players 

and learnt many new techniques in 

Taekwondo including new fighting 

styles, better tactics, importance of selfdiscipline, 

etc. Post her time spent at 

the India Camp, winning medals at 

national events became a matter of 

routine, such was the level of her 

training and skill. 

However, she was not happy due to one 

weak point in her career– though she 

had had the opportunity to participate 

in the India Camp four times, she had 

25 

never been selected for the 

International Championship. When she 

didn’t get selected even after her last 

India Camp, held in Bhopal, she felt 

really down. After all those years of hard 

work and dedication she couldn’t bear 

failure any longer and considered 

leaving Taekwondo. However, her old 

mentor Mr. Praban Saikia helped her 

and encouraged her to pursue her 

promising career. He told her, “Don’t 

waste your time. Do something else and 

make your life.” She felt that he was 

right. She accepted that she couldn’t 

become a world-level player, but felt 

that she could be something else. 

Therefore she headed to South Korea, 

to obtain higher education in the field 

of Martial Arts. Now she is pursuing a 

diploma course in the country, from 

where Taekwondo originates. “South 

Korea is a really beautiful place,” she 

says. “It is a hilly area next to the sea. 

Korean people are very kind and 

friendly. But they have one big problem 

– they only use their mother-tongue 

and cannot speak other languages, not 

even English!” This posed a great 

problem to her at first, but now it’s no 

longer a problem as she has become 

fluent in Korean. She finds that Koreans 

are keen on learning English too. 

Another problem that she faced initially 

was Korean food. She was not 

accustomed to eating meat, fish and 

other seafood, all boiled, without any 

oil! During her first week in Korea, she 

had only bread and juice, but now, she 

has adjusted herself to their food 

habits. “The best thing about Koreans 

is that they are very punctual,” she says, 

“My Korean classmates are very good 

to me and very helpful too.” Her daily 

class routine commences at 9 am and 

ends at 3 pm, after which she and her 

classmates engage in sparring (fighting) 

amongst themselves from 5 pm to 

7pm. Saturdays and Sundays are off and 

they usually go out shopping with 

friends, or sometimes they spend time 

discussing with their professors. She 

finds that her professors are very 

kindhearted and friendly too. The head 

of their Taekwondo department is Mr. 

Park Jeong-Wook and the sparring 

coach is Mr. Park Jae-Joon. They are 

also taught English Taekwondo by Mr. 

Jarom Corabte, a Canadian. 

Darshanajita is not the lone Indian; 

there. There are 5 other fellow students 

from India and they are Rahul Sharma 

from Rajasthan, and four others, Vishal 

Singh, Neeraj Kumar, Zuber Beg and 

Jatin Choudhary are from Delhi. She 

is, however, the only girl in their group. 

There’s a great deal of camaraderie 

amongst the Indians too and they are 

good friends and helpful to each other. 

Their course would finish next year and 

then they would obtain their diplomas. 

Talking about her future plans, she says 

“My future goal is to become part of an 

institution which is strong, forwardthinking 

and progressive, and where I 

can fully utilize my knowledge and 

experience as a coach.” 

Manoj Das & Barnali Das, New Delhi 

(with part editing help from Ms 

Priyanka Das) 

POSOOWA May 2009

Visit www.Assam.org and its sister sites: 

www.Guwahati.com, www.Shillong.com 

www.Bihu.in, www.ClassAmigo.com, www.Melahi.com 

Posoowa is published monthly. Ganesh Bora, on behalf of Assam Society of America, has published 

this issue of Posoowa. The editors are Ankur Bora (Texas), Babul Gogoi (New Delhi, India), Barnali 

Das (Delhi), Ganesh Bora (Fargo, North Dakota), Jugal Kalita (Colorado Springs, Colorado, Editorin-Chief 

), Kaushik Phukan (Seattle, Washington), Manoj Kumar Das (New Delhi), Rini Kakati (London, 

UK), Sanchayita Sharma (London, UK), Satyam Bhuyan (Ames, Iowa) and Umesh Sharma (College 

Park, Washington D.C). 

ASA Executive Committee: President: Dr. Ganesh Bora, Fargo, ND; Past President:Mr. Dhruba 

Das, Coatesville, PA; Vice President: Dr. Samar Jyoti Bhuyan, Phoenix, AZ; General Secretary: Mr. 

Utpal Borah, Glenmoore, PA. Executive Members: Mr. Kedar Bhuyan, Mays Landing, NJ, Dr. Nilakshi 

Phukan, Raleigh, NC, Ms. Bornali Talukdar, Omaha, NE, Mr. Arindam Barkataky, Orlando, FL, Mr. 

Probal Tahbildar, Kendall Park, NJ. 

We invite contributors from all over the world. We appreciate your valuable feedback, comments 

& suggestions, and of course, news from your part of the world for inclusion in the coming editions. 

Please send your written contributions to posoowa@assam.org. If you prefer, you can send your 

contributions directly to any of the editors listed above as well. Any contribution must be 750 

words or shorter in length. Please include a scanned image of the author. We also request you to 

submit other pertinent photographs if possible. 

Assam Society of America 

PO Box 254 

Mays Landing 

NJ 08330 

USA 

26 

POSOOWA May 2009

Vedajyoti Ozah of Houston, Texas, has embarked upon the - Posoowa

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?