1460132045Vol 3 Issue 26 - Web File - G-Plus

Sex
in our city
Using a condom does
not mean you did not
have sex
with Dr. Mithun bhartia
PG 18
VOLUME 03 | ISSUE 26
APR 09 - APR 15 , 2016
PRICE `10
POLL BATTLES
AMIDST BIHU
FERVOUR
Inconversation
Sarbananda
Sonowal PG 02
Arunima Gohain
New Chic on the block
Page 23
1
2
G PLUS APR 09 - APR 15, 2016
In Conversation
RSS will not
have any
influence in
Assam, says
Sarbananda
Sonowal
rahul chanda
I
n an exclusive interview with G
Plus, state BJP president and chief
ministerial candidate Sarbananda
Sonowal, while busy campaigning for
the second phase of elections, talks
about how he will be different as a chief
minister if elected and also if RSS will
have any influence in Assam if BJP
forms the government.
Since the last 15 years
Tarun Gogoi has been the
chief minister. People say
he made many promises but
many remain unfulfilled. If
you are elected, how will
you be different as a chief
minister?
I will be honest to my commitment
and work as per my commitments to
meet the expectations of the people of
the state because honesty will be my
policy of governance.
As soon as you were
declared the president of
the state BJP last year, BJP
claimed that they will target
84 seats independently.
Don’t you think after the
alliance with other parties
the goal of 84 has failed?
No. We still stick to that target and
we are moving towards our goal.
Please prioritise five
changes the state will
witness immediately after
you become the chief
minister?
The first is good governance. We
will control corruption. Secondly, whatever potential and possibilities are there
in Assam, we will explore it scientifically
for the fastest growth. Also by imparting skills to the young generation we
will create entrepreneurship and employment opportunities. In the agriculture sector, our government will put in
all possible efforts scientifically so that
the production and the income of the
farmers grow faster. In the education
sector, we will set up all institutions so
that we can provide best quality education to the youngsters to develop their
skills, ability and personality and make
them efficient enough to handle any
kind of challenges in life. Regarding the
illegal migrants issue, we will seal the
Indo-Bangla border permanently and
prepare the NRC. Also solving other issues of the ethnic groups and the tribal
groups will be on the priority agenda.
Assam was always a
Congress bastion but people
gave the AGP two chances.
People lost hope on AGP
also and they again chose
Congress. Why should
they take a risk again by
choosing BJP now?
sam and Modiji has visibly taken some
initiatives which have ultimately satisfied the people of the country particularly in bringing good governance into
the system. There is transparency, accountability and responsibility in the
entire system. I think that is the way
people in Assam also feel that the system should work because during the
Congress regime the entire system got
polluted because of corrupt practices.
Now BJP can only bring changes into
it and that faith towards BJP has come
into the mind-set of the people of the
state. That is what is helping us this
time to bring the changes in the state
politically.
But AGP was also there?
One of the biggest
concerns of Assamese
people is illegal immigration
and all political parties keep
promising to resolve the
issue. What assurance can
you provide to the people of
Assam?
AGP was also there but this time
BJP will be tested by the people of As-
If the NRC is prepared the presence of the illegal migrants will be visible to everybody and we can take ac-
This is for the first time that the
people of Assam have come forward to
give a chance to BJP because Congress
was there for last 55 years.
tion against them appropriately.
Congress says that
Himanta Biswa Sarma had
brought dissidence in their
party and now he is in BJP.
Are you apprehensive that
the same issue might crop
up in your party?
No. We are all working as a team.
We are all working hard to bring
changes in the state.
You contested from
Majuli. Give us a statement
today that if you become
the chief minister, how many
days will it take for Majuli
to get a bridge from Jorhat
and what other changes will
it witness?
We will immediately put Majuli on
top priority of the agenda in the state
and whatever communication and infrastructure facility is required will be
taken up. Also there are so many problems like flood and erosion. Those is-
sues will also be addressed sincerely by
undertaking scientific measures. Overall, Majuli will be placed in a very comfortable position and it will be made
visible on the world map. Majuli will
become a global tourist destination and
people from different parts of the globe
will desire to visit Majuli. Its beautification will be specially taken care of.
G Plus is a Guwahati
centric tabloid. What extra
can Guwahatians expect
to get from Sarbananda
Sonowal if he is elected as
the chief minister?
Guwahati will be one of the global
destinations. Congress could not do
anything to add more dimensions to
the strength of Guwahati. But now
Guwahati has all the abilities and possibilities to become a global destination because it is already termed as the
gateway of the northeast. The Act East
policy will definitely help Guwahati to
become a more prominent place on the
world map.
If BJP comes to power
how much influence do
you think RSS will have in
Assam?
RSS is a very committed organisation for the cause of the country. They
have very dedicated soldiers and they
are non-political. They have nothing
to do with politics. They play their role
very sincerely for the cause of the poor
and the country.
So you are saying they
will not have any influence?
No. They never interfere because
they have their own agenda to carry
out.
Do you have any message
for the people of Assam?
I have a message for the people of
Assam. Let us work together to build
Assam.
[email protected]
3
G PLUS APR 09 - APR 15, 2016
City
T
he Nikhil Assam Swarna Silpi Samiti (NASSS), which has
continued a strike that has entered the 34th day protesting against
the imposition of 1% excise duty on
gold jewellery, will withdraw the same
from 7th April to 16th April respecting the national festival of the state.
In Budget 2016-17, an excise duty
of 1% without input tax credit and
12.5% with input tax credit had been
imposed on articles of jewellery with
the exception of silver jewellery. “In
2002, an Act was passed in the Parliament which was withdrawn after 22
days as it did not meet the expectations of the artisans. The Act was again
implemented in 2012 by the then Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee
and Narendra Modi, who was the
chief minister of Gujarat at that time,
had opposed the Act. But now Modi
himself has implemented this Act by
terming it as people-oriented which
it actually is not. We oppose the Act
as it will destroy the lives of lakhs of
people who are associated with this
work,” said Proshanta Kumar Roy,
Organizing Secretary of NASSS, while
speaking to G Plus.
Roy said, “The government has
implemented 1% excise duty on jewellery but the artisans have to pay at
least 12.5% in the whole process. It is
only the readymade jewellery shops
which will not bear any losses but
the goldsmiths and the customers
will have to bear a heavy loss. On 1st
March a circular was issued which
mentioned that only if the turnover
On-strike gold
artisans set to hit
the NOTA button
The jewellery artisans strike against the 1% excise
duty imposition on gold and silver jewellery will be
temporarily suspended from 7th to 16th April with
due respect to the Bihu festival
of a jeweller exceeded Rs. 12 crores in
the preceding financial year, he will be
liable to pay the excise duty. Jewellers
having turnover below Rs. 12 crores
during the preceding financial year
will be eligible for exemption up to Rs.
6 crores during the next financial year.
Such small jewellers will be eligible for
exemptions up to Rs. 50 lakhs for the
month of March 2016.”
Roy said that the 1% excise duty
rises to 12.5% when a customer brings
a quantity of gold to prepare gold
items as it is a cumulative process.
NASSS had a meeting with the Excise and Service Department on 28th
March and the Commissioner, Vinay
Kr. Paul, said that the inspector will
not go to the shop nor will they harass
the artisans and customers and will
also not seize the gold. If they won’t do
such thing then what is the necessity
of the Act, asks NASSS.
It is said that the businessman
dealing in gold whose income is less
than Rs. 6 crores don’t have to pay
the tax and for that the inspector has
to visit the shops to inspect such incomes which are less than Rs. 6 crores.
“Eventually when the inspector visits
the shops or the residences of the artisans they will create an ‘Inspector Raj’
which they did in the decades of 60s,
70s and 80s. They even entered the
kitchens and bedrooms and harassed
the family members. The protest has
been called on all-India basis. 9% of
the total population of India depends
on this business and the government
cannot ignore the demand to withdraw the decision taken on the budget
by the Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley,”
said Roy.
The government has also made a
rule that hallmarking should be made
compulsory from this year but in the
entire state of Assam there is only one
hallmarking centre which is in Guwa-
Jewellery shops’ strike to
be called off from 7th to 16th
April for Bihu
Thousands of jewellery
shop owners and their
families will cast vote on
NOTA
Government has lost
revenue of around Rs. 100
crores from the state
The strike has entered its
34th day
hati. NASSS demanded that each district should be given two hallmarking
centres.
Earlier, Commissioner Paul clarified that the excise duty will be applicable only on jewellers whose turnover is more than Rs. 12 crores which
has been opposed by the gold jewellery shop owners for which they have
undertaken the indefinite strike. The
Central Board of Excise and Customs
has also promised simplified compliance norms for jewellers who pay tax.
To avoid harassment, central excise
officers will not enter the jewellery
manufacturers’ premises.
Joint Secretary of the Samiti, Jainal Abedin Mandal, informed that there
are around 5000 artisans in greater
Guwahati and 25000 voters from the
5000 families will cast their vote on
NOTA in the polls as the government
has not intervened in the issue. He said
that 2.5 lakh voters in the entire state
Juthika Baruah
will cast the vote in NOTA. It has also
been informed that the government
has lost revenue of Rs. 100 crores from
the state of Assam and around Rs. 1
lakh crores across the entire country.
“With the 1% excise duty, the customers and small artisans will be affected
but the corporate shops like PC Jewellers, Manikchand, etc. will not be affected. The Government wants to shift
the business of small jewellery artisans
to the corporate level which will not
be accepted,” said Mandal.
He further informed that there
will be a break in the strike from 7th
April to 16th April as the festival of
Bihu is round the corner and that,
with due respect to the festival, they
have taken the decision to withdraw
the strike only in Assam for a few days.
But the strike will continue in other
parts of the country.
[email protected]
4
G PLUS APR 09 - APR 15, 2016
Buzz
Zubeen’s refusal to wear
dhoti on stage rakes up
Juthika Baruah
T
controversy
he new guideline issued by
the Brihattar Guwahati Bihu
Sanmilani
Samannayrakshi
Samiti in an effort to bring back the
original culture of Bihu has raked up
a controversy. One of the guidelines
which states that artists have to wear
traditional attire while performing has
been opposed by Zubeen Garg.
The Samiti had decided to set the
new guidelines in place as the original
culture of Bihu has gone missing and
the festival has become commercialized which has brought an adverse
impact on the society. “It has become
a necessity to set the new guidelines
as the Bihu Committees have forgotten the exact rules of Bihu and being
the national festival of the state, the
culture has degraded. In 1952, Radha
Gobinda Baruah, Dr. Bhubaneshwar
Baruah and Prabin Phukan had introduced Stage Bihu and since then
Bihu has been given a platform but it
is seen that now-a-days the stage Bihu
has taken a totally different form as a
result of which the original culture has
vanished,” said Paban Dutta, Cultural
Secretary of the Samiti while speaking
to G Plus.
Dutta said, “We have been trying
to bring back the culture of Bihu given
the western cultural influence that has
pervaded it making the whole festival
utterly commercial. We should celebrate Bihu with fervour and enthusiasm and we have to guide the young
generation with the actual culture
rather than introducing an increasingly wrong culture in the society. We had
organized a meeting with the 27 Bihu
committees wherein we decided to revive the original culture.”
Guidelines issued to the
Bihu Committees:
The Bohag Bihu should be celebrated within one
month from 15th April to 15th May
The organisers and the performers should wear
decent clothes respecting the festival
The folk culture should be maintained in the Bihu
functions
The artists will have to wear traditional dress
which will also be maintained by the organisers
No artists will be allowed to perform in an
inebriated condition
The artists and other performers will have to
sign the agreement prepared by the committee
The committee will decide the amount to be
given to the artists
The organisations or the NGOs who celebrate
Bihu with business in mind and have commercial
motives will not be allowed anymore as a
national festival cannot be a festival of publicity
The state government should declare at least
two days of Bihu as dry days
The functions and programmes of Bohag Bihu
should be completed every day by 12 am
The concept of competition and celebrating Bihu
with a high budget should be stopped
Dutta said that with the commercialisation of Bihu many controversies
have arisen which cannot be accepted
as Bihu is not something which should
be celebrated with western cultural influence. Earlier, the artists maintained
decency during their performances
which seems to be lacking now-adays.
“We are trying to bring Deuri
Bihu from Narayanpur, Moran Bihu
from Dibrugarh and Sonowal-Kachari
Bihu from Tinsukia so that people can
know about the cultures of the different tribes across the state. From next
year if 15-16 Bihu committees can
maintain the assigned criteria it will
be greatly helpful in bringing back the
original culture of Bihu,” said Dutta.
The guidelines that also include
wearing traditional dress have been
opposed by Zubeen Garg turning the
issue into a controversy. Zubeen has
categorically refused to wear a dhoti
and went on to say that he will unwrap
the dhoti of any artist who chooses to
What is your opinion regarding
the diktat imposed by the Bihu
Committees on performers
with regard to their attires,
performance timings, lyrics,
language, etc.? On the issue, G Plus
raised two questions
to celebrated and
award-winning
author, Rashmi
Narzary for an
intelligent public
opinion. This is what
she had to say
Rashmi Narzary
Okay, only dhoti is too restrictive. Even
when I was young, I don’t remember seeing artists, with high regard to Oxomiya
culture, performing only in dhoti. They
were in trousers and kurta-pyjama. If we’ve
accepted Bihu on studio-sets of news channels, if we’ve accepted buying pitha, laru
from pre-Bihu expos, let’s also accept jeans
wearing singers. For women, anything
traditionally Indian looks more graceful
actually, considering the occasion and the
festivity. Lyrics, yeah. Bihu songs have traditionally been in a you-tease-me-I-teaseyou flirt mode. A line, though, needs to be
drawn between harmless, flirtatious lyrics
wear one. Further, he said that he will
wear a dhoti provided Bihu functions
are held in fields under trees and not
on a stage. “Such a statement from an
artist of the state is disrespect to the
society. We have asked to wear decent
and traditional dress which doesn’t
only mean dhoti. An artist who disrespects his own tradition can’t perform on the Bihu stage and therefore
our Samiti has decided to boycott him
from performing. 23 Bihu Committees
have boycotted him from performing
in the Bihu functions,” informed Dutta. Dutta further informed that Nabam Kashyap, a new generation artist
will perform in the Bihu functions this
time wearing traditional dress.
The commercialization of Bihu
will come to an end as the Brihattar
Guwahati Sanmilani Coordination
Committee has decided to stop the
practice of cultural nights and will
introduce the folk culture of the state.
[email protected]
and lewdity. And performance timings, isolatedly, is not the problem. What is, I feel,
is the mis/use of alcohol, unacceptable behaviour thereafter, sleep-disturbing loudspeakers, etc. Some discipline definitely
should prevail, the same kind that should
for every other public event, only to prevent
any disturbing trend even from emerging.
Not to Talibanize a free-society.
How do you think Bihu
has changed over the years
and would you term this as
evolvement with the times?
Yes, Bihu has evolved with times.
Changing times have made the tator xaal,
for that much adored “ghorot bua gamusa”,
a rarity. Likewise, Jeng Bihu has come to
the stage because the jengs too are a rarity
now. Yet, the essence of and love for Bihu
remains unchanged.
5
G PLUS APR 09 - APR 15, 2016
Governance
W
hat are the norms for requisition of private vehicles
for election duty? Do owners have the right to refuse or are they
bound to give up their vehicles for
the polls? And what about payments?
These and many other questions arise
in the run-up to the elections. Many
have even moved the court over this issue. However, all the hassles aside, an
important factor is that many of the
drivers and conductors of those buses
and other requisitioned vehicles may
miss out on their voting rights. What
raises concern is that the matter has
been overlooked during the scurry over
elections and making the vehicle drivers aware of postal ballot system has
been skipped. Despite having the provision, most of the drivers and handymen are not aware of the same and have
been failing to cast their vote for the
past several years.
The drivers’ concern
As it came to notice, G Plus spoke
to some of the bus and trekker drivers
of the city during which it was found
that many of them are not aware of the
provision of postal ballot. Several drivers noted that they had not been able to
use their voting rights for the past three
to four assembly elections. However,
the problem is only faced during the
Assembly elections as vehicles from all
around the city are reserved and pressed
into election duty. Since Guwahati has
the maximum number of city buses the
bus associations are also approached
from other nearby districts such as
Kamrup (Rural), Goalpara, Barpeta,
Mangaldoi, etc. Thus a large number of
vehicle drivers and conductors are on
duty with their vehicles which will be at
outstation election districts resulting in
them being unable to vote. Due to the
same the drivers have expressed concern about being declared as de-voters
since many have not been able to cast
their vote in the past several elections.
The matter was also brought to notice
by the bus associations of the city during a meeting with the transport cell of
the District Election Office. However, it
was informed by some of members of
the bus associations that no steps have
been taken to address the problem.
Meanwhile, it was informed by the
transport cell and postal ballot cell of
the district election office that the provision of postal ballot will be available for
those vehicles which have been reserved
in Kamrup (M). However, it is up to the
other district administrations that have
reserved vehicles from Kamrup Metro
to ensure that the option of postal ballot
is available to them. The drivers will be
provided with Form 12 (A), i.e. Application for Election Duty Certificate, against
the submission of their requisition receipt
and other identification documents. It
Over 3000 public
transport workers may
miss voting opportunity
KALYAN DEB
Vehicle type
Total number of
vehicles
Total number of drivers and other
personnel
Buses form ASTC
150
300 persons including drivers and
conductors
Private city Buses
110
220 persons including drivers and
conductors
Wingers/Travellers
118
236 persons including drivers and
conductors
Trekkers
170
340 including drivers and conductors
Tata Sumo
20
20 drivers
Recovery vans
3
2 including drivers and assisting personnel
Other vehicles
70 (for flying squad etc.)
70 drivers
was also informed by the representatives
of the postal ballot cell that an application including the Form 12 (A) has been
forwarded to the transport cell who can
forward the form to the vehicle drivers.
As informed by the transport cell,
the postal ballot form will be distributed
to the drivers prior to the day of election.
However, it is also the responsibility of the
associations to approach the transport
cell. “Since people are not aware of the
postal ballot system, the bus associations
and owners should also provide a helping
hand in making the drivers aware. This
can make the process even simpler. Most
of the drivers are not educated enough to
understand the procedure of postal ballot. So on many occasions the provision
is also not implemented,” stated an official of the transport cell of the District
Election Office, Kamrup (M). It was also
informed by some of the bus associations
that the postal ballot option has been provided to them but many have also disagreed to being allotted the same. However, what remains to be seen as to how
many of the drivers get to exercise their
voting right.
Altogether 1,200 private buses have
been reserved for election duty in Kamrup Metro and other surrounding districts. The buses will be paid an amount
of Rs. 2,000 per day for 31 and above
seaters whereas those with less than 30
seats will be paid Rs. 1,750. The drivers
and conductors will be paid Rs. 450 per
day as their khoraki.
[email protected]
G PLUS MAR 12 - MAR 18, 2016
City
A
s in previous years, the All
Guwahati Students’ Union
(AGSU) is organising “Mukoli
Bihu” at Judges’ Field on 13th April.
This is an annual event where the student body members felicitate artists for
their contribution in the field of Assamese culture. The flag hoisting ceremony will be presided over by renowned
artist, Dr. Sunil Goswami. This will be
followed by the felicitation ceremony.
The event will be held on the day
of Goru Bihu this year. The occasion
will see the assembly of award winning
artists from all over Assam who have
played exceptional roles and made
notable contributions in their chosen
fields. “This year we are inviting all
National Award winning artists from
Assam – all Sahitya Academy Awardees, Padmashree Awardees and Sangeet Natak Academy awardees. We will
honour them with felicitations and the
ceremony will be at 10:15 am. We want
to honour all those who have done
their part in bringing a good name to
Assam,” said Rajmil Ali, AGSU president. This year, various husori groups
will take part in the Mukoli Bihu. Diverse cultural tribes from all over the
state will be attending the event.
Bihu is the reflection of the Assamese society and culture. It marks the
welcoming of the spring season and
the first day of Bohaag – the Assamese
New Year. Mukoli Bihu is organised to
celebrate Rongali Bihu and is held in
the open Judges’ Field, thus the name.
Artists from different cultural fields
perform in the Mukoli Bihu to show-
F
National awardees,
celebrities to grace
Mukoli Bihu on 13th April
Bipasa Saikia Kashyap
This year we are
inviting all National
Award winning
artists from Assam – all Sahitya
Academy Awardees,
Padmashree Awardees and Sangeet
Natak Academy
awardees. We will
honour them with
felicitations and the
ceremony will be at
10:15 am. We want
to honour all those
who have done their
part in bringing a
good name to Assam
Children participating in a Mukoli Bihu at Judges’ Field file photo
case the various aspects of the festival.
This is a celebration of oneness, unity
and the richness of Assamese culture.
The art of Bihu dance takes years to
master and on this day various experts
will come out in the open to show their
talents. This day will also be graced by
various socialites and celebrities apart
from a whole lot of enthusiastic Guwa-
hatians who will also be taking part in
the event.
An initiative of the All Guwahati
Students’ Union, the Mukoli Bihu has
been successfully held for some years
now and sees the enthusiastic participation of the city folk. Its engaging
programmes offer an opportunity for
youngsters to get acquainted with the
Assamese culture as much as it provides
parents a happy occasion to accompany
their children and initiate them to the
wealth and diverseness of the Assamese society as a whole. The event also
provides an opportunity to the people
of the city to interact with the celebrities and awardees who assemble at the
Judges’ Field to accept the felicitations
Rajmil Ali
AGSU president
offered to them. It is often seen that
cine artists take pride in being part of
the Mukoli Bihu festivities dancing and
posing for selfies with their fans. The
Mukoli Bihu provides the true launch
pad for the Bihu festivities in the city to
take off in a grand manner.
[email protected]
EC regulations hit business of
political flag makers
or the manufacturer of political
items, who comes all the way
from New Delhi before every
election, business has not been up
to expectations because the Election
Commission has made a rule that flags
can be hanged only with its permission. Speaking to G Plus, Rakesh Jain,
owner of Vikash Printers said, “This
time the business is not up to my expectations unlike previous occasions
as the Election Commission has set
guidelines where the political parties
need to take permission to hang flags.
As the EC has set the rules, the parties
also do not bother to take permission
and rather refrain from hanging flags
where it is not permitted.”
Jain said that there is hardly any
demand for political flags. Rather, the
demand for mufflers, caps and buntings is more and these items have a
bulk requirement. “Earlier the supporters also used to hang the flags in
their houses but now they can’t do that
without the permission of the election
commission. Now-a-days there are
also local manufacturers coming up
and the work has been divided accordingly for which the business has gone
The owner of Vikash Printers, who comes before every
election to the city, is unhappy with the business as the
sale of flags is not up to the mark
Juthika Baruah
G Plus Photo
6
down,” said Jain.
He also informed that the guidelines have reduced the prospects of
business and they went into heavy
losses as they had made the flags in
large quantity. “If we make the items in
small quantity it costs more and therefore we have to make in large quantity. We sell flags, mufflers, badges,
T-shirts, cut-outs and stickers and demand for mufflers, caps and buntings
is more. One bundle of bunting which
consists of 1000 pieces costs Rs. 400
and the caps costs Rs. 5 to Rs. 10. Other than the political parties the supporters buy caps and T-shirts as they
can re-use it but the flags can’t be used
without permission and therefore the
sale of flags is less,” informed Jain.
He further informed that the flags
of national parties like BJP and Congress can be used in other states if it
is not printed in the regional language
but if it is printed in the regional language then we can’t use it in other
states and so it is loss-incurring. The
car flags also have to be used with due
permission from the election commission. Therefore people do not buy
those items. “We used to come before
every election as this is our only business and we also visit other states as
well. We also supply items throughout
the state but the requirement is less
this time,” Jain said.
[email protected]
G PLUS MAR 12 - MAR 18, 2016
7
Bihu Special
Bihu workshops
pepper Ghy despite
election fever
To welcome the flavour of Rongali Bihu, workshops are being
conducted all over the city for enthusiastic participants who
are keen to learn the art of Bihu Dance. City halls opened up
their doors for these young dancers and we caught up with
them as they gear up for the Rongali celebrations. Bipasa Saikia Kashyap
Assam Engineering
Institute
The Pub Guwahati Sanmilan
invited Padmashree Jatin Goswami
for their Bihu workshops held at the
AEI grounds. Children across all ages
came and took part in the Bihu workshops.
Shilpagram
The Sanskritic Assam Mancha
invited child artists from all over the
city to participate in their workshop.
Child artists from all over the city
were welcomed and embraced. Noted actor Pranjal Saikia attended the
workshop on 1st April where young
nasonis posed for photographs in
their colourful attires.
Don Bosco School
Participants came to take part in
the All Assam Bihu Dance and Dhol
Badan workshop. The workshop was
conducted by the Gandharba Kala
Kendra and it encouraged many
young dhuliyas.
Shraddhanjali
Kanan
Bihu workshops by famous dhuliyas kept the atmosphere alive. Dhuliya
Ranjit Gogoi conducted dhol sessions
Bihu workshop participants at Kalakshetra
for young kids on the occasion.
Narengi
The Narengi Bihu Karmashala
along with Saraswati Dance Academy
participated in Bihu workshops. The
occasion was supervised and directed
by noted choreographer Ajay Malakar.
Maligaon
A Bihu workshop was organised
which was graced by Assam’s first
Bihu Samragyee, Dr. Rupa Deka Pator. The occasion was graced by artists
across all age groups who took part in
the celebrations.
Children participating in a Bihu workshop, Assam
Engineering Institute
[email protected]
Children dance to Bihu tunes, Assam Engineering Institute
8
G PLUS APR 09 - APR 15, 2016
Lest we
forget
Bihu Special
KALYAN DEB with inputs from Makhoni bora
A
– the
traditions of
Rongali Bihu
long with the assembly elections, also approaching is the month of Bohag and the Bihu festival that will mark the New Year celebrations as per the Assamese or Hindu calendar. This is the only time when people from the whole state of Assam, irrespective of their caste, creed or community, unify with the feeling of love and brotherhood. Bihu
can thus be accredited as the secular festival of peace and prosperity. As the date of the festival nears the city can be seen gearing up to celebrate the Assamese New Year. We
can see stages being set up, people visiting the markets with all their enthusiasm to buy clothes and food items among several others. However, what we miss out on is the age-old
traditions that have faded away with time and through generations due to modernization of the society. The very few details that the new generation remembers are what have
been verbally passed on by our grandparents and parents even as we, as children, asked such questions out of sheer curiosity. To some extent the transformation of villages to cities
played a major role in diluting those traditions washing them away from our lives. Although the festival is celebrated in different ways in different parts of Assam, G Plus makes an
attempt to trace back some of the traditional ways of celebrating Bohag Bihu.
Preparation of Bihuwan
Jaak and other traditions
The preparation for Bihu begins with the weaving of the Bihuwan (the traditional gamocha) which begins in the
month of Chait as the women gets busy in preparing the same during the last month of the year. In the month of
Chait the women remain very busy as they gather around to prepare Mekhela, Chadar and Gamocha. The mothers
specifically are very enthusiastic about the festival and start preparing the Gamocha for their children which will be
given as gifts.
The tradition is followed by jaak where bihlomoni paat (leaves) are burnt.
The farmers who work all day in the muddy fields ceremonially receive the
heat of the leaves as it is believed that the smoke will help cleanse their feet
of any kind of germs. The jaak is then taken around the house to decontaminate it of any kind of harmful insects and mosquitoes. In the evening a paste
of garlic mixed with water is sprinkled all around the house as it helps in
keeping snakes away that are believed to come out from Ashok Ashtami. The
evening of Goru Bihu also marks the beginning of the use of Bisoni (hand fan)
and mosquito net. To mark the beginning the entire house is aired with the
Bisoni. On the same evening the people write a verse in Nahor paat (leaf of
Indian Rose Chestnut tree) which reads: ‘Deba Deba Mahadeba, Nila Gribha
Jatadhara/Botah Brishti Sarong Deba, Deba Namastute/Om Namah Shivaya.’
It is kept in the homes of the people as it is believed that the verse will keep
them safe from the thunder storms during monsoon.
Goru Bihu/Sankranti
The last day of the month of Chait is celebrated as Goru Bihu or Sankranti and the day
starts off the celebrations of the Bihu festival.
The day begins with preparation of a paste of
black moong beans, turmeric and mustard oil
(Maah, Halodhi, Mitha Tel) which is applied
to the body. The day also marks a royal treatment given to the household cows in the agrarian parts of the state. On the day a saat is prepared made out of a single bamboo piece where
a bottle gourd, brinjal, cucumber and turmeric
is placed over a banana leaf on a chaloni and
the items are covered with another banana leaf
and gamocha. The cows are taken to the village
pond or lake. While taking the cows the old
rope (pogha) that was used to tie the cows is also
taken along and as the people reach the water
body the rope is thrown away from underneath
the cows. It is believed that the process helps in
getting rid of any bad luck that might jeopardize the cows’ health. Then the items in the saat
are thrown at the cows with the chant, ‘Lou kha,
bengena kha, dine dine barhi ja. Mar xoru baper
xoru, toi holi porobor goru.’ However, not all the
items are thrown at the cows as some items of
the saat are exchanged with the other folks who
bring their cows to the water body and the remaining items are brought home. On returning
home the cows are fed with pitha in the evening.
A new rope made from dried leaves of a Tora
Gos (Tora Tree) is installed along with Tulsi
leaves which are tied around the cows’ necks.
101 types of
edible herbs
The celebration of Goru Bihu concludes with a family dinner where 101
different types of edible herbs are consumed. Also, in other traditions, seven
types of edible herbs are eaten on seven different days. However, in the tradition of eating 101 varieties of edible herbs a dish is prepared from the items
in the saat along with several other ingredients. Since it is not always possible
to find so many different types of edible herbs so, as an alternative, the leaves
of different vegetables and edible plants such as leaves of chilli plant, tomato,
mango tree and several others are used to prepare the dish. It is believed that
the dish works as a medicine to augment the human body’s immune system.
With the dinner ends the festival of Goru Bihu.
G PLUS APR 09 - APR 15, 2016
9
Bihu Special
First day of Bohag
The second day of Bohag Bihu celebrations, which is the first day of the month
of Bohag, is known as ‘Manuh Bihu’ (the festival of the people). The day begins with
a bath using a paste of black moong beans and turmeric and mustard oil (Maah,
Halodhi, Mitha Tel). The people then proceeds towards the naamghar with delicacies such as Doi (curd), Cheera and cream and have the food together. Then the
younger ones take blessings from the elderly and also take blessing of the almighty.
The elderly then present Bihuwans to the younger ones while the mothers tie the
gamocha to the waist of their children wishing them strength and a healthy life. The
younger ones present Bihuwan to the elderly to bid them respect and seek blessings
from them for peace and prosperity. Mostly Bihuwans are Gamochas. However, to
express love and respect for each other among family members any kind of gift
based upon the necessity of the other person is exchanged. This tradition continues
till date and will always remain a part of the Assamese culture.
Husori and the
love syndrome
A major part of the celebration is
marked by the Husori parties who visit
each house singing and dancing to Bihu
songs. The Husori parties are groups
of young lads who perform Bihu at the
front yard of each household and in
return they are paid or showered with
gifts as per the financial stability of the
household. While the Husori parties
travelling from different places only visit
a few homes the group from the same
village visits every single house of the
village. Traditionally each household
presents Tamul-Paan (Betel Nut with
Paan leaves) placed and covered with a
banana leaf on a Xorai and seek blessings
for good health and well-being.
It is in this season that lovers have
the full freedom to express their love for
each other. Boys and girls form separate
groups and perform Bihu in the paddy
fields, away from any social habitations
and express their love for one another
through Bihu songs. During the same,
if one falls for the opposite gender, the
couple elopes and gets married. Back in
the old days the Bihu nasonis were men
dressed as females complete with all the
ornaments as earlier women did not
perform the Bihu dance publicly. The
celebration of the day ends with a feast
that includes fish, chicken and other Assamese delicacies that is shared among
family members and the loved ones.
Regalia of the Nasoni
The mesmerising attire of a Nasoni includes Muga Mekhela Chadar
and several ornaments but another important part of the accessories is
the Jetuka. It not only just adds to the beauty of a Nasoni but also has several medicinal qualities. Since, during the vernal equinox, the skin on our
hands starts shedding, the Jetuka works as a remedy in healing the same
and also helps in preventing several diseases. Even farmers who spend
most of their day in muddy fields apply a layer of Jetuka to their toes to
prevent toenail fungus.
A Nasoni has different ways of making hair buns. A couple of them
are the Saki Khupa and Negeri Khupa where a ring type device made of
cloth in the shape of a saki (earthen lamp) is decorated with Kopou Phool
(Orchid). The Dhulbiri and Junbiri ((ornamental accessories of a Bihu
Nasoni usually made of gold) along with the Jetuka on her palms completes the look of the Nasoni during the colourful festival of Rongali Bihu.
[email protected]
10
G PLUS APR 09 - APR 15, 2016
Bihu Special
Bihu
Event list 2016
Noonmati
12th April
7:30 pm
Bihu Participants’ Competition
13th April
9:30 am
Cultural Procession
10 am
Flag Hoisting by chief guest Dr.
Dhrubajyoti Bora, President, Assam
Sahitya Sabha
KALYAN DEB
Programs by women
9 am
Flag hoisting and inauguration by Dr. Amarjyoti Choudhury, vice-chancellor, Gauhati
University
9:45 am
6 pm
Cultural Evening featuring Manas Robin
10 pm
Smriti Tarpan by Ramdhen Basumatary,
former member of the committee
2 pm
12 pm
8 am
3 pm
6 pm
9 am
4 pm
9 pm
10 am
Women’s Dihanaam Competition
Kamrupiya Lokageet Competition
Borgeet Competition
5 pm
Women’s Joranaam Competition
Chief Guest Pulak Gogoi, noted
filmmaker
6 pm
Cultural Evening featuring Mousumi Saharia
10 am
Sports Activities and Art Competition for
children
9:30 am
Sports Activities
11:30 am
Drawing Competition
2 pm
Bhupendra Sangeet, Mukoli Bihu,
Sonalipori Competition
Chief Guest Jogen Borpujari,
Working President, Guwahati
Refinery
6 pm
Cultural evening featuring
Rashananda Gogoi, Ramkrishna
Talukdar, Dikshu and several others
15th April
9:30 am
Sports Activities
10:30 am
Quiz Competition
2 pm
Sonalipori, Mukoli Bihu and
Bihuwati Competition
6 pm
Cultural evening featuring Purabi
kakoti Sarma, Babu and several
others
16th April
9:30 am
Sports Activities for Children
11 am
Fancy Dress Competition
Maligaon
Prize Distribution
6 pm
Cultural Evening featuring Tarulata kutum and
Simanta Sekhar
Closing Ceremony
6 pm
Cultural Evening featuring Dikshu
13th April
10 am
13th April
8:30 am
Cultural procession from Rabha Park to
Railway Station Bihutoli will be attended
by Navin Sharma, GM NF Railways and
Thaneshwar Malakar, Mission Director,
Sarba Shikshya Abhigyan
10:30 am
P B Archrya will attend Bihu functions
7:30 pm
Dance competitions – Bihu Samragee and
Husori competitions
Flag Hoisting by Swapnanil
Baruah
2 pm
Zeng Bihu competition
5 pm
10:15 am
Bihu dance competition for
children
2 pm
15th April
Sports activities
Singing competition for children
(Modern Songs)
3pm
6:30 pm
3 pm
14th April
6 pm
Cultural evening
10 am
Sports activities
Mukoli Bihu competition
Prize distribution
Cultural evening featuring
Deori and Karbi Bihu groups,
Gitali Das and Nabam Kashyap
14th April
10 am
onwards Bihu functions
10 pm
Cultural evening featuring Zubeen Garg,
Gitali Kakoti, Khaplang Kai (comedy) and
Joymoti Roy (Goalpariya Borgeet)
15th April
6:30 pm
performance by Serekapar Surujmukhi
Bihu husori dol
7:30 pm – 12 am
Cultural evening featuring Manas Robin,
Bipul Kathar, Hirokjyoti Sharma (dhol)
16th April
7:30 pm
performance by Sargadeu Bihu husori dol
(Bokakhat)
7 pm
pm performance by Rajib Kori
Cultural Evening featuring Pompy
Borah, Manas Robin and several
others performers
5 pm
New Guwahati
5 pm
Prize Distribution
Programs by women
12 am
Zeng Bihu
Cultural evening featuring Rakesh
Riyan
14th April
Sports Activities
2 pm
14th April
8 am
10 am
Programs by women
Bihu Competition
Assam Bihuwati Competition
Marathon for boys and girls
15th April
Marathon for boys
Sports Activities
9:30 pm
16th April
Best Bihu Dancer and best Dhulia Competition
11 am
Swahid tarpan
Chandmari
11 am
13th April
8:30
10 pm
performance by noted Bihu singer Bipin
Sauding, other ethnic programmes
Papon live at
14 April
Central bihu
Bongaigaon
15 April
Azara bihu
16 April
Ganeshguri
19 April
Patsala
13 May
Patharquary
Guwahati
G PLUS APR 09 - APR 15, 2016
11
Bihu Special
Zubeen live at
6:45 pm
Souvenir release
13th April
9 am
Flag Hoisting of Bihu Flag by Shri
Kanaksen Deka, Former President, Assam
Sahitya Sabha
10 am
Pitha laru making competition, Fancy
dress competition
6:30 pm
10 am
Sports competition
1 pm
Zeng Bihu competition
4 pm
Stand-up comedy contest
Cultural evening – inaugurated by Hyder
Hussain, Senior Journalist
6 pm
Cultural evening featuring Diganta Gohain
14th April
16th April
10 am
10 am
3 pm
5 pm
6:30 pm
6:30 pm
Art competition
Ulubari
15th April
Fancy dress competition
Bihu Husori, Bihu Konwari competition
Cultural night inaugurated by Dr. Hitesh
Baruah, noted singer
Award giving ceremony
Cultural evening featuring Anima
Choudhury, Debojit Borah and Mausomi
Borah
13th April
14th April
9:30 am
6 am
10 am
9 am
Cultural Procession
Sport activities and competition
Flag hoisting by Dr. Nabashyam
Das, noted doctor
10:30 am
Zeng Bihu
6 pm
Latasil
Cultural programs featuring
Arundhati Das Baruah and Zubeen
Garg
Husori and Mukoli Bihu
1 pm
Diha naam Competition
15th April
6 pm
Dance performance by Elisha
Ahmed
6:30 pm
Cultural programs featuring Zebin
Sultana, Manoj Kashyap, Jayanta
Gogoi and several others
Bharalumukh
13th April
10 am
Bihu Flag hoisting ceremony
11 am
Sports competition
1 pm
Women and children’s
programmes – fancy dress
competition, tekeli bhonga
competition
7 pm
Cultural evening feat Babu,
Simanta Shekar, Khagen Gogoi,
Bipul Chetia Phukan
14th April
10 am
onwards Bihus of various tribes
15th April
9 am
onwards Bihuwoti competition
1 pm
Sports competition
16th April
10 am
onwards Bihu competitions and
other competitions including
sports activities
10 pm
Simanta Shekhar
6 am
Sport Activities
3 pm
Bihu Kunwori and Bihu Rani
Competition
6:30 pm
Cultural Programs featuring Indira
P.P. Bora, Swapneel Bharadwaj and
Rupam Talukdar
16th April
11:30 am
Bihu Kunwori and Bihu Samragee
Competition
12 pm
Performance of O Mur Apunar
Dekh
13th April
kharguli
14th April
latasil
14th April
maligaon
15th April
bongaigaon
16th April
patasala
17th April
chapar
18th April
bijni
19th April
hengrabari
20th April
golaghat
22nd April
beltola
25th April
vip airport
30th April
sepon
13th April
9:30 am
Cultural procession
10 am
Flag Hoisting by Sharat Saikia,
veteran accounts officer, Govt. Of
Assam
10:30 am
Smriti Tarpan
11:15 am
Goru Bihu inauguration
11:30 am
Sports activities
11:45 am
Mukoli Bihu
5:30 pm
Lamp lighting by Krishna Boro,
working president, Khanapara
Rongali Bihu Sanmilan
6 pm
Cultural evening featuring Priyanka
Bharali and several others.
14th April
8:30 am
Sports activities
11 am
Quiz competition
6 pm
Cultural evening featuring Bhrigu
Kashyap
15th April
10 am
Sports activities
10:30 am
Fancy dress competition
11 am
Drawing competition
4:30 pm
Prize distribution
6 pm
Cultural evening featuring
Pranamika Goswami
Khanapara
[email protected]
Ganeshguri
13th April
6:30 pm
Cultural procession
Cultural programme featuring
Hurricane Girls
10 am
15th April
9 am
Flag hoisting
11 am
Sports competition
6 pm
Lamp lighting ceremony
6:30 pm
Cultural programme
14th April
10 am
Sports competition
10 am
Sports competition
6:30 pm
Cultural Programme featuring
Debojit Borah and Tarun Tonmoy
16th April
6 pm
Award winning ceremony
8 pm
Cultural programme featuring Papon
12
G PLUS APR 09 - APR 15, 2016
Concern
W
ith just a few days left for
Kamrup (M) to go to polls,
G Plus seeks to bring to focus the plight of the elderly population
of Guwahati and highlight a few everyday problems that most of the senior
citizens face. While it is heartening that
the elections booths this time will be elderly-friendly in many ways, small and
everyday things like difficulties faced
during the polling day, waiting in lines
for hours for a simple cash withdrawal,
everyday commutation, bill payments
etc., becomes tough issues when one
reaches a certain age.
Major electionrelated concerns of
the elderly:
On the day of polling in every election, serpentine queues of the elderly
are seen waiting painfully for long
hours to cast their votes. “Not only
do we lack infrastructure, we are also
lacking in societal norms. It should be
common knowledge for the election
committees to set up separate facilities
for senior citizens during elections. A
person who is ninety years old and who
wants to cast his vote as a sense of his
duty should be excluded from waiting
in a queue. Also the DA can at least ensure that there are special transport facilities for these voters just for that one
day,” said Arup Kumar Dutta, eminent
author and senior citizen of the city.
The Kamrup Metro Election District had indeed made an announcement that this time there will be special
provisions for special categories of voters.
The provisions
extended by the
A
s per an order in March issued
by the Gauhati High Court,
the Guwahati Municipal Corporation, Guwahati Development
Department and Kamrup (M) district
administration has been ordered to file
affidavits that state the details of cleanliness of the Bahini River that flows
through Guwahati.
History
The river originates from Umtyanga in the hills of Meghalaya and flows
through the southern part of Guwahati
from Basistha. From there it crosses
the connecting road of Natun Bazar,
Bakrapara Manasha Mandir, Bakrapara Tiniali and then the National Highway 37 between Basistha Chariali and
Khanapara continuing through Rukminigaon and Hengrabari. After that,
it joins Bharalu River near the Assam
State Zoo (Jonali Point). Till a few years
ago, the river would often carry huge
discharge beyond its carrying capacity
due to heavy rainfall in the catchment
area in the hills of Meghalaya which
was the main reason why a huge portion of Guwahati too would get submerged. Most major areas in the city,
like Dispur, would face heavy water
administration this
time
Booth level officers have been
trained to handle special category voters on the polling day so that old and
infirm people, pregnant women, lactating mothers etc., have sufficient physical assistance when they come to cast
their votes. Rule 49N of the Conduct of
Election Rules, 1961 which provides for
permitting a companion to accompany
a blind/infirm elector to assist him/her
to cast the vote will be implemented.
Senior citizens with loco motor disabilities, visual, hearing and speech disabilities will be given special care, like
assistance with the electronic voting
machines. “We are roping in NCC volunteers to ensure that immense discipline is maintained while dealing with
the special category of voters. We are
also making temporary and makeshift
ramps wherever necessary. Sufficient
numbers of volunteers are also going to
be deployed especially around border
areas where there are chances of things
getting out of hand,” stated Chinmoy
Prakash Phookan, Election Officer,
Kamrup (M).
But elections apart, what provisions does Guwahati have to make the
life of the elderly easier? G Plus takes
a look.
Commutation and
transport:
The public modes of transport
are rather ill-maintained in Guwahati.
Rarely are there any designated bus
sheds and the few places with functioning sheds have no separate spaces for
senior citizens. City buses run without
a separate entry for the elderly and this
No city for the
old and aged
Bipasa Saikia Kashyap
is one of the primary concerns. Let us
take the example of the the Khounds
who are residents of Kahilipara and
whose children are settled abroad.
Their lives are dependent on the city’s
public modes of commutation. “We
cannot afford to travel by auto-rickshaws everyday as in Guwahati the
rickshaws here do not maintain fare
meters. The city buses here do not even
have a separate entry for the physically
weak. We survive in a society where the
state is not really caring about the needs
of the elderly.”
What they want
Public modes of transport should
be made more convenient; city buses
should be equipped with sliding doors
for people in wheelchairs that can also
be used by the elderly and the weak.
The night bus service that was started
in the city did not meet proper outcome
as there was no maintenance. The service should be revived and steps should
be taken so that the routes are safer for
women. Modern technological equipment like GPS tracking devices and
CCTV cameras should be deployed.
Auto rickshaws must be equipped with
fare meters.
Banking:
Most banks in the city function using highly sophisticated machinery and
most elderly people do not know how
to deal with that. Take the case of Mrs.
Sharma, a widow whose life is sand-
wiched between the homes of her two
sons at Kharghuli and Kahilipara. She is
a senior citizen who was fiddling with
the SBI token machine in their Jatia
branch. “I have to withdraw some money and I don’t know how to operate an
ATM which is why I am dependent on
cheque deposits. Now however, there
are ten many things that we are not familiar of.” None of the banks in the city
are elderly friendly and that is common
knowledge.
What they want
Special sections for the senior citizens should be made mandatory in all
public and private sector banks in the
city. Separate queues for the elderly and
easier methods of carrying out banking
operations like simplification of token
machines, document submission and
attainment process. There should be
special provisions for the physically
challenged like Braille machines and
audio enhanced machines for the hearing and visually impaired.
Health care:
Even with plenty of facilities now
available for senior citizens health wise,
the administration has somehow managed to overlook the most basic things
when it comes to public healthcare.
“The Guwahati medical college is in
shams and healthcare is being increasingly privatized. There are no provisions for the elderly who want to go
for regular check-ups. We have to join
HC seeks answers from
district administration on
Bahini River encroachments
logging due to this. Following this, the
Water Resources Department excavated a pilot channel in the year 1983 near
Natun Bazar area that helped in diverting a major portion of the Bahini River to Basistha River with the help of a
sluice gate. In due course of time however, people started encroaching on the
old Bahini channel between Natun Bazar and Bakrapara Tiniali. The length
of human encroachment was recorded
to be 321 metres and a portion of the
Bahini River dried up. This was the
reason for the shift of Bahini’s entire
course to flow through the excavated
pilot channel to the Basistha River.
Current issue
Last month, a local named Debendra Narayan Deka, approached
the Gauhati High Court seeking intervention citing reasons that garbage
discharge from the Bahini River is the
main source of sewage in most areas
across the city. Deka filed a petition
where he stated that encroachment by
humans and the construction of many
concrete structures was a huge reason that added to the growth of sewage in the city. Construction of illegal
culverts, bridges and their ill-maintenance by authorities is another major reason for the occurrence of flash
floods in the city. The flood water
collected usually remains logged for
years and with the garbage disposed,
gives rise to immense stench and foul
odour that is the leading reason for
most health hazards people are facing in the surrounding localities. The
stagnant water is a breeding ground for
mosquitoes and rodents and has been
the main source of malaria and other
diseases within the localities. In rainy
seasons, the condition worsens.
Bipasa Saikia Kashyap
In 2008, the government issued an
order for demolishing of at least 81 of
those bridges and culverts, but till date
only 55 of them have been brought
down. According to Deka, most of
these culverts are private constructions. The Bahini River is 8400 metres
in length. Due to illegal encroachments along the river, the river has
shrunk at many locations. In breadth,
the river should be 8.5 metres. But due
to most of the reasons stated above, it
has shrunk to 4 metres.
The GHC has ordered the GMC,
GDD and the Kamrup DA to submit
a report on this citing the details that
would ultimately lead to the clearance
of sewage in the river as it is increasingly becoming a rising concern for
the city people. According to a GMC
official, “They need to submit a detailed report on what are the primary
concerns raised by the river and viable
the regular queues and at times wait for
days just for a check-up. Ambulances
never arrive on time and there is no alternative to that,” stated another senior
resident of the city. “Senior citizens who
live without their children have no one
to fend for them. One time, I was ill and
the ambulance took about four hours to
reach,” confessed Mrs. Khound, senior
citizen and Jatia resident.
What they want
Night time ambulances should be
made functional. A special medical
help line for that is specially set aside for
seniors and is functional 24 x 7. Mobile
healthcare vans should be maintained
so that the primary health care is at
least provided. Seniors above a certain
age should have special provisions so
they do not have to go through queues
and other lengthy processes– like filling documents. Also, there should be
a background check to separate those
who have no family members assisting
them.
The Kamrup District Administration should also ensure that most of the
regular services like the acquisition of
LPG cylinders, payment of electricity
bills, phone bills and collection of rations are made easier to avail. After all
the elderly are the guiding forces for a
better city and society.
[email protected]
ways to tackle it. The report has to be
handed over to the bench by the 25th
of this month.” According to him, the
report has to mention the issue of encroachment along with other reasons
for water-logging.
This is not the first time complaints have been raised regarding the
same problems in the city. Considering
the water logging problem in the Guwahati, particularly in Basistha, the local people had approached the District
Administration for revival of the dead
portion of the Bahini River so that the
excess water from the Bakrapara side
can be diverted to Natun Bazar side by
connecting the other part of the river. In 2011, the GDD had apparently
received a sum of Rs. 100 crores for
the proper maintenance of the river.
The fund proceedings were supposed
to tackle issues like cleanliness, water-logging, removal of unwanted and
illegal constructions, encroachment
and flash floods. However so far, there
has been a delay in the proper maintenance and which is why the high court
has taken this step, according to the
GMC official.
[email protected]
13
G PLUS APR 09 - APR 15, 2016
Bazaar
Elections adversely
affecting Bihu
markets
The ensuing elections in the city has sharply affected the Bihu
shopping activities with people seemingly over-occupied with the
polls rather than their usual Bihu celebrations and purchases
Juthika Baruah
T
he festive season of Bihu is round the
corner but the markets seem to be empty as the next phase of assembly election
is scheduled to be held on 11th April in lower
and middle Assam. People seem to be occupied
with the elections and are yet to step out for
shopping.
While on the one hand the political leaders and activists are busy with their election
campaigns, on the other hand shopkeepers and
traders are hoping that with the elections done
and dusted on 11th April their business would
also get a life as this is the one season where
they can make their windfall gains. Bhabesh
Deka, one of the shopkeepers in Fancy Bazaar,
said that this time the market has not got the
expected response as people are busy with the
election. “The second phase of elections will
be held on 11th April and after that there will
be only 2-3 days left for Bihu. We are fervently
hoping that we will get good response from the
people but the chances look slim. People come
for shopping a week ahead of Bihu but this time
I doubt we will get enough response as the past
years,” said Deka.
The tradition of Assamese culture is to exchange gamochas, also called Bihuwaan, with
the near and dear ones as a mark of respect and
love and the people also wear new clothes on
the first day of the Assamese New Year in the
Rongali Bihu. Therefore, people throng to buy
their traditional wears like mekhala-chadar, gamocha and other stuff on the occasion of Bihu.
From shopping malls to small shops in Fancy
Bazaar, the places are crowded with people
from all age groups at this time of Bihu. This
year the markets are empty so far.
Another shopkeeper, Rantu Das, said that
this is the season of both Bihu and marriage
and therefore, the customers throng to buy all
types of clothes like salwars, mekhala-chadars
and other traditional wears. “During Bihu,
women mostly prefer sarees and mekhala-chadars to wear in the festive season and as it is the
season of marriage. So sale of mekhala-chadars
are also high. When it comes to mekhala-chadar, the demand of Buwa Mekhala Chadar is
high which is easy to carry rather than the Paat
or Muga Mekhala-Chadar,” said Das.
Rupali Dutta, one of the customers, said
that she had come for shopping for the entire
family and she had bought gamochas as Bihuwaan to be given to family members which is
a tradition. “Along with gamocha, I will have
to buy clothes for my children as well as for
myself as everyone wants to wear new clothes
while going out to attend the Bihu functions
and the children want to wear new clothes every day, i.e., for four days,” said Dutta.
On the other hand, the Bohagi Mela’s are
also being organised where the necessary items
of Bihu like dhol, pepa, gogona, pitha, laru and
other stuff are being displayed for the convenience of the people so that they can easily find
their choice of products. The dhols range
from Rs. 500 to Rs. 5000 while bahi (flute),
mohor singor pepa, which is not easily found
in the city are being displayed at the melas
at reasonable prices so that the city people
could also enjoy the traditional instruments
in the Bihu.
“The melas have been organised to celebrate pre-Rongali Bihu with the traditional items from clothes to foods. Although
people don’t prepare laru-pithas for Rongali Bihu, there are sections of people who
like to enjoy laru-pitha during this Bihu as
well. Therefore, we have put up stalls of laru-pitha, doi-sira, gur (jaggery) etc. without
which Bihu is incomplete,” said Labanya Das,
General Secretary of Anindita Mahila Samaj,
Silpukhuri.
Das said that they organize both Rongali and Bhogali Bihu to emphasize the significance of Bihu. Women, especially young
girls, prefer the melas and exhibitions as the
mekhala-chadars found there are unique
which are not available in the market and today’s youths demand unique pieces of clothes
be it mekhala-chadars or sarees or salwars.
P. Hira, one of the participants, said that
the price of gamochas range from Rs. 130 to
Rs. 220. These are hand woven and during
Bihu they receive mostly elderly women who
come to buy traditional clothes for their family members as gifts in Bihu. The demands of
people differ from every age group and accordingly they keep stock of clothes of every
design.
Other than the traditional items like mekhala-chadar, jewellery, gamocha, markets
are also flooded with different products like
shirts, t-shirts, shoes and trousers for the
gents.
[email protected]
The forthcoming
election has brought
down the business of
the Bihu market
Hand-woven mekhalachadars are in demand
for Bihu
Markets in the city
are flooded with
traditional items which
are lying unsold as the
city is swamped by the
election wave
14
G PLUS APR 09 - APR 15, 2016
Politicking
Clash of the veterans
Atul Bora
rahul chanda
In your constituency Akon Bora is
contesting from Congress. Do you think it
is a tough competition this time for you?
I don’t think so because his condition this time is the
worst. Everywhere people are with me and attending all
my meetings. I have seen there is hardly any support for
him. Everyone is supporting me. The results will come on
19th May and that will tell everything. I contested three
times but was not able to win because of EVM tampering
and many other reasons.
D
1,73,375
If you get elected as an MLA
again this time, how do you plan
to keep yourself connected to
your people?
It’s only because of the connection with
people that people elect me an as the MLA
every time. Since so many days I have social relations with the people of my constituency and
I try my best to visit my people whenever they
are in distress. Atul Bora hardly meets people
and he visits them only during elections. People call me even after 11 pm whenever they require any kind of help. To stay connected is my
inborn quality and this is not new to me.
If you are elected as the MLA name five
changes the constituency will witness.
Water, electricity, roads, land patta to people and the
unemployment problem will be solved. I will try my level
best to solve all these problems. These problems are not
only in my constituency but in entire Assam. Like “Make
in India,” we will go through another programme which
will be “Make in Assam.” This has been my slogan since
last so many days and yesterday I heard Rahul Gandhi
saying it somewhere.
After voting for you this time
people will again want you to
represent them in the cabinet of
ministers. Which portfolio will you
ask for should Congress form the
government?
Right now it is important for us to form the
government. After that I will not ask for any
department. It will depend on the high command.
Once elected as an MLA, how do you
plan to keep yourself connected to your
people?
This time I am getting more energy from God and
the people. So I will be able to satisfy my people. By any
means I will do my job, this is my promise and this is my
aim. This time there will be no lapses in my performance.
MLAs are not transparent about
the developmental funds. How are
you planning to be transparent
with the developmental funds?
After voting for you and should the
BJP come to power, people will also want
you to represent them in the cabinet of
ministers. So which portfolio you will ask
for?
In your constituency Atul Bora
is contesting from BJP. Do you
think it is a tough competition this
time for you?
I am not thinking about it. First let the people elect
me from this constituency. After that I will think other
things.
People have seen that I have work for them.
I have the trust of the people of my constituency and because of this trust I will win again.
Why should the voters vote for you?
Since last 10 years you
have been the MLA of Dispur
constituency and if elected again
how will you be different from the
past?
This time I saw it was Rs. 1 crore. Once upon a time
there was Rs. 2 lakhs, Rs. 10 lakhs, Rs. 20 lakhs etc. I am
not blaming other MLAs but I am very clear in this matter. I am very transparent and people will surely see that.
1,80,594
constituency get 24/7 drinking water. The areas
like Chandrapur and Dimoria have been converted into a separate district (Kamrup East)
so it has to be made sure that the new district
receives all the facilities and turns into a fullfledged district. The road connecting Pobitora
has many water bodies. Those water bodies
have to be converted into productive fisheries.
Also the agricultural tracts in the remote areas
have to be fully developed.
It can be said that it is a mini India and there are so
many problems. There is the problem of flood, drinking water problems, land patta issue because most of the
people are living on government land and they have been
always demanding patta. I will give priority to all these
things. People are not happy with any kind of services
available.
Unemployment problem has to be solved.
Male voters
ispur is the largest constituency in Assam with more than 3.5 lakh voters and Akon
Bora of Congress is the sitting MLA for the last 10 years. BJP candidate Atul Bora
(who is a previous AGP MLA from the same constituency) is the main opponent of
Akon this time and Atul alleges that he did not win on the last two occasions because of EVM
tampering. Both the candidates are confident of a win this time and a lot will depend on the
rural areas which fall under the constituency. G Plus asks the same set of questions to both the
contestants to know their views about the constituency.
Please name some problem areas in
your constituency and the problems.
MLAs are not transparent about the
developmental funds. How are you
planning to be transparent with the
developmental funds?
3,53,969
Female voters
After elections I have certain agenda which I will try
my level best to implement. People have so much hope
and aspiration on me and I will use my full energy to satisfy my people.
Do you have any special plans for the
youth and the women?
Total voters
Akon Bora
He has been the incumbent MLA since
the last 10 years. If you are elected how
will you be different?
They know that I was an MLA and they saw all my
activities. There are so many reasons because of which
they trust me, love me and they will cast their votes in
my favour.
52 Dispur LAC
Dispur is the biggest constituency in the
entire Assam which has more than 3.5 lakh voters. An MLA gets limited developmental funds
and in spite of being a constituency in the capital of the state, Dispur, 10 years back, had many
remote areas. The communication and infrastructure was pathetic 10 years back and it was
possible for us to improve the infrastructure in
many areas, improve the roads in many areas
and a lot of work has been done. But still there
are many things yet to be done. After winning
this time the rest of the work will be done and
all the areas will be equally developed.
Please name some problem
areas in your constituency and the
problems.
In the hill area like Nartat bordering
Meghalaya, the forest department did not give
permission to construct roads, create electricity infrastructure and for various other reasons
the communication system there is yet to be
improved. So this is a big challenge for me this
time. Also constructing a bridge from Malaibari to Morigaon is a dream which will be completed this time. I want to make Dispur one of
the best constituencies in the state.
If you are elected as the MLA
again name five changes the
constituency will witness.
There are new areas which are coming up
in the constituency. So development of those
areas is important. There are many government
lands on which people are living since a long
time and they don’t have patta for those lands.
I am pursuing it and the issue will be resolved.
Drinking water is a major problem and it will
be made sure that after the drinking water
project is completed all the households of the
This is very wrong to say that I am not
transparent. It’s because I am transparent that
I get public support.
Why should the voters vote for
you again?
I have done my work sincerely. I have continuously kept relations with my voters. In case
of any difficulties I have gone to them personally and because of fund crises some projects
were not implemented which the voters understand. I have positively worked for the people
and the voters know it because of which they
think I am the best suitable candidate to represent the constituency.
This time what special plans do
you have to empower the youth
and the women?
As a social welfare minister I have worked
with women for long. During my tenure as the
minister, many innovative ways were thought
of to empower women. Even for the youth there
are many plans which will be implemented.
[email protected]
G PLUS APR 09 - APR 15, 2016
15
Ward Watch
WARD NO
22
Concentrated area: Jayanagar,
Sector 2
Ward number: 22
Sub-division: 22(b)
Councillor: Rajen Das
Phone number: 9707840559
Area sabha member: Madhuri
Singh Das
G Plus Photo
Phone number: 8486351428
Jayanagar residents
waging a daily battle for
their ration of water
W
KALYAN DEB
hile the area portrays a developed
picture with the refinery being
located in Noonmati, there are
several residents who have been struggling to
acquire the basic requirement of water. That
large parts of Guwahati suffer from the scarcity
of water is a known fact. However, what might
raise eyebrows is that there are also many who
have to climb back and forth a hillock on a
daily basis for their daily ration of water.
Noonmati, which was then considered as
a suburb of the city, got India’s first oil refinery
which was commissioned by the then Indian
Oil Company Limited, now known as Indian
Oil Corporation Limited, and which was started in 1962. The setting up of the refinery laid
the platform for the development of the area.
The area not only got schools, hospitals and
other facilities but also came to be inhabited
by a large population. The refinery thereby also
took proactive measures for the improvement
of safety, health and environment standards
due to progressive proximity of community
settlements around the area. However, in a
part of the area called Jayanagar, the residents
still have to battle every day for their share of
water - not just for drinking but also for the
basic household work. While we have seen
people lining up to fill their buckets in villages
where an entire pargana would be dependent
on one well or pump-well, a similar sight can
be witnessed in the developing metro city of
Guwahati itself.
The sore point
Located in Sector 2, Noonmati, Jayanagar
is a hillock that houses around seventy families
including people living in the rented houses.
While those residing at the foot of the hillock
have wells and bore-wells, the residents further
uphill face a serious problem. The only source
of water is a tap that was provided by the refinery several years ago. The same however, fails
to meet the requirement of the people. “People
Councillor’s Say
Dismissing the statement of the Unnayan Samiti, the councillor of ward number 22,
Rajen Das stated that the amount of Rs. 2 lakhs that was sanction from the MLA fund
was to only install a bore-well in the hillock that could have at least eased the problem to
some extent. “I myself had made efforts to get the amount sanctioned for the bore-well
to be installed and had assured them that I would work to get more funds released for
setting up connections to each household. But, neither did the Unnayan Samiti utilise
the fund nor take any step for the development of the area,” the councillor stated.
It was also informed that due to a few residents of the area who are not vocal enough
about their problem the same cannot be addressed. However, once the election is over
and funds are released later this year the problem will be taken into serious consideration.
leave every other house-hold work and start
lining up from around 3 am and for each person it takes up to two hours to get the required
amount of water. By the time everyone gets the
required amount of water it is around 12 noon
due to which every household’s work gets delayed. At times we even have to buy our share
of water which costs around Re. 1 or more per
litre depending upon the altitude where the
water has to be delivered,” stated a homemaker
of the area who faces this problem every day.
The homemaker also stated that if the number
of water connections is increased to at least
three taps the problem can be reduced to a certain level.
A student expressing his concern mentioned, “I could never attend the morning
prayer due to the problem. While the family
members are in queue to get the share of their
water the rest of the work gets delayed. Due to
the poor road condition it gets even more difficult for people to walk back and forth the hillock and since the road is not constructed several accidents take place every year while carrying the large containers of water. Although
the water supply is available 24 hours but due
to the amount of pressure being inadequate it
takes a long time for the buckets to be filled.”
It was also informed that the problem
dates back several years but the residents have
not raised their voice against the problem.
Though most of the residents at the foot of the
hillock are well-educated, those residing uphill
are from the middle or lower-middle class and
this factor keeps them apprehensive of being
stripped off the currently available facility.
Steps taken by the
Unnayan Samiti
On the problem being placed before the
Unnayan Samiti of the area, it was informed
that a proposal was forwarded to the refinery
for a bore-well. Although the refinery agreed
to the proposal, it was under the condition that
a certain percentage of the expenses have to be
taken up by the residents of the area. “Only a
few residents of the area are financially stable
while for the majority it is tough to contribute
towards any kind of developmental process.
Thus, the project could not be initiated. The
councillor was informed about the problem
following which it was mentioned that an
amount of Rs. 2 lakhs was sanctioned. However, while an estimate was made for the entire
process, the evaluated amount came to around
Rs. 6 lakhs,” said Bipul Chandra Mishra Secretary, Jayanagar Unnayan Samiti.
[email protected]
16
G PLUS APR 09 - APR 15, 2016
G Talk
Should the BJP win, would it be due to the
E D I T O R I A L continuation of the Modi wave coupled
with an anti-incumbency factor or would
s a layman residing in
Guwahati
and
awaiting dom around. These intellectuals
it be a decisive statement against the
another chance to vote, I am are, by no stretch of imagination,
in a ponderous mode; am nervous God’s gift to Assam, as a handful of
in fact, with all the sermons pouring them seem hell bent on believing. If
continuation of illegal immigration?
they had to be contributive to As-
Gone with the wind
A
in from my elders on whom should
I vote for. Yet, I am telling myself
that I am “intellectually” capable
of taking my own decision in this
regard. And I know I am speaking for
every voter worth his sense of wellbeing. And so, I desperately want to
analyze this current phenomenon of
the intellectual elderly wanting to act
knowledgeable on issues which, I am
not sure, is at all solicited. I basically
desire to know if it is actual turmoil
going through their minds vis-à-vis
the ills plaguing their motherland
that are leading these gentlemen
to issue their diktats. But to my
disappointment I am forced to infer
that each and every such sermon is a
classic example of words coming from
people who, when young, put their
individual cravings ahead of all other
available preferences, especially their
potential utility to their motherland
and are presently wallowing in a sense
of guilt at not having done enough.
I have not really bothered to collect too many details of careers of
such people; it isn’t worth my while
and I am not about to start writing a
biography on any Gohain, Bharali or
Choudhury. But it’s quite apparent
that such people have spent donkey’s
years of comfortable life and then, for
whatever are their whims with their
retirement age overtaking them, have
actually begun to throw their wis-
sam, they should have started long
back, taken the risks involved and
got into the system – the system of
politics that prevails constitutionally. They should have done so with
their actions and with carefully
and articulately chosen words that
would have complemented those
actions. They should have burnt the
bridges of their comfortable teaching careers on their way to forging
the great things and knowledge that
they are now trying to force-feed us.
They should have tried their hands
in politics on the soil of Assam,
against the seemingly insurmountable odds. But they did not and
cannot now – it’s not possible given
their age and the seeming senility
that seems to be conveyed through
their meaningless utterances. The
voters in turn should not give them
the undue importance that they desire to command through their “enlightening” interviews. Their days
are over and they would do well for
themselves to understand that. And
yet if they continue even if for the
sake of some financial benefits and
in their fashionably practiced form
of holding press conferences, all I
can do is quote Clark Gable from
Gone with the Wind: “Frankly my
dear, I don’t give a damn!”
Swapnil Bharali
Executive Editor
The epitome of inanity
E
SIDHARTH BEDI VARMA
nter Rakhi Sawant, politican,
actress, trendsetter, businesswoman, television personality, no one actually knows. We have
a suicide, some elements of the TV
industry and a wannabe politician
and therein lies a perfect mix for
some drama. This, for Rakhi, is the
treasure trove to steal some limelight and amass what she misunderstands as popularity. She looks
plastic, behaves plastic and if only
she’d have kept her mouth shut like
plastic, the world would have been a
better place.
Rakhi Sawant, as far as I can
recall, had launched her own political party, the Rashtriya Aam Party
and contested in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. However, she lost (for
very obvious reasons) and joined
the Republican Party of India (A).
I understand that the constitution
grants us the power to form a party
and contest elections but sometimes this very liberty makes me
laugh. Every time I read that Rakhi
Sawant is a member of a political
party and will contest elections,
it is hard for me to digest and well
worthy of slow claps. Rakhi Sawant
is already in the crosshairs of media channels as ‘fluff.’ And yet she
asks for more? This borders on selfdestruction and so it is only logical
that no one should and will vote for
her.
Rakhi Sawant should be listed
as one of the many things that are
wrong with Indian politics. We
pride ourselves on being varied and
so our candidates vary from the
likes of Shashi Tharoor and Piyush
Goyal to Rakhi Sawant. Personally,
I’d totally be in favour of a screening test for candidates. This is not
the kind of screening test that the
Election Commission takes out
which includes property verification and identity verification. If
they could put in some sort of an IQ
test, it would rid Indian politics of
people like Rakhi Sawant.
She has always been in the news
for actions and statements deemed
controversial and yet she persists.
Maybe people should just boycott
her, stop attending her conferences
and pay no heed to the utter nonsense she spouts. That should just
shut her up, for good. If she has no
audience, who will she address?
I’m sad just for the 2006 people in
North-West Mumbai who voted for
her in the LS Elections, votes they’ll
never get back.
F
irstly, I doubt the elections this time will throw up a clear majority. But from all appearances the BJP will gain
unprecedented grounds. And I am inclined to believe that this would be mainly due to an anti-incumbency
factor that is long overdue. I wouldn’t term it comprehensively as a continuation of the Modi wave but will not
negate it either. It is very clear that the 15-year Congress rule could have done much more for the state in terms of
development of its infrastructure. Yes, what has been successfully ushered into the state is peace stemming from
a virtually complete halt to militancy. But when the parameters of development are scrutinized, the state stands
nowhere near the advanced states of India like Gujarat, Punjab or Tamil Nadu. The employment index looks better
mainly due to the private sector entrenching itself in a big way. It is the telecom, banking and insurance companies
that have played their part purely due to their own commercial considerations and the state has no part in this. What
comes a cropper after 15 years of rule is the continued deficiency in electricity, poor infrastructure in terms of roads,
and potholes like drinking water scarcity, petty crimes, medical imbalances and a general lack of direction that
remain to be filled up. Beyond this, the Congress campaign headed by Tarun Gogoi himself and his utterances in the
process, has lacked imagination and just reflects the age-old bohemian style of a Congress Party job that continually
reeks of a sense of complacency that is not touching the chords of the voters. Simply put, voters seem to be tiring of
Tarun Gogoi and more than any Modi wave they seem to be seeking a change. If BJP comes to power, it would be
because of the anti-incumbency factor.
Swapnil Bharali
T
he illegal immigrant issue has been a favourite pre-election topic. Since 1986, it has been fruitfully exploited
by both AGP and the Congress to ride to power - the one by opposing it and promising to implement the Assam Accord, sealed borders and all, and the other by ignoring it and inflating their vote bank. Problem is, post
the elections, it has been conveniently swept under the carpet with the diversions that were created – be it the emergence of the ULFA back then, the surrender of some mainstream ULFA members and the subsequent creation of the
SULFA mafia in between on to the 2001 Congress rule which saw the meteoric rise of a nouveau-riche opportunistic
section of people. All these factors forced the illegal immigrant issue to the back-burner. The election issues this time
are no different than the ones of 1986: deportation of illegal migrants, peace, development, progress, et al. The point
is the BJP government at the centre has shown a semblance of commitment towards resolving the Bangladesh border
issue and the sealing of the border although I am not sure how a complete, impregnable sealing is possible over the
Brahmaputra River that flows into that country through Dhubri District. This semblance of commitment is what is
perhaps giving hope to people that the illegal immigration issue might just be solved if the BJP is voted to power in
the state. With the central government firmly entrenched for three more years, the BJP has successfully managed
to tickle the imagination of the Assamese voters who can now practically hope for an immigration-free state. It is a
clear-cut case of the repetition of an expectation that the state harboured from their student leaders of 1986. While
the Prafulla Mahantas could not manage it for whatever their reasons might be, indigenous voters are hoping the BJP
will do it now. That I continue to doubt that the BJP will come with a full majority is beside the point here.
Koushik Hazarika
Interactive
A
fter looking the big banners/posters in Guwahati and other places in Assam, I think the
Congress is making the mistake of doing a negative campaign. It is something similar to
what BJP had done in Delhi and Bihar. Negative campaign clearly indicates that either you
do not have something to offer to the people or you are in a defensive position. In an electoral democracy both can hurt you badly. The Assam election has become very interesting this time. Let’s
see which way the cookie crumbles.
Name Withheld
via email
Letter to the Editor
Dear Sir,
Your last week’s issue of G Plus carried a very interesting article regarding the third gender people and
their voting rights. Most nations in the world include a third gender and it is time our nation apply this in
our system as well – not only during elections but in every manner. Till date, our society remains a gender
rigid society where transgenders are deprived of the most basic rights simply based on their gender. “Hijras”
as they are often called are doomed to a life of begging and other lowly activities. The transgender population
is slowly growing to large numbers and it is time the society’s mind-set changed towards them. Kudos to the
Kamrup (M) Election Commission for recognizing their rights.
Jayanta Rajkhowa
Via email
G PLUS APR 09 - APR 15, 2016
17
In Focus
Was Hiren Gohain’s open sermon not to
vote for the BJP warranted, credible and
an acceptable advice?
On 2nd April at 5.30 PM, G Plus had put up an update on its Facebook
page of the news item where Dr. Hiren Gohain and his intellectual
forum had addressed a press conference and urged voters not to
vote for the BJP in the forthcoming elections. The following is a
small part of the vox populi that came in as comments.
B
M
Suresh Natural
D Zener Bar
JP’s policy is of luring lakhs and lakhs of
Bengali voters. On the other hand, there is
the problem of Bangladeshis. Now who will
ultimately suffer? The indigenous Assamese people.
AGP has also already joined BJP. Now the only hope
that remains is to vote for Congress and give it full
majority. It is not proper to blame the intellectuals
for showing their concern for Assam. There are reasons not to vote for BJP. Definitely there will be new
problems if BJP comes to power.
A
ll of you are intellectual people. But what
have you done in the political field in Assam
against 15 years Congress government? Do
you think that the Congress government is a success? I think intellectual people shouldn’t interfere
in politics. All of you are respected people of Assam.
Here is an example: What about Bhupenda (Hazarika) when he contested for the Lok Sabha from
Guwahati? Everyone has his own field. At least we
must give a chance to BJP to form the government
and see what they do.
Abhijit Talukdar
I
t’s my vote and I will press the button in favour of
the one I feel is right to take my state to positive
growth and try to solve the socio-economic problems of my state. Who are these Budhijibis to influence
me about whom I should vote for? Guys you are Buddhijibis and please keep your buddhis to yourselves
and your nearest and dearest ones. Do not try to influence others. Neither are we uneducated nor do we
need someone to tell us who to vote for, so please… Or
is it that you could not manage a ticket for the elections
and are now trying to release your frustration? Just a
thought! To name a party not to vote for is something
that is totally unwarranted and not expected from the
great intellectuals of Axom!
Raja Gohain
B
Pallab Bhatt
Joydeep Roy
JP is increasing prices of essential commodities like Dal, petrol, diesel, mustard oil, even
life-saving drugs, train fares. Then there are
the big dam issue, Bangladesh land agreement issue, granting ST status to 6 communities. Do you
remember what they promised before the Lok Sabha elections? People voted the BJP for a change but
what change have they given us?
I
A
Nath Meghnad
Parash Deka
have never seen such foolishness before. These
pseudo intellectuals think people of Assam are
fools. One thing they should remember is that by
shouting at their own convenient moment, it will not
make anything happen as they wish. My common
sense says that the opinion of intellectuals is needed
to those who carry empty heads on their shoulders.
We the people of Assam therefore don’t need the
nonsensical advice which is of course unsolicited.
ll those people who are concerned for their
community know which political party is
really doing something for the society and
for the country. We don’t need to look through
these so-called Budhijibi’s specs. My retort to the
so-called Budhijibi, Dr. Hiren Gohain is: We know
who the better party is right now.
I
I
Ankur Shivam
Jatin Niva
ntellectuals have become very vocal in the
past few years. Their unnecessary involvement in issues has not been fruitful to anyone.
They must keep away from politicizing elections
as these are their personal opinions. Someone of
Gohain’s stature should be very mindful of his
words.
don’t think they are intellectuals in the first
place. Dr. Gohain had expressed his support
in a seminar before to Badruddin Ajmal. Now
he is behaving like a Congress agent. Dr. Gohain
you are not our parent.You have no right to air
your opinion and give us sermons.
E
D
Arup Saikia
Gunajit Patowary
C must probe the matter and find out if
these were paid statements from these people. Moreover they should be penalized for
influencing voters to vote against a party.
r. Gohain, you have advised indirectly to
vote the corrupt Congress and the communalist UDF to power. Common people
are not ready to accept your sermon. Intellectuals like you are irrelevant and probably managed
now-a-days. Shame on you!
S
I
Naba Das
Riyaz Ahmed
eems like people of Assam are heading for a
foolish change. Compare the prices of medicines, essential commodities up to petroleum products and one can definitely find no ache
din for Indians.
Arunima Dutta
Educationist/Blogger
r.Buddhijibi, do you know the proper
parameters of Axom? Do you know how
to pay tax? Do you stand in queue for
LPG, or at ration shops for kerosene, rice or sugar?
Have you seen the tears of the poor and starving
people? Do you have any superb solution to unite
Assam and save its culture? It’s enough! People
are getting bored of controversy. Every citizen
needs a peaceful space, a beautiful world. Please
don’t pollute it.
S
hame on you, I feel pity on you old folks. You
must have sold yourself to some political parties. You must be suffering from some cognitive problems. Go home and restrain from such
things before someone comes and.... Who exactly
are you? What is your role in our state’s development? Our state is tolerant or else someone would
have harmed you by now.
Meet
ntellectuals like Hiren Gohain are not required
by the people of Assam. He has no right to
advise people whom they should vote for. The
people of Assam are more sane than Mr. Hiren
Gohain. He might please advise Akhil Gogoi.
C
oming from a family of educationists and having had a serene, magical and enlightening childhood
Arunima Dutta is known as an active blogger. She is the Executive Director of Vidya
Mandir English Medium High School
(which was founded by her father) and the
Secretary of CEC Group of Institutions.
Arunima was born on 1st July, 1978
and pursued her schooling at DAV High
School. She went on to graduate in English
literature from Handique Girls College.
“My grandfather, Late Rajya Malla Deka,
gave me my name Arunima, which means
sunrise and sunshine. My parents, Late
Ramesh Malla Deka and Late Meena Deka,
instilled in me the right values and the love
for books. I was gifted books on my birthdays,” mentioned Arunima and added, “As
a child I had the habit of writing diaries.
My diary was my tiny little world wherein I
would pour out my secrets, fears, happiness
and confusions.”
Arunima grew up with her mother
as her role model who would always say,
“Women need to stand stronger and raise
their voices to higher octaves of intellect
and reason so that their ideas aren’t sent
down an abyss.” She added, “I learnt from
her that we have to make our word heard
as well as counted. She would always ask
me to listen and wait for my turn in silence.
And that silence should be like: “The calm
before the storm, the pause before the kiss,
the thought before the prayer, the taste
before the swallow, the canvas before the
paint.”
She lost her mother to cancer soon after her father’s death in 2012. A lot inside
her died with them and she gave up writing. It was a difficult phase but she came
across people who gave her a lot of strength
to bounce back. At that juncture she started
blogging. Through her blog, she wanted to
reach out to people who were in similar situations or worse. Today, her blog ‘Essential
Me’ has been voted as the one of the most
‘versatile and inspiring’ blogs and ranked
75th in the All India Blog Rankings.
Arunima became famous clinching the
Mrs. India World title in 2004. However,
it was never in her plans to be a part of a
beauty pageant. Rather, she was forcefully
sent for the auditions by her mother and
her husband, Dipankar Dutta. “I am an
extremely shy person and I never wanted
to participate to be very honest. My mom
took me to Kolkata where the east zone au-
ditions were being held. I was the only one
selected from 200 participants. I went to
Mumbai with my mother and my husband
both of whom supported me throughout.
I was mentored by Nayanika Chatterjee
and Aditi Govitrikar who polished whatever little talent they saw in me. Mrs. India
World made me realize the power of my
voice. I remember Mr. Sanjay Dutt asking
me the final question, ‘What did you know
after marriage which you didn’t know before marriage?’ To which I answered, ‘It’s
the joy of being a mother; I believe bringing up life inside life is the greatest miracle
which elevates a woman closest to God.’ I
could see the judges standing up and clapping. That was my moment,” Arunima asserted.
A lesser known fact is that the Sai Baba
temple located in Byrnihat was founded by
Arunima’s father. “We are ardent Sai devotees. We had regular bhajans at our place.
Grandma and Ma taught me how to sing
bhajans. I used to wake up every morning to the melodious hymns of the Gayatri
mantra and would run after my Grandpa
with my bagful of questions and he was
always well-equipped with elaborate answers.”
Arunima is a member and vocal contributor at World Pulse since 2010 which
gave her the opportunity to interact with
women across the globe. Therein, she realized the underlying problem of the fear of
speaking up. “I have spoken about it at a
personal level and have voiced my views at
public forums many times that if a woman
bows down to pressures, she isn’t only giving up on her rights but she also acts as a
propeller for further victimization too. I
urge women to speak up and share because
together we can find some way. To be able
to continue doing what I am already into
and maintain peace and calm within me is
the goal that I seek to achieve,” she said.
Arunima also expressed her desire
to organize a literature festival and try
to bring back the love for books which
is slowly fading away. “The books I have
read throughout my years have helped
mould my strengths and shape who I am.
I strongly want to pass on this love to kids
of today who are addicted to play stations.
I am associated with breast cancer awareness campaigns and losing my mother to
cancer has strengthened my resolve to
make women aware of this deadly disease,”
Arunima concluded.
18
G PLUS APR 09 - APR 15, 2016
Lifestyle
Sex
VAASTU SHASTRA
in our city
VAASTU
ASPECTS OF
q
I am a married man from Beltola, Guwahati with two school
going kids. I am reasonably rich from my business and I was
drawn into an affair with a married woman. The relationship, of late, has turned bitter and I want myself out of it. But
my lover is clinging on and has even threatened me with complaint of rape. Can she prove that we have had sex? I have always used a condom with her.
A
To start with, a tongue-in-cheek
comment: Your situation sounds very
much like a masala Bollywood thriller.
Have you considered selling your rights
to Karan Johar? How did you get drawn
into an affair? Was she baiting you with
a fish rod? Or were you discontented
with your own marriage and were anyway on the look-out for a f ling?
According to the Indian Penal Code
375, a man is said to commit “rape” when
he, except in the case hereinafter excluded, has sexual intercourse with a woman
in circumstances falling under any of
the six following de¬scriptions:
1. Against her will.
2. Without her consent.
3. With her consent when her consent has been obtained by putting her or
any person in whom she is interested in
fear of death or injury.
4. With her consent, when the man
knows that he is not her husband, and
that her consent is given because she believes that he is another man to whom
she is or believes herself to be law¬fully
married.
5. With her consent, when, at the
time of giving such consent, by reason of
unsoundness of mind or intoxication or
the administration by him personally or
through another of any stupe¬fying or
unwholesome substance, she is unable to
understand the nature and consequences of that to which she gives consent.
6. With or without her consent,
when she is under sixteen years of age.
Explanation: Penetration is sufficient to constitute the sexual intercourse necessary to the offence of rape.
I would leave you to interpret the
above in your scenario as I am not privy
to full details of the same and what reproducible evidence is available for a
court of law. You may wish to speak
to a lawyer for proper legal advice. Indian judicial system can take its own
sweet time in coming up with a judgement. The legendary Sunny Deol dialogue in the movie Damini: “Tareekh
pe tareekh,tareekh pe tareekh” is all
about that.
I would be far more worried about
your loss of face in front of your children and your wife and the impact it
may have on them. It may cause loss
of your reputation as also that of your
parents and family. Your “reasonable
richness from your business” may suffer as well. People may quickly disown
any relationship with you. We live in a
hypocritical society. It may similarly
impact your lover and her family.
Finally, a condom protects you
from most of the sexually transmitted
diseases and tries to prevent a pregnancy. Using a condom does not mean you
did not have sex!
When I was small
And things around me were small
My Grandma or Aitama
Taught me all.
You are not supposed
To wash it
It is the blood
Which makes the curry a hit.
She used to toil
Throughout the day
This was her life
She knew no other way.
Cut into small pieces
And add the spice
Garlic, cumin, pepper, turmeric, salt
Bay leaf and elaichi to taste nice.
Am jotting down
For old times’ sake
The pigeon curry
She used to make.
In a wok heat mustard oil
Till it smokes
Add the masala smeared meat
And stir with a few strokes.
I sat and watched
Her prepare it
Was indeed a painstaking task
As far as I knew it.
When water dries
Do still fry
Add three cups of hot water
And leave gas on high.
Smothering the life out of the bird
Is the first thing to do
If I can do it
So can you
Turn off gas
When gravy is thick
Serve with JOHA rice
This should do the trick.
Pluck out the feathers
One by one
Gently turn the bird over a fire
Till feathers there are none.
If the story
Of preparing the curry
Sounds gory
I apologize… am really very sorry.
Dr. Mithun Bhartia
is an expert in Diabetes, Thyroid
and Sexual matters. He has
returned from England after 12
years. His clinic is in Panbazar
near Hari Sabha. Send your
queries to advicesexologist@
gmail.com
HENGRABARI AREA
H
engrabari is a big residential area of
southeast Guwahati. It touches the
Japorigog area at north, the VIP Road
at east and the Dispur capital complex on the
western side. The Downtown Hospital area
and Mathuranagar lie at the southern part of
Hengrabari.
The main Hengrabari Road runs from the
Ganeshguri f lyover eastward up to the Office
of the Public Health Engineering and bends
towards the VIP Road at Borbari Chariali. The
area near Ganeshguri is pretty busy with commercial establishments on both sides of the
road. The Bahini River demarcates Hengrabari
from Ganeshguri/Dispur.
The Head offices of the Departments of
Health and Public Health Engineering are
housed on a plot which is higher than the main
road at west. The eastern portion of the area
is even higher. Moreover, the road bends at
the southwest causing a cut in the southwest
area of the Office of the Khadi and Gramodyog Department. All these departments are
not performing well in the entire state and are
involved in many scams, etc.
The residents on the southern side of the
Hengrabari main road are lucky to have the
road at north and most of the inmates in this
area are well off. The State Housing Colony is
at the southern part also and it is in a grid form
as per Vaastu. But the internal arrangements
of the housing f lats are not as per Vaastu. The
road going to the housing colony is pretty wide
and starts from north to south. It is seen that
the residents on the western side of that road
are more prosperous as they have the wide road
in front at east.
There are several multi-storeyed complexes in the Hengrabari area. M/S Protech
Housing among them has tried to stick to basic
Vaastu norms and they have done well in this
regard. However, many apartments are still
unsold due to non-adherence to Vaastu rules.
Dr. Zakir Hussain Road connects the Hengrabari main road with the GS Road near the
Downtown Hospital from north but bends
towards the southwest. There are several bylanes going towards the east and west from
this road. The residents on both sides of these
lanes must take care while placing their main
entrances and the water bodies.
The south-western side of Hengrabari is
connected with Xoru Motoria, Dispur. There
is a hill at southwest of this area which has the
NEDFi and SBI offices on the western side.
The SBI Housing Colony is also located near
Xoru Motoria and it is perfectly rectangular.
But the residents did not take advantage of this
and built their houses without observing the
Vaastu principles.
The residents near the hill at the northeastern part of Hengrabari have to be very
careful in constructing their houses. As this
area is having adverse Vaastu, there will be
constant negative impacts on their finances.
They must take remedial measures like Pyramids, Yantras, mirrors or copper wires to
counter the hill at north.
It is very important to correct the plot at
first before going in for the house. Houses,
which are already built with Vaastu defects,
are left with no other choice but to be demolished or go for remedies.
Hemanta Kumar Sarmah
Engineer, Businessman,
Advanced Pranic Healer and
Su Jok Acupressure specialist
recipe of the week
Pigeon curry
A recipe in verse
KULKUL RAHMAN
Entrepreneur, mother and a
passionate cook
G PLUS APR 09 - APR 15, 2016
19
Lifestyle
Elegance of the
Cool Couture
mekhela chador
Rs 16,200 paat
A
ssam is as rich in style and
fashion as it is in producing silk. Bihu brings to the
fore the rich Assamese traditions.
It is that time when people adorn
themselves in Muga and Paat silk
that come in various hues and designs. This Bihu, let’s talk about
Assam silk, ways to drape it and
to look fashionable.
The cornerstone of Assamese
attire for women is called a ‘Mekhela Chador.’ Produced from the
silk of the silkworm, Mekhela is
essentially a long ankle-length
skirt and Chador is the saree. It is
a two-piece dress. They come in a
plethora of designs.
Santasree Malik, designer
and owner of Hansini says, “If
it’s Bihu, mekhela chador is the
best attire a lady can opt for.
Mekhela chador nowadays is
preferred with stylish designer
B
blouses. Ladies are willing to opt
for new and uncommon designs
in bright colours. Young women, who are bored of donning the
traditional Muga or Paat mekhela chador, are opting for designer-crafted mekhela chadors with a
little twist. A new look with respect
to the changing market trends and
the fact that conventional mekhela
chadors weigh a lot owing to their
material and thread work is one of
the key reasons why there is a shift
in the choice. The modern mekhela
chadors are easier to wear.
Stylish mekhela chadors are
available in the markets at very affordable rates these days. At Hansini you can find mekhela chadors
with a starting price of Rs. 3,800 for
a cotton jura and this figure only
goes up.
Seema Biswas of Bandit Queen
fame was spotted in an Assam silk
saree at the Toronto International
Film Festival. In the mean time social media went crazy with a picture
of Sharmila Tagore wearing a traditional Assamese mekhela chador at
her daughter Soha Ali Khan’s wedding. I can still recall when Bollywood actress Mahima Chaudhury
actually got married in a red mekhela chador.
I know that traditions may
evolve with time and some minor
changes here and there will fleet in
but the love for the Assamese mekhela chador is an unwavering and
everlasting story that will continue
in the years to come.
Sonika Ajmera
Fashion Epitomist
Rs 12,300 paat
Staying fit during
RONGALI BIHU
ohag Bihu or Rongali Bihu
is one of the major festivals
of Assam and is celebrated
during the middle of April which heralds the onset of the Assamese New
Year and the beckoning of the spring
season. The word ‘Rongali’ is derived
from ‘Rong’ which means happiness
and celebrations. So this festival represents happiness of the society. All
the three Bihu festivals of Assam are
related to harvesting. Rongali Bihu
falls within a period when there is no
work for the cultivators and yet there
is enough in the granary to enjoy. Being an agriculture-based state, Assam
has always marked this Bihu as the
occasion of joy. This is also biggest
the festival in Assam and is celebrated in every corner of the state. On the
eve of Bihu, the womenfolk clean the
clothes and prepare special Bihu delicacies like Cheera, Pitha, etc. While
Best version of
yourself
L
eadership is an attitude - not
your position, not your status but your attitude. Your
attitude towards life, towards
others, towards yourself decides
whether you’ll be a leader or a follower. To excel in life and lead a
world class life, you need to first
be aware of which category you
want yourself to be in.
There are two types of people
in the world - leaders or followers.
You can choose who you want to
be today. Choose today whether
you want people to be inspired by
you or you want to follow someone throughout your life. Just
like they say, “It’s your life, make
it large.” What differentiates the
top 5% people from the rest of the
crowd is their attitude, their leadership qualities.
Leadership does not come
by birth. It can be learned. With
awareness, commitment, focus
and discipline towards your goals
a person can shift from being
a follower to being a leader. It
starts from a change in your attitude. And this change does not
come easy. It calls for a complete
transformation of your mind-set,
beliefs, habits and personality. To
move from being average to being
world class, start changing things
in your life and see the difference.
Change starts from within
and then the outside. Start believing in yourself. Have faith in your
most optimistic goals and dreams.
Dream big and first be convinced
Madhur Jayne
A practicing chartered accountant and a certified nutritionist. He is the
co-founder of a coaching centre for chartered accountancy and commerce students. He is a life coach and trains people on subjects like time,
health, lifestyle and people management. Visit www.madhurjayne.com
for more details.
Bihu and is dedicated to the worship
of deities. On all three days of the festival, troupes of musicians and dancers visit houses and perform the Bihu
dance in the open. The young boys
and girls wear new clothes on this day
and after enjoying the special preparations of the Bihu, spend time playing
egg-fights (‘Koni Joonj’) and singing songs of love and romance. Such
gatherings are called “Mukoli Bihus”
(Open Bihus).
How to tackle the
problem of gaining
weight?
eating these kinds of delicacies makes
sure you have your regular diet before
moving out and attending any such
invitations. It will be great if you go
for a jog outside before attending the
function which will surely boost up
your metabolic rate helping you to
avoid fat gain.
The first day of the Bihu is dedicated to the cattle (Goru), as cows and
bullocks provide the farming popula-
tion with means of livelihood. On this
day, early in the morning the cows and
bullocks are ceremonially bathed in
rivers and ponds.
On the next day, called Manuh
Bihu, special dishes are made of flattened rice, curds, and jaggery. Sweets
are prepared and eaten. On this day
‘Bihu Husori’ is formally inaugurated
at the Namghar (Prayer hall).
The third day is called Gosain
that you can achieve it. If others
can, why can’t you?
Once you start believing in
yourself, start acquiring knowledge in your field of work. Be
the master of your work. Do not
leave anything; if it’s there then
you should know it. Read all the
books, articles and other materials
that are available. Only then will
you be able to achieve mastery in
your craft. This will, in turn, give
you explosive confidence. With it,
also study about successful leaders. Study what they do and how
do they it, what are their daily
habits and their practices.
Respect your time and start
investing it and not spending it.
Leaders make the most of their
available time. Respect your
health and stay fit. What’s the
point of achieving your goals and
then falling sick? A fit body also
leads to a fit mind. A fit mind is of
utmost importance to being world
class.
Disassociate yourself from
all the negative people around
you. Walk with the giants only.
They will inspire you to do more.
Change your daily habits to match
those of the leaders. It’s not what
you do once in a while, but what
you do daily that decides whether
you’ll be a leader or not.
Lastly, I invite you to never
give up on your dreams. No matter how unrealistic and absurd
they are, just don’t give up.
You, my friend, are powerful.
From the above we can see that
especially during the first day and
third day of Bihu lots of delicacies and
snacks loaded with sugar and fat are
prepared in every household. So, as
fitness enthusiasts, we should always
try to take out some time to wake up
early in the morning and do some free
bodyweight workouts as most of the
gyms will be closed. This should not
be our chance of escaping from the
regular regimen of exercise. One more
thing: always drink a glass of water
first whenever you are being served
the snacks. Try to walk as much as
possible while visiting your friends
and relatives and use public transport while going to a far-off place as
this will help you sweat a little bit and
thereby burn some calories.
Finally, I will also advise you
to get involved in the regular Bihu
workshops being held in many places through which you will be able to
learn a few steps of the Bihu dance
and at the same use the dance movements as a means of aerobic workout
where lot of hip, glutes and belly muscles are involved helping you to shape
up those stubborn areas.
So this is my idea of celebrating
Bihu while keeping you fit during
these days. Happy Rongali Bihu to
you all, my dear readers.
BIBHU MONI SINGHA,
P.G.D. Fitness & Nutrition
Gym Manager Training & Nutrition
Head, SFL Fitness Gym & MMA
CMPPT & WTPS IFBB, Madrid, SPAIN
Fitness Expert & Sports Nutritionist,
Life Member IAHF, Life Member &
Regional Director, IAPEN
Life Member, NSI, Member ACSM,
U.S.A.
www.bibhuuniversalfitness.com
20
G PLUS APR 09 - APR 15, 2016
Reviews
Cast: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba
Director: Jon Favreau
M
owgli (Neel Setthi) is
a ‘man-cub’ as they
call him in the jungle.
He is raised by a pack of wolves
as their own and even learns
to recite the wolf pack pledge.
He is being trained by the wise
panther Bagheera (Ben Kingsley) and is raised as their own
child by wolves Akela (Giancarlo
Esposito) and his wife Raksha
(Lupita Nyong’o).
While the rest of the
animals have made their peace
with the man-cub, it is Shere
Khan (Idris Elba) – The Tiger
who is unwilling to accept
Mowgli. He seeks revenge for his
past encounters with humans
that have caused him danger
through the red flower (Fire).
When Shere Khan declares
his war on Mowgli post the
monsoon, Bagheera decides
to send the boy home (to a
human-habituated town).
Whilst on their way to town,
Shere Khan attacks. Bagheera
vie w
o
M vie
Re
puts a strong fight to help
Mowgli escape who further ends
up going deep into the forest
where encounters the deadly
Kaa (Scarlett Johansson) and
Gigantopithecus King Louie
(Christopher Walken). Saving
him from both of them, Mowgli
finds himself a new friend Balooo – The Bear (Bill Murray).
With the help of his friends
Baloo and Bagheera, will
Mowgli escape Shere Khan and
return home?
Based on Rudyard Kipling’s
famous book The Jungle Book,
the film brings to life characters
that have been etched in our
minds since childhood.
Even though we hands
down agree that the film is a
visual marvel, don’t let screenwriter Justin Marks’ efforts go
unnoticed. He is the man who
crafts a near perfect screenplay
of this Kipling gem and does full
justice to it.
Right from weaving an
emotional connect from Raksha
and Mowgli’s point of view to a
lazy, grizzly bear Baloo giving
life lessons, Marks makes it look
so easy on the eyes that for a
non-reader, this is the best they
can get.
Marks spends all his energies on changing the tone of the
film from the point of Baloo’s
arrival into the plot and that is
where all the mischief and comedy for the kids flourish.
The screenplay is more like
a coming-of-age plot that makes
Mowgli the hero in the most
subtle manner. Of course, it has
an audience pleasing climax but
isn’t that the case with dozen
other Disney films that seem
to be the preachers of ‘All’s Well
That Ends Well’?
The clever addition of the
enchanting tunes The Bare
Necessities and I Wanna Be Like
You from the first Disney film
are overwhelming to watch in
this one.
Cast: Patralekha, Gaurav Arora and Tara Alisha Berry
Director: Vikram Bhatt
C
inema has evolved to the level
where we are now more focused on showing the realistic
view of our world and society. The
movie Love Games tries to do that.
Does the movie achieve it? Let’s see.
Love Games entails today’s
metro city life of high class society
and what all goes on behind their
luxurious walls. Ramona (Patralekha) is a rich young widow whose
husband has recently died. Ramona
is a sex addict and highly obsessive
about Sam Saxena (Gaurav Arora), a
son of a big businessman. Ramona
& Sam are sex buddies. But, there’s
a catch. Ramona is lustful about
Sam and she is short tempered and
aggressive.
On the other hand, Sam enjoys
the casual physical relationship
with Ramona but inside he is greatly
depressed. Out of that depression,
he frequently tries to harm himself.
To overcome this problem, Ramona comes up with an idea of Love
Games, wherein these two spot the
happy couple from the parties and
compete with each other as to who
sleeps with the opposite sex of that
couple first. That’s it, that’s how the
game starts. Having sex as a sport!
But, after a while something
changes. Sam falls in love with a girl
named Alisha (Tara Alish Berry) from
their game. Alisha is a Doctor, married to a lawyer. This love affair gets
on a serious note and Sam decides
to quit the so called Love Games and
also the physical relationship with
Ramona. But, what would Ramona
do? Would she just accept the fate of
Sam’s love becoming or her temper
would shatter Sam-Alisha’s sweet
romance?
Performances of the cast is
the one of the major reasons Love
Games doesn’t reach the cinematic
threshold. Patralekha as Ramona,
the core feminine aggressor of the
film didn’t look sensuous but irritating with her accent. Normally, these
kinds of dominating roles stay with
you for a long time but Patralekha
fails to do that. No lust, no appeal
and most of all no passion on the
screen.
Gaurav Arora as Sam has a good
screen presence but he too, lacks
the power in the dialogue delivery.
Seemed like the whole cast was just
reading the script as it is, without the
actual efforts and dedication.
Dinner
D
inner’s Anders Rhedin
tried a number of
sounds on for size
on his early EPs, but on Psychic Lovers, a signature style
emerges. Recorded in Copenhagen and L.A., Rhedin’s debut album polishes away some
of the lo-fi quirks of his early
work. Instead, the 2014 single
“Going Out” feels like the template for songs like “Turn Me
On,” which is full of slapped
bass, whispered backing vocals,
and tumbling, gated drums
that would make Phil Collins
proud. Despite Psychic Lovers’ slicked-back sound, there’s
ten ‘80s hit as he imbues lyrics
that could seem cliched with
heartfelt energy, while his blunt
delivery conveys the shock of
loss on “Gone.” Psychic Lovers
closes with a pair of Dinner’s
surprisingly affecting ballads:
Aided by a gospel choir on “Lie”
and a children’s choir on “Kali,
Take Me Home,” both songs
showcase Rhedin’s alchemical
gift for transforming the cheesy
and trite into something genuine. Though Psychic Lovers
sometimes feels a little labored,
it proves that the seemingly accidental brilliance of Dinner’s
earlier music was anything but.
H
life?
Dona Planet. GS Road
08800900009
The Jungle Book
11.00 AM, 1.10, 3.20, 6.00
& 8.48 PM
Kung fu panda
1.15 PM
Ki & ka
10.45 AM & 6.25 PM
Batman v Superman
3.25 PM
love games
9.00 PM
Ulubari
0361 2541335
The Jungle Book
11.00 AM, 5.00 & 8.00 PM
Sardaar gabbar singh
2.00 PM
GOLD Cinema
ASTC Complex,
Paltan Bazar
9854066166
Love Games
11.00 AM, 5.30 & 8.30 PM
ek yoddha shoorveer
11.30 AM
Sardaar gabbar singh
2.30 PM
KI and Ka
2.00, 5.00 & 8.00 PM
Bilal Siddiqi
still a fascinating tug-of-war
between coolness and awkwardness in Rhedin’s music:
“Wake Up”’s jet-setting glamour puts up a suave facade that
the abrasive experiment “AFY”
roughs up a few tracks later. As
on Dinner’s earlier work, this
tension makes for some of the
album’s best moments. Rhedin
feels truest to himself when he
contrasts breezy, highly artificial sounds with singing that
sounds like drunken karaoke,
as if between mischief and true
emotion. On the album-opener
“Cool as Ice,” it sounds like
he’s covering a huge yet forgot-
PVR Cinemas
Apsara Cinema
Author:
u
Yo LD
TEN
SHOU
LIS
The Jungle Book
11.00 AM, 5.45 & 8.30 PM
Sardaar gabbar singh
2.30 PM
KI and Ka
11.30 AM & 3.50 PM
The Jungle Book
9.30 AM, 1.45, 6.10 & 8.45 PM
vie
Mo view
Re
Emraan Hashmi
Artist:
Noonmati
03612656968,
9954544738
HUB, GS Road
9864800100, 9864800200
The Kiss of Life
Psychic Lovers
Anuradha Cineplex
Fun Cinemas
Book:
Album:
NOW
SHOWING
u
Yo LD
ad
SHOU
re
ow do you deal with
the most difficult
moments in your
Every experience that we
go through changes us and
helps us grow. As we learn to
laugh and cry, win and lose,
share and care, the meaning
of life and true happiness
unfolds before us. Known
for his bold forays into Bollywood, Emraan Hashmi
walks us through his memories that have shaped him
from a confused teenager
who dabbled in a variety of
GOLD Cinema
things to finding his calling to the suave, smart and
unorthodox actor he has
become today. At the heart
of his story lies the most important and transformative
experience of his life—the
period when his son, Ayyan,
was battling with cancer. It
reveals the man behind the
limitless charm of Emraan
Hashmi and how he dealt
with his son’s illness. Honest, personal, bold and heartwarming, The Kiss of Life is
about an actor and a father’s
trials and triumphs.
Salasar Building, Lakhtokia
9854077177
Love Games
11.30 AM, 5.30 & 8.00 PM
ek yoddha shoorveer
8.30 PM
Sardaar gabbar singh
2.30 PM
KI and Ka
11.00 AM, 2.00 & 5.00 PM
GOLD Cinema
LG Towers, Narangi
8811001898
Love Games
11.00 AM & 5.00 PM
KI and Ka
2.00 & 8.00 PM
G PLUS APR 09 - APR 15, 2016
21
Entertainment
Amit
Soukadhara’s
‘SAHEBA’
Cop out of Tune
Betal Police
U
pcoming talent Amit Soukadhara made his music
debut with the recent release a music video album, ‘Saheba’.
The album was formally released by
cultural activists Bhagawat Pritam,
Manuj Baruah, Munin Bora, J. P. Das
and Dwipen Borah at a function at
Guwahati Press Club last week.
‘Young artists like Amit must
get involved with the musical and
cultural world as it brings freshness
into the industry,’ said one of the
dignitaries at the event. The album
contains five tracks that have been
composed by the singer himself.
The songs have been written by Jyoti Boruah and Lissa Tamuli. Amit
has seen this project through several
stages including audio mixing. The
songs ‘Mouna’, ‘Joli Joli’, ‘Saheba’,
‘Jiban’ and ‘Dil Ki’ have also been
rendered by him.
The video part of the album
saw the involvement of director
Rakesh Sharma and Editor Ambarish Borkotoki who was assisted by
Bratatee Kashyap and Samar. The
cinematography has been handled
by Rituparna Sarma and Prabin Basumatary. The key role in the videos
have been essayed by Suraj Deka,
Lashmi Medhi, Juvashni Borah,
Tanaya, Anandraj, Subham, Nibha,
Jadav, Parash, Puja, Alishmita, Barasha, Kabita, Samujjal, Liza among
others. The album has been produced by Amit Soukadhara himself.
Amit, son of Bhavaniprasad
Soukadhara and Jyotiprabha Boru-
A
H
ah Soukadhara, had learnt music
under Munin Bora and then pursued sound engineering from Jyoti
Chitrabon in 2010. After passing
from Jyoti Chitrabon, he worked
with Bhagawat Pritam as an assistant
music director and was associated
with various serials of ‘Rang’, the local entertainment channel. Then he
moved to Mumbai and worked as
a Foley recorder in Debajit Changmai’s studio ‘Sound City’. Amit has
returned to the State solely for his
album. He also worked as a location
Sound Recorder in Rakesh Sharma’s
Assamese feature film ‘Anuradha’.
Amit is currently working on Rang
Channel’s popular comedy serial ‘Oi
Khapla’ and was also involved with
an Assamese video song ‘Niribili Jonakk’ which was rendered by a
Manipuri singer.
‘Saheba’ is Amit’s first venture
and he hopes that the Assamese
audience will accept his album and
his work will be appreciated. Amit
has already performed in various
Bihu functions all over Assam. He
is ready to participate in the various
Bihu functions across the State.
Manas Robin comes out
of hiatus, gears for a
new album DIKHOW
fter a break for almost
five years, popular singer, composer and lyricist Manas Robin has decided
to take the stage again and has
come up with a new album.
This also includes a video song
titled ‘Dikhow’. The title song
of the album has been based
on the evergreen love story of
Panei and Jonki on the banks of
the Dikhow River.
Manas Robin is a popular
figure among Assamese music
lovers. He has to his credit super hit film songs and albums
like Jonbai, Anjana, Nahar,
Pakhila and many more. He
has consistently churned out
chartbusters during the last ten
years.
The music videos for the album are being shot at scenic locations. Manas Robin will also
present the album on the digital
portal and a mobile app, under
the banner of Geetanjali.
KALYAN KUMAR KALITA
e dons a Police uniform, but he’s
never kempt. He leaves the buttons
of his shirt open and there is an air
of hooliganism around him. ‘Paan’ and betel
nut stains on his lips, he utters sheer nonsense at times. To frame this in a single word,
he is ‘Betal’ (out of tune). The character being described is popular by the name of Betal
because of his antics.
This is the brief of the character Betal
in Rajdweeps’s play, ‘Betal Police’. The play
will be staged in Theatre Bhagyadevi in the
upcoming season. With a hardworking crew
and team toiling themselves, the drama has
been penned by story teller and journalist
Rajdweep. The lead character in this drama
will be essayed by the very popular Ravi Sarma who has amassed a fan base for his work
in Assamese films and theatre. Ravi Sarma
who is popular as an action hero has decided to play a completely different character in
‘Betal Police’.
With the character of a police inspector
named Arjun Borakakoti, Ravi Sarma takes
on comedy and draws inspiration from real
life which many in the audience will relate to.
The producer of Theatre Bhagyadevi,
Subodh Majumdar mentioned that
they are now working with the script
and music of the drama.
All the songs have been penned by
the dramatist himself. Added to that he
is working with Rajdweep and other
younger artists to create a new trend
and to bring something fresh to the
theater scene. Without the high voltage
songs, dance and special effects, ‘Betal
Police’ is a powerful play that will be
dominated mostly by the storyline and
acting. Ravi Sarma did mention that after hearing the name ‘Betal Police’ people would relate the name to the story
which in truth is very different from the
script.
The character of Arjun Borkakoti
has been beautifully written by Rajdweep which Ravi is looking forward
to play. The other artists in the play
include Alympica Bhuyan, Haren Malakar, Tarak Sarma, Muhi Bora, Mitul
Balaji among others. Another feather
in their cap is Assamese singer Dikshu
working on the project as the music
director.
22
G PLUS APR 09 - APR 15, 2016
Events
Test Drive Carnival in city
IIT
Maruti launches first Seismech’16,
Guwhati to be
compact SUV held
from 8th-
M
aruti Suzuki recently launched their
first compact SUV, Vitara Brezza,
and set up a test drive carnival event
at Brindaban Garden, Zoo Road Tiniali. The
3-day carnival started on 4th April and continued till 6th April and it attracted a huge gathering of car lovers from the city.
The organisers came out with a very innovative public approach – eight Brezzas were
set aside for test drives and anyone who was
willing to test-drive the car were welcomed to
try it around the city. If a customer was satisfied with the car’s performance, they could also
opt for a spot booking. In the three days there
were about 250 customers who took the test
drive and enquired about the car. Three people
applied for spot booking on the very first day.
Apart from the test drives, customers were also
introduced to car dealers in Guwahati who had
set up stalls during the event. Six car dealers
set up their stalls for the benefit of customers
so they would know exactly where to go to in
case they wanted to buy a Brezza at a later date.
The Maruti Suzuki Brezza is a diesel engine, sub four meter car. It comes in six variants and the top model, ZDI+ comes with
dual tone exteriors as well. “It is an exceptional
product which is sporty as well as glamorous
at the same time,” said an exuberant customer
who had made a spot booking during the test
drive carnival.
The Smartisans
S
eason 1 of The Smartisans, a STOIC Marketing Solutions initiative, concluded
with grand fanfare on 3rd April at Hotel Gateway Grandeur. The ambiance
was adorned with bright lights, colours and happy faces. It was bustling with
designers, creators and innovators who have the potential to bring about a positive
change with their ideas. The Smartisans was a meeting point for free thinkers who
displayed beautiful things and enticed the crowd.
Pre-Bihu Extravaganza
at India Club
Chief Guest Mitra Phukan being felicitated at the event
T
he ladies wing of India club organized a Pre-Bihu Extravaganza on 3rd April, 2016.
The idea behind the event was to give some lesser
known talents and some known talents too a chance to showcase
their exclusive products just before the festive season of Rongali
Bihu.
The event saw the participation of 34 different organizations/individuals. While some stalls were of the traditional Mekhela Chadar, there were others of designer Mekhelas, Jamdanis,
Sarees, Suits, dress materials, western wear, etc. There were still
others with Axomiya gohana, costume jewelry, traditional Assamese jewelry made from clay, Jaipuri jewelry and much more. 2
NGOs also participated in the event showcasing their products:
Shishu Sarothi, which was selling products made by children with
disabilities and IRADO (Integrated Rural Artisans Development
Organization) whose focus was on stoles and shawls made from
Eri, besides various cane handicrafts. Blue pottery and products
from the inmates of Tihar Jail were the star attractions.
The extravaganza stood complete with a Bihu dance recital
which was performed by the children of ANKURAN under the
guidance of Garima Das Saikia. This was a huge crowd puller and
the event culminated with everyone clapping along to the melodious sounds of Dhol and Pepa with the children.
10th April
Social initiative “ Gaon chalo
“ by Seismech.
Seismech’16, IIT Guwhati to be held from
8th-10th April
Maverick IT and Aweride presents Seismech’16 co-sponsored by Neepco and powered
by Ansys, the third edition of flagship event of
the Mechanical Engineering Students’ Association (MESA), IIT Guwahati is going to be held
from 8th -10th April 2016. It is conceptualized
to develop and strengthen the engineering spirit
of the students of IIT Guwahati and other colleges of North-Eastern part of India. This year’s
theme “Ascendeta Infinitum” ventures into the
unexplored, pushing the boundaries to develop
cutting edge technologies and presenting it in an
interesting manner by means of lectures, articles
and workshops & interacting with other technical
societies, within and outside the institute to promote flow of knowledge and interest.
During the fest three workshops are being
organized - i) RC Aircraft Workshop by Edurade.
ii) Vehicle Overhauling Workshop by HT India
Labs. iii) MATLAB Workshop by Seismech. Prof.
A.W Date from IIT BOMBAY, Fellow INAE and
Prof. Sreerup Rai Chaudhary from TIFR, Bombay are invited speakers for the lecture series.
During Seismech, competitions like MechWormQuiz, Industry Defined Problem, Case Study
competition are to be organized. Seismech also
have a social initiative called “Gaon Chalo” where
the Seismech team went to Chayagaon to inculcate the spirit for development and education in
the students of village areas. Be there to witness
the best engineering innovations from 8th to 10th
April at IIT Guwahati and push your own limits.
Ascending to infinity soon.
Xs the place to be
G PLUS APR 09 - APR 15, 2016
23
Catching Up
Most shared
story of the week
Hiren Gohain’s recent
statement where he
urged the people of
Assam not vote for BJP
stirred up a massive
controversy. With over
10,000 people reading
the post, more than 90
comments, 26 shares,
Hiren Gohain was
slammed and mocked
as a ‘buddhijibi’, who
had no business in
advising others about
casting their vote.
facebook.com/guwahatiplus
twitter.com/guwahatiplus
Guwahati
GYAN
Did you
know?
Lakhtokia Masjid (No. 1)
New
Chic
on the
block
ARunima
Gohain
About Me
Hey, I’m Arunima Gohain.
Born and brought up in Guwahati,
I’m currently pursuing my BA in
Economics from Handique Girls
College. I’m an avid sports person and
I’ve represented the women’s cricket
team at the district level. I started
my career with a beauty contest in
2014. I won Miss Personality at Miss
Xarodee, Miss Sanskrit at AIMT and
was one of the top ten contestants
at ‘Cover Girl.’ But my career took a
different turn when I won the college
elections in September 2015.
Mojo
Spending time in the kitchen is
surprisingly fun for me. Even though
I love acting and modelling, I have
this dream of becoming a celebrity
chef one day.
Route in the Woods
A
lthough Lakhtokia is famous as
a commercial hub with outlets
that caters to all our requirements, the settlements in the area go
back to several years. Lakhtokia Masjid
(number 1) which was one of the first
structures of the area has a history that
dates back to over 150 years and was established when the locality was desert-
R
ed. The earlier structure was made of
boulders. However, it underwent transformation in the early 80s. Along with
the masjid was constructed a library
within the premise named as Sirat Library which is now used as a maktab
and is attended by around 50 students
every day. Along with the library the
masjid also has a musafirkhana.
Ka m u r of the week
ongali Bihu is one of the biggest festivals in Assam and every Bohag Bihu there is a tradition
of buying new clothes, jewellery and gift items
for near and dear ones. All these start one month
before the Bihu. This time, only because of
the elections, the people are facing a tough
time taking out time to please their family
members as there are less public transport
vehicles, no leave for the government employees and many other problems leading to postponing of the Bihu plans. Elections during Bihu is a big
kamur for all.
‘Keep it simple,’ has been one
of my life’s mottoes. I believe we are
all meant to have more than one
profession; one for the wallet and
one for the soul.
PIC
OF THE
WEEK
WHAT DID I JUST HEAR?
R
akhi Sawant came up with the most
logical solution to stop suicides in
the country. She said, “I demand
that ceiling fans be removed from all
houses. Too many women are using it to
commit suicide.” This was in response to
the suicide committed by TV star of Balika Vadhu and Big Boss fame Pratyusha
Banerjee.
In Association with
It’s all about smile
Photo: Adib Zamali
24
G PLUS APR 09 - APR 15, 2016
Printed & Published by Sunit Jain on behalf of Insight Brandcom Pvt. Ltd. and Printed at Arkashish Publications (P) Ltd., Katahbari, Garchuk, Guwahati and Published at H/No. 34, K. C. Choudhury Road, Chatribari, Guwahati - 781008, Editor: Koushik Hazarika.
Phone: 0361 2737737, Email: [email protected], RNI No: ASSENG/2013/52641