Pothorughat saga now brought before the world

Abdul Gani Guwahati: The only book in English on the historic peasants’ rebellion at Pothorughat in Darrang district in which as many as 140 peasants belonging to Hindu and Muslim community laid their lives for the sake of their country has finally found its place in the Library of Congress in America. “It’s great news for all of us. It really meant a lot for us because the sacrifice made by our forefathers never got recognition the way it should have. Now the people in the world will come to know about it in detail,” said Bhargab Kumar Das, a member of Organising Committee for the National Level Seminar on the Pothorughat uprising...

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Father of Nehru Stadium pitch no more

Abdul Gani/Kausav Baruah Guwahati: The grass on Nehru Stadium in Guwahati wept silently on Monday as their mentor bade his final goodbye, putting an end to his three-decade-long affair with them. Even the soil and workers at the pitch will miss him. A  glorious chapter in the field of sports in Assam came to an end on Sunday when one of the senior-most and renowned pitch curators of the country, Sunil Kumar Baruah, left for his heavenly abode at the age of 70. Dr Sunil Kr Baruah with BCCI pitch committee chairman Daljit Singh and other workers. Pic: Dasarath Deka Their relations had started three decades ago when Team India...

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Adil picks up best actor award in US fest

Abdul Gani Guwahati: This one couldn’t have come at a better time! Very much in news for his latest release English Vinglish, Adil Hussain has added one more international accolade to his trophy mantle — the best actor award in New Jersey Independent South Asian Cine Festival (NJISACF). Hussain picked the best actor award on Tuesday for his role as JA Krishnamurthy in Unni Vijayan’s Lessons in Forgetting. “It means a lot to me… Because the film is based on a very serious social issue of female foeticide. It’s a great pleasure to play JAK’s role. It would have been a typical boring character, but was directed very well to make it...

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Film documents Mayong’s magical history

Abdul Gani Guwahati: An average youngster in the capital city of Assam may have made his umpteenth trip to Pobitora, just about 50 km from Guwahati and famed for its thick one-horned rhino population, but ask him about Mayong – chances are that he may not have even heard of the small village with an alluring history of magic and sorcery, albeit the fact that he has to travel through the area to reach the wildlife sanctuary. Or at least Utpal Borpujari, a national-award winning film critic, would have us believe when he carried out an informal survey among 200 youths in Guwahati in 2011. “On July 15 last year, the day Harry Potter...

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Ekhon Nedekha Nodir Xipare: An honest attempt to tell the truth

Abdul Gani Finally there is an honest attempt to deal with a subject which not many people here in Assam wish to talk about. Through the film ‘Ekhon Nedekha Nodir Xipare’, which released last week, debutant director Bidyut Kotoky has taken viewers to Majuli, the troubled island in the river Brahmaputra. Over a course of 90 minutes, the director has convincingly portrayed the trauma of the people of Majuli, which once enjoyed the status of being the world’s largest river island. From flood erosion to insurgency, the inhabitants of Majuli have suffered a lot. Inspired by the ‘unfortunate’ incident of kidnap and murder of social activist...

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