Tragic Heroes

We follow only the winners and while following them many times we fail to recognize some personalities as history try to brand them as tragic hero (or many say they were villain).While deciding through the accepted denominator of write and wrong we don’t accept contribution some people whose name should have been taken with some respect otherwise.

Take the case of cricket – In a country where we (used to) eat drink and sleep cricket we have seen this game metamorphosed through our eyes .what transformed the game into a world sports – may be exiting fielding , professional attitude ,proper field placement ,game plane ,bringing statistic and technology for development of the game. Everything was introduced (together) by a very clever dedicated duo of Bob Wolmer –and Hansie Cronje .

But we remember both of them for some other reason altogether .Personally I feel Hansie Cronje is the only person in this scandal hit game who have acknowledged the truth. So we call him a villain .Otherwise people of similar track records are now –member of parliament ,chief selector commentator and so on and on.

The list of tragic heroes are innumerable –remember in 90’s when India was emerging as a module of failed nation (economy, political unrest, mistrust) them came one prime minister and with few steps with vision that rescued the almost bankrupt nation from economic collapse.

But now when we talk about them talk only other things.

I am no historian, politician or intellectual (but a pseudo one) neither I am defending or approving those scam (who am I to defend anyway!) for those charge. But I am not at all ashamed to say that they are my hero for the positive contribution they have made.

Kechaikhaiti (কেচাইখাইতী)

Before the Viashnavite renaissance (1400 AD ---) in Assam in the remote eastern corner in a place called Kundil (now Sadiya ) there was a temple of powerful goddess named Kechaikhaiti (কেচাইখাইতী).The local tribes – Deuris, Kacharis ,Chutiya used various kind of offering to their powerful deity. As time passed many of these offerings in fact turned out to be human. In the beginning it used to be a voluntary affair and the person who has volunteered himself to be sacrificed for Goddess was called a xar (ষাড).The xar and his family used to get immense freedom ,respect and benefits from the society as the notion was once Goddess is satisfied there won’t be any calamity in the locality for the year .

Then Ahoms invaded the area ,and Goddess Kechaikhaiti become one of the important reference point of sociopolitical situation of 600 year old history of Ahom dynasty .Many of the Ahom kings become devotee of the Goddess .So yearly there were many offering(as sacrifice) from the kingdom for peace and well being of the country. And many times this human sacrifice became a mean to get rid of rivals in the midst of political chaos of Ahom kings.

That slice from historical literature always fascinated me like anything .

As history fascinates me and when the bugs from history bites my I have to scratch the itch .One of such scratch was the visit to Kechaikhaiti than situated in remote location inside Sadiya. It was Diwali of -2005 and we had a break of two days from hospital duty in Dibrugarh .

We used Bike ,Bus , boat , tempo to reach the place after two days of journey we reached the temple –all alone and unabashed by the river Kundil .

It was nothing to many, but for us the feel of the place was something else.

Tunes of the forgotten boulevard

Young Jayata had a promising future .If he wanted he could have opted to become a rich industrialist .he cold have settled down abroad but what hunted him was ‘Tunes of the forgotten boulevard’ (এৰা বাটৰ সুৰ).Jayanta was at the cross roads of his life .In one way he was compulsively drawn to the tunes that people have started to forget, likes songs that are sang in jungles of Goalpara when they venture into the jungles ,songs that are of the country yard of Kamrup ,Songs they sing when they lift tea leaf from the garden from upper Assam ,
And the music continued
There was a long musical medley (?)then the movie ended ……
It is the synopsis of movie ‘Era Bator Sur’ made in 1956 .
As a child when I first saw the movie I thought hey what happened? What kind of ending is this.;
Now after acquaintance with world cinema ,and hopefully a better understanding of life & language of cinema (then 20 years ago) I have been remembering the movie again and again .
Godard,, Chabrol en all started new wave cinema started in France in mid fifties (at the same time ) Pather Panchali was released in 1955 and at the same time young man known in his native place as a lyricist and singer and music director made one film that by merit quality and content is as great as any contemporary international cinema.
It’s a regret that after all those initial brilliance now a days we have stopped thinking original, whereas we have a rich history of originality ever since 1935.
Photograph source :http://bhupenhazarika-news.blogspot.com/

Bhuruka

Few years ago I needed information about an Assamese book; I went to a book store and asked him do you have this ….book?

The man in store didn’t answer –just gave me a frown ,I thought am I asking for pornography , may be the book is banned ,I crosschecked ,neither of my apprehension were true.

Then I went to a different book store .This time he the man wanted to help, but he couldn’t so he offered me some other book, Nut those were not of my taste.

Then I tried the internet, the buzz is you get everything in net.

To my horror not only the book I wanted, we don’t have nay information of most Assamese books on net, you will get some books but all are arranged in haphazard way and books that are milestone of Assamese literature are missing.

Yes you find everything on net but someone has to upload it, and it has to be systematic.

Then one day one of my friend ,who was having the similar kind of ideas ,moved one step further than me and he indeed developed a web site dedicated entirely to enlist Assamese book .(Or books from ,for or about Assam ,North East) its http://www.bhuruka.org/bhuruka/

Check it out

No one person can make one big database so friends if you like some book ,just feel free to enter the book ,in bhuruka ,: http://www.bhuruka.org/bhuruka/

You can discuss the books like you used to write testimonial in orkut days

And lot lot things are in the offing so all we need is your help

ৰা্ইজে নখ জোকাৰিলে হাতী ভুৰুকাত সোমাবই Lতাৰ পিচত কিবা কিতাপৰ বিষয়ে জানিবলৈ দোকানিৰ ভোবোলা মুখ চাবলৈ দৰকাৰ নাই ,গুগলত নামতো দিলেই হল।কি কিতাপ ,কিমান দাম ,ক’ত পাম ,ৰাইজে কেনে পাইছে চব গম পাই জাব।বাকি ভাষাবোৰত এনে ৱেব চাইত আছেই ,আমাৰ অসমৰহে নাই।

Do you remember?

 

Some sensational news that has been long forgotten, Today is 21^st September 16 aniinversiery of one of such fluke news that gripped the nation for one day, do you remember?

I too forgot the whole stuff ,but 20 th September is the birth date of my alma mater –Guwahati Medical College ,So remembering the date yesterday everything came to my mind like a flash back-

It was 1994, For the first time we, the young Turks were celebrating the foundation day ,We were dancing all over the places, and next day (classes were cancelled),when I got up it was evening ,I just walked through Ganesh guri ,where I saw hundreds of people queuing up in the Ganseh Temple

‘What’s up pal?’

I asked a friend

‘Doesn’t U know Lord Ganesha is drinking milk and all of then is queuing up for it only?’

I was asleep just for few hours and everything was happening for that time.

Some one observed the phenomenon in morning, and soon the word propelled like bone fire and the whole nation was witnessing the event to the utter amusement.

Soon the news spread that the whole Shiva family is drinking milk,

Milk was seen flowing through the Drains like anything.

In the evening we saw in news channel that the phenomenon was observed even outside India,

Boy Boy !

By late night one English news channel showed –It is nothing but a normal phenomenon happens everywhere, one Shoe-cleaner demonstrated that even his shoe polishing iron is also capable of drinking milk.

Do you remember?

Aparajito-the unvanquished

A real movie (hence Bollywood is excluded) speaks of life.
While reading rays memoir Childhood last week I remembered a scene from Pather Panchali. Fascinated by the mithaiwala Apu and Durga were and run after him. They couldn’t afford those sweets, but there is something about running after the things you want. The vendor entered their rich uncle’s house. Their family brought various kind of sweets .
Forbidden –Poor Apu and Durga took the pleasure of sweets by seeing them only.
Suddenly their cousins noticed them and called them in
Durga, full of self respect refused to enter
Here comes the confusion of Apu –
Sweets vs. self respect?
Apu decided to enter the forbidden house of rich and cunning uncle.
As the story progressed we see Durga couldn’t survive the fate and died of hunger and fever.
Apu conquered all in the next part of the great trilogy as Aparajito( The Unvanquished).
Its not that Apu survived his fate, death, misery, poverty hunted him all throughout his life. Still he gave a strong fight to the circumstances.
That made me believe again in destiny but not like that people see in movie , but I believe you will be guided by destiny but the path you have to choose and then destiny will guide you. If you are worthy luck will favor you ,but destiny is never a full stop …
And we continue the search with minor adjustments in order to survive.

Dare delived eggs

If you take jokes very seriously, few can have such a big impact that extend that it can become life’s philosophy.

Like I want to become the egg that jumped from the middle floor.

Don’t you remember?

Three eggs jumped from a building, from 1^st, 2nd and 3^rd floor respectively.

Nothing happened to the first one –As – Jisko rakhe sai mar sake na koi.

Nothing happened to the 2 one also .Why?

As –practice makes an egg perfect.

But the 3^rd one jumped and crumbled.

Why –overconfidence is leads to your downfall.

Well in one of the blog. I discussed about the confidence (or arrogance) of Salvador Dali. In previous blog I discussed about the middle path of Buddha.

But the same thing can be explained by mere example of this egg joke also.

Boy Boy, that’s why people say I don’t know how to KISS. (Keep it simple and straight, yarr !

U dirty minds! :-)

Searching the middle path

Living means fighting within you the Ghost of dark power.

A famous malicious quote or the hard fact?

Where is the light? Or is there any light at all?

I don’t have any answer

I don’t know,

I am looking into the labyrinth within,

One voice whispered into my ear ‘The light within will show the way – hey Tathagata,’(আত্মদ্বীপে দেখুৱাব বাট-হে তথাগত/নবকান্ত বৰুৱা)

Who was it? I thought.

Remembered it’s a poetry by Ekhud kaiti* I read long ago.

Helping to select right path of the light through darkness

Between cruelties Or being a looser of life.

*Nabakanta Baruah

Photograph source :unknown ,downloaded long back as I liked it

surreal

কিবা মণ গলেই মই গথছি যাব পাৰো
যেনি মণ যায়
হিৰুদা

If I feel like something
I can go away
Wherever I want ……
Hiruda

May be, this feeling like flying away from what is expected is surrealism.
Imagine thousands of fan waiting for a folk artist, about to sing about the oppressed one ,only with a guitar and a harmonica. He was supposed to sing those songs whose lyrics are poetry and he was GOD of those protest songs. He was suppose to protest on that day.
And he did just that-
But what he did –he came with all the electronic equipment, in leather cloths, sunglasses and stated trying some –Rock & Roll.
He protested against his own brand.
Surreal very eccentrically surreal ….
Remember reading one interview of Bob Dylan where he was asked by a reporter 'Heard you are acting in a movie what role are you playing?'
Without any expression he replied ‘I am playing my mother’
You can call it arrogance, or mysticism but the aura of these person are source of creative expression for many .
Few days ago I was watching the movie –‘I am not there’ based on multifaceted life of BOB. The musician, the preacher, the folk singer , Poet etc etc… The six phages of this person is played by six different person, Black, white, young ,old….,well I didn’t liked the character who played of icon Bob ,he was too feminine, looking weak, emaciated ,I was about to say what the ..**.. ,then suddenly I went through the casting –Cate Blanchett? Where is she? Wait this iconic Bob is none but Cate Blanchett.
Well he may not have played his mother but Cate Blanchett played the BOB we know,
Surreal very surreal.

The smell of a place

Hydari House,kolkata

'At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India l awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history : JN Neheru @ the stroke of mid night in Red ford. New Delhi August 15, 1947

At that time all noted figure were celebrating the new found freedom the mastermind of our freedom struggle was in a faraway house away from the lime light grieving for the division of the vast land named India.

But soon terrible riot started that shocked the new born nation then all attention and the process of ending the civil war initiated from this very building situated in Balighata Road Calcutta.

I had an immense curiosity for this piece of history ever since read about it long back In various history books (especially India wins freedom) that I arranged a calcuuta flight only to have a glance of the place which has the capacity to change the heart of mob ,rioters thirsty for revenge.

Strangely enough not many people,( even in Calcutta) do not know about this place till now .

The house above is Hydari House which has been converted into a small museum, preservibg the Mahatma’s room and material with few photographs and paper cutting.

It’s a small house, unknown to many, or meaningless to many but just to see the place where it all started and to breathe and smell the air of that house I specially arranged a tour, to one of my friend its madness as you get everything in net, audio visuals and books. But how can you have the smell and breathe of the place you want to feel on internet ,books or videos?

And we open the gate

   “There is a painting on my table
Nicholas Roerich –by name
Its name -and we open the gate
Which gate? Eastern or western?
Or the southern gate to Hell?”
Debakanta Baruah

The great disadvantage of so called addabaz witty image is that it is hard to maintain. And gradually you begin to transform in to a great pseudo while maintaining it.
If you are not a celebrity and tend to bring art or poetry as adda topic –most of your friend will start booing, yawning, and yelling at you. Anyway there are hundreds of other of topics for the gossip (scandals, mms, Bollywood, Hollywood cricket or may be political sicussion as an serious alternative),There is no dearth of topic for our addas day in or out.

But our existence is dichotomous ….thats why word and philosophy of ‘paradox’ , ‘bigotry’, ‘conflicts’ keeps recurring in my thoughts ,hence many time in my blog also. May be that is the reason why poetry above (originally in Assamese) has kept ringing in my ear over the years. But in my mask I hate people who coats sugar coated poetry line in day to day affair.I have read the poem long long back ,and at that time I was of the believe that Nicholas Roerich is name of a painting ,when internet spread I got to know that it’s a painting but the painter of ‘And we open the Gate’ which was the title of famous poetry written in Assamese about five decade back by Debakanta Baruah, and the word hunted me for nearly two decade .Thanks to Google I kept searching for Mr. Nicholas and got fascinated by his work and life.
Nicholas Roerich -Born in Russia died in India, a great visionary painter and a true citizen of world.Call it destiny or other last Sunday I was in Delhi for a scientific conference –and early morning Times of India carried a big advertisement - Nicholas Roerich : An Eternal Quest" photography exhibition at National Gallery of Modern Art ( NGMA ). As usual dullness of my scientific conference increased as it proceeded, I sneaked out –and loitered in the gullies of national gallery of Modern art, Delhi. There were series of painting on Himalayas, on mythology, Russia and of eastern Horizon.
I went through the leaflets –at one corner I saw the lines –and we open the gate through its proximal bluish hue and distal bright light- the painting itself. The painting I was looking for so long.
And we open the gate
Which one?
To Nicholas Roerich the painter, To Debakanta Baruah the poet, to the art critique, to art and poetry lover?
To me it was all about breaking the shackles of routine called life and confessing to friends that I have this habbit of sneaking out of my regular life and open the gate to take solace in art and poetry.
That’s escapism they started yelling.
‘Yes no it’s all about opening the door ’I replied back.

N.b: The paradox : One person approached me last night and started giving lecture on importance of spirituality in life felt like puking . I asked myself –Is it easy to open the door against people whom you don’t approve of.

believe

One of my greatest regret of my life is not to be present on Woodstock festival-1969 .The 3 days of ecstasy filled peace love and music. May be the festival didn’t proved any point .It doesn’t matter- But it was a congregation of thousands of people –who believed we can change the world through music. Those believe are very important, which we seem to be lacking in modern lifestyle infested world.

I believe I cant change anything-not to speak of society or any big stuff ,I can not even extract a smile in return many time.

Last Sunday I had to come-back from Delhi to Dehradun, My workplace. It is only 240 km .To my surprise there was no train reservation, no bus, No shared taxi and there were hundreds of people waiting en route to Haridwar.For the Shahi Snan of MAHA KUMBH on Monday.

Boy boy!

From Delhi ISBT ,I took, Auto, rikswa ,indica, Santro to reach my place at a 100 time cost and in triple amount of time after midnight. I felt like I am en route to Woodstock -1969. Business was at its peak. All I had to do was reach for the Shahi snan and have a dubki to wash off all my sins.(there may be too many to my credit).I didn't do that May be I don't believe in all those.And in all these these three month of Maha Kimbh HAR Ki PAURI is only 50 KM from my place ,but I was not there .

But there were people who still have the believe.

These believe -I think may be important to live.

Human

Still remember the plot of a movie that touched me long back. An innocent girl of a suburban area was the only sensible earning member of a poor family. So her mother doesn’t want her to be married. Her boy friend prefers his career to love; her sister cheats on her and marries off to her boy friend. Her brother parasitize on her to fulfill his desire for a singing carrier, her father could do nothing but to watch everything happening.
Eventually at the end every one fulfills their lust at the cost of her sacrifice and the girl die of tuberculosis all alone far away from home, helpless, friendless, and betrayed and sick with life.
It was Meghe Dhaka Tara –how nicely Ghatak explored human nature.
Another movie tried to explain the same truth by its story and its nomenclature the name is - Kaminey

Paradox!

I see paradox in everything. I don’t know if we have a name for this condition or not.

Saw Three Idiots, the latest block blaster .A nice movie which speaks the bitter truth of modern day reality with a great message that to come out of this cut throat world. Great!

But it’s a movie based on a plot (not story mind it) and all of them in the movie fell in love with their product in such a way that they have refused to accept the original idea of the plot and that way they are contradicting the very message (a much needed one ) of the movie.

Well Slumdog ,Omkara, Maqbul ,kalyug (Shyam Benegal-Gisrish karnard) are great work and people still appreciate the script writer but the maker have not stopped acknowledging the original man who conceived the seed of a original story.

Life is easy when there is nothing to lose

photograph of malegaon ka hero's in front of IFFI venue

No money, no education, remote location, lack of resources etc etc etc are our common explanation for non fulfillment of our dream.
I realized these are our theory of defense mechanism (I knew it before,).
I happened to visit IFFI (International Film festival of India –Goa, 2009) where I saw a beautiful short film ‘Malegaon Ka Superman’.
It’s about few crazy people who defied those pre convictions and started chasing their dream.
Malegaon is a small town known for its weaving industry communal riot and their passion for cinema.
And one fine day Shaikh Nasir, local lad from the town thought of making a cinema. He had no knowledge what is filmmaking is all about. All he had was a handy camp and an idea about a movie that sells. Spoof comedy. In his movie Malegaon Ka superman the superman weighs hardly 30 kg the villain and he flies (in chrona) up to have a better mobile network loves filth so he aims to fill the country with dirt. And the result- it’s a big hit in Malegaon video parlous. They have spoofed Sholley, Munna Bhai and many others. And now they are celebrity not only in Malegaon, thanks to the documentary their movies were in a special category in IFFI and much talked about all through the festival.
I loved the giggling face the happy crew of the superstars from Malegaon who dared the break the jinx of defense mechanism.

Can you tell my friend?

One year ago on January 8th, 2009 one young man, newly wed and just returning from honey moon, went to market for daily shopping .He was about to return then only a big noise, there was fire everywhere that engulfed him on the spot. It was a bomb that went out at that moment.
A Bomb that has become a day to day event in the life of modern north eastern Indian. Who and why planted the bomb is still not known.
What they want is mystery like who they are.
Well blame it on a revolution. May be they know how to fight a war.
A war against anarchy, a war against oppression ,a war against injustice!
May be they will lead us to a state of utopia full of peace and happiness for all who survive these calculative massacre (if anyone does.)
The picture above is an artistic representation in memory of Rajib Sharma, who lost his life in Maligaon (Assam) Bomb Blast on 08.01.09 by Dr.Uddip Talukdar where he asks ‘Can you tell my friend the name of the revolutionary shop where you can buy the rights to finish a life?’
Also read :http://bhaskar-beberibang.blogspot.com/2009/01/for-rajib-da_13.html

New year musing

* Photograph of fog on new years eve through the window Dehradun

Another new year, nothing new though

Except the wishes n sms, TV, and net

Or in the extra food, cakes or drink

Or the extra smile and shake

Or the extra fog

Or extra cynicism with malice by and a man with nothingness.