Volume 35, Issue 6, March 2008 - Posoowa

www.posoowa.org
Non-Resident Assamese (NRA) Magazine
POSOOWA
News & Events of Assamese People Living Around the World
VOLUME 35, ISSUE NO. 6 :: MARCH 2008
Tourists on elephants in Kaziranga National Forest, 11th of December, 2007.
Photo by Alpona Barooah, The Woodlands, Texas.
Invitation to Rongali Bihu 2008, London
Venue: St. Andrews Church Hall, Southgate, London N14
Date: Sunday 4th May 2008
Time: 2 PM - 9:30 PM
Programme
2-3.45 PM: Registration
3:45-4 PM: Welcome by President
4-4.45 PM: Cultural Program
4:45-5 PM: Vote of thanks
5-7.30 PM: General Bihu Dance and
socialising
7:30-9 PM: Bihu Bhoj
For further inormation, please contact either of:
Jayanta Borkakoty, Correspondence Secretary at: 01992 445347

Charity Walk in Guwahati
by Garvin Brown
http://picasaweb.google.com/
Parijat.Academy/
Wahid Saleh da of the
Netherlands, always an inspiring
figure, has also put the route of the
walk through Google map. There
It was sometime in July 2006
when I received an email from
Garvin Brown of Queensland,
Australia. Seventy-eight years old
Garvin introduced himself,
mostly talking about the
influence of Mahatma Gandhi on
his life. He mentioned that he
would be undertaking a walk
from Coast of Queensland to
Sydney covering a distance of
around 950 kms to raise
awareness about the teachings of
Gandhi. Garvin also mentioned
about his desire for a charity
walk in Assam. I was pleasantly
surprised but at the same time I
was apprehensive and not sure.
Garvin replied with a quotation of
Gandhi, “IF YOUR MOTIVES
ARE PURE THERE IS NO
DOUBT ABOUT THE END
RESULT; IT WILL HAPPEN”.
As time progressed, I began to see
the outpouring of support from all
over the globe to the selfless work
of some of the followers of
Gandhi, namely Uttam Teron of
Parijat Academy, Late Jugal
Bhuyan of Prajnalaya, Biju
Barborbaruah of Asha Darshan
among others. In my last trip to
Assam, I also observed the
tremendous goodwill of people of
Assam toward these efforts.
It was a remarkable day, the 9 th of
March 2008, when Garvin Brown
came all the way from Australia
and undertook the Charity walk.
Please find the photos of the walk
compiled by Wahid Saleh:
is also an article on the walk at
Assam Tribune online:
http://www.assamtri bune.com/
scripts/details. asp?id=mar1108\
State6 .
It is worthwhile to mention that
Mr. Jayanta Barman of Friends of
Assam and Seven Sisters (FASS)
took all the care for the successful
management of this walk where a
number of eminent persons of
Guwahati participated.
Sincerity, credibility and
dedication are the keys for success
in any endeavor. If someone has
these qualities, he or she is going
to achieve his goal no matter the
obstacles that come on his way.
Garvin Brown’s Charity walk is a
symbol of goodness of human
beings.
Ankur Bora
Austin, Texas
Page 2 * POSOOWA, March 2008

Bar Amar: Ahom Dictionary
We, a group of five relatives,
were to make an informal call
at the residence of Shri
Lokam Tumung, the headman of
Kharang Kong, a Tangsa village while
we were on a visit to Margherita, Ledo
and other places in Assam. Actually, our
host was ready for us after he got our
phone call that we were on our way. We
also met two other chiefs there, namely,
Shri Yanim Mochang and Shri Kamsat
Loongvi. There was one more person
who also looked like a chief with the
usual headgear, a colorful lungi and
other bits of tribal haute couture,
although he looked a little different from
the rest. His ruddy white complexion in
a much younger body betrayed him. He
was no other than the Australian linguist
Dr Stephen Morey. Dr Morey completed
his Ph.D. on the Tai language of Assam
in 2002. Ever since he has been engaged
in the study of the languages of the
Northeast of India.
We exchanged gifts. The tea served to
us all was delicious. While munching
biscuits and other savories, we
abandoned European civility and put
personal questions to Stephen; he
responded to without taking offence.
Yes, he was married. He did not cook,
as his host would not allow him to do
so. He spoke Tangsa only with the
inmates of the house as well as with
other villagers. He hopped on a bicycle
from one village to the other dressed like
a local Tangsa man.
We asked him about his work. He gave
us his card and a leaflet, which DOBES
Page 10, recto of 1795 edition
produced. DOBES stands for
Dokumentation Bedrohter Sprachen; the
acronym may not be precise, which
means Documentation of Endangered
Languages. Tangsa, Tai and Singpho are
named in the leaflet among other extinct
languages, in all about fifty.
I asked him questions, which were more
in anthropology than in linguistics.
Since these subjects correlate, Stephen
was able to answer them precisely and
with authority.
The word Tangsa is a derivative from
the word Tong that means high land.
‘Cha’ or ‘Sa’ means sons of the high
land. Like the Ahoms, they migrated
from the South-West China province of
Yunan through Burma and settled in the
Dehing-Patkai region in the 13 th century.
While discussing about the Tangsa,
Stephen casually mentioned the Tai-
Ahom language and the research that is
going on.
Later, after my return to UK, I checked and
found that Dr. Stephen Moray is the Director
of the Ahom Dictionary Resource Project.
Bar Amar (1785) is the most important
Ahom language reference source. There are
several versions of this invaluable document
and the version considered to be the most
reliable is now preserved carefully at the
Department of Historical and Antiquarian
Studies (DHAS) at Guwahati. The
manuscript is being edited with up-to-date
annotations by Yehom Buragohain who is
in charge of the Ahom Section in DHAS.
A veteran Ahom scholar, Junaram
Sangbun Phukan of Patsako, Sivasagar,
Assam possesses a sasi bark manuscript
that contains nearly 3,000 entries. This
is considered to be more accessible to
scholars and is being now
photographed, transcribed and
translated under the aegis of the CRCL
(Centre for Research in Communication
and Language), at the Stirling
University. The Department of
Dr Stephen Morey
Linguistics of the Gauhati University is
also associated with this project.
A more detailed account of the project
can be found on this site:
sealang.net/archives/ahom that explains
why research on the Ahom language is
significant. Not long ago there was an
outcry in the Assam press that hundreds
of manuscripts in DHAS’s archives
were decaying for lack of expert care.
Another criticism was that the progress
in linguistic research in the Northeast
had been tardy. One can only hope that
things are now getting better.
Bhuban Baruah, UK
Page 3 * POSOOWA, March 2008

Quest for Our Heritage Trail,
Part I: Majuli
We all know what it is like
to visit Assam after you
have lived a significant
part of your life abroad. The earlier
years after leaving homeland the priority
goes to ascertaining a secure financial
future for the family. Things
have changed now but in the 1970s
and earlier years one was allowed
around £ 3 pound sterling per person
and it meant that between
my wife and I
we came with £7 between
us, 3 suitcases
and a 9 month old
baby. The upshot of
this is that visiting
homeland frequently was a impossibility.
Even when you did, visiting
friends and spending time with family
always took priority. It, however,
did not diminish the quest to pursue
the trail of heritage.
After retirement my wife and I started
to travel within India and see the
places that we had only
heard of, now that we
could take longer holidays.
Thus, in December
2006, we decided
to see important places
in Assam and that included
visiting Majuli,
Bordowa ( birthplace
of Sankardeva), Hajo and Madan
Kamdev. Part 1 is about our visit to
Majuli.
Majuli is said to be the largest river
island in the world. It is located near
Jorhat and at the heart of mighty
Brahmaputra. Years of
flooding and erosion
have altered the size
and the shape of
Majuli. To an
Assamese, Majuli’s significance lies
in its unique status of housing several
Satras – seat of Vaishnavite culture
in Assam. Travelling to and from
Majuli is still quite restricted with just
one ferry crossing per day to and
from Nimatighat. Therefore staying
over night is inevitable if you want
to see Majuli.
We set off from
Dibrugarh on 30th
December 2006 to
Jorhat. It is my
hometown and is
full of friends and
relatives. Keeping
everyone happy by visiting everyone
is an impossible task. Therefore, we
followed our usual practice of not
staying with any relatives or friends
to keep the peace but stay overnight
at a neutral venue. We made use of
the huge but empty house of a friend
from the medical school days and
drove onto catch the ferry next morning.
It was an experience
in itself.
It was loaded to
the full from one
end to another
with cars, people,
their bags, animals,
local produce
– you name
it the boat had it. The front and
the back end of the cars hanged
over the floor space.
Page 4 * POSOOWA, March 2008
Sitting on the roof of the passenger
seating area in open space I
could easily visualise the horrified
expression on
their faces if western
style Health and
Safety executive ever
saw it!!! But the journey
lasting for over 2 hours was curiously
serene with the wide river that
looked more like a sea and its sand
banks. We were waved off by several
groups who had come for picnic.
Disembarkation was equally risky
Main gate: Auniati Satra
with just 2 planks bridging the gap
between the boat and the high-level
riverbank thus creating a steep gradient.
Thank God, it passed off without
any incident.
The road thereafter was not hard
topped. I presumed the floods did not
spare the roads. There were houses
on either side of the road. I was told
later that these were Mising people
displaced by floods who were making
the best use of any available high
ground.
We had booked into a private
guesthouse for the overnight stay.
The place was modestly furnished
but clean. As we registered, the
owner dropped the first clanger.
Since it was the New Years Eve the
chef had gone off on a picnic!!! We
looked for somewhere to have some
lunch and the only available place did
not look quite appetising.
Lesson No.1: make sure that someone
will be
available to
cook your
meals or book
yourself into
the Inspection
Bungalow normally
used by
Government
official. There is a resident cook.
We set off to the Auniati Satra believed
to be one of the largest. You

have to enter the grounds of the Satra
bare-footed. That creates a practical
problem of the pain of walking on
small pebbles. As we walked we saw
a man gathering firewood. We
‘Bhokot’ preparing the rice for cooking
stopped to say hello. What followed
was display of unbelievable modesty
and gentleness that humbled us. He
offered to drop everything and show
us around. We went to his living
quarter that was built of bamboo and
reeds and did not have a concrete
floor. But it was immaculately clean
Shree Shree Hem Chandra Deva
Goswami, Satradhikar, Auniati Satra
with an open fire. He had been at the
Satra for more than 40 years since
he was 9 years of age. His family was
displaced by the floods and they did
not have the resources to look after
him.
Thus he was taken in and there he
remains till his “call comes”, as he
put it. He insisted that we must have
some tea that we declined and then
he insisted that we should have Paan
and betel nut. We then came across a
boy of about 8 who was sweeping
the grounds. Once again, he was the
epitome of modesty and politeness.
He had been there for about 18
months and he appeared to be content
with what the Satra had to offer.
He was learning to dance (Satriya
Dance). He was dedicated to the
Satra by his parents at the age of 7
and is visited by his family about
once a year.
We were guided to the main centre
where the Satradhikar (the Head) received
us with immense politeness
and dignity. We learnt later that he is
a highly qualified man who had a
PhD. We then went around the large
auditorium that holds cultural and
religious functions like evening
prayer, Raas Lila, Satriya dances and
so on.
Lesson 2: it costs nothing to treat others
with dignity, politeness and respect
and for peace of mind one does
not need material comforts.
The New Year eve party took the
form of a singing contest dedicated
to finding the “ Voice of Majuli”. It
was entertaining. We were towards
the backend of the auditorium. A
group of local youngsters came towards
us and asked, “Where do you
come from” to which I said “ Bopai,
Aami Dibrugarhar”. Profusely apologetic,
they insisted on us sitting down
in the front row. The heavy presence
of security was quite daunting especially
when the power supply got cut
off.
The New Years Eve dinner was a take
away from the aforementioned “not
very appetising place” but we were
hungry and relished the fried fish.
Sleeping under a mosquito net was a
novelty experienced after many
years. The lady of the house cooked
the Luchi Bhajee breakfast the following
morning. We planned to visit
another Satra but the condition of the
road deteriorated after a few
kilometres from where we were stay-
Page 5 * POSOOWA, March 2008
ing and we abandoned the trip and
headed for the boat to continue our
quest for heritage – Bordowa that is
the subject of part 2.
What a remarkable and humbling experience
– we said
to one another on
the boat.
By Ranjit K Baruah
Nottingham
England
Ranjit Baruah was born and brought
up in Jorhat, Assam. He is one of 5
children who started Balya Bhavan
which was avant-garde in primary
school education and was the first ever
school in Assam that adopted the
Montessory method. He went onto to
graduate from Assam Medical College,
Dibrugarh and then joined the
Indian Armed Forces Medical Services
for 4 years. After a short period of
employment in the tea industry he
came to the United Kingdom and went
onto train in Psychiatry at Dumfries,
Scotland and then at Canterbury and
London in England. He was appointed
a Consultant Psychiatrist in
Nottingham in 1981 where he still lives
with his wife. After holding several offices
for the Royal College of Psychiatrists
both locally and centrally in
London he retired from active clinical
practice as a Clinical Director,
Rampton Hospital which is one of 3
high security psychiatric hospitals in
England being responsible for day today
running of some 250 beds. Since
retirement he and his wife have spent
most of their time in travelling all over
the world including regular trips to
India.

Drugs, An Unholy suffering
Death, death, and only death! This
is the only synonym one can
think for drugs. Smaller than
bullets, lighter than grenades, but they
can kill a whole man, a whole human,
slowly, very slowly, causing a very
deadly and painful death.
Everybody knows, the substances behind
the five letters “drugs” are dangerous,
but still addiction is increasing day
by day. But, why? What is the reason
behind it?
A few months ago, I went to a friend’s
place for a visit, but what I saw, when I
entered his flat was really shocking. It
shook the whole of my body—— it was
a different picture, a totally different
one…!!!
The “evening time” atmosphere was
quite sizzling. It was a fog of smoke, just
like something extraterrestrial. I saw 10
young people, 19 to 25 years of age, including
my friend, enjoying heaven.
“Guns ‘n Roses” screamed out through
the music system making the situation
rock! They were passing - lighted cigarette
to each other.
Cigarette? Wait a minute!
Not ordinary ones!!
These are the cigarettes stuffed with
dope—”bhang”,
They took out the tobacco from the cigarettes
and stuffed it with bhang. When I
asked “But, why?” one of them replied,
“I dope every weekend just to relax”.
The other one said he is addicted. There
were not only boys in the group, but girls
as well. This was just a single scene in
the world; there are thousands of similar
scenes happening every minute
around the world.
Young people are attracted to charas,
ganja, brown sugar, S.P
(spasmoproxyvom), nitro (nitrosum) and
other deadly weapons, all known as
drugs. Most surprising is the fact is that,
these things are easily available in the
market; just, and you must have good
contact.
At first brokers who sell drugs, sell it
cheap, but when one is addicted, they
charge like anything. Consequently, once
addicted, a youngster will do anything
to get his or her fix, even stealing and
ruining own and family’s life.
And at last….
Page 6 * POSOOWA, March 2008
”Death”-- on the Doorstep.
The law is not able to trace it although
it’s strict.
Why?
“We take it only to be relaxed with our
heavy schedules at work”,
“But end up in addiction?” When
asked—— there was no answer.
This alarmingly rising trend may be attributed
to pressure, both at school and
work, and peer pressure—trying to be
cool among friends. Although they seem
to be aware of the consequences of prolonged
and sustain abuse, young men
and women are using it. Most of them
start as occasional users or when they
try to be a part of a happening crowd.
But alas! They end up regulars.
There must be control over these activities.
It is OK to be cool with them; family
members should keep an eye on the
activities of their children, but never be
harsh with them. Most importantly, it is
your “WILL”; you should be strong
enough to avoid these “deadly weapons”
and lead a happy and healthy life.
A relief, a satisfaction for a few minutes,
a few hours or a day can cause everlasting
pain.
“An unholy suffering leading to the hell
of death”
By, Pranjal Saikia, Pune, India
Saraswati Puja Celebrated in Kharghar, Navi Mumbai
Saraswati Puja, the annual worship of the Goddess of
knowledge, music, speech and writing, was celebrated
with great enthusiasm for the first time in Mumbai’s
satellite city of Navi Mumbai. It was organized by Kingkhap
Asomiya Mahila Samiti, the women’s wing of the Kharghar
Asomiya Samaj, on Vasant Panchami Day, the 11 th February
2008.
The puja began in the morning with pandits reciting slokas
and mantras as the devotees watched. Everyone took the
blessings of the Goddess and participated in the mass
pushpanjali program that when flowers are offered at the feet
of the Goddess Maa Saraswati; in return, she bestows them
with the gift of knowledge. The pushpanjali program was
followed by a traditional Assamese mah-prasad and finally
bhog consisting of khichidi and payox (kheer) and other
delicacies offered during the occasion. The serpentine queue
that was seen in the post-puja session bore testimony to the
huge turnout that thronged the Tirupati Arcade Campus.
After successful organization of Saraswati Puja, the Kingkhap Asomiya Mahila Samiti, made plans to celebrate International Women’s Day on 8 th
March 2008.
By Rubi Borgohain, Mumbai, India

Indian souls.
Our Mother Country is Britain,
Our Parents’ is India
Ihave nothing new to say to those
who heard this before, but
sometimes repetition reinforces sad
truths and calls for change of pace.
Some may accuse me of tarring all with
the same brush but in social
anthropology one has to generalize.
Exceptions do not break the rule.
Some might have heard from their
children (raised in the West) that India
was nothing but a land of half-naked
fakirs before the British went there and
colonized it. Some children and adults
might go on to list of facts to buttress
their claims - like bringing in the
railroad to link various parts of India
and modern technology, and of course
democracy. Of course, it is sad but true
that railroad and the steam engine were
not invented in India. They were
invented in Great Britain. It is also
deplorable that Indians talk only about
the glorious past (which anyway many
historians dispute - like Harvard’s
Indology Prof. Witzel). It is also sad
that while many first generation NRIs
or NRAs have visions of a civilized
land of their forefathers, many in the
second generation contend that it was
no way superior to that of the Britain
or the United Kingdom - their Mother
Country. America’s Mother Country!
As part of Americanization, it is the
duty of all citizens to uphold the
concept of Mother Nation. India has
no Mother Country. USA has a mother
country - Great Britain.
In this context, what should be
expected from second or third
generation Indian Americans?
Should they be expected to uphold the
interests of their Mother Country or
that of India - the land of their
forefathers?
WHY MOTHER COUNTRY
BRITAIN IS A BETTER DEAL
It is true that Mother Country provides
a more welcoming smile - better
colleges (like Rhodes scholarship to
Oxford University to Piyush “Bobby”
Jindal, the new governor of Louisiana)
which result in more acclaim when
they return to the US. The stay there
makes their accent even better - British
accent is favored even above the New
England one. What does India have to
offer besides a visit to Grandma’s
home? Further, Mother Country
Britain helped the USA during the
World Wars and current Iraq War. What
did land of forefathers, India, do?
Nothing! No wait - it is taking away
American jobs through outsourcing.
Now some second generation Indian
Americans are forced to work or do
internships in Bangalore. None wants
to go to IITs to study or teach.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC
CHALLENGES FOR 2 nd
GENERATION NRI CHILDREN
It is true that if a child has to grow up
in an immigrant family in the USA or
anywhere else, it is a great challenge,
since the s/he has no support network
of a large family - the way these kids
have who have all their grandparents
and all their relatives in the USA.
Those Indian American kids have it
tough - who have no support network
or endowment backing their trip to elite
colleges or helping them get jobs in top
firms where a phone call from
“someone you know” lands jobs
(ceteris paribus - all else remaining
equal). Thus, Indian Americans turn to
top quality education to open closed
doors to success. And success is
generally defined in a very
materialistic sense for most Indian
Americans. Materialistic people should
not be expected to go out and save the
BRAIN GAIN OR BRAIN DRAIN
OR SOUL IN THE DRAIN
Maybe some have indeed gone to India
to save souls - in the spiritual sense.
However, none seem to remain for their
entire lives (like Mother Teresa) to take
care of the Indian economy. The World
Bank was formed for the
reconstruction of Europe following
World War Two. It was the USA who
wanted to help the land of its Mother
Country and other European nations.
Which Indian American organization
is there to help the cause? Which
organization is there which can counter
the claim by top economists (like
Harvard Business School professor
Mihir Desai - second generation Indian
American) that India is losing ten
percent of its national income because
a million of their educated elite
(including perhaps his parents) have
seen it fit to head West (Desai, 2002).
Some at ILO (International Labor
Organization) said thing along the
same lines - that Indians should remain
in India or the brain drain would
damage Indian economy
(www.ilo.org/dyn/idea/
ideasheet.display?p_idea_id=20).
I wonder how many of the Indian
Americans have thought of calculating
how much did Britain lose when its
citizens left its shores to head for the
USA. Why such step-motherly attitude
towards the Mother Country of USA?
No one in the USA accuses a
Frenchman of being a FOB or then why
do some look down on anything Indian?
Russell Peters is a shining example
youtube.com/watch?v=Nn5jlrxcpkI -
though some are quite interestingly
done - making fun of cricket, Indian
food, Yoga, Hare Krishna
youtube.com/watch?v=
owK5tHjL0aE 12 days of Christmas.
Any comments?
Umesh Sharma
Washington DC
Page 7 * POSOOWA, March 2008

SPACE – An Introduction
Peering into a clear sky on a starry
night, one can experience and marvel
at the unique beauty of the universe
around us in the harmonious space of three
dimensions. This observed space is filled
with familiar heavenly objects - planets,
stars, the Milky Way and much more. The
mystifying spectacle of the night’s
firmament has evoked a myriad of questions
in the mind of the Homo sapiens during more
than two hundred thousand years of its
existence on earth. The earliest answers to
these questions derived from superstition,
philosophy, religion and fear abound in the
literature and folklore of all peoples. But, it
was not until the Renaissance period that
scientific methods were applied and theories
developed to explain the motion of stars and
planets.
The early Greeks postulated that planets and
other observable heavenly bodies move
around a fixed earth that is located at the
center. This was the concept of a geocentric
universe. Around 300 B.C., Aristarchus of
Samos floated the idea that the sun was fixed
and the planets including the earth were in
circular orbits around the sun. This was the
first attempt of a heliocentric concept of the
universe. This concept, however, was too
revolutionary for the time and was rejected,
and the geocentric theory continued to be
the accepted theory. In the second century
A.D., Claudius Ptolemaeus ( Ptolemy), a
Greek astronomer to whom the geocentric
concept is generally attributed, farther
amplified the geocentric theory of the
universe.
In 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543),
a Polish astronomer of German descent,
published De revolutionibus orbitum
coelestium (On the Revolutions of the
Heavenly Spheres) and reintroduced the idea
of a heliocentric universe. Although there
were inaccuracies in his theory, it was a
major advance in concept.
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), a Viennese
mathematician and an assistant to Danish
nobleman astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-
1601), analyzed his own observations and
those of Tycho Brahe and arrived at three
laws of planetary motion known as Kepler’s
Laws that form the basis of modern celestial
mechanics.
Nicolaus Copernicus
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), an Italian
physicist, astronomer and philosopher, who
is considered the father of scientific method,
was the first observer using a star gazing
telescope and he lent credence to the
Copernican model of the universe.
Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727), British
physicist, astronomer, mathematician,
alchemist, and inventor actively pursued the
theories of the “modern” scientists such as
Copernicus and Kepler. In 1661, he joined
Trinity College, Cambridge where he
became a Professor. In 1666 he took an 18-
month “sabbatical” as Cambridge closed due
to Plague epidemic and proceeded to
develop the basis for:
- Laws of motion
- Laws of Gravity
- Modern Optical Theory
- Differential Calculus
In 1687, Newton published Philosophiae
Naturalis Principia Mathematica
(“Mathematical Principles of Natural
Philosophy”) also known simply as
Johannes Kepler
Page 8 * POSOOWA, March 2008
Sir Isaac Newton
Principia. In Principia, Newton established
his three laws of motion regarding Inertia,
Acceleration and Action/Reaction. He also
enunciated the law of gravitation that every
mass attracts every other mass by a force
directed along the line connecting the two.
This force is proportional to the product of
the masses and inversely proportional to the
square of the distance between them.
Whereas Kepler described how planets
move around the sun, Newton’s laws gave
the mathematical basis for doing so.
Newton’s discovery catapulted astronomy
into a new era and opened the avenue for
computing trajectories and orbits of manmade
satellites.
The foregoing discourse mainly pertains to
the near earth space where lies the more
practical and immediate interest of mankind.
Man has made significant strides in utilizing
this space for a multitude of benefits—both
civil and military. The near earth space is
indeed the next logical frontier for adventure
of mankind. This space presents the ultimate
high ground for humanity from which to
control its own destiny. This is the space
where man has begun travel. Travel to the
moon has already been accomplished and
manned travel to the planet Mars is being
contemplated. Artificial earth satellites
packed with ultra sensitive sensors for
multitude of missions are now hurtling
through space in elliptical orbits around the
earth gathering and/or transmitting data. In
the process, our understanding of our own
planet and the rest of the universe is
leapfrogging and communication and
entertainment through radio and television
media has precipitated a global village
environment. The Hubble Space Telescope,
the Gamma Ray Observatory and the
Chandra X-Ray Observatory are all armed
with sensors operating far beyond the range
of human senses. Results of observation
made by these instruments from the vantage
point of space unperturbed by the blanket
of atmosphere that envelops the earth, have
revolutionized our understanding of the
cosmos. The International Space Station
moving at a near earth orbit at an altitude of
about 250 statute miles is now serving as a
manned outpost in space to facilitate a

variety of activities in a unique free fall
environment.
Furthermore, one cannot overemphasize the
military implications of utilization of space.
During the last quarter of a century, the star
war scenario has been visualized. When the
Chinese destroyed one of their own satellites
recently using a rocket, lot of eyebrows were
raised around the world. Similarly, a recent
successful destruction of a defunct satellite
by USA using rockets by precision strike of
the hydrazine propellant tank of the satellite,
also proved how space can be militarized if
wanted. Today, global military and
battlefield communication is dependent on
satellites. Debilitating these satellites will
wreak havoc on strategy of military
planners.
An indispensable part of
the space exploration is
the delivery vehicles
which lift off with space
deliverables to place
them at the right place in
space. Variety of rockets
like Atlas and Delta
series of USA, Soyuz of
Russia, Long March of
China, Ariane of Europe,
H-Series of Japan and
PSLV & GSLV rockets
of India are now all
delivering space articles.
Welcome Ayesha!
Space Shuttle Lift Off
International Space Station
For more than a quarter century now, Space
Shuttles that will be retired in 2012, have
been regularly making rendezvous with the
International Space Station (ISS) to deliver
man and material.
Trying to understand the nature of the
universe unto its furthest realm is the other
strong urge of mankind regarding space. The
universe as we know today consists of
billions of galaxies including our own Milky
Way Galaxy of which Sun is a part. The size
of the universe is mind boggling-at least 93
billion light years across meaning that it will
take light wave traveling at a speed of
186,000 miles/sec, 93 billion years to travel
from one end of the universe to the other.
According to the well-accepted Big Bang
Theory, the universe began at one cosmic
moment about 13 .73 billion years ago from
a single point of infinite mass and energy
when there was nothing else around. Initially
the universe was small and dense. With time
it expanded and the current thinking is that
it is expanding at a ever faster rate meaning
that the galaxies are moving farther apart
from one another. The question then is what
is the destiny of our
universe? There does
not seem to be an
answer yet.
Umesh C. Tahbildar
Tarali Sarma
to perform at
Assam 2008
Preeti and Ankur Baishya of California were blessed
with a baby girl Ayesha on Friday, March 21, 2008.
For event details, please visit
www.assam2008.com
Page 9 * POSOOWA, March 2008

A Tribute to Xilo-Bhodro
The Assamese writer Rebati Dutta
Choudhury is no more. The news
first registered on me rather casually.
Personally, I did not know Dutta
Choudhury very well. But the more I
thought about him, the more I realized
that I admired him a lot. My admiration
for him was from a distance. I admired
him first as a prolific Assamese short
story writer. He wrote a total of about
500 short stories. This compares well
with popular short story writers like O.
Henry who wrote about 600 short stories.
Second, I admired him as an excellent
teacher of mathematics. He was a professor
of mathematics and he taught us
higher mathematics in Assam Engineering
College. I was very impressed by his
casual and unassuming method of teaching
higher mathematics. This made a
lasting impression on me of him as well
as of mathematics, which has always
been one of my favorite subjects. His
life showed that literature and mathematics
go well together.
Moreover, I admired him for the tidbits
of life stories that I heard about him from
his younger brother, Kalyan Dutta
Choudhury--a close friend of mine.
Kalyan was very close to his elder
brother, a very compassionate person. I
could sense how broken Kalyan was
Reboti Mohan Dutta
when he sent me the email from Berkley,
California; "I was shocked to get the
sad news this morning of my brother
Rebati's (Xilo-bhodro’s) death. He was
sick off and on for some time. But, who
in his or her right mind would think of
the death of a very dear one? He was
more than a brother to me. He was like a
solid responsible father-figure melded
into a loving and lovable brother." I immediately
called him, and tried to share
his sorrow. We talked about his writings
and much more.
Rebati Dutta Choudhury was more
Goodbye soldier! You always
fought a clean and fair fight
Iwas shocked to get the sad news this
morning of my brother Rebati Dutta
Choudhury’s (Shilabhadra) death. He
was sick off and on for some time. But, who
in his or her right mind would think of the
death of a very dear one?
When my wife returned from a recent trip
home, she brought with her the two volumes
of his collected works published recently.
My brother lavished praise on the young
publisher who had the same name as his life-
long friend Benoy Tumuli. The two volumes
were a gift for us, and each one was signed
by him separately with his characteristic
style: ‘Dear Moina’ form of addressing me,
and ending with blessings and the signature
‘Dada’. Nobody else had earned the right to
call him Dada.
He was more than a brother to me. He was a
solid responsible father figure melded into
a loving and lovable brother. Talking about
his indulgence towards me, he would let me,
Page 10 * POSOOWA, March 2008
popularly known by his pseudo name,
Xilo-bhodro, in the Assamese literary
world. He was a prolific Assamese
writer. Besides short stories, he also
wrote some novels. But it is mainly for
his short stories, I think he will be remembered.
In his short stories, one finds
a method of expressing complex ideas
and themes in the most
casual manner of writing.
Coming from Gauripur,
the western corner of
Assam, his style of writing
was not traditional
Assamese This made his
stories more beautiful and
added a new color to the
wider Assamese literature.
He used to write stories
about his imaginary
hometown of Madhupur,
which seemed as romantic
as the town Gauripur
from where he hailed. His
writing always reminded
me of another Indian writer,
R.K.Narayan who also used to write
about his imaginary hometown,
Malgudi. In the style of writing also, one
may find some similarity of writing
simple expressions. Now when I think
about his writing, I think his writings
reflect the existential philosophy to an
extent. I do not know if any other
Assamese writer has been categorized as
an existential writer. On a final note, in
his death, Assam has lost a legendary
writer who will be remembered for long.
Rajen Barua
Houston
at my stubborn insistence, take a puff or two
from his cigarettes when I was very young.
He was a college student then. He went out
of the way to meet all my monetary and
emotional needs. When I was spending too
much money, he would reluctantly let me
know. In return, I paid no attention to him,
and he didn’t care. All the expense of my
marriage as well coming to the US was borne
by him. I was, as usual, solid broke at those
crucial time points.
When our father died at an early age, I was
barely two and he was fifteen or sixteen,
barely out of high school. The solid bonds
started then as a father figure, and the bond
remained undiminished and unsullied over
the long years.

In some respects, I struggled all my life to
accept his two sons and I still do, particularly
with the oldest one, as my nephews rather
than my younger brothers. My casual
relationship with them reflects that
ambiguity. It created internal conflicts
within me too. When my brother brought
home bars of Cadbury chocolate apparently
for his young son Raju, I would be the first
one to hurriedly step out of my room and
receive him at the door, and grab my share
of the bars as he was emptying his pockets
on the table. I was in my mid-twenties then
and was working. But, I was staying with
him. Staying separately was out of the
question.
I had seen my brother work hard both in
literary and ‘thikadari’ fields. He revived my
father’s faltering brick-manufacturing
business and successfully expanded it into
other areas to pay for the educational and
other expenses of the large family. He
splurged on buying books. It felt like the
lone bookstore Silk House in Dhubri
survived on the liberal patronage of my
brother. My brother liked eating good food,
preferably, cooked at home. He liked the
English translation of his stories by my wife.
He liked her simple style and formulation
of the essentials.
But, he needed a change of pace, in content
and style. Literature was the right choice for
him. Assamese, the language of the masses,
was his preferred choice of medium to
‘converse’ with real people like the
extremely lovable Ketu, Rajani, and many
others such as my grandfather who was from
Chenga.
He couldn’t express enough of his
indebtedness to both fellow litterateurs
Homen Borgohain and Chandra Prasad
Saikia for helping him out in many ways
during his literary career. He was all praise
for Monju Baruah, the owner and operator
of Wild Grass Hotel at Kaziranga, at whose
invitation he spent some days at the resort
hotel with his family and grandchildren. In
a quiet sitting in his house with my wife, he
spoke of Baruah’s love of literature and the
environment.
He was good in English and math. He wrote
an article or two in English back in 1954 in
the Assam Tribune when he was working
there as a sub-editor of the newspaper. One
of the articles was titled ‘On Smartness and
Intelligence’ written with the backdrop of a
tea garden mechanic who found himself lost
in Calcutta for training on a piece of
machinery. He regarded the English
language as a very powerful useful tool, tool
only, for exploration of new territories and
amassing knowledge. But, there the
usefulness ends.
He was good with mathematics. He taught
superbly ‘transmission lines’ to the electrical
engineering students at the Assam
Engineering College. He taught
mathematics (Analysis) at the Gauhati
University. He maintained with the owners
of the said newspaper a close and enduring
relationship.
Well done, my dear ‘Dada’! You taught me
mathematics when I was floundering, and
you always told me to write very simple but
correct English sentences instead of writing
sloppy, long and incorrect sentences. I never
had trouble with math since you started
teaching it to me. But, I’ll keep on trying to
improve my English. My regret is that I
couldn’t show you that I could write in
Page 11 * POSOOWA, March 2008
Assamese too. How could I divorce myself
from the beautiful heritage of my
grandfather?
The people of Assam in general, and
Gauripur in particular, will remember you
forever as a decent, responsible and sensitive
human being. The scholarships you have set
up at ‘your school’ in the name of our parents
and Niru Vinihi are in good and capable
hands. Goodbye!
Kalyan Dutta-Choudhury
Berkeley, California

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Enjoy the Freshness & Flavour of
100% Garden Fresh Assam Tea
…….in your home
®
The freshness and flavour of Assam
Our range of teas also includes Specialty Teas –
Green, Organic, Darjeeling & Masala (in tea bags also)
To order directly from the Company please visit
www.koranganitea.com
World Gold Standard

Visit www.Assam.org and its sister sites:
www.Guwahati.com, and www.Shillong.com.
Blog in Assamese at www.Bihu.in
Find your classmates from Assam in www.ClassAmigo.com
Find your Assamese social network at www.Melahi.com
Send your books for review at www.puthi.com
Posoowa is published monthly. Dhruba Das, on behalf of Assam Society of America, has published this issue of Posoowa. The
editors are Ankur Bora (Texas), Babul Gogoi (New Delhi, India), Ganesh Bora (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), Jugal Kalita (Colorado
Springs, Colorado, Editor-in-Chief), Kaushik Phukan (Seattle, Washington), Manoj Kumar Das (New Delhi), Rini Kakati (London,
UK), Sanchayita Sharma (London, UK), Satyam Bhuyan (Ames, Iowa), Umesh Sharma (College Park, Washington D.C) and
Umesh Tahbildar (Princeton, New Jersey). Design and Layout: Babul Gogoi.
The ASA Executive Committee is composed of Dhruba Das, President (Coatesville, Pennsylvania), Kabita Sharma (Hillsborough,
New Jersey), Vice President, Mukul Chowdhary (Edison, New Jersey), Treasurer, and Ganesh Bora (Lake Alfred, Florida),
General Secretary.
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.
3235 Hollycrest Drive
Colorado Springs
CO 80920