Society / Assam

Tezpur/Guwahati, Jan. 15: If the numerous fans of Assam’s cultural icon Jyoti Prasad Agarwalla are attracted towards the Rupkonwar by his films, verses and songs, than there is “virtual reality” on the worldwide web to fire their fascination. A website, www.rupkonwar.net, on the poet-lyricist-filmmaker was inaugurated today in Tezpur, two days ahead of a grand function in Guwahati to mark his birth centenary celebrations.

That’s not all. Sonitpur deputy commissioner Ariz Ahmed said the district administration would request Delhi University to introduce research work on the doyen of Assamese...

GUWAHATI, Jan 13 — The 6th Brahmaputra Beach Festival, being held at the Andheridhuli Beach here, got off to a rousing start this afternoon with Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani inaugurating the festivities in the presence the Governor, Lt Gen (retd) SK Sinha, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and Union Minister of State for Water Resources Bijoya Chakraborty. The inauguration ceremony was marked by a colourful dance programme where dancers from all over the North East presented their traditional items. Several other cultural troupes also performed. Speaking on the occasion, Advani said that he was...

Guwahati, Jan. 13: The Bhogali Bihu mood got off to a “hearty” and “sparkling” start today on uruka, unclouded by the dull and hazy weather that has been continuing since the New Year set in. Refusing to let the weather chill the celebration mood, each locality lit glowing bonfires in front of homes, apartment blocks and youth clubs. Hors d’oeuvrs of a night of feasting also began in the right earnest since early evening.

Strains of Bihu songs as well as Hindi film numbers blared from decks as the rhythm for the night was set by merrymakers.

Some localities posted shamianas beyond the...

MIHIMUKH (Kaziranga), Jan 11 — Wonderful activities of domestic elephants on the occasion of the two-day Elephant Festival, that got under way here this morning, reminded the people of the cultural heritage of the State in which elephant occupies a place of love and respect. The festival is organised with the twin objectives of reducing the tension between the elephant and man and promoting State’s tourism. A colourful procession of about 60 elephants from the Kohora NH point to the festival ground here earlier this morning, set the mood of the festival. The elephants, which took part in the...

Guwahati, Dec. 5: Experts on road-building and maintenance are flipping through the pages of history for inspiration from the Ahom monarchs, who built Assam’s most durable roads and bridges. These experts, gathered here for the ongoing Indian Roads Congress, are of the view that the methods employed by the erstwhile Ahom rulers to maintain the road network of that era were worthy of being adopted even today. “Coupled with modern technology, the system of old can make roads easier to maintain and strong enough to withstand the ravages of time,” engineer B.M. Goswami said in his presentation.

T...

Guwahati, January 3: To get a roof over her head, Jahnavi Goswami had to go where no HIV-positive person in Assam has ever gone before: into the glare of the public eye.

The 27-year-old, the first person in the state to go public with her HIV-positive status, was given a house to call her own by the state government today, seven years after she was thrown out by her in-laws and refused housing by three landlords who told her they didn’t want ‘‘such a person around’’.

Goswami, who contracted the virus from her husband—he has since died of AIDS, as has her three-year-old son—has been home...

GUWAHATI, Jan 2 — The UNICEF refused to cooperate with the police enquiry into the cause of deaths of 23 children after a pulse vitamin A immunisation programme in Assam on November 11, 2001. This was stated by the Inspector General of Police (CID), Sri S P Kar in his report to the Gauhati High Court.

The Gauhati High Court, in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by two advocates Bijon Mahajan and Raju Pradhan, ordered the Director General of Police to enquire into the cause of deaths of 23 children after the immunisation programme and the DGP entrusted Sri Kar to conduct the...

GUWAHATI, Dec 31 — It is a very good news for the people of the State. Maybe, it is a new year gift that may signal the beginning of a new era for the art and culture of the people of the State. Official confirmation is awaited though, the legendary singer, musician of the State Dr Bhupen Hazarika has been informed by the head of the Bengalee section of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Md A Haque that the Bengalee version of his Manuhe Manuhar Babe has been rated by the listeners of the BBC Bengalee Section as the best song of the 20th century.

Md Haque, who could contact Dr...

GUWAHATI, Dec 27 — Legendary folk singer Pratima Pandey Baruah whose singular efforts were instrumental in according Goalporia lokageet (folk songs of Goalpara district) its rightful status, is no more. The uncrowned queen of the State’s folk music breathed her last at 7 am today at the Guwahati Neurological Research Centre (GNRC) after battling with septicaemia (a severe infection with multiple organ failure) for several days. She was 67 and leaves behind her husband Prof Ganga Shankar Pandey and two married daughters Amrita and Alaka. The voice that rendered such unforgettable songs, like...

DIBRUGARH, Dec 25 — Assam Medical College, a name that was once looked upon in awe, was once-upon-a-time one of the five best medical institutions in Asia. Today, all that is history. And the Assam Medical College (AMC) epitomizes sheer neglect and despondency. Talking to The Assam Tribune here, office bearers of the AMC unit of the Federation of Junior Doctors, Assam spoke in detail of the decrepit condition of the institution. They stressed that the sole blame for the state of affairs here falls on the Assam Government, which has lost interest in the medical college after the demise of the...