URULI_22

Kushal’s journey into plays did not begin well. at Jorhat, Assam under Siddhartha Chakrabarty,
With a zeal to explore the mysterious world a NSD graduate and repositioned himself as a
behind the curtains of the stage, he used to leave Theatre Director. Immediately after that he went
home with his study notebooks after informing to various places in Assam like Duliajan,
his parents that he was going to study, and spent Naharkatia, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Jorhat, Dhemaji,
time in the play rehearsals with the faint hope Lakhimpur, Karbi Anglong, Nagaon, Sonitpur,
that someday someone will tell him ‘so and so Mangaldoi, Golaghat, Bokakhat, Silchar, Guwahati
could not come today, why don’t you play his University etc and came to be well known as an
role today’? Unfortunately, no one ever said this upcoming new-age director. Thru plays like ‘Effigy’,
to him. Yet, his zeal pushed him to continually ‘Onyo Ek Roja’, ‘Sariali’, ‘NimtolorDodhisi’,
stay connected with the dramatics team by ‘Gorakhohonia’ ‘Obator Nat’ etc, he collected
initially serving the main team in various ways many awards like best actor, best director along
like arranging for tea-snacks, pulling the front with best play and best director awards in a one-
screen, coloring some of the scenes and finally act play competition conducted among all the
towards the end with the play’s music. However, North East states. After associating himself with
his desire to get in front of the audience did not various well-known drama-clubs in Assam like
get fulfilled for quite a few years. Pothar-Duliajan, Aastha, Goti, Xoili, Turangom –
Biswanath Sariali, Xaku, Bapuji Bhawan
In 1986, in a sudden development, Kushal NatyaXomaj – Jamugurihat, Jorhat Theatre, Xilpo
got a chance to be part of a drama-workshop – Jorhat, AxomNatyaXonmilon – Dhemaji &
conducted by the very well-known poet, Naharkatia branch, Xorpil, Aruhon – Mangaldoi,
playwright and director Rafiqul Hussein. He was Bhabikal Theatre – Silchar, Nabik – Lakhimpur etc,
a higher-secondary student at that time. It so he decided to do something on his own.
happened that Kushal found out that Mr Hussein
was teaching a class on a subject that Kushal liked According to Kushal, if one does not share
and he started listening to his lecture seating his/her expertise and experience with the new
outside a window every day till one day Mr generation, then there could be a big vacuum in
Hussein invited him to join the workshop. the theatre space for sometime or even for ever
However, since he had joined the workshop late, in that place. That is why he gathered a few
he was not allowed to be part of the main youngsters and established a new theatre group
directorial class. Kushal got disheartened and on 25th August, 2005 at BiswanathSariali. I am
decided to quit the workshop when Mr Hussein also associated with this group. The name of the
gave him a chance to act in a musical play loosely group is ‘Varnam’. For the last 17 years since its
based on a poem named ‘Beautiful Island’ by inception, Kushal thru Varnam has conducted
JosemAati, the poet from Cuba. Kushal got a new plays in various states of India like West-Bengal,
identity since this play. Kushal travelled across Bihar, New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Arunachal
Assam with Mr Hussein for many years after that Pradesh, Tripura and has been able to showcase
working on various workshops sharing learnings Assam theatre powerfully to these audience.
in music, poem and life.
While working in Varnam, Kushal received
For someone whose whole life is about ‘Senior Fellowship’ and one of his group member
dramatics, no obstacle could stop him. Kushal ‘junior fellowship’ from the cultural ministry of
could not clear the interviews twice in 1995 and Govt of India. Kushal as the head of Varnam,
1996 for admission in National School of which is recognised by the Govt of India as
Drama;so he joined a 45 day residential workshop ‘repertory theatre’ currently, has successfully

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conducted a theatre camp on children-plays as Xipaar Duyupaar’, ‘Ishwar aruejonsoor’, ‘Sorondax
Asst Camp Director, arranged by NSD in Arunachal Soor’, ‘Ulongo Roja’, ‘Surjyor Ontim Kironorpora
Pradesh. He also successfully arranged North-East Prothom kironoloi’, ‘Jokamoi’ (a story by Saurabh
Theatre Festival as Chief Coordinator in Mumbai Chaliha) etc. It is a matter of great pride for us
organised by National School of Drama. Varnam and Assam that his play ‘OkatyoXoityo” has been
became a well known name outside of Assam presented as ‘Karwa Sach’ by a bihar based
just because of the work done by Kushal. theatre group Abhinav and has been staged about
15 times so far; another play ‘jokamoi’ written
The Kushal I know now: by Saurabh Chaliha has been translated into
The person who does not care much about Bengali named ‘Sayakritto’ and staged some 7
his own life and who strives to live his life only times by ‘Gobordanga Mridangam’ a very well
thru theatre, Kushal gets his happiness by known theatre group of West Bengal in various
submerging himself in creating new plays. I have stages across West Bengal and New Delhi.
realised, by the virtue of being near him or acting
with him, that he always has something new to Kushal has a dream to own a studio of his
offer in his plays. His trait of self-deprecating own with all the facilities for plays. Without
humourgets reflected in many of his plays. waiting for any government help, he has been
Presenting a play in simple way is his distinctive working on this using his own resources.
style. To present a complex subject in a simple
way to his audience is one of his primary Finally-
objectives. One can observe this in various plays People often tell Kushal – ‘Please go to
of Varnam like ‘Kathfula’ (a story by Syed Abdul Guwahati’, ‘what is the point in organizing theatre
Malik), ‘Xopun Bibhrantiaru Kesaikhati’, ‘Ipaar here?’, ‘Please move to camera work’, ‘who will
know you if you keep working in such a small
place?’ etc. Kushal used to respond to these
strongly that ‘if there is some appeal for the
public in my creativity, then perhaps someday
people will love this small place also thru me’.
I am very proud of Kushal’s work. Although
his work is quite abstract, I am positive it will
bring him a special recognition one day. My
biggest observation is that his work is always
selfless. He strongly believes that he can live his
life thru theatre and also impacts the new
generation by giving them a new perspective. If
all children only go for medical, engineering or
teaching keeping in mind financial stability, then
who will look after culture? So, let’s hope that
many more such Kushal take birth. The ones who
will explore every corner of our society thru their
passion and dedication.

Address : Biswahnath Chariali, Santipur, L.B. Road, PIN: 784176
Phone : 8133804978

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The Danger of A Single Story—

Lovely Dutta Prusty

What’s YOUR single story? after he joined my class, I gave him a patient
hearing, out of courtesy. I wanted to make a new
The ‘Chatterbox’ student feel comfortable in my class. Besides, I
The year was 2009. I was working at Deen’s wanted to get to know him better. By the time
Academy as an English teacher handling grades 5 the tag of ‘new student’ wore off, my patience
and 6, the two ‘senior classes’ [Grades 7 and 8 began to get thinner.
were to be introduced the following year]. The
previous year I had been the class teacher of Year after year, Siddharth continued to show
grade 4. When my fourth grades moved up, I extraordinary ability to divert my attention from
moved with them. It was a nice comfortable my teachings with his desire to share his thoughts
feeling to be teaching students whom I knew in the middle of a class. He was full of ‘stories’
already. I was aware of each child in that class and he was always eager to share them with his
and their behaviour patterns. classmates and me. Whenever we would be
Siddharth Santosh joined us in grade 5. He discussing a new lesson, he would invariably
was a cute boy with a mop of curly hair and a ‘recall’ a similar situation as the protagonist in
very attractive smile that made him look like an the story and ofcourse, he wouldn’t rest until the
angel. I expected him to behave like an angel story was out of his system. I adopted a firmer
too. attitude in my interaction with Siddharth. I would
It so turned out, that Sidharth was the most sometimes ignore his raised hand in the middle
talkative boy in class. He disrupted my class every of my teaching,because it would disturb the flow
two minutes, raising his hand to either ask a of my thoughts, and sometimes I told him we
question or add his comments and sometimes would hear his story in the next class. I was
went on to narrate his experiences. Initially, right getting tired of his constant chatter in class.But
Siddharth had a knack of catching me off guard

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and sharing with me all that he wanted to share world in a positive manner.
in the classroom. During written work, he would Sidharth is one of the few students who still
be talking to his bench mate every now and then,
and I had to snap him out of his ‘story telling’ keeps in touch with me and never fails to let me
and ask him to focus on the given task. Other know how I inspired him to read a variety of books
teachers also complained about his habit of [ from lists that I had shared with the entire class],
talking in class. I often wondered what he would which has helped him a lot [I am simply grateful
do later on if he was always chattering through that he took me seriously].
his lessons?
Two years ago, he messaged me:
The label of ‘chatterbox’ stuck on him. None “How have you been Ma’am? I was just
of us could see beyond this label. remembering you today! I’ve taken a course this
semester where we learn how to write and
The other side: appreciate fiction/non-fiction. An American
After his 10th Board exams, Sidharth left author Jake Lamar, is taking the course. We’re
Deens and joined Ekya, a new school that had reading James Baldwin, Ernest Hemingway and
opened up near ITPL. His habit of sharing his Flannery O’Connor! It’s been a great experience
experiences continued. Whenever we crossed until now =ØÞ’
paths, he would eagerly tell me what he had been During his graduation from Christ College
doing of late. I was impressed that he had started where he studied Economics, Siddharth
the TED TALKS chapter at his new school and he volunteered in a government school as ateacher.
remembered to invite me to attend its first Just before he left for Paris, he wrote to me:
session. I was always updated on his life. Once I “After stepping into the shoes of a
had dropped by at his house to hand over a government school teacher, I am so grateful that
certificate and he showed me the vegetable I had you as my teacher. I realise that teaching is
garden he had started. It was a pleasant surprise! so tough and I am full of respect for this
He remained in touch with me ever since profession. Thank you, Ma’am for everything.”
and I got to know him beyond the label we had It gives me immense satisfaction that I got
given him at Deens. Today, I admire Siddharth for the opportunity to know Siddharth better. His
the wonderful qualities he possesses. He certainly enthusiasm in my class and his habit of sharing
has a green thumb, as is evident from the lush his stories and experiences had been the early
organic garden he maintains in his backyard. [It signs of his radiant character. Though, as a young
surprises me because I have never come across teacher, I did not have the foresight of deciphering
young boys who spend time tinkering in vegetable those signs then, I know better now. Siddharth is
gardens. a sensitive young man, polite in his interactions
He is very sensitive about the environment with everyone, full of enthusiasm to explore the
and endorses sustainable living by consciously world, values the traditions and heritage of his
adopting eco friendly habits. He shares his country while advocating a more eco friendly life
marvellous ideas on his Instagram page so that style, knows his mind and is not bogged down by
everyone can benefit from them. He calls himself- criticism from his peers.
‘Unstoppable energy bhandar’. Having a Master’s I am happy to have learnt from him, that I
Degree in Public Policy and Economics from the cannot put my students in different boxes with
University of Paris, Sidharth worked for UNESCO, different labels. Each one is blessed with some
first as an intern and then as a consultant. He amazing qualities and their personalities keep
will soon be joining the Centre for Policy Research unfolding as they reach different milestones in
in Delhi as a researcher. He hopes to bring about their journey through this world. What they can
changes in global policies that could impact the achieve in life is only for Time to tell and certainly
not for us to predict.

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Face to face with Jyotirmoy Chakravorty

Sri Jyotirmoy Chakravorty is a successful entrepreneur in the IT industry in
Bangalore. He hails from Dhubri in Assam. He founded the company Ubona

Technologies in 2007. Here is an interesting excerpt from his
candid talk with Sri Munindra Kumar Bharatee.

1. Can you give us a brief about your line of are happy that we could put our act together to
business along with some approximate figures on bring out the company from earlier chasm and
employee strength and business turnover? could provide the critical velocity.

Our company provides “Customer 2. Any expansion plans like multiple
Communication solution” on the cloud using which products, multiple locations?
the consumer focussed enterprises can
communicate with their customers. Our solutions We are cloud based provider of solutions and
are used for agent assisted interaction, completely all our products’ deployment, delivery and
automated interaction and also to analyse the operations are not location dependent. With the
communication and derive intelligence from the onset of pandemic we started to work in a “virtual
same. Our solutions are used by many leading office” model where all of our employees are
banks, insurance companies, NBFCs, large working from home, many in remote corners in
eCommerce companies of our country. This year India. With the sign of pandemic receding, we are
we have taken the critical decision of expanding waiting and watching how going forward the
our business overseas. We are now a company of working models will evolve. But personally my
85 people, completed this year at Rs50 Cr revenue, aspiration and dream to have one more office in
currently at annual run rate of Rs75 Cr and intend my home state so that I can contribute to building
to achieve the Rs100 Cr revenue milestone by the a professional atmosphere there. If everything
next financial year. It is a moderate goal and we goes as per plan I would like to try this in the later
part of this year or in the beginning of next financial

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year when I expect we will have considerable others including the company. So a must quality is
credibility and capability to support the same. she should take complete responsibility of her
deliverables and should be ready to do everything
3. As an employer, what do you expect from including that extra bit to make things happen.
an employee? What are 3 key traits you would
like to see in them? These are three traits I would like to see in
my key employees . Having said that it is not always
The success of the company to a very large possible to get passionate people with clear
extent is dependent on the people who work for understanding of the big picture added with sense
the company. They are the largest players and of ownership for the skills we want to hire. So there
stakeholders in the company’s triumph. The is some compromise. But at the same time remain
journey becomes easier and smoother in case you cautious about the shortcomings and try to teach
can overcome the barrier of typical employer- people to get these traits inculcated . Many people
employee relationship and transform the same to pick up these traits and become very valuable
a model of partnership with shared vision. The employee of the company. So yes, Passion,
expectation is , the people who will work alongside Understanding of the big picture and Ownership
you will understand, share your vision and become are the three qualities I would like to see in all
partner in its implementation. people I work with.

The common practice of hiring the best 4. There is a large Assamese community in
technical guy, the best product guy or sales / Bangalore. Please tellus one thing they can start
marketing guy , it is unlikely to solve the problem doing?
of an enterprise which is at a formative stage. At
the adolescence stage of the company , while you Assamese,is now a large vibrant community
hire the skills, the most important traits you need in Bangalore. I generally get back to friends from
to look are : the community in case I need any attention. The
community here is always willing to help.
Passion: You can’t build your company or
offerings with a bunch of pissed off and indifferent The big benefit to entrepreneurship comes
guys. People need to love their work, feel excited if there is help and influence in the ecosystem
to solve problems and take great pride to be a part which consists of fellow entrepreneurs , possible
of the venture. At difficult times only fuel to keep hires, venture capitalists, angel investors,
moving is passion. So love for work is the most investment bankers, referees, early adapters….
desirable trait that an employer look for in an Because of historical reasonsin the North East
employee. embracing the culture of entrepreneurism has
taken time and at this point we Assamese people
Understanding of end goal: It is important are not the great influencers of the functions I have
that every employee should understand how mentioned to be “Big Factor” in facilitating
everyone’s workis dependent on other people’s entrepreneurship. But I am sure we are catching
work and they all together contribute to the end up and soon we will have significant say in the
goal. Lack of understanding of bigger picture ecosystem. For providing possible help in terms
results into ineffective and useless work and in a references, recruitments , giving a platform
company which is at a formative stage people Assamese community has always come forward. I
without understanding of end goal fails to deliver recollect we all Assamese entrepreneurs have got
the desired results. So this trait is a must for all the opportunity to show case our products in all
key peoplein the company. possible community gatherings whenever we
wanted. But providing the bigger help will be the
Ownership : It is imperative that person responsibility of thosewho already are
should recognize that her work is absolutely
important and her not delivering will affect all

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entrepreneurs. We need to establish ourselves and the downs very naturally with all normal reactions
influence the ecosystem to provide support and and it disappears with time. So normal healing for
conducive environment to the budding comrades all my downs !!
of our region.
7. You were a topper in your school/college
5. There is a lot of interest among people days. Any advice for our students? How can they
back in Assam to become an entrepreneur. What prepare themselves in this digital age?
would be your advice to them?
When I was in my class 12, I didn’t even know
Yes and it is very good for our region. We have about the RECs ( Now NITs). I knew that only option
overcome the first problem of mindset. The next I have is to study Engineering in Assam Engineering
big problem I see is the lack to access to a big college. There was serious lack of awareness in our
market. Small and restricted market kills business small towns and villages. The internet now have
because of hyper competition and under cuttings. changed everything. The whole world is now inside
If there is no growth, business perishes. So the the computer or mobile phone. My most
most critical item for people of Assam, desiring to important advice to today’s generation is to keep
become entrepreneur is to work out how to get themselves up to date on the options available to
access to a bigger expanding market may be in pursue their passion in the most realistic manner.
India or all over the world. The good thing is The globalization has also created lot of openings,
internet has made finding things simple and now new roles and new professions. One can find out
it is a very big tool. Sitting at one corner one can the options to achieve his career goal and plan the
find out everything, get connected to any other same. However the old stuff still holds good. Today
corner, work with any party. So entrepreneurs also there is no shortcut for actually achieving
need to address the primary issue of market access one’s goal. “So if there is passion, be informed
and next will be items like show casing, marketing, about the options, evaluate what you need to do
campaigns, supply chain, implementation and to achieve that and pursue that with complete
operation. I am hopeful that if the access to the focus and zeal. For first two digital way is the
market can be worked out other things will fall in answer and the third is on you.’’
place. So “Assam entrepreneurs, estimate your
market size, if it is small then look at options to 8. 95% of entrepreneurs fail in their first year
make it BIG and start only when it is Big enough.” of start up venture worldwide. How did you cross
that barrier?
6. You have been an entrepreneur for quite
some time now. You would have seen your share I largely give it to my luck as well as to our
of downs as well. What keeps you going? company’s flexibility/adaptability. Like 95 percent
entrepreneurs , I also made the mistakes of
Yes and true that whenever there is down, I jumping into it without knowing well the problems
feel extremely terrible and fearful. First thing I do I would want to solve. Also on the way there was
is try to hide it from family. But my experience is it lack of focus, shifting of the path and dearth of
goes away. It plays havoc in mind, but as new work understanding/ knowledge. In the course of doing
comes, one again gets involved and engaged and things we realized that we were not on the right
comes out of the trauma. There is nothing special path and tried to take another . Fatal accident
I do but it naturally disappears. I have realised that didn’t happen only because of sheer luck. Things
“Sticking to my path and doing work is what I came and fell in place at the right time saving us
should do. Ups anddowns will come and disappear from meeting the end. So some part was timely
in due course”. Believe in this saying course correction with open mind and large part
“Waktkeaageyaur Kismatse Jyada kisiko kuch na was” LUCK”
kabhi mila hai aur nakabhi milegaJ”. So yes I deal
9. Are you a hard worker or a smart worker?

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What is helping you in your success? helped me to get the useful connects. However, it
I feel I am both. Hard worker by my culture is true that having guides or mentors help in critical
items like references for fund raise, reaching out
and education, smart worker because I have now to bigger prospects.
become open enough to quickly learn and adapt
myself. Mistakes and things that”didn’t work”, 12. Many people have lot of ideas to start a
worked as big lessons moving forward. Success new business, but they stay behind, because they
started happening when with the acquired do not have the requisite funds. How did you
experience and market knowledge I could read the overcome this problem?
gaps in the market. Innovative product with
competitive advantage to address gaps and the Again I was lucky here also. We didn’t do any
hard work put in by all in our organization came as validation of our idea and jumped into it. We
the primary factors to drive success. discovered that the theoretical values we
perceived about our idea was very subjective and
10. Do you have any special influencer in not well thought through to be valid in real world.
your business career? If yes, how did it help? We found a sea of obstacles in front of us and
realized that there are lot of aspects which we
I have to say a “No” here. I respect all the have ignored. While all these problems were
great people with extra ordinaryachievements but around, one very important positive thing
don’t want to tell that I idealized someone and happened to me was that I could gather a kick ass
tried to follow his footsteps. I believe that each team sharing my vision and belief. They walked the
one of us have to pen our own stories which will extra mile with hardship. In a very honest manner
be invariably different from all others. I am sure we identified the changes and course correction
extra ordinary people must have dealt with much which would give us the chance of survival. Just
bigger problems than today what I am into. I just before the point of breakdown, things clicked. I
try to follow the fundamentals like hard work, owe our survival to our adaptability to the market
execution and respect and value for everyone reality, some great work / resilience of the team
(customers and employees ) at this stage. and a bunch of good luck. The big lesson is
company’s break because of untested “mission and
11. Do you have a guide or a mentor in your vision” which can’t stand the test of reality.
entrepreneurial journey? If yes, how is it
benefitting you? We could solve our survival problem with a
great team, course correction and doing a right
I have to say “No” here also. All of us who product. Funding came after we have addressed
grew in North East have disadvantage of not all these.
knowing many people. I am amongst the first few
from Assam Colleges who came out of Assam. 13. People also manage to create brilliant
There was no alumni network and when I started products, but many a times they fail to get the
our venture the entrepreneur support ecosystem market penetration. What are your go to market
was also in very nascent stage. So there were not strategies?
many friendly guiding faces around. While I didn’t
get benefit of guidance or mentoring, I soon I ieel brilliant products are “illusions “ and
realized that the best thing is to get mentoring and there is only “Right” product. Products need to fit
confidence of customers. I was lucky to quickly get consumer, market and business need. The world
those first few people who expressed confidence is flooded with products which don’t have much
on us and started using our stuff. One thing also purpose. Lot of things I have created at our
helped me. In my earlier professional life I always company which I used to think as brilliant products
made it a point to help anyone who looked up to ( they were exceptional in technical features) failed
me . I could get back to many of them who in turn to get traction. Later on I realised that those are

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not very essential and customers can carry on their 15. You have already given opportunities to
life well without them. So problem lies when we many young talents from Assam and North-east.
try to seekmarket penetration without the right What is your feedback on them? Are you planning
product.Failure in that case is inevitable. The best to give more such opportunities to aspirants from
marketing strategy is to implement the product for your native land?
the target customer or consumer or enterprise. If
the product delivers value, then the customers Absolutely yes. I always feel good if I can
become the marketeers. So the one piece of advice provide opportunities as well as help to people
“Don’t plan to market unless you are sure about from Assam and North East. The good thing is my
the value of the product in customers’ context. cofounders are sensitive about my this urge and
Without demonstrated and acknowledged value, always encourage me to do that wherever
marketing dollars will go down the drain putting possible.
enormous stress on the company. Once you have
two or three customer testimonials confirming People from our part of the country are some
your value that is the time to press the accelerator’. the best people to work with. They are intelligent,
I can vouch that the failure rate of products hard working with huge sense of ownership and
meeting the need of the market will be very rare. dedication. In our company all the people from
So it is right product with right market fit, which Assam are doing extremely well and acknowledged
can be proved in the context of the customer, key leaders and valuable resources of the company.
should be the focus of a start-up. Once proven and I have seen this in my past life also. Where ever
established , marketing works out. Start-ups should there is people from our corner, they are well
stay away from doing “me too “ product as it needs respected and they stand out from the crowd.
large scale and expensive marketing.
My dream is our venture will grow big and I
As a B2B company we kept our marketing will be able provide opening and break to many
“sales driven” till now. Happy customers’ reference people of our region in a much bigger way.
also work as wonders. For the first time in our
company’s history we are putting together plan to 16. Where do you see your business 5 years
talk about our stuff in channels and medium other from now?
than our traditional sales channels. We will learn
more and fine tune the communication. The pandemic has given the tail wind to our
business and accelerated the growth . We are
14. Some big organisations believe, it is expecting to complete our Rs100 Cr revenue
employees first. Customers come next. milestone by next year and in next five years we
see ourselves as a company with substantial
What is your take on this and why? revenue, with very healthy profit line and sound
Organizations may say all these but not sure fundamentals getting traded in stock marketJ
what do they in practice towards this principle. I
feel the customers and employees are both equal 17. What is your opinion on current work
stakeholders in a company. One exists because of from home status? How is it impacting business
the other. So I give equal importance to both. In for you and for the global communities? What
our company’s employees mind we try to create a will be your preference going forward?
sense of ownership about customers’ deliverables
and in our customers mind we try for the respect I feel “Work from Home” is a great
and appreciation of our employees. We want to engagement model which has borne out of
be the “most loved” company by both our pandemic. In the first year of the pandemic the
employees and customers. efficiency of the model brought in huge
effectiveness in company’s output. Yes, after
continuing with the model for two years
continuously , I could see some fatigue . Also there
are misuses of trust in some cases which raising

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questions about completely replacing the from home and office
employee engagements with only “Work from 18. Jack Ma of Alibaba repute failed in his
home” model.
first 29 entrepreneurial ventures. Do you have
For our company the model emerged as a any such personal experience in your
boon. All the overheads ceased to exist. All entrepreneurial journey?
unnecessary travels where we used to spend a
whole day just to meet one customer stopped. Our I have worked with one company only and
employees started working on deliverables rather somehow could escape a number of disasters at
than on a timing. We could do a number of the last moment. There are many moments of
meetings with multitude of customers in a single disappointment and sorrows. In a entrepreneur-
day. We could devise processes for remote ship journey where you fight with uncertainties,
deployment, integration , testing . Our company failures and disillusionments are unavoidable. I
could get transformed into a very effective “Virtual have taken all the failures and pains as learningand
enterprise” in real sense with “just and agile” moved on. I feel those experiences have made me
processes in all areas of our work. a better and more compassionate person.

So now two years have passed. In this two 19. Do you have any special message to our
years we have expanded our business and team. budding young generation with respect to taking
The problem I could see now is that the emotional risk in starting entrepreneurial ventures?
connect we used to have with each other is waning
away. For our new employees, we have never met If you have identified the gap or problem and
them , we have never asked them in person about confident that solving that will either improve the
their family, never had a party with them, never life of the consumer in a significant way or open a
had a joke with them, never patted their back for new revenue stream of considerable impact or
a good work, never taken a vow with them saying save cost for the business to a great extent just go
“whatever it takes , we will do it” ….so the big sense for it. If you know the problem then you will find
of “pride, passion and determination” is missing out ways to solve it. The right time to start is when
in the current “work from home” model. I feel it you found out the problem. The risk is if you have
is not the case for only our company but all not identified the problem correctly.
companies across the globe must be feeling in the
similar manner. Also I would like to take this opportunity to
thank Assam association Bangalore for giving me
If things continue in the way it is now and if this priceless opportunity to share my experiences
pandemic doesn’t raise its ugly head again , our with my fellow people of Assam and North East.
preference will be a hybrid model where we would AAB always extended the helping hand for problem
like to do all work and execution in a “Virtual of people and tries relentlessly for the upliftment
office” model while we do our key meetings, team and betterment of our region. My sincere wish is
building, inductions etc at our physical office in coming years AAB will grow stronger and
location. There is no office timing . The meeting stronger and will create substantial impact to the
locations can be office . Also whoever wants to life of people of Assam and North East.
work from office , she can be at the office. So we
will be looking at the flexible employee working A “BIG THANK YOU” to Muninda for your
model with a combination of need based working wonderful questions. They are making me think
and help to honestly discover myself for one more
time.

A very happy “RongaliBihu” to all.

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tête-à-tête with Indranee Sharma,
Author of JEC and AABIR

Arnab Aastha & JEC… Through an interview held on Zoom, let us
Does that ring a bell? I am certain that it hear the exceptional storyteller tell us the story
does. of her journey as the author of two of the most
Born in Sivasagar, Assam, the creator of these popular Assamese novels released in recent times.
characters and their love story is a proud alumni
of Jorhat Engineering College from where she did Monideepa : Hello Indranee… So good to
her Masters. Beautiful inside out, a romantic and speak to you and thank you for your valuable
realist at heart, she has found her perfect partner time. Let me get started by saying that, thanks
in Mr. Nayan Bhagowaty, a solution architect at to Arnab, Aastha & JEC, within a very short span
Volvo. of time, you have become a household name,
Team Uruli is extremely happy to present a not only in Assam and among the Assamese
heart to heart conversation with the exceedingly diaspora across India, but also in the
talented Indranee Sharma, a software engineer neighbouring states such as Arunachal Pradesh,
working with IBM, Bangalore for past nine years Nagaland, Meghalaya etc. How does it feel to be
and a storyteller par excellence. The humongous showered with so much adulation and fame all
success of her book ‘Arnab, Aastha aaru JEC’ was of a sudden?
followed in quick succession by the release of her
second book ‘Aabir’. Within a short span of three Indranee : Hello Ba, Thank you for reaching
years, Indranee has certainly made it to the hearts out to me. I am really grateful to Team Uruli.
and homes of her readers, to be there to stay.
To answer your question, I just feel over-
whelmed by the reaction. To be honest, I never
expected this kind of success. The readers loved

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JEC and the characters and that is what encour- Physics and Masters in Computer Science. Did
aged me to pamper my characters with lots of you by any chance or at any point of time, nur-
love and portray them even more endearingly in ture a dormant desire of pursuing Literature in-
the following chapters. My inbox was flooded with stead?
encouraging messages, lovely quotes, beautiful
sketches, sweet poems, meaningful videos and Indranee : My father who is a retired school-
what not!! The only problem was that I did not teacher, wanted me to become a Professor in
get enough time to respond to each and every English with a Doctorate degree, of course. But,
message. I was more inclined towards Maths and Science
from a very young age. I shall not say I wanted to
People showered their endless love towards pursue
each character of the story. Thanks to the fan’s
contribution that, not only on Facebook, #JEC was literarute but yes, I have always found it
making a mark on Youtube, Instagram & Tiktok interesting. My mother, a perfect homemaker, al-
too. All of this will always remain in my heart as ways encouraged me to read novels, short sto-
a beautiful dream, a feeling of pure bliss. I be- ries, poems since my school days. Though I was a
lieve that it is God's way of telling me that he science student, I never ignored Assamese as a
loves me. Because, I personally feel, in today's subject. I secured letter mark in Assamese in my
world unconditional love is the rarest thing, but 12th which I am always proud of.
fortunately, I have it in abundance.
Monideepa : That’s very interesting and
Monideepa : Congratulations, Indranee, you quite the contrary to my case. I had dreams of
have earned every bit of love and admiration. doing my doctorate in English, that too from
Oxford University (laughs) but I ended up doing
Going by your fan-following, you have Medicine.
clearly busted the ‘common belief’ that the
youngsters of today are not avid readers, be it Anyway, when did you realise that you had
in digital or printed form. The general impres- a flair for writing? Did you have the habit of
sion is that they prefer to spend their time play- scribbling your thoughts and ideas even as a
ing games on internet on watching programs on child?
OTT. What do you have to say about the re-
sponse received from your young fans? Indranee : As a child, I used to live in a world
full of imagination. I would create beautiful sto-
Indranee : I slightly disagree with the ‘com- ries in my mind or would to give different direc-
mon belief’ that today's youngsters do not read; tions to existing stories. I loved to read novels
they do. A lot of them are actually bookworms, and watch movies. I would write short poems
it's just that they are bit choosy. about things happening around me or create a
story out of situations. I would invariably ensure
But, they somewhere found themeselves in that everything I would write or scribble, should
Arnab and Aastha, and therefore, they could re- be beautiful, meaningful and positive. I am till
late more to the storyline. I still remember many date, keeping that child in me alive, because ‘she’
of them used to messsage me that they could can imagine beautiful things, ‘her’ innocent
understand and empathise with Aastha’s feelings, thoughts that are free from the confines of real-
that they too had cried when their father had left ity
them in the hostel for the first time. There were
many more such instances that they could relate Monideepa : Your clarity of thought cer-
to. So, I surely feel it is the purity and innocence tainly reflects in the story of Arnab and Aastha.
of JEC that made a place in their hearts. In today's How did the story and the characters take shape
world, when we have so many options to keep in your mind? What was your experience of pen-
ourselves busy, nobody wants to waste his/her ning down your thoughts and not only giving
time if something is not interesting. ‘life’ to the characters but also making them,
particularly Aastha appear so real and relatable
Monideepa : Very well said, Indranee. As for the college-going girls?
we can see, you have done your graduation in
Indranee : Ba, I write what I feel. It is as

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simple as that. I never thought of making my story had gone ‘viral’ and was trending on social
chracters extraordinary or ‘larger than life’. They media?
are not perfect and that is precisely why people
can relate to them. My characters are weak and What was your reaction on seeing the so-
vulnerable at times. They make mistakes, become cial media flooded with statuses and posts on
selfish for their love and they fail as well. That is the JEC Love Story conceived and written by you?
precisely how we are as humans and my charac-
ters are just human; they are you, they are me, Indranee : To be honest, the initial response
they are "us". Perfect in their imperfections. Be- was lukewarm. After I uploaded the first part, I
sides, I try to give very minute details to every remember that I got some 1K likes and few en-
scenario in my story, so that people can easily couraging comments. By the time I uploaded Part
visualise and get the feel of it. So, if the couple in 5, the audience/readership had grown quite a bit.
the story, while looking into each other’s eyes I was completely oblivious of the fact that people
skips a heartbeat, then my readers should skip a outside ‘ardha akash’ were also reading and shar-
heartbeat as well. (Smiles) ing through WhatsApp, Instagram and other me-
diums. It was when I had uploaded Part 14 or 15,
Monideepa : How sweet! that my friends pointed out, my story #JEC was
Tell me Indranee, what made you decide to trending in Assam and almost all Facebook
publish your story on social media rather than newsfeeds were flooded with #JEC, Aastha and
in the form of a book? Arnab. Lots of similar stories from different writ-
Would you throw some light on ‘ardha ers with same name and hashtag were floating
akash’, the platform where you first published your too. That is when I decided to upload in my per-
story ? sonal blog, so that people can find out the au-
Indranee : There was no particular intention thentic one. It wasn’t a surprise; I will say that it
that I can think of. One random day, while com- was a ‘pleasant’ shock. But, I feel blessed that
ing back from office, I just thought of giving life people appreciated the characters so much. For-
to the thoughts that I had been carrying in my tunately, the response has remained constant till
mind since my JEC days. I started typing on my the last part.
phone.
Facebook must have given the reach it has Monideepa : I am not surprised that you
reached, though I haven’t thought about what fan following is on the rise and fan responses
would have been the reaction, if I had chosen have remained constant till the end chapter.
any other content platform instead of Facebook. Well, it appears that the love story of Aastha
As a member of ‘ardha akash’, Facebook and Arnab is a beautiful blend of fact and fic-
came naturally to me as the first choice. But, I tion. Readers are intrigued and eager to know
believe, the platform can be anything, as long as whether it is ‘baastobik’ (based on reality) or
people can relate to the story or to the way you ‘kaalponik’ (figment of imagination). Without
present it. Sooner or later it will reach its audi- giving away too much, would you divulge the
ence. proportions of fact and fiction?

I am a member of the 'ardho akash' group Indranee : It is a combination, I would say.
The characters are fictonal, but many of the inci-
from last 3 years. We have a mix of amature and dents that I have incorporated in the story are
real or close to reality. Many of the small inci-
renowned writers in the group. Every member is dents that have happened with Aastha are very
common within the JEC campus. We used to see
encouraged to write to all writers. That’s been such incidents happening every now and then.

my first inspiration to pen down my thoughts and Monideepa : Readers, both young and old,
would wait impatiently for the next part, eager
also my first attempt at writing in a public forum. to know how the story would unfold in the sub-

Other than that, I used to write only in college

magazines on and off.
Monideepa : So, what was the initial re-

sponse? When did you get to know that your

111

sequent parts. With a demanding job in hand What are your thoughts on the story being
and the responsibility of running your home, eventually adapted into a web series or a feature
how did you manage to maintain the flow and film?
keep the continuity so beautifully?
Indranee : Yes, my second book Aabir has
Indranee : I am a software Engineer and our been taken by the very prestgiouse NK TV and
schedule can’t be changed whatever may be the they are making it into a mega serial. It will be
reason. Hence, it was not easy; in fact, it was coming on air very soon.
quite tough at times. But, all thanks to my hus-
band who took the entire responsibility of all kind JEC has also been taken by Mr. Deba
of houshold works so that I could focus only on Barkatakay from NK Production, they are going
my story. Even my office colleagues would help to make a web-series with the same title.
me at times. I also tried to maintain a tight sched-
ule by cutting down my personal time. I have Monideepa : Waiting eagerly for them to
stopped the habit of binge watching web series get aired. I am sure they will be hugely success-
on Netflix and Prime. I now devote all my free ful.
time to writiing.
While it must be extremely encouraging and
Monideepa : That’s commendable ! I must gratifying to be flooded with compliments, we
say Indranee, it is truly admirable that you chose do know that criticism is a part of a creative
to write the story in Assamese despite being person’s journey.
aware that it would have had larger readership
if published in English. What motivated you to How do you deal with the few caustic com-
do so ? ments that come your way ? Do you take them
to heart or do you prefer to ignore them ?
Indranee : Writing in my mother tongue gives
me a homely feeling. I feel like I am just talking to Indranee : At first, it did hurt me a lot. I felt
my family, as if I am telling a story to my extended extremely demotivated and upset. But, I eventu-
family and even if it is not perfect, they are loving ally realised that no matter what, some people
it because they are my own people. That is the only will always be there to criticise you.
reason I decided to write it in Assamese.
It is upto you how you take it. So, I learnt to
Monideepa : Lovely! We do know that more take the constructive criticism gracefully and ig-
often than not, the essence of a story or write- nore the 'personal attacks' as if the people mak-
up is lost in translation. However, would you be ing them do not even exist.
interested in having your story translated to
English and other languages so that your cre- Monideepa : Perfect! Finally, do you pro-
ative content can be appreciated by a much pose to pursue writing as your passion or do
wider range of readers? you have plans of converting it into your profes-
sion?
Indranee : Yes, of course. Actually we are
thinking of it and very soon work will commence Indranee : As of now, there’s no plan for a
in that direction. change in career. I love coding as much as I love
writing. So, coding will always remain my first
Monideepa : Thats’s awesome! I am sure choice as a career. Writing is a stress buster for
you are aware that your readers are very vocal me, so I want to keep it like that. But who knows,
and I strongly vouch for the fact that your nar- what destiny has planned ahead.
ration is so vivid that while reading, the reader
can visualise the sequence of events happening Monideepa : It was amazing talking to you,
in lives of the characters. Indranee. On behalf of Team Uruli, I thank you
once again for sparing your valuable time. I wish
you the best for your ongoing as well as future
projects.

Indranee : It was my pleasure, Ba. Thank

you very much.

112

The new world of digital (aka voice) assistants

Jagriti Bhattacharyya

Many years back, I had stepped in for a client when we say,” Alexa, please play Jingle bells”. It is
review discussion with my manager. Instead of as if she is aware of the invisible someone in the
looking at the document which I wanted to show room who can discern what she says and respond
him, he excitedly asked me, “Did you meet Eva?”. to her in sync too. Born at the time of Covid, when
Slightly baffled and unwittingly having assumed venturing out of the house was an aberration and
Eva as a new colleague in the team, I said “No”. meeting others from the clan ‘a once in a blue
Instead of being introduced to an affable face, he moon’ ritual, the little black box sitting in the
handed me his phone with a video playing. I heard corner isn’t a stranger to her anymore.
a background voice that woke up her master and
with a purposive sense of his requirements The world of intelligent assistants aka voice
updated him of his day’s schedule, performance assistants has dawned on us! – they talk to us,
of his financial investments and even suggested they respond to us and in the process get to know
a few gift ideas for his father’s upcoming birthday. a lot about us. And they are everywhere – in our
Eva was every bit the quintessential assistant we rooms, on our phones, laptops, television sets
always dreamt of in our personal lives. etc. and we know them by various names –
Siri(Apple), Alexa(Amazon), Cortana(Microsoft),
That was my first and only acquaintance with Google assistant, Watson (IBM) and many more.
Eva, and she fleeted from my life as quickly as
she had arrived. Covid-19 had cooped our lives into a cocoon,
mostly devoid of social interactions. But with
Now, almost half a decade later, my 2-year- voice assistants around us, our lives are never
old daughter who has started recognizing faces and devoid of the requisite dose of entertainment or
voices, gapes her eyes to the corner of the room information. These assistants play to us our

113

favorite songs, recommend us movies, suggest unknowingly, we have become accustomed to
us which news we would be interested in, even spending so much time engaging with them, that
select dresses and clothes for us to browse and in a way, these voice assistants have become our
chose and suggest us the restaurants that we like quintessential social companions. And slowly, but
to order from. In numerous ways, they know more certainly they are beginning to replace human
about us than even our closest friends do. They interactions.
speak to us in our language, enable us to learn
new languages and assist us in accessing a host And thus, needless to say, voice assistants
of services making our lives easier and simpler. are here to stay.
As the fears of the Covid-19 virus gradually abate,
Not just that, with interconnected devices we are soon getting back to our fast-paced lives;
(such as Echo dots of families and friends being instructing Alexa to add items to our shopping
able to be connected to each other), these voice cart, asking Google for the latest traffic or weather
enabled devices are leading to a new socially updates or telling Siri to dial the last person we
connected world. A world that has moved beyond spoke to. In the dynamically changing world that
the traditional Facebook and Instagram. While as we live in, ‘personal assistants’ are slowly
millennials we were fascinated with Facebook, becoming the exception and ‘voice assistants’
and GenZ that followed were more obsessed with more the norm. But it is for each one of us to
Instagram, today’s kids and therefore their parents decide who do we call our social companion;
too are more inclined to the world of voice would we be happy having our evening cup of
assistants and voice-enabled devices. They are coffee conversing with Alexa or would we prefer
simple, intuitive to use and learn and can keep the company of someone else?
us engaged for hours at a stretch. Knowingly or
For now, Bye Alexa!

114

How Social Media Can Be Platform For
Connecting With Friends and Fellows Who

Share Common Interests

Mousumee Nath
Ojonav Hazarika

What do a 19-year-old Business student with friends and family. Lockdowns and
in Netherlands, a 23-year-old Medical student curfews made interactions with the outside
in Pakistan, and a 30-something author and world (and an escape from our inner worlds)
mother of 3 in the USA have in common? more important than ever. While social media
Their shared love for books, Instagram and is not one of the many inventions of the viral
me, another 30-something game designer mayhem, it definitely and indelibly wove its
from India and a bonafide bibliophile! way into the fabric of our society during the
last couple of years. When the novelty of
I’ll refrain from steering this conversation working from home and home-schooling our
towards the pandemic that we are all too kids began wearing off, we began seeking
eager to forget (I have been accused of doing out fellows who shared our love for our
this in the past and hence the warning) but passions and hobbies online, inviting social
what we can’t escspe is how thoroughly it media into our homes to stay.
has changed our lives. Staying indoors made
us seek out creative ways of keeping in touch My sojourn into the bookish corner of

115

Instagram (which insiders like me prefer to with them. One of them is a touring musician
call Bookstagram, thank you) happened one from Latvia who not only has toured a great
stormy Bangalore evening/early morning. I deal of Europe, East Asia and Australia but
had recently dusted my bookshelf and started also has his music in national charts. Another
reading seriously after a dry spell of one is a Spanish pianist who lives in India
commuting to office and doing school runs. I and plays in heritage fusion festivals
stumbled into this side of Instagram quite by alongside some great Indian classical
accident and on a whim, decided to take the musicians. I’ve also met an Australian
plunge. The rest, as they say, is his ‘bookstory’. musician with a baritone voice and an
I jest. extreme physical disability who is mostly
confined to his house but posts spellbinding
From raving over recent reads to originals and covers by Bob Dylan and many
moaning about reading slumps to ranting over other American country singers. I have also
authors killing our favourite characters, my found some people who like my music.
free time started getting filled up by lengthy Finding an audience, albeit a small one, is
DM sessions and comment-section still a very rewarding experience. Through
conversations. And if this makes you think social media, I have been able to connect
that Bookstagram if all about the fluff, think with so many family members and old friends
again. Bookstagrammers are a politically with whom I rarely interact. Now, we know
inclined lot (some more ‘woke’ than others) about each others’ hobbies and passion
who discussed at length everything from the projects and it’s a great bonding tool. Social
BLM movement, the inherent racism of the media is addictive and can have negative
publishing world, the importance of LGBTQIA effects on us. But, this is applicable to all
rep and inclusivity to the recent Russia- good things in life.”
Ukraine war.
In conclusion, social media has been
My husband, who is into the independent instrumental in keeping the peace in our
music side of Instagram, has this to add, “I household and giving us a sense of tranquility
joined Instagram in late 2018 and started in a rapidly changing world; one which
sharing freestyle jazz influenced short original heralded dreadful news on a daily basis. And
guitar compositions. While my genre is very if you’re anything like us, you too have
niche, I have managed to find a few like- perhaps experienced the joys of being social
minded musicians over the years. Unlike me, on social media in our tumultuous recent
most of them are fulltime musicians and it history.
has been a amazing experience interacting

Mousumee Nath (@fictitious.mosh)
Ojonav Hazarika (@ojonav)

116

March 1672 : How Lachit Won the Game

Abhijay Sarmah

On the 23rd of January 1663, the humiliating vast swathes of land had to be ceded to the
Treaty of Ghilajharighat was signed between the Emperor of Delhi. The Ahoms had been defeated,
victorious Mughals and the shamed Ahoms. The shamed by the loss of the king’s daughter and
treaty was signed after the Ahoms had been they had lost Guwahati, a pretty symbolic city
invaded by Mir Jumla and had lost Garhgaon, their even back then. The king was distraught, the
capital. The Mughals had invaded for sheer people sought vengeance and the military was
conquest and to make sure Cooch Behar was infuriated.
theirs. In this, they were incredibly successful with
their leader Mir Jumla. Surely, they could have As the king lay on his death bed in despair,
pushed for annihilation of the Ahoms but skilful he urged his successor to remove this veil of
guerrilla warfare by Rajmantri or Chief Counsellor dishonour from the kingdom. Thereafter, with the
Atan Burhagohain put a stop to it. Nevertheless, objective of retrieving the lost honour, King
according to the treaty, the Ahoms had to give Chakradwaj Singha, started to build forts, raised
vast amounts of money, supply the Mughal army money for the upcoming campaign, he recruited
annually with elephants, give a daughter of the new troops, increased military production and
Ahom king to the Mughals and at the same time, appointed a new general by the name Lachit
Borphukan.

117

Soon, without any warning, in 1667 the guerrilla tactics and whittling down the enemies’
Ahoms under Lachit Borphukan launched an numbers. Even the Ahoms’ allies and the
attack against the Mughals to retake Guwahati. monsoon joined in the fight.
His army went in two halves along either bank of
the Brahmaputra. They came upon Guwahati and The monsoons were devastating for the
its surrounding area by November. Sieges and Mughals. Disease kicked in and a lack of morale
fierce fighting broke out. As fortress after fortress due to no significant victories set into the Mughal
around Guwahati fell, as reinforcements were cut army. They were becoming restless.
off and as the manoeuvrable Assamese navy
came in, the Guwahati garrison got more and Soon thereafter, in October 1670 Ram Singh
more demoralised. Whenever a fortress was made a tactical withdrawal to regroup and get
taken, the Assamese would kill many Mughals to reinforcements from Bengal. The harrying, the
get them demoralised. This got the Mughals, as climate and the lack of any decisive victories
in late 1667 the Ahoms finally captured Guwahati. started to play their toll on the Mughals too. Ram
In their haste, the Mughals had left behind vast Singh sent a challenge to the Ahom king. The
amounts of war materials and war treasures. challenge was a duel invitation. However, Lachit
convinced the king from doing the duel. Rather,
The Ahoms gave chase. As the Mughals got both armies gathered at a place near Alaboi.
defeated again and again, they finally capitulated 10,000 Mughal cavalry was to clash with 20,000
and surrendered. Ahom cavalry. The clash had three waves and was
brutal. In the 3rd wave however, the Mughals
Finally, the Ahoms, had got back their old were able to push through. In the subsequent
boundary to the Manas. They had defeated the rout, around 10,000 Ahoms were massacred while
only strong Mughal army in Assam and no more not many Mughal troops had been lost. This was
remained. However, that was not to be for long. now a devastating turn for the Ahoms.

As Aurangzeb heard of the fall of Guwahati, Around that time, Lachit Borphukan fell ill.
he gathered a grand army in Bengal and Cooch The Bengali reinforcements had arrived and now,
Behar under a new Rajput general, Raja Ram the Mughals pushed towards Guwahati. A Mughal
Singh. Its numbers were estimated to be around general reported that there was a breach in the
150,000, including around 20,000 archers, 20,000 Ahom lines on the other side of the river and
horses, 40 ships and much more than 100,000 that if they pushed, they could decisively rout
infantrymen, a lot of which were professionally the Ahoms. Ram Singh agreed. The place the Ahoms
trained. were was at the banks of the Brahmaputra, near
Saraighat. They had considerably less fire power
When Lachit Borphukan heard this, even he or boats as compared to the Mughal navy. They
was distressed. were demoralised from Alaboi and now they had
to fight. Thankfully however, they had the time
In April 1669, this Mughal force crossed the to prepare defences
Manas and invaded the Ahom Kingdom. The
Ahom army made a tactical withdrawal to The fighting broke out between more than
Guwahati. Over there, fighting broke out with no 100,000 Ahom troops and their navy and the
decisive end. As they fought, the Mughals couldn’t more than 110,000 Mughals and their navy. A
break through with their cavalry due to the naval battle broke out in the river in between the
hilliness of the region of Guwahati. In the Mughal and the Ahom ships. Despite less
meanwhile, Atan Burhagohain was using his

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firepower and less numbers, the Ahom ships were of the Ahom Army, he was skilled in war and was
much more manoeuvrable. They started to sink knowledgeable about local fighting. Moreover, he
Mughal ships. However, even they were soon had another skilful general namely Atan
pushed back. Now, all the Mughals had to do Burhagohain who was really skilled in guerrilla
was land on the other bank and defeat the warfare. They made an incredible combination
Ahoms. They started to load into the ships and of generals, who not only knew how to stop the
to sail to the other side. Hearing this, the making Mughals, but also knew how to annihilate them.
little of his illness, Lachit Borphukan decided that On top of that, they were incredibly courageous
it was now or never. The Ahom defences could and brave, ready to boldly face the humongous
not hold out against so many advancing Mughals Mughal army. Such bravery was not in Ram Singh.
alone and were therefore demoralised. Thus, he He was a Rajput from Ajmer and was therefore
went aboard a ship and at the crucial point of unaware about the local terrain, nor did he know
the battle. As he did this, finally the Ahom navy how to rally his men and fight in the terrain. This
was able to sink the Mughal navy. Now with the led to the two skilled generals Lachit Borphukan
Mughal navy gone and with their commander and Atan Buragohain on one side while on the
with them, the Ahoms were ready for anything. other side there was General Ram Singh who did
The rest of the stray Mughals who had landed not know how to fight effectively in the terrain.
were no match for the eager Ahoms as their Ram Singh only knew one way, the Mughal way,
defensive work against the decreased number of and the Mughal way was effective only once in
Mughals was much more than enough. The the entire campaign, which was at Alaboi.
Ahoms soon routed the entire Mughal force, they
had annihilated it. The rest of the remaining army 2) Knowledge and habit of local terrain–
that was left tried to put up some resistance but Whether a general be skilled in war or not,
after a battle near Itakhuli, even they capitulated. in the end, everything comes down to his army.
With that, a peace was brought where the border In this war, it was the Ahoms who held an
was to the river Manas. They had won, and won advantage on the local terrain. Many of the
with glory! The Ahoms were never ever invaded Mughal soldiers were simply not used to the
by the Mughals again. climate of Assam. The rains and the resultant
illnesses were too much for the Mughal army to
All this however still begs one question, even bear. The Ahoms were locals. They were
with the great shows of bravery, what exactly accustomed to the rains and could resist or
were the reasons by which an unskilled, overcome the local diseases, which was not the
outnumbered Ahom military was able to defeat case with the Mughals. The climate’s toll on the
the professional, highly skilled, and outnumbering Mughals was undoubtedly significant as the
Mughal force ? Like all things, the answer has constant rains, diseases and mosquitoes not only
many aspects to it, both already shown and not increased the number of sick and dead, it also
already shown. heavily demoralised the army as they wanted to
do nothing other than get out of Assam. The
1) The Skills of the Generals– superiority of the Ahom army as opposed to the
Lachit Borphukan was a native to the region. inferiority of the Mughal army in response to the
He knew about the region and the tactics he could climate was a decisive factor in stalling the
use; he also had good knowledge about war. Mughal march to Guwahati and stalling their
Though newly appointed to the post of General

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progress to administer and gain control of the navy laden with heavy cannons, were not exactly
region. Moreover, the Ajmer Ram Singh failure of much use in the battle. This was perfectly
to adjust to the local weather conditions made demonstrated in the Battle of Saraighat where,
him weary of the monsoon. though the Mughals had a numerical advantage
and massive ships, they were outclassed by the
3) Usage of Terrain for Advantages– smaller Ahom navy parimarily because of the
A factor that played into the hands of the much more manoeuvrable Ahom ships .
Ahoms against the Mughals was that the Mughals Therefore, it can be deciphered that naval
army had brought along a significant number of dominance played a key part on why the Mughals
cavalry. Cavalry does well on plain ground. For could not cross anywhere in the Brahmaputra and
instance, the plain ground at Alaboi was the key why they could not bring reinforcements from
factor of the Mughal conquest and it would not the Bengal via the Brahmaputra.
wrong to say that the Mughal cavalry alone could
have demolished the entire Ahom army if given 5) Guerrilla warfare–
the chance. However, flat land near Guwahati and Guerrilla warfare, or ‘daga juddha’, was the
around the entire region was pretty rare. Thus, speciality of Atan Burhagohain which helped in
the cavalry, which formed a large chunk of the keeping the reinforcements of the Mughals at bay,
Mughal army remained unusable. On top of that, dwindling down the Mughal forces, demoralising
some Mughal bows and firearms were not usable the Mughal army and causing chaos in the Mughal
on account of the wet climate of Assam. A large ranks. The guerrilla tactics were particularly
portion of the Mughal army was thus not only suitable in the hilly terrain of Assam where supply
sick, ill and dying, but also unusable, which wagons and food trains could easily be stopped
severely restricted the number of the Mughals in by sudden guerrilla attacks and troop movements
the battlefield. The fact that the Mughals could could be hampered and delayed as the troops
not utilise their cavalry which was their biggest would have to be on high alert all the time. Each
asset, put them in a tight spot. This is why the time an escort or small army passed unguarded;
tactical withdrawal from the Manas to the hills the guerrilla attackers would decimate it thereby
near Guwahati by Lachit Borphukan is seen as an diminishing the Mughal numbers. As a result of
exceptionally intelligent and calculated move, the guerrilla warfare, the lives of the Mughals
because, though it gave the Mughals ground, they were endangered and they Mughal became
failed to advance further. fearful of the constant threats of sudden attacks
4) Superior Navy– by the Ahoms that struck like lightning. This
The boats/ships of the Ahom navy were lowered the morale of the Mughal army
sleek, small, made out of wood and due to their significantly and made them flee from Assam.
small size, they were extremely manoeuvrable. Another contributing factor responsible for
This was a key advantage, because, as seen in demoralisation of the Mughals was that many a
naval battles, speed not only confuses the enemy times the guerrillas would cut off communication
but also allows for a surprise or general attack and thereby leave the Mughals stranded in Assam
with immense momentum. Moreover, the Ahom with no way of contacting Delhi or Dhaka. This
sailors used hand-held cannons and other such was a crucial factor, as an isolated army with no
destructive stuff to wreak havoc on the Mughal communication with their homeland created
navy. While the large ships of the bulky Mughal panic and forced them to rout. All in all, this takes

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us back to the fact that the guerrilla fighters had army, an army which in all probability would have
the skilled general Atan Buragohain guiding them been defeated if Lachit had not returned in time
and they were successful in sowing confusion and to reinstall the morale of the troops.
fear in the ranks of the Mughals and thereby
exhaust the Mughals. In sharp contrast, the Mughal troops were
in a foreign land far from home, many of their
6) Morale– comrades and fellow soldiers had lost their lives
The Morale of the troops is the deciding in the battle or due to sickness. The lightning
factor of a war; in it lies the fate of nations. As it strikes by the Ahoms instilled fear among the
happened, fate turned in favour of Ahoms as was Mughal troops, so much so that large number of
evident in the stark difference of the morale of soldiers deserted the army or fled at the first
both the troops. Some of the factors that sight of the Ahoms. Their seniors and superiors
determine the morale of troops are : how far in the army did not command as much respect.
they are from their homeland, how many victories The outnumbered and demotivated Mughal army
they have had, the reputation of the enemy, the could not destroy the Ahoms, but suffered defeats
climate, the riches, the losses of the army, the instead.
reason for fighting, the inspiration from their
general, etc. In this case, on almost every front To summarise the Mughals vs Ahoms
and for a huge part of the war, most of these scenario it would suffice to say that the
were in the favour of the Ahoms. humongous Mughal troops that had to be
The Ahoms were fighting for the crucial funnelled into Assam were unable to handle the
cause of avenging their defeat and regaining their monsoons and succumbed to diseases caused by
lost honour. This was a huge inspiration for the unfavourable weather conditions and by
troops. It motivated them to fight and to keep mosquito-borne parasitic infection. Moreover, the
fighting. Besides, the Ahoms knew of the scale of skilful generals of the Ahom army, navy and alien
the Mughals as they had heard tales of how they terrain were the factors that led to the Mughal
came from Kabul and made conquests left, right ejection and rout from Assam.
and centre. Hence, to the Ahoms, the Mughals
appeared to be giants; holding off such a giant Full marks to the sharp intelligence of the
force, taking back their prized city from them, Ahom generals
stalling them from further invasions, posed as a
huge feat. The inspiration from their general and Lachit Borphukan who smartly turned the
the fact that they had defeated the Mughals in tables and valiantly fought the Battle of Saraighat
Guwahati, gave them a sort of confidence that making little of his ill-health and to the valiant
they could hold the Mughals off. This is why guerrilla warfare led by Atan Buragohain; the
Alaboi was a crucial gamechanger. It not only deadly combination not only managed to stall
temporarily took away the most inspiring man invasion but also made the Mughals flew from
from the army, but also showed them that the Assam.
Mughals could win. This produced fear within the
I wish to conclude by saying that it is a
matter of great pride that the Ahoms were the
only dynasty not to fall to the Mughal Empire
having defeated the Mughals seventeen times.

– Abhijay Sarmah, 9th Grade,
NPS Indiranagar, Bangalore.

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Social Media

Aarna Chakrabarty

Social media is a universal platform that is iMessage, etc. have helped with the transition.
available to everyone, almost everywhere. It helps Social media is now a part of our daily lives.
people connect with their, friends and families. It During the lockdown it has helped me with online
has helped the world connect even more, through classes, webinars/calls, and entertainment.
platforms like WhatsApp, Messenger, Snapchat
etc. during the pandemic. Mike DiLorenzo, social Currently, I am being homeschooled. My
media marketing director of NHL had said, ‘Social mom shows me videos from YouTube, and other
networks aren’t about websites. They’re about websites that have information about concepts I
experiences.’ investigate and learn, as well as virtual fieldtrips.
My most recent fieldtrip was to the Borneo rain
Social media does have peaks and valleys. forest. There were lots of fun activities like
During the lockdown of the COVID 19 pandemic recognizing animals and their sounds, learning
people were jammed inside their homes, and they about the technology that records sounds at
were far from their loved ones. It enabled us to different times of day, etc.
connect with people, entertain ourselves and so
much more all from our phones/laptops/tabs I get to learn a lot through the web as I
without leaving the comforts of our home. watch videos, look up a question, and more. I do
blog as well : https://musingsofa5thgradehome
Surveys say that today, more than about schooler.blogspot.com When I blog, I don’t write
4.62 billion people are on social media. During about just my life but things I learn every day
the pandemic schools, shops, and offices were during classes, like poems, links I love, general
all closed. The population had gone digital and knowledge, articles on different topics, etc.In
services like WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, these links I get to dive into a cornucopia of
Snapchat, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, SlideShare, information. I even get plenty of ideas for mad

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scientist experiments! I have a YouTube channel etc. Third party apps can use your personal
for Homeschooling too. I upload videos and information like age, location, health information,
presentations of what I have learnt in that term. spending habits, contacts, browsing history, etc.
If I forget something I learnt, YouTube comes to Although, some services give app privacy reports,
the rescue! so we know how much transparency we have.
They could even put-up ads for free valuables,
I am a junior golfer too. As I play, I make loans, etc. So, don’t fall for it!
golf videos and upload them on my YouTube
channel: Little Ms. Golfer Aarna Chakrabarty. I Apart from all the hacking and danger, social
can keep track of my progress in an organized media could make people feel lazy. People might
and neat way, rather than scrolling through feel uneasy if they meet friends and family after
photos that are years old. I can also document a long time of video calls. Social media does not
my golfing journey.I get to share these videos have so much of an emotional connection. After
with my coach, and we analyze my shots. all, humans are social beings! Research from
college students say that social media has more
During my free time I watch videos on disadvantages than advantages.It can skyrocket
YouTube, learn about new things, etc. You don’t people’s screen time as during COVID people
need to worry about content for kids as some haven’t had much outdoor work to do.Social
services like YouTube have a kid version. Me and media does have a few negative effects on health
my family use social media every day. I love how too. As people scroll away through their
my friends and family are just a tap away. Facebook, or Instagram they tend to slouch and
blink less often. We need to blink to keep our
People can also promote their businesses eyes hydrated.
through the media. They can set up
Social media does have senior aged users
e – commerce, software apps, etc. Some as well. For them the new tech with all the
apps have a business version where people can buttons, and shortcuts might seem overwhelming
promote their market/merchandise. Services like to understand. This could lead to ÒaccidentsÓ.
WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram have a business Elderly people might upload personal details
version. There are some website builders like without even noticing. As the internet can be
Squarespace, GoDaddy, WordPress, Weebly, etc. dangerous, these details could be used for wrong
They help in building eye – catching websites. reasons, for profiling, and other dangerous
Some plans are free, and some are monthly/ threats. As most people over 75 lose their
yearly. hearing and visual skills they could click the
wrong button and make a harmless post a
Apart from countless advantages social menacing burden.
media does have a few disadvantages too. Like,
younger users who don’t have their own devices I personally think social media is a great
might not get age specific content. Often websites service. It helps me a lot with my daily tasks. It
and third-party services steal your personal data has quite a few advantages if you know how to
without asking for permission. Sometimes, they keep your accounts private and secure. You can
take more than they need. They use your data connect with friends and family, learn about the
for sale, advertising, and more. If, your accounts world, and research about the universe just to
are not secure/locked, they might get hacked by name a few. If offices make meetings digital,
the millions of dangerous trackers out there. traffic will reduce, which means less pollution.
When people open random messages/mails And employees can join in their pajamas! As more
trackers can steal their IP (internet protocol) and more users join, the platform will keep on
address, location, and other valuable data. Cyber expanding, and who knows maybe, in the future
safety is quite important while using social we can live through the comforts of the web.
media.Frauds are very common on social media.
People could pretend to be from banks, hospitals,

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Sattriya Nrittya : In Pursuit of my Passion

Aarhi Nayana Goswami

”Dance is nature. Listen to your heart, it got the opportunity of seeing different types of
dances with its own rhythm” said Pt. Nirju ‘Mukhas’ (Masks from Majuli) worn by the
Maharaj, Indian dancer of repute, belonging to performers during the enactment. Bhaona, which
the Banaras “Kalka-Bindadin” Gharana of Kathak, is quintessentially prevalent in Assam, was created
a classical dance form of India. by Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardeva as early as
the 15th-16th century. It is a traditional form of
I am greatly influenced by different dance ‘AnkiyaNaat’ or one-act play, conveying religious
forms of India, especially Indian classical dances messages and is staged in the Sattras
for their vibrantly coloured costumes, ornate (monasteries) and Naamghars. I thoroughly
jewellery, different mudras, and expressions. I enjoyed the novel experience of watching the
have been learning Bharatanatyam for the last Bhaona performance and it motivated me to learn
eight years and have completed three levels of and know more about the Sattriya dance, a form
exams so far. of dance-drama which was also founded by
Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev around the
I was inspired to learn the Sattriya Dance same time as Bhaona.
(Xattriya Nrittya) when had my visited my Aaita’s
(grandmother) birthplace Borpatro Dol Kalugaon, It has been two years since I have begun
a village in Sivsagar District of Assam. There was learning the Sattriya dance under the able
a large NaamGhar in the courtyard of Aaita’s tutelage of Guru Nayanava Sharma. I started my
home which housed many colourful statues of classes in the month of February 2020, but
Lord Vishnu and Lord Sri Krishna. During that visit, unfortunately, after just about four weeks of
I was fortunate enough to witness a ‘Bhaona’ classes, there was the announcement of
performance in that NaamGhar wherein I also

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‘lockdown’ brought on by the Covid pandemic. disciple Madhavdeva, sung to begin prayer
My Guru and I were reluctant to suspend the services in Sattras and Naamghars.
classes and so we decided to continue with online
classes through video calls. Initially, it was very The ‘Sattras’ which were established for the
challenging; for me to learn, and for my Guru to propagation of Vaishnavism, later became the
teach; because the dance form requires great religious, cultural, and social hub of the people
understanding of the coordination between hands of Assam. The foundation of Sattriya dance, is
and feet. However, my Guru helped me and “Mati-Akhora”. These are are basic floor exercises,
suggested various ways of overcoming this barrier. with the use of which the dance poses are
As I am simultaneously learning Bharatanatyam created.
and had already participated in a few offline
classes, I was able to learn the expressions The Sattriya dance tradition is governed by
promptly and without much difficulty. principles that are laid down in respect of hasta
mudras, footwork, aharyas, music, etc. This
Sattriya which has its origin in the ‘Sattras’, tradition has two distinctly separate streams :
which is from where it derives the name ‘Sattriya’,
was given the status of an Indian Classical Dance • The Bhaona-related repertoire starting
in the year 2000 by the SangeetNatakAkademi. from the Gayan-BhayanarNaach to the Kharmanar
Naach.
I pains me to note that most of my friends
in Bangalore do not know that Assam too has a • The dance forms which are independent,
classical dance form. Hence, I feel that it is my such as Chali, RajaghariaChali, Jhumura, Nadu
responsibility to share what I know about this Bhangi etc. The Chali dance is characterized by
dance form which I am so passionate about. gracefulness and elegance, while the Jhumura is
marked by vigor and majestic beauty.
The Sattriya dance form was developed by
the great Vaishnavite Saint, Mahapurush Srimanta Sattriya dance form has gone through a lot
Sankardeva is based on ‘Borgeet’, a collection of of transformations in course of time. Earlier,
lyrical songs composed by Sankardeva and his female dancers were not allowed to learn Sattriya
dance and it was performed only by males inside
the four walls of the Sattras. Nowadays, female
dancers are allowed to dance and are also allowed
to perform on stage. The costumes of Sattriya
dance have also gone through major color and
design changes; as in, the costumes which were
earlier in pure white color with selected
traditional motifs have given way to both white
as well as colored costumes with traditional and
modern motifs.

I consider myself extremely fortunate that I
am able to learn Sattriya here in Bangalore, all
thanks to the untiring efforts of my Guru
Nayanava Sharma. I firmly believe that we must
try to learn about our own culture and heritage
to nurture it further. Also, by knowing and
learning about different cultural forms we can
have knowledge about ancient mythological and
historical stories.

Class 8, National Center for Excellence,
Bangalore.

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Learning to read and write Assamese at a Global
(Virtual) Classroom

Ikshita Sharma

Hello and Season’s Greeting for the spring ‘BurhiAairXaadhu’, a compilation of popular
festival Bohag Bihu celebrated in Assam stories that has been an essential part of the
throughout the month of Bohag. I am already childhood days for generations.
feeling festive and I wish you all a bright and
beautiful spring. During the pandemic, my mother formally
got me enrolled in an Online class for reading
I love reading the articles published in the and writing Assamese language. This class was
Kids Section of Uruli and for this edition, I decided conducted by AMAR PARHAXALI GLOBAL, which
to share my own experience of how I started is associated with Assam Sahitya Sabha Mumbai.
reading and writing in Assamese. It was very interesting as we had students from
different countries attending the virtual classes
Born in a Axomiya family, I started to speak together.
the language from an early age. In fact, at our
home, we speak only in our mother tongue. My For the first time, I was introduced to read
interest in learning more about the language and write Axomiya Alphabet and Numbers. Ruma
began about 4 years ago, when I visited my Baideo taught us the alphabets and letters, joining
grandparents in North Lakhimpur. My Aita of letters (juktakhor), forming simple words and
(grandmother) used to narrate stories from sentences. She also taught us to read and recite

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I love reading the articles published in
the Kids Section of Uruli and for this
edition, I decided to share my own
experience of how I started reading and

writing in Assamese.

Assamese poems. We got the know the Axomiya proudly say that I can recognize the letters and
number names (1-100). Diksha Baideo sent us numbers well and read short poems and stories
video recordings of each of these classes so that by myself.
we can refer to them whenever required. I was
thrilled to learn this new language which is my In the month of February this year (2022),
very own and after every class, my mother would when my father visited Guwahati, I requested him
encourage me to practice the same for some time. to bring back some Assamese text books. He
It has been about four months now, and I can bought ‘Kuhi Paath’ and a few other short story
collections. During the Summer holidays and in
my free time, I shall read the stories from the
books and narrate them to my little brother.

Kannada is one of our compulsory school
subjects, and I am very fond of learning new
words every week. Until last year, I used to
wonder how it would feel writing and reading in
Assamese. Today, I feel very proud that I can read
and write in the language that I first spoke as a
kid. I will continue learning Axomiya in the future
as it is so much fun to read the amazing Assamese
stories.

Class III
Deens Academy, Gunjur, Bangalore

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Going Online : The Highs and Lows

Aryaman Sharma

Since the beginning of the spread of the and student life. Students had no other option
Coronavirus, lockdowns had been implemented apart from attending classes online. A virtual
almost simultaneously across the world. Stores, classroom where students could be sitting on their
malls, schools, travel and tourism were all shut own comfortable bed or at their desk with legs
down and streets of towns and cities looked up on a footstool, a glass of juice by the side.
empty and forlorn. Sounds like a dream, doesn’t it ?! Well, on the
flip side of the pros, we have the list of cons;
It was during the lockdown caused by the almost every student’s grades started to gradually
pandemic, that social media reached a new high go down, students lacking the ability to focus in
and we were introduced to a new lifestyle which class due to the amount of distractions in front
was used by everyone, everywhere : the word of them. Moreover, not all students could afford
“Online” was on everyone’s lips. Buying groceries, laptops/smart phones which were the basic
attending school, attending jobs and so on. essentials for online classes. Network connectivity
Everything could now be done by using the issues added on to the woes; sometimes making
internet from the comfort of one’s own homes. it impossible to hear a single sentence clearly. As
Though this may sound quite appealing and if the classes organised by the school were not
pleasing, there are many downsides to this as enough, circumstances forced the students of
well. We weren’t able to step out of our homes, senior as well as junior classes who were facing
everything was being done online. Let me cite difficulties in coping with the online classes to
some points elaborating the pros and cons of the join online tuitions too. Students started being
online world with particular reference to studies

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more dependant on self study. The list can go on just through text messages. The online world had
and on. The struggle of students with inclination brought more awareness to the term ‘mental
towards sports and ambition of becoming health’, that it is equally as important as ‘physical’
sportsmen was manifold more. Confined at home health.
with no access for practice at the field/ground
nor to the gym resulted in lowering of physical During this period, we all had plenty of free
time which gave us the opportunity to start

ability. All these factors piled up to cause boredom learning new skills, many had started working on
and depression. their physical strength with the help of lessons
from giant social media platforms, example-
Now, let’s speak about the bright side of YouTube, Instagram etc.
the online world.
People started to use their time in learning
With the increasing use of social media many new languages, playing musical instruments or
people not only tracked down long-lost friends learning how to cook from the internet and also
but also started making new friends online writing blogs and so much more. Some took the
through Facebook, Instagram etc. People living initiative of becoming content creators in
hundreds and thousands of miles away from each Instagram and YouTube, with reference to music,
other, belonging to totally different cultures had vlogs, cooking, gaming or maybe even just sharing
been brought together by social media and they valuable tips on various topics. Everyone learnt
welcomed the good opportunity of interacting to be productive indoors which is something that
with each other virtually. Although meeting a our future generations may struggle to be.
friend online was a poor compensation for
physically meeting a friend or family, it was Year 10
successful in bringing down people’s anxiety and All Hallows Catholic College, Macclesfield,
loneliness considerably. This initiated a new
process of people sharing and helping each other England

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Hajo

Shreeya Phukan

The spring air, tinged with a whiff of incense, (Ganesh temple), the Kameshwar temple, the
breathes life back into ancient traditions which Kederashwar temple and the Kamaleshwar
existed during the time of kings. Walking into temple.
Hajo, you will feel yourself being immersed into
a world of culture and tradition. As you ascend There are many beliefs surrounding the
the flight of stone stairs, the ornate sculptures of naming of this peaceful town. There are some
the Hayagriva Madhav temple ever before you, who believe there is a connection with the Boro
you perceive a remnant of Assam’s past. Walk tribe. TheBoro tribe has a clan which is called the
with me as we unearth the significance of Hajo. ‘Hajo-Aroi’. It is believed ‘Hajo’ comes from the
Boro word for ‘hill’. Still others believe the name
Hajo is a beautiful town situated on the ‘Hajo’ was coined after Buddha’s disciples cried
banks of the Brahmaputra River. It is located in out ‘ha-ju’ – meaning ‘setting of the sun’ – when
Kamrup district in Assam, 25-30km away from Buddha ascended from this world.
the capital, Guwahati. Every corner of this
historical “temple town” shelters lush greenery Hajo is a noteworthypilgrimage site. It has
misted over with tendrils of history and merited the title ‘Tribeni Sangam’, a title which
culture.Hajo is home to the ‘Pancha Tirtha’, or clearly reflects the true nature of Hajo. Hajo
the ‘Five Holy Places’, which includes the stands like a spiritual beacon; its light leaves a
Hayagriva Madhav temple, the Deva Bhavana trail in the hearts of Hindus, Muslims and
Buddhists alike.The followers of these three faiths

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flock to Hajo to pay their respects. Thus, the parinirvanain Hajo. It is also believed that
stream of light is like stream of confluence which Nagarjuna, a leader of Mahayana Buddhism,
runs through Hajo. Being the point of confluence established a Chaitya in Hajo.
of these three religions has earned Hajo the name
‘Tribeni Sangam’. Hajo is also home to Powa Mecca, which
stands proudly in green and white atop the
Hajo is the seat of the Hayagriva Madhav Garurachal hill.Situated east of the Hayagriva
temple, a temple so famous it has worked its Madhav temple, Powa Mecca is yet another
way into the Kalika Puran.Set in lush greenery, beautiful shrine. Multifoil arches and domes
this Vaishnava temple stands serenely incorporated in the structure of the Powa Mecca
atopManikut Hill. When you visit Manikut Hill, reflect the Islamic architectural style.
you will see this cultural and religious icon loom
before you, with a flight of stone steps curving It is believed that visiting this mosque
the path up toward it. “confers” one quarter of the merit you receive
by making pilgrimage to Mecca. This is because
Built of stone, the temple has an octagonal pirGiasuddinAuliabrought a poa,of soil from
base and a pyramidical roof. The body of the Mecca to Hajo. The Powa Mecca mosque was
temple is adorned with rows of deities and established with this very poa of soil.Poa quite
elephants sculpted in stone. The entree way to literally means “one fourth” or “one quarter”.
the Hayagriva Madhav temple is lined with
sculptures of the ten incarnations of Vishnu: Powa Mecca is not only frequented by
Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vaman, Muslims and tourists; it is also visited by Hindus
Parashuram, Rama, Buddha, and Kalki. on the “full moon day” during the month of
Jaistha.
The temple was built in honor of Lord
Vishnu. The name ‘Hayagriva Madhav’ refers to Hajo is a seat of Assamese tradition.
the Hayagriva form of Lord Vishnu. ‘Haya’ means Festivities pertaining to Bihu, Doul puja and
horse and ‘griva’ means head. ‘Ma’ refers to Janmashtami add rich color and liveliness to the
Goddess Lakshmi and ‘dhav’ refers to her peace and quiet.One can also witness firsthand
husband. Therefore, ‘Hayagriva Madhav’ quite the finesse of Assamese art and sculpture. Floral
literally means the horse-headed from of Goddess art or garland art, known as pushpasilpa,
Lakshmi’s husband. originated during the ancient times and is still
created by florists today. Garlands made of tulsi
The Hayagriva form is significant because leaves, flowers and grains of rice are painstakingly
Lord Vishnuassumed the Hayagriva form when strung together by hand for the deities. The local
he foughtthe two demons Madhu and Kaitabha florists are indeed, quite conspicuous for their
to retrieve the Vedas. The significance of this form skill in the ancient art of garland making. They
is reflected by the temple having been named can even make garlands without thread.
after this form of Lord Vishnu.
Hajo also shelters the talent of its local
The idol of the Hayagriva form of Lord sculptors. The many sculptures adorning the
Vishnu is enshrined within theHayagriva Madhav temple walls, such as the numerous sculptures
temple alongside four other idols. Altogether, of elephants, reflect the finesse of Assamese
these five idolsappear to resemble the deities in sculptors. One can also get a whiff of Assamese
Jagannath temple in Puri. folklore as the Deva Bhavana in Hajo is
surrounded by the legend of it being a meeting
Hajo holds significance for Buddhist pilgrims place of the deities. Hajo’s cultural significance is
as well. It is believed that Padmasambhava, the backed by the efforts made to conserve this
founder of Buddhism in Tibet, attained

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cultural icon. After the original Hayagriva Madhav is inhabited by individuals of this species. The
temple – built in the 6th century by a Pala emperor Madhav Mandir Pond is also home to other rare
– was destroyed by an invading army, efforts were species the Indian soft-shell turtle, the peacock
made to rebuild and restore the temple. Koch soft-shell turtle and the Indian flap-shell turtle.
ruler King Raghudev Narayan had the With the help of NGOs such as Help Earth, efforts
templerebuilt in the 16th century.Another instance have been made to conserve these rare species,
which illustrates the dedication towards the which will eventually be reintroduced into the
conservation of this icon is when, during the rule wild.
of the Ahom king Kamaleswar Singh, the family
of Kalia BhomoraBorphukan “donated” a family Hajo is also quite eminent for its bell metal
of “paiks” and a plot of land to the Hayagriva industry. Utensils traditionally used in Assamese
Madhav temple. cuisine are crafted by hand from bell metal, an
alloy of copper and tin. Local artisans and
Hajo has the footprints of many historical craftsmen craft these utensils – necessities which
figures imprinted in its soil. It is believed by many are ubiquitous in Assamese households – out of
that it was the capital of the Koch Empire during brass and bell metal. The Xorai, a traditional
the time of King Raghudev. King Raghudev was symbol of Assam along with the gamusa, was
the son of the chivalric Koch “hero” Chilarai, who originally made of bell metal. The production of
was renowned for his skill in warfare. Bir Chilarai these fine crafts in Hajo forms a cottage industry
helped his brother King Nara Narayan expand the in the very heart of Assam.
empire defeat the Ahoms by capturing their
capital, Gargaon. The pirGiasuddinAulia, originally Hajo will forevermore be the ‘Tribeni
named Shaikh Jalaluddin, also lived in Hajo for Sangam’ of Assam. Tourists and pilgrims form a
twenty years. Apart from being conspicuous for steady stream leading up to Hajo. They consist
ushering the sanctity of Mecca into Hajoby the multitude who wish to catch of glimpse of
bringing a poa of Meccan soil, GiasuddinAulia is the glimmer of Assamese history and culture in
also noted for having sent more than fifty pirs to Hajo.
Tibet and China. Xuan Zang, a Buddhist monk
from China, travelled across Assam in search of As you inhale the musty yet fragrant air, I
Buddhism. He was invited into the kingdom of hope you can taste the richness of Assamese
Kamrupa by King Kumar Bhaskarvarman. culture. As we weave through the foliage and step
through stone arches, I hope you will notice the
In recent times, Hajo has also played a role culture preserved in each corner. I hope this
in the ecology of Assam. The Madhav Mandir article has inspired you to cherish Hajo, the
Pond in Hajo is home to many turtles and varieties cultural beacon which doubles up as a place of
of fish. Before individuals were sighted near the historical significance. For, Hajo is a precious
Brahmaputra River, the black softshell turtle was symbol of the rich and diverse culture of Assam.
considered to be extinct in the wild. This species Hajo’s importance extends beyond religion. It is
was confined to ponds in northeastern India. The a landmark on the map of an Assamese person’s
Madhav Mandir Pond was one of the ponds which heart. It beckons all those who share a love for
Assamese culture.

Grade: VIII
School: TISB

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A Trip to The Manas National Park

Triparni Das

My sister and I were overjoyed by our famous UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site, also
parents’ decision of temporary relocation to known the Project Tiger Reserve. The scenery on
Assam which was brought on by my mother’s the way was mind blowing ! The car took the
concern for her mother, my grandmother. The highways as well as village roads and for a short
idea of living in my parents’ home in Assam came stretch, we passed by the rice fields. We reached
as a welcome change after what seemed like the Wild Tiger Resort owned by Rupam Uncle
being under house arrest during the first wave of and located close to the National Park. A big pile
the pandemic. After all, life here at Bangalore of rocks attracted my attention and I climbed on
had become monotonous, with online classes and top of the rocks. It made me feel as if I was on
virtual meetings on Zoom with YouTube and top of the world. We thoroughly enjoyed the
Netflix being the only options of entertainment. super delicious lunch, spread on a long table in
As our school and Dad’s office were all in the the garden. Soon after lunch, we went to the
online mode, we packed our bags and books and Beki River spot where we saw lush green tea
set off to Guwahati for a really long time. gardens. It filled my heart with joy to see so much
greenery around. But my favorite activity of all,
To me, it seemed like a golden opportunity the Elephant Safari, was pending as it was
to visit the places in and around Assam and learn scheduled for the next morning. We had the
about them. entire resort to ourselves - my parents, elder
sister, aunt and her 5-year old son. We spent the
Little did I know that the second wave of evening playing badminton. The next morning,
the pandemic which was even more devastating we set off at 5.45 am for the National Park so
would delay our plans of exploring the places take the Elephant Safari. I was in awe of the
around Assam. So, it was not until the end of the elephants; the gentle giants with large flappy ears
Puja holidays that we visited Manas National Park. and short little tail, their hard skin a nice shade
On the 4th of November 2021, we headed of grey, looked strong yet cute. We climbed up a
towards Manas, all set to tick it off our bucket
list. It took us about 3-4 hours to reach the

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wooden shelter/platform, near which they were will remains fresh in my memory for a long time.
waiting for us to climb onto their backs and we We bought some snacks from the stalls nearby
did so quite effortlessly. Each seat was separated and took them back to the resort. The last few
by iron rods to accommodate three people. I sat hours passed so quickly that I wished I could chase
with my sister and my mother on one elephant more chicks and hens in the resort and play with
while my dad, aunt and cousin sat on the other the pet dogs there. I enjoyed the trip to Manas
elephant which was a darker shade of grey in National Park all the more because I love animals,
comparison to our elephant. The elephants and obviously Manas was very rich in flora and
plodded through the tall grass taking us deep into fauna, beautiful and natural. This awesome trip
the forest. It was really adventurous. We saw has made me hope to see more places in Assam.
different exotic breeds of birds, rhinos, deer and Our long stay in our home in Assam certainly
monkeys. Though we missed the tiger, we loved turned out to be the bright side of the pandemic,
every bit of the Elephant Safari. On coming to a after all!!
pond, we had to stop because a wild bull with
threatening horns was scaring the elephants. Grade 6, Delhi Public School, Whitefield,
After returning to the starting point, we bought Bangalore
some bunches of bananas from a nearby stall
and fed the elephants. We clicked many photos
and I picked up a stick as a souvenir.
I have a weird habit of collecting
sticks or branches of trees from every
zoo or natural spot. My mother later
on uses them as support for the
plants in her garden. On the way
back, we saw a few peacocks and
took some lovely pictures. After we
reached the resort, we rested for a
bit, had our breakfast and set off for
the Deep Jungle Jeep Safari. This
time, we didn’t see many animals
except some deer and monkeys,
probably because the animals were
shying away from the sun. The jeep
dropped us to the Mathanguri picnic
site and we went down to the Manas
River, a tributary of the mighty
Brahmaputra. The river’s beauty was
mesmerizing, the sound of the
flowing water with the sun rays
reflecting on the crystal clear water
was a surreal sight. We stayed there
for a while and I threw pebbles into
the river. The delightful touch the
cold water and the gentle ripples of
river was a sight for sore eyes that

134

A Lore from the Days of Yore

Ananya Saharia

We’d been driving endlessly with our there that day, and the entire hometay was ours!
destination still not in sight. With lush green Everyone dropped off their luggage and
paddy fields and azure mountains at their horizon electronics and huddled by the lake. The thin
stretching infinitely in every direction we set our crescent moon hanging motionless upon the air
eyes on, navigating our way through the provided a hint of light in the gloaming. To make
countryside was becoming more taxing by the up for the lack of electricity, and the cold
minute. Our internet connection was lost, and inhospitable winds whistling around the tall teak
we were left with nothing - no Google map to trees, the staff ignited a bonfire.
guide us to our destination. The sun was starting
to retire for the day dragging along our hopes of The lake’s brimming water was now
reaching Chandubi with it. We even considered mirroring a calm and clear night sky with
driving back to Guwahati. However, I noticed an thousands of stars, millions of miles away
inconspicuous road uphill we had not explored somewhere, somewhere far beyond our reach in
yet. Sure enough, it led us to the Chandubi the cosmos. The bonfire was now roaring as if it
Lakeview homestay where we were staying! was alive. Cool wind in my hair with occasional
warm gusts of wind when the breeze decided to
It was a pleasant homestay with a limited blow my way carrying the warmth of the fire
but amiable staff; they built three log cabins on towards me. It was so enchanting I felt as if I
stilts overlooking the lake. We were the only ones were in a lucid dream; but it was real, very real.

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We were presented with a homely meal so very if they got married. This aspect was ignored as
tasty and comforting, - it was like ambrosia. Chandu Sadagar came up with a solution, - he
employed people to build a structure called
Rabha Kai, the old man who owned the Merghar, where snakes could not penetrate.
homestay lived near the lake for nearly 60 years. Manasa Devi came to know about Lakhindar and
He told us that the Chandubi Lake was formed Behula’s wedding, and she was furious. She
due to a massive 8.2 magnitude quake causing convinced one of the workers to leave a tiny hole
the five hills around that area to collapse leading while building the Merghar. Later that night, one
to the formation of a depression, which eventually of the serpents sent by Her bit Lakhindar while
was filled with water because of rain, and a he was sleeping, and he died.
tributary of the Brahmaputra supplying water to
it. The water of the lake is crystal clear when A heartbroken Behula set out on a raft along
there’s no rain churning up the water, and if you with his corpse praying diligently to Manasa to
look down then, you can see the submerged trees give back her husband’s life. Six months elapsed
and shrubs of the former mountains. Chandubi that way. She sailed and reached Neta’s residence
Lake is a very young lake formed only 125 years as she finally hit the shore. Neta was Manasa’s
ago. foster mother. After hearing Behula’s story, Neta
decided to use her powers to take them to heaven
I asked Raha Kai how the lake was named and meet Manasa to negotiate. They reached
and if it had a mythical aspect to it. He then heaven after a long and tedious journey.
started narrating a legend. His storytelling was
so captivating that all were all transported to a Manasa listened to Behula’s plea and agreed
different realm, back to the days of yore… to give back Lakhindar’s life, but on one condition.
She must convince her father-in-law, Chandu
Chandu Sadagar, a prosperous merchant of Sadagar to offer “Anjali” to Her. Behula agreed
Champaknagar in present day Chaigaon area of without a second thought. They returned to earth
Assam, was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. with Neta as their guide. Behula described the
However, Manasa Devi, the Goddess of serpents, situation to Chandu Sadagar, who was awestruck
wanted him to worship Her. He had his mind set
on not praying to Her, and this highly displeased Pictures of Chand Sadagar’s Merghar at
the Goddess. So she took away six of Chandu’s Chaigaon, Assam
sons by sending poisonous serpents to bite them.
Chandu loved his seventh son – Lakhindar dearly,
and was not ready to lose him to Manasa. When
the time for his marriage came, Chandu Sadagar
found a bride for Lakhinder named Behula. It was
clearly stated in her horoscope that Behula was
not destined to be a widow, and this pushed
Chandu Sagadar to solemnise their marriage with
the conviction that his son cannot be taken away
by Manasa. Lakhindar and Behula were perfect
for each other. However, in Lakhinder ’s
horoscope, it was discovered that Lakhindar
would die of a snakebite on their wedding night

136

to see his son alive again. Chandu Sadagar agreed The Merghar relics are declared an Archaeological
and offered Anjali to the Goddess but with his site, protected under Assam Ancient Monuments
left hand, and looked away from the idol while Records Act, 1959.
doing so. But Goddess Manasa was now satisfied
and left Chandu Sadagar, Behula and Lakhindar After a nice sumptuous dinner, we all
to lead their life peacefully thereafter. returned to our rooms and retired for the day.
The night was calm and quiet with occasional call
The Behula Lakhinder lore is a story of love, of the crickets. We woke up at dawn and once
devotion and determination. According to Rabha again sat by the lake. There was an uncanny
Kai, the Merghar still exists in Chaigaon. Folklore stillness in the air, it was undisturbed by any living
also has it that many of Chandu Sadagar’s ships creature and at the horizon were fog covered
and merchant vessels were submerged in the mountains that looked so serene. The weather
Chandubi Lake. The legend of Chandu Sadagar- was chilly, but the heavenly first rays of the sun
Behula-Lakhinder, and the serenity of Chandubi that touched the surface of the earth, provided
lake transported us to different realms and us with warmth. Then the world was waking up
timelines that evening. We lost track of time while gradually, a few swans flew in front of us with
listening to the lore from the days of yore. The the tranquil mountains behind them. It was
call for dinner was like a jolt, and it brought us to surreal. As the moments ticked away, the placidity
back the present day by the Chandubi lakeside. withered off and we were sucked back to reality.
Our fascination and curiosity drove us to slightly It was time to pack up and leave that pristine
change our itinerary and add Chaigaon to our place, and drive to the usual humdrum of
places to visit list, and see for ourselves the relics Guwahati city. Oh, I wish I could relive that
of the Chandu Sadagar and Behula-Lakhinder lore.
exuberant glory just once more!

Grade 9, DPS East
Bengaluru

137

NAVIGATING THROUGH INDIAN HIGHWAYS

Shanta Gohain Gogoi

For many travellers nothing beats a good old cently taken trip from Bengaluru to Sivasagar. I
fashioned road trip. It treats us to scenic views would like to pen down the full story, albeit in a
along our journey. We have the full-fledged flex- nutshell. So, here goes.
ibility of halting wherever and whenever we
please and can set our own schedule. It is one of It all started back in 2017, when we began
the best ways to rejuvenate and uplift our mood, to follow travelogues on “Road to London”. We
with nice and refreshing experiences en-route to were excited and got ants in our pants to give a
our destination. One of the most important as- try for once and experience the meaning of the
pects of going on road trips is that it allows us to phrase “The journey is more important than the
explore new places and meet new people which destination”. But with the lockdowns due to the
is a welcome change in our otherwise hectic lives. Covid pandemic, we were stuck at home for nearly
It is important that every individual should break two years. Both in mid-2020 and mid-2021, we
free from their stressful schedules and take a trip saw a window of opportunity to get out of the
once in a while with the idea of relaxation and house and we used those for taking short trips
calming of the fatigued mind. A good road trip is here and there within the state of Karnataka.
also considered to be one of the best ways of Nothing really hit the spot and the urge to travel
enjoying a vacation to its fullest. We always look just kept growing.
forward to road trips with family and friends, as
such road trips are fun and full of adventure. My better half Dip, who has itchy feet really
loves to drive. Driving is a meditative experience
We, as a family of four had been on quite a for him, which might seem odd to many. Being a
few road trips earlier, the longest being the re- Senior Team-BHPian and member of multiple en-
thusiastic WhatsApp groups (BLR TUV Owners, In-

138

dia TUV Owners and T-BHP Bangalore Chapter), were replaced, got a new battery and did a de-
he frequently received updates with all the lat- tailed servicing. Our solo pilot, Dip started adjust-
est/craziest ideas, informations, adventure stories ing his biological clock with the drive time for
and other details with reference to the prepara- more than a month and finally, we hit the road
tion of long road trips from the fellow members during the afternoon of 25th March 2022. The
of the respective groups, who share the mutual excitement had kept us on the edge of our seats;
quest for adventure. As the drive was already at and as the journey was a long one, our plan was
the back of our minds, Dip started serious con- to take multiple stops for rest as well as for
templation about this road trip. The first requi- sightseeing.
site was a good vehicle. So, from the onset of
October 2021, we started hopping from one car Here is the drive plan:
showroom to the other in search of a vehicle, We set off on a Friday afternoon and took
which would give us a comfortable ride through- our first night halt at Kurnool, AP.
out our journey, but we gave up the idea of pur- The following morning, 26th March 2022,
chasing a new vehicle and decided to drive our just when we were about to start our day’s drive
six-year old battle tank, when we got inspired, to Seoni, MP, which was a very long one indeed,
motivated and encouraged by Mr. Bikash, a covering 900 kms in a day, we met a gentleman
hodophile and a member of BLR TUV Owners with an Audi, who showed great interest in such
Club. He as a solo driver, had done a trip from long road trips. We reached Seoni at 9:00 pm
Bengaluru to Ladakh and Odisha using his after fourteen and half hours of drive with mul-
Mahindra TUV3OO. tiple breaks for breakfast, lunch and tea. During
our night halt at Seoni, the kids were tickled pink
It was mid-February 2022, when we got the to see three cats in the hotel, Vatika Celebrations,
ball rolling for this road trip by planning the drive and they made plans of celebrating their next
route and giving a transformation to our car. Tyres birthdays in the hotel.

139

The third day, 27th March 2022, journey was Campus of RPCAU. We were honestly touched
from Seoni to Varanasi, UP. It was shorter (600 and gladdened by the kindness, generous hos-
kms) than the previous day, but still had to travel pitality and most importantly, for the valuable
about 11 hours due to congestion on narrow roads time Dr. Mishra spent with us. We enjoyed every
while entering Varanasi. We spent two nights in single moment of our stay at his place. “Thank
one of the holiest Indian cities, Varanasi and wit- you” Mishra da.
nessed the mesmerizing and devotional evening
Ganga Aarti at Asi Ghat and also other ghats Finally, the day dawned when we would
during our one-hour boat cruise on the holy river enter our home state. We had remained pumped
Ganga. Images can never capture nor can words up so far through the journey and were flying
express the divinity of the splendid synchrony of high on the seventh day too. The drive was
the holy chants and the multi-tiered fire lamps of pleasant for few kilometres from the start, after
evening Aarti. which we had encountered an extortion attempt
but after some arguments, we were able to
After resting and relaxing in Varanasi for two continue our journey without paying a penny.
days, it was time to get back on the road again. This incident did not dampen the spirit as we
kept our eyes in the ball, with our destination
On 29th March 2022, we started our fifth drawing near. We reached Gossaigaon at around
day journey to Muzaffarpur, BR for another two 7:30 pm after a 12-hour long drive. We spent
nights halt at one of Dip’s closest buddies Dr. the night at the guest house of the Regional
Ashim Mishra’s place, who is a Senior Scientist Agricultural Research Station (RARS) arranged by
at Tirhut College of Agriculture under Dr. Rajendra Dip’s friend, Dr. Nabajyoti Bhuyan. We were
Prasad Central Agricultural University (RPCAU). invited for dinner at his home. During the short
Though the distance was comparatively less (340 period of time spent with them, Dishant and
kms) than the previous days, it took us about 10 Dishita had a wonderful time with Dr. Bhuyan’s
hours to reach the destination as we encoun- children, who are of the same age of our kids.
tered a traffic jam due to huge queue of trucks
near Chapra, which caused a delay of about one The next morning was the time to bid adieu
hour. During our stay, we also visited the Pusa to them and get back on our seats, fasten our

140

seat belts and start off to our next destination our long road trip, undoubtedly a once in a life-
Gohpur, where my younger sister works and time experience. We are very happy and delighted
resides with with her family. It was the eighth to turn our crazy idea into an awesome reality,
day of our journey and the distance from thereby creating memories for our lifetime. Long-
Gossaigaon to Gohpur was about 500 kms, but ing to have more such trips with near and dear
due to the pathetic road conditions between ones!!!
Biswanath Chariali and Gohpur, it took about 12
hours to reach Gohpur. Meeting our family after Karnataka To Assam Road Trip
a long time put all of us on 7th Heaven. During
our stay we had a blissful time. All the cousins Dishant Gogoi
were overjoyed and had lots of fun-filled coun-
tryside games. My father, who is a member of Team BHP,
the largest Indian automotive community that
Eventually, we arrived at the last and final offers the most trusted, detailed and unbiased
day, that is, the 10th day of our journey, which Car Reviews & News in India, drew motivation
was from Gohpur to Sivasagar. Though the dis- from the team and came up with what appeared
tance was barely 275 kms, we had to break the to us as an absurd idea of a road trip from the
journey so as to visit to one of Dip’s school cum Bangalore, the capital of the southern state of
college friend Mr. Dipankar Bhuyan, Manager, Karnataka to Sivasagar, a town in the northeastern
Seajuli Tea Estate in Lakhimpur for lunch. It is state of Assam.
always good to catch up with old friends and we
had a good time with him and his family at his The planning started well in advance
British era bungalow. After high tea, we restarted wherein, Papa took the car for servicing, bought
our journey for the final destination, Sivasagar. new tyres, changed the number plates to high
On the way we got a chance to cross the security and fitted a new battery into our
Brahmaputra by driving over the Bogibeel Bridge TUV3OO. My sister and I stole some time from
for the first time. Finally, we reached our abode our studies and helped Mummy with the packing
at around 9:00 pm and were ecstatically happy to while our exams were still going on.
be with our family during Rongali Bihu.
An important part of our planning was to
The entire journey was long (3,598 kms), use social media to share the details about our
appeared exhausting and stressful for a solo pi- travel, from start to finish. After all, what better
lot, but we had a whale of a swell time during way to keep friends and family updated about
the novel experience of this 10-day road trip ??!!
So we created a Facebook page under the name
Gogoi’s Road Trips.

As scheduled, we started our journey on
25th March 2022.

Day 1, Bengaluru to Kurnool:
Our family of four, with Papa as our pilot,
Mummy as navigator, set off on our journey in
the afternoon after appearing for our last exam.
After travelling for some distance, we saw the

141

alarming sight of two trucks that had collided with Ganga and enjoyed the sight of Aarti performed
each other on the highway. One was on the on different ghats. We used the opportunity of
divider and the other had turned upside down. sharing our lovely experience by going live on
Our front dashcam recorded it and we posted it our Facebook Page.
on YouTube. During the journey ahead, we clicked
many photos and recorded several videos of the Day 5, Varanasi to Muzaffarpur:
scenic sunset. The best part was driving through We took the NH19, crossed Buxar and Patna
the KIA factory, which we livestreamed on while heading towards Muzaffarpur. It was a good
Facebook. We stayed overnight at the Keshav time till afternoon; but soon after that, we
Grand Hotel, Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh. encountered an unending line of trucks while
passing through the town named Chapra. We
Day 2, Kurnool to Seoni: made quite a few videos while inching along the
The drive on the Nehru Outer Ring Road highway and came up with the apt nickname
Hyderabad, an 8-lane ring road expressway ‘Truck Town’ for the place. Not surprising that it
encircling Hyderabad, the capital of Telangana, took us till evening to get out of Truck Town and
was a wonderful experience as it is one of the we finally reached Mishra Uncle’s (Papa’s friend)
longest and finest expressways in India with home in the evening at 7:00 pm.
automated speed cameras. It was almost evening Day 6, Relaxing in Muzaffarpur:
when we crossed the Pench National Park/Pench The highlight of our stay at Mishra Uncle’s
Tiger Reserve, the first tiger reserve that spreads home was our visit to the Pusa Agricultural
across two states, Madhya Pradesh and University. We went live on Facebook showcasing
Maharashtra. It made us happy to share some the Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural
beautiful videos on our Facebook Page. We University, Pusa, Samastipur, while Papa used his
reached our hotel, Vatika Celebrations in Seoni, DSLR camera to record videos. We saw how
Madhya Pradesh at around 9 pm for overnight vermi-composting is done using earthworms to
stay. We were pleasantly surprised to find three convert organic waste into fertilizer. We then
cats in the hotel and had an enjoyable time. taken to a cow shed where we were told that
Day 3, Seoni to Varanasi: each calf was given an individual number. When
We started for Varanasi shortly after the number was called out, the calf with that
breakfast and travelled onwards on NH44 and particular number would come to drink milk. It
NH34. The journey took more time than we had was indeed very interesting. Later on, we had
expected because of traffic. We went live on some tea and refreshments. I felt slightly
Facebook at a few places just to keep continuity. nauseous probably from fatigue but felt better
We passed through the town Mirzapur and after taking a nap in the car on our way back to
crossed the River Ganga to finally reach Varanasi, Mishra Uncle’s home. We watched cartoons after
Uttar Pradesh. dinner and dozed then off to sleep.
Day 4, Relaxing in Varanasi: Day 7, Muzaffarpur to Gossaigaon:
We woke up early to witness the Morning We left Mishra Uncle’s house quite early.
Aarti and went back to the river bank for the After traveling some distance, we encountered
Evening Aarti. We enjoyed the scenic beauty of an extortion on the Bihar Highway (NH 27 or East
the place and the hustle bustle of the tourists West Corridor) at Manigachhi. We were stopped
and pilgrims. We took a river cruise on the mighty by a few men wearing high visibility vest, who

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demanded ¹ 600 as two months entry tax for became friends with Bhuyan Uncle’s children,
Bihar. After an argument they reduced the Kavyam and Jigyasha and spent an enjoyable
amount to ¹ 400. Papa obviously asked to see an evening with them. After dinner, we returned to
ID proof and also asked for a receipt. They the guest house and slept off immediately as we
provided some vague ID card but when Papa was were very tired.
about to click a photo, the guys let us go without
taking any money. We shared the link of the Day 8, Gossaigaon to Gohpur:
video https://www.youtube.com/watch? We left Gossaigaon for Gohpur. Travelling
v=SGAnI6-26oo recorded with our front dashcam through the roads of Assam made us feel like we
as an attempt to raise awareness, so that people had already reached home. We were very excited
taking road trips like us, can be fore-warned. We to share the beautiful scenic beauty of Assam
stopped for breakfast as we were very hungry. live on Facebook. We were also extremely eager
Later on, we had our lunch at Highway Dhaba to meet our cousins. The weather was cloudy
Restaurant, Bagulahagi, in West Bengal and with occasional drizzles and downpours; our tyres
continued until we reached Gossaigaon, a were not heating up. It felt as if our patience was
developing town of Kokrajhar district in the being tried just when we were almost there. But
Bodoland region of Assam, which shares its all’s well that ends well and finally we reached
boundaries with West Bengal. After freshening Gohpur, a town in Biswanath district of Assam. I
up at the Guest House, we headed to meet Papa’s must also mention Gohpur has historical
friend who had invited us for dinner. There we relevance as it is the birthplace of Kanaklata
Barua, the famous freedom fighter of Assam. The

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moment we got out of the car, my cousin Dhruv trip on Facebook. Apart from enjoying the
and I started playing and in our excitement, Dhruv changing scenes while traveling through the
hit his head and hurt himself. So, I had to try my different states, it was also a learning experience.
best to cheer him up. We relished the food served Papa taught me how to use the DSLR camera to
by my auntie and slept off the moment our heads take photos and record videos. Dishita and I played
hit the pillows. mobile games at times to keep ourselves engaged.
This trip has opened up our minds and we are
Day 9, Playing with our cousins: looking forward to many more such road trips.
Our stay at Gohpur, was a lot of fun as
Dishita and I got the chance to play with Diya I hope you liked reading my write up. I shall
and her friend. After a hearty meal cooked by my try my best to keep up the practice of write in
maternal aunt, I went with Diya and her Papa to the future. Thank you for reading.
buy candies but the candies that we brought fell
on the floor. While picking up the candies Grade VII, Shishya BEML Public School,
everyone started singing “Aami amar toffee keita Bengaluru
tulibo lage, aami amar toffee keita tulibo lage”. It
was so funny that I almost rolled on the floor –––––––
laughing. It certainly feels good to be among
family. We had dinner and retired for the night. PFA the edited version of the article written
Day 10, Gohpur to Sivasagar by Dishita Gogoi
This was the final we leg of our journey.
En route to Sivasagar, we stopped for lunch A TRIP TO REMEMBER
at Dipankar Uncle’s bungalow at Seajuli Tea Estate,
where we got the chance to play with Piku and Dishita Gogoi
his brother Loy. We went to the tea factory to
see the interesting process of how tea leaves are My Papa told us that he wanted to do a trip
processed into tea. We left Uncle’s place and after from Bangalore to Assam by road. He is a senior
four hours of drive, we finally reached the historic member of Team-BHP.com, and seeing the
town of Sivasagar, known for the palaces and activities of the others made Papa think that we
monuments built during the Ahom Rule. can go to Assam by road. Our car which is a
Every member of our family was waiting TUV3OO. is 6 years old. We gave it new tyres,
eagerly for us and the joy of coming to our new battery and did a detailed servicing. We
ancestral home was overwhelming. Although carefully planned what all to take for the journey.
Dishita and I were quite tired from the exhausting We decided to used social media like WhatsApp,
trip, we played with our cousin Aarohan. After Facebook and YouTube to share about the trip.
dinner I lay on the bed and thought happily about
the success of the trip before falling asleep. I was very excited and could not wait for my
This is a brief summary of our exciting and Hindi exam to get over, as the plan was to leave
adventurous drive from Bengaluru to Sivasagar. soon after my exam. We left our home in
As per our plan, we shared special moments Bangalore in the afternoon, the dress code was
of our journey with friends and family through our grey Thailand T-shirts. I went live on Facebook
social media, by going live on Facebook, and by while passing by the KIA factory. Our hotel in
posting relevant recorded video clips on YouTube. Kurnool was Keshav Grand, where we slept for
Papa was particular in posting the status of our the night.

On the second day of our trip, we woke up

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at 5:30 am and within and hour we set off for went to see the Agricultural University at Pusa.
Seoni, in Madhya Pradesh. Dress code was I love We had tea and refreshments on our way back,
HK T-shirts. Initially I was shy to go live on then ate dinner, brushed my teeth and slept.
Facebook. We took NH 44 from Bengaluru to
Kurnool and Kurnool to Seoni. Our hotel in Seoni On the seventh day, we started from
was Vatika Celebrations. We reached our hotel at Muzaffarpur at around at 6:00 am. Our target
around 9:00 pm. We ate our dinner, and was to reach Assam and halt for the night at
afterwards, my kaka and I watched cartoons. We Gossaigaon In the way, we stopped for breakfast.
discussed about who would sleep where because Kaka and I went Facebook live at a few places.
the hotel provided more beds than needed and We reached the guest house at 7:00 pm and
finally decided that Papa will sleep on the main stayed overnight.
bed, and we will sleep on the floor beds.
We were excited as on the eighth day of our
For the third day of our road trip, we woke trip we would be meeting our cousins at Gohpur.
at 7:00 am, had breakfast and set out off Papa said we should wake up at 7:00 am, but we
for Varanasi by 8:30 am. Dress code was Phuket woke up at 6:30 am, which was a good thing. We
T-shirts (Pink and Orange). On the way we had started at 8:30 am. It took us more time then
lunch In the evening, we munched on some chips needed because of bad roads. We reached our
before reaching Varanasi. During the journey we destination, my mahi’s, that is, maternal aunt’s
went live on Facebook many times and shared house at 7:00 pm. It was great fun to play with
interesting informations. Our hotel in Varanasi our cousins. We ate dinner and went to bed.
was Vandana Residency.
Of course, the ninth day of our trip was
The fourth day of our trip was reserved for reserved for spending time with our family and
a relaxing day at Varanasi. I woke up at 8:30 am playing with our cousins. I woke up at 8:00 am,
and got ready to see Asi Ghat. It was hot because did brushed and immediately started playing with
we were in Uttar Pradesh. We had chicken biriyani Dhruv. We enjoyed a variety of sweets and snacks
for lunch. We went to Asi Ghat again in the throughout the day such as sponge cake, barfi,
evening to see the Sandhya Arti. Then we took a OREO and Maska Chaska biscuits. We played
boat ride and I enjoyed it. Back at the hotel, we outdoors with Diya’s friend. I took a nap after
had momos for dinner. lunch as I was quite tired. We all received new
shirts and dresses as gift from our aunt and uncle.
On the fifth day, our plan was to travel from We went to bed after dinner.
Varanasi to Mishra Uncle’s house at Muzaffarpur,
Bihar. I woke up at 7:30 am, got ready. Dress This was the tenth and the last day of our
code was grey Thailand T- shirts. road trip.

As per our plan, we spent the sixth day of We set out for Dipankar Uncle’s house, a
our trip with Mishra Uncle, who is Papa’s dear beautiful bungalow in a tea garden, where we
friend. had lunch and spent about three hours. We finally
reached our Sivasagar home at 9:00 pm after an
I woke up at 9:30 am, got ready, had exhausting but exciting trip. We had great fun
breakfast and tea. My brother (Kaka) and I spent and we learnt many new things.
some time outdoors. He rode a cycle while barber
was giving Papa a nice haircut and shave. At that I must say “Hats Off” to Papa for coming up
time, I went Facebook live. In the evening, we
with the fantastic idea of this road trip.

Grade IV, Shishya BEML Public School,
Bengaluru

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Thepeacocksaresymbolicofre-growth and rejuvenaon, Inthequeenofthehills,Darjeeling,thesecharmingflowersof
royalty,respect,honor,andintegrity.Theyarealsoasymbolof allshadesofthecolourspectrumarefoundinLloydbotanical
beauty,love,andpassion.Theaboveclickportraysoneofthe garden."Everycolourhasitsownbeauty;likethedifferent
beau esofnature.Peacocksstru ngtheirfeathersareamajes- phasesoflife"
PhotographBy:AbhijaySarmah
csighttobehold.Theyarebeau fulandgraceful.Eachfeather
hasa.Itsimplyamazinghow intricatethesefeathersare,and
howbeau fulthepa ernsarewhenyoutakeacloserlookat
them.

PhotographBy:AbheekDu a

In thehillsand valleysofSikkim,neartheborderwhich InthepicturesqueNathulapassattheIndia-Chinaborderin
separatesSikkim from WestBengal,theriverTeestaflows. Sikkim,liesthislake,Tsomgolake.Surroundedbyalluringhills
Thoughtakenintheevening,itsbeautyisthesameduringthe withsnowdrippingdownthemlikefrozenwaterfalls,thislake
day.Throughdayandnight,throughheatandrain,theserene issituated , m abovethesea.It'sNature'schemistryin
Teestaflows.Suchbeyoureffortsandacons;determined, acon;snow,waterandfogareallfoundherewiththe
never-stoppingandhelpful. backdropofsomeHimalayanHeights

PhotographBy:AbhijaySarmah PhotographBy:AbhijaySarmah

THELONERANGER
These double-humped,large even-toed ungulate nave to the
SteppesofCentralAsia,withtheabilitytocarryuptoonequintaland
workforuptoeighthoursaday,wereusedbytradersfrom the
CentralAsiatocarryheavyloadsoffruits,spicesandsilkacrossthe
ruggedterrain.TheBactriancamelwerefirstbroughttoLadakhin

sby tradersfrom Yarkand in Xinjiang province ofChina,
eventuallyleavingthem strandedinNubraValley,Ladakhfollowing
therealignmentofinterna onalborders.TheBactrianCamelswere
onthebrinkofexnconwhenthelocalsoftheHunderVillagetook
uptheiniaveofconducngCamelSafarisin ,whichgrew
popularamonglocalsandtourists.Fortunately,greateffortsare
beingmadetopreservethesebeastsofburdenmoreaptlycalledthe
‘ShipoftheDesert’.
PhotographBy:PiyushPlabonDas

KOMOREBITHROUGHACHILDHOOD
Komorebi'isaJapanesewordmeaning"sunlightfiltering
throughtrees".Itillustratesthebeautyofthesunraysinterac-
ngwithnature.Thispicturecapturesnotonlythesun'sgolden
glowembracingthemarblebutalsoone'schildhoodmemories

ofcap vangmarblegames.
PhotographBy:KoelRoyChoudhury