G Plus Vol 4 Issue 15 by G Plus

The Brahmaputra Literary Festival How it all went down

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Jaitley’s Budget draws mixed response from Guwahatians

New Hunk on the Block Samrat D’one PG 04

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VOLUME 04 | ISSUE 15 FEB 04 - FEB 10, 2017 PRICE `10

Legalities of smokeless tobacco sale remains clouded in confusion

Tenant kidnaps 15-month-old Nihal from Hatigaon

124 cases of leprosy in detected in Kamrup (M) in 2016

Bridging

the Gap All you would want to know about the twin Saraighat Bridges

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Lead Story

Rahul chanda

Tenant kidnaps 15-month-old Nihal from Hatigaon

Police put all suspected hideouts under scanner; according to the owner the tenant had planned the kidnapping with his friend over the last two months that he was out of Guwahati; parents of the child announce hefty reward to anyone who provides information about the abducted child

15 month old Nihal Rajiv

n yet another criminal incident, a 33-year-old tenant allegedly kidnapped a 15-month-old boy from Hatigaon area on 3rd February giving the police force another challenging proposition. In August last year, just prior to Hiren Nath’s appointment as the new police commissioner, the police had managed to rescue Adrishi Dutta, a young girl from Jayanagar, within a span of 14 hours. That rescue was termed as the most successful operation of the police after the formation of the commissionerate; this time around Guwahatians are again expecting a similar feat by the police and hopes it will rescue the 15-month-old safely. The parents of the child have declared that any person who would give information about the child will be suitably rewarded. How was the child kidnapped? What are the details of the suspected accused and will the police be able to rescue the child? G Plus checks the possibilities. The incident

According to Hatigaon police, a case was registered in the morning hours of 3rd February (case number – 45/17 under section 365 IPC) stating that 15-month-old Nihal Rajiv, son of Manjur Alom

the suspected kidnapper, 33 year old Noor Mohamad, who used to live as a tenant in the rented house of Manjur. The police said that Mohamad hails from Mankachar and was very friendly with Man-

Time and again G Plus has always raised the issue of tenant verification which is not yet a mandate in the city, and thus the tenants and the employees across the city are not verified before they start staying or working in any house or office. If the tenant is verified before they take up residence, the previous criminal records can be checked which would make things easier for the house owner and even the police. Even in this case the Hatigaon police sources said that the tenant was not verified. Bhuyan, was kidnapped from his house at Dowat Bazar in the Sundarban Nagar area of Hatigaon. The police said that since the case has been registered, they are trying their best to rescue the child from

jur’s family. The police hesitated to disclose more information but assured that the child will be rescued and the entire police team is onto the task. G Plus team visited Manjur’s house to find out the

reason. The child’s mother was weeping bitterly inside and his father Manjur talked to G Plus. He pleaded that G Plus should request the public to help them rescue the child and also said, “I will reward the person who gives me information about my son.” He then narrated the story. The story Manjur said that one Noor Mohamad, aged around 33 to 34 years, has been staying in one of their rented houses since the last two years. Manjur said that Noor used to once work with Vodafone. However, since a long time he has not been holding a job. According to Manjur, on the morning of 3rd February, his child woke up at around 7 am and was playing with 3-year-old Asifa who stays in another rented house of Manjur. At around 7.30 am Noor took the child from Asifa saying he would take the kid for a short walk. Manjur said that at around 8 am he started searching for the child and at around 9.30 am he

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Crime went and registered a complaint with Hatigaon police. Manjur said that all the tenants are very friendly with them as he and his wife Nirupama Begum do not hold any grudges with anyone and all of them live like a family. According to

said that he had one driver named Nilchand Ali who was very close to Noor. When Nilchand used to work with him, he and Noor shared rooms. According to Manjur the call records show that on the night of 2nd February, both Nil-

Suspects Noor Mohamad (L) and Nilchand Ali (R) with Nihal Manjur, Noor used to interact with the baby quite often and play with him; nobody ever suspected that he harboured such foul intentions. The plot Manjur also said that Noor was out of Guwahati for the last two months and it’s been just 7 to 8 days that Noor had returned and was in Guwahati. According to Manjur Noor had said that he was in Silchar all these days. But according to some other tenants Noor was in Hatsingimari in Shantipur village in Mankachar. Manjur said that it is over these two months that Noor perhaps might have firmed up plans to kidnap the 15-month-old Nihal. Manjur also

chand and Noor had talked a number of times for long durations. Manjur said that Nilchand must surely be involved in the plan and both of them together might have kidnapped his son. Manjur said that Nilchand had taken a large amount of money from him as advance and never returned thereafter. Nilchand hails from Barpeta area. The other tenants living in the rented house of Manjur, talking to G Plus, said that after Noor returned to Guwahati this time 7-8 days ago, he used to try and spend a lot of time with Nihal and used to click many photos of the

child with his smart phone. Manjur and his wife are praying that their son would return home safe and sound. Meanwhile, the police are trying their best to track the child. A source in Hatigaon police station, talking to G Plus, said that all suspected hideout locations of Noor are under scanner and the police are tracking the phone number along with the phone numbers which were recently contacted by the accused. The source also said that tracking a number is not that easy unless the SIM card is changed and the last location of the accused was shown at Mankachar. So a team of Hatigaon police has already reached Hatsingimari in Mankachar and sources in the team talking to G Plus at 10 pm on 3rd February said that they are positive about rescuing the child within the night. The situation however, is critical as the safety of the child is the absolutely vital for the police. Manjur was born and brought up in Shillong and is staying in Guwahati since 1996. He is a well settled businessman here. Time and again G Plus has always raised the issue of tenant verification which is not yet a mandate in the city, and thus the tenants and the employees across the city are not verified before they start staying or working in any house or office. If the tenant is verified before they take up residence, the previous criminal records can be checked which would make things easier for the house owner and even the police. Even in this case the Hatigaon police sources said that the tenant was not verified. Here is another challenge for the police to rescue a kidnapped child. How long will it take remains to be seen. rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

Body of murder accused found in Dwaraka Nagar

Dead body of Rinku Das

he Dwaraka Nagar area near Down Town Hospital was rocked on Thursday evening when the battered and impaired body of Rinku Das (26) was recovered from his residence in Puberun Path. The body was recovered by his brother, Jagat Jyoti Das, after he reached home at around 3 pm on Thursday, 2nd February and found the front and back door of the house open. The baffled brother started looking for traces of a possible intruder in the house only to discover the

dead body of Rinku a few minutes later. The body was lying on the floor of the living room. The body was found with several injury marks on the face including swollen eyes, cleft chin and lips and blood spilling from the injuries on the body. Several other marks were also found on the deceased’s body. Jagat soon informed the police who took custody of the body which was thereafter sent for post-mortem. Sources in the police have said that it is a clear cut case of murder and a case has been registered accordingly (Case number 259/17 under section 302/34 IPC). It could also be learnt that the deceased Rinku Das was involved in drug abuse that also led to several scuffles in the family. “The youngest of three brothers, Rinku had always been a problem child. He would create problems in the family and constantly demanded

Kalyan Deb

money. Most of the time he would come home intoxicated which also led one of his elder brothers to live separately,” a source in the police department mentioned. Significantly, it was informed that Rinku was also accused of killing his own mother and was taken into custody until some of his friends bailed him out. The accusation came after the deceased had purportedly battered his mother. The incident was preceded by an argument in which Rinku had demanded money during Durga Puja in 2015. Some of the neighbours were also injured while attempting to control the tussle. A few hours later the body of the mother was found in a drainage system near the house. Meanwhile, none of the family members are aware of the company that Rinku used to keep and the reason that led to his demise. Police sources informed that more details will unfold after obtaining the post-mortem report and investigation in the matter is in process.

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Business

Rahul Chanda

Jaitley’s Budget draws mixed response from Guwahatians

Guwahatians offered mixed views on the budget with some lauding it while others felt that it was just an “old dish served on a new plate”

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on his way to present the budget.

ost demonetisation, Arun Jaitley’s budget was eagerly awaited by all basically to understand the benefits of demonetisation and also to know what exactly the country will get from the Centre this year. Jaitley’s budget elicited mixed response with some people lauding the budget and some terming it as ‘a rerun of an older episode.’ G Plus talked to some knowledgeable Guwahatians to gauge their response on the financial decision of the central government. Guwahatians were also eager to know the effect of demonetisation. Hence, G Plus tries to understand the city scenario better. The budget reactions Executive Director of Sishu Sarothi, Arman Ali talking to G Plus said, “There is nothing to be excited about the budget as there is nothing new.” He said that he works in the disability sector and nothing much was announced for the same. He said the budget announced that 500 railway stations will be made disabled-friendly but there are many more railway stations in the country. He said that the budget did not announce anything specific for the social sector and the rural focus and benefits thereof remain confusing. He also said that service charges for booking railway tickets were reduced but disabled people face difficulties to even go and book the

tickets. Regarding other sectors Ali said that nothing noteworthy was announced for the children and with around 60 lakh students graduating every year, the budget did not even mention any specific method of controlling urban unemployment. Congress chief spokesperson Apurba Bhattacharya, talking to G Plus said, “The budget did not

tion anything special to uplift the economy. Similarly, people had mixed views about this year’s budget as the BJP ruled state government ministers were seen lauding Jaitley’s budget but many citizens said that nothing significant was announced for this region. Hailing the 2017-18 union budget, chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal de-

An academician, talking to G Plus in anonymity, said that the skill development chorus is growing louder ever since the new government came into place but the quality of skill development initiatives is not up to the mark. He said that the institutes providing skill development training lack quality teachers and even the courses offered are not helping the youth. have anything new and only old things were served on new plates.” He said that people were waiting for explanations on the benefits of demonetisation but that did not happen. He said that the Indian economy is facing a tough time after decisions like demonetisation and the budget did not men-

scribed it as “pro-poor, pro-farmer, welfare and growth-oriented” and added that it has something for every section of the society. In an official statement, the chief minister praised the budget provision of Rs. 10 lakh crores as credit to farmers with 60 days’ interest waiver and stated that the in-

crease of fund to the tune of Rs. 40,000 crores to NABARD and dedicated micro irrigation fund with Rs 5,000 crore initial corpus for NABARD will greatly help the farming sector. Sonowal also lauded the move to create dairy processing infrastructure fund initially with a corpus of Rs. 2000 crores and stated that the mini lab in Krishi Vigyan Kendras for soiling will further give a momentum to issuance of soil cards. Besides, the government target to bring 1 crore households out of poverty by 2019, 5 lakh farm ponds to be taken up under MGNREGA during 2017-18, over Rs 3 lakh crores for rural India and using space technology in a big way to plan MGNREGA works would help double farmers’ incomes, the chief minister stated. Referring to the allocation of Rs. 19,000 crores for Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana in 2017-18 to complete 1 crore houses for those without homes, the chief minister stated the same will immensely boost the government’s aim of “Housing for all.” A city-based businessman on the other hand said that the benefits of demonetisation remained unexplained. G Plus also reviewed some important highlights of the budget.

Budget highlights Demonetisation

Union finance minister, Arun Jaitley, started the budget saying that the agenda of the budget is to transform, energise and clean India. The budget was mainly was focused covering 10 issues - farming sector, rural population, youth, poor and underprivileged health care, infrastructure, financial sector for stronger institutions, speedy accountability, public services, prudent fiscal management and tax administration for the honest. The budget mentioned that demonetisation is expected to have a transient impact on the economy as it will have a great impact the lives of people. According to the budget demonetisation is a bold and decisive measure that will lead to higher GDP growth and the effects of demonetisation will not spill over to the next fiscal. The benefit of the demonetisation was not explained even as people hoped to learn how much black money was recovered and many other facts related to the move. Rural and agriculture sector

Many allocations were hiked in the rural and the agriculture sector but according to experts mostly allocations of old schemes like MGNREGA and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna were hiked. The target of achieving 100% rural electrification by March 2018 was lauded by all sections. The target of bringing 1 crore households out of poverty is understood but the specific ways for eradicating poverty was not mentioned in the budget. The agriculture announcements like loan to farmers with 60 days’ interest waiver was appreciated by all but again who all will be eligible for the loan remains unclear raising doubts in the minds of small farmers. Youth Talking about youths, the finance minister declared to introduce a system of measuring annual learning outcomes and come up with an innovation fund for secondary education. He said that the focus will be on 3,479 educationally-backward blocks. Colleges will be identified based on accreditation. Skill India mission was launched to maximise potential and the government will set up 100 India International centres across the country. Courses on foreign languages will be introduced, and the government will take steps to create 5000 PG seats per annum. An academician, talking to G Plus in anonymity, said that the skill development chorus is growing louder ever since the new government came into place but the quality of skill development initiatives is not up to the mark. He said that the institutes providing skill development training lack quality teachers and even the courses offered are not helping the youth. He said yearly learning outcomes will be measured; there should be a mechanism to measure the quality of teaching in the institutes. Poor and underprivileged health care Similarly, the announcements made in poor and underprivileged healthcare included Rs 500 crores for Mahila Shakti Kendras, nationwide scheme for pregnant women, allocation of Rs 1,84,632 crores for women and children but the usage was not clear. Schedule caste allocation was hiked and two AIIMS were announced in

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Business Gujarat and Jharkhand with the aim of eradicating tuberculosis by 2025. So some announcements were lauded but some remained confusing for many. Infrastructure and railways For the first time the railway budget was merged with financial budget. In railways, a total allocation of Rs. 39,61,354 crores has been made for infrastructure. According to the budget announcement total allocation for railways is Rs. 1,31,000 crores. No service charge on tickets booked through IRCTC. Raksha coach with a corpus of Rs. 1 lakh crores for five years (for passenger safety). Unmanned level crossings will be eliminated by 2020. 3,500 kms of railway lines to be commissioned this year - up from 2,800 km last year. SMS-based ‘’clean my coach service’’ is put in place. Coach Mitra facility will be introduced to register all coach related complaints. By 2019, all trains will have bio-toilets. Five-hundred stations will be made differently-abled friendly. Railways to partner with logistics players for front-end and back-end solutions for select commodities. Railways will offer competitive ticket booking facility. Rs. 64,000 crores allocated for high-

ways. High speed internet to be allocated to 1,50,000 gram panchayats and new metro rail policy will be announced with new modes of financing. The budget did not mention anything on bullet trains as it was a concept envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi before elections. The infrastructure will be improved but no new trains were announced. How the infrastructure will be improved was not mentioned though. Funding of political parties The budget also mentioned that the maximum amount of cash donation for a political party from any one source will be Rs. 2,000. Political parties will be entitled to receive donations by cheque or digital mode from donors. An amendment is being proposed to the RBI Act to enable issuance of electoral bonds. A donor can purchase these bonds from banks or post offices through cheque or digital transactions. They can be redeemed only by registered political parties. The decision was lauded by all sections. Tax proposals According to the budget announcement, India’s tax to GDP

ratio is not favourable. Out of 13.14 lakh registered companies, only 5.97 lakh firms have filed returns for 2016-17. Proportion of direct tax to indirect tax is not optimal. Individuals numbering 1.95 crores showed an income between Rs. 2.5 lakhs to Rs. 5 lakhs. Out of 76 lakh individual assessees declaring income more than Rs. 5 lakhs, 56 lakh are salaried. Only 1.72 lakh people showed income of more than Rs. 50 lakhs a year. Between November 8 and December 30, deposits ranging from Rs. 2 lakhs to Rs. 80 lakhs were made in 1.09 crore accounts. Net tax revenue of 2013-14 was Rs. 11.38 lakh crores. So the finance minister announced that under the corporate tax, in order to make MSME companies more viable, there is a proposal to reduce tax for small companies, with turnover of up to Rs 50 crores, to 25%. About 67 lakh companies fall in this category. 96% of companies will get this benefit. The budget proposed to reduce basic customs duty for LNG to 2.5% from 5%. SIT on black money suggested no cash transactions of more than Rs 3 lakhs. The government has accepted this proposal. Income Tax Act to be amended. No transaction above Rs 3 lakhs to be permitted in cash. The business class were happy with the tax exemp-

Centre to invest Rs 15,000 cr for development of Assam roads

G Plus News

“For developing 1,253 kms of roads in Assam into national highways, I have directed the State Government to prepare the detailed project report (DPR).” ~ Nitin Gadkari Union Minister Nitin Gadkari with CM Sarbananda Sonowal & Transport Minister Chandra Mohan Patowari inaugurating the new Saraighat Bridge

nion Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping, Nitin Gadkari, on Sunday after the inauguration of the second Saraighat Bridge announced a package of Rs 15,000 crores for developing 1,253 kilometres of road across Assam as National Highways. Gadkari has also urged the State Government to get land acquisition and other requisite clearances at the earliest. “For developing 1,253 kms of roads in Assam into national highways, I have directed the

State Government to prepare the detailed project report (DPR). As soon as the State government gives land and forest clearances, the work will commence,” said Gadkari. He also assured that the government will invest one lakh crore rupees for road infrastructure development in the State and the projects will get completed by the end of the government’s fiveyear tenure at the Centre. “Of Rs 1 lakh crores, Rs 65,000 crores has already been sanctioned,” he said. Gadkari further announced

that Rs 800 crores will be granted under the Central Road Fund, while the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL) will spend an additional Rs 8,000 crores in next two years in the State for various projects, including a few more bridges over the Brahmaputra. Gadkari announced the Centres’s approval for Sivasagar-Desangmukh-TekeliphutaDhakuakhana-North Lakhimpur-Majuli-Jorhat road project for relieving traffic congestion on

tion but again some complained about cash withdrawal limit as in northeast many businesses depend on huge daily cash flow in

under government scrutiny. 10% surcharge on individual income above Rs. 50 lakhs and up to Rs 1 crore to make up for Rs 15,000

Congress chief spokesperson Apurba Bhattacharya said, “The budget did not have anything new and only old things were served on new plates.” He said that people were waiting for explanations on the benefits of demonetisation but that did not happen. the market. There could have been other methods of checking black money. Personal income tax The finance minister announced that existing rate of tax for individuals between Rs. 2.5 lakhs and Rs 5 lakhs will be reduced to 5% from 10%. All other categories of tax payers in subsequent brackets will get benefit of Rs 12,500. Simple one page return for people with annual income of Rs. 5 lakhs other than business income. People filing IT returns for the first time will not come Guwahati by-pass by constructing a 4 lane road from Changsari to Kuruwa along with a 6 lane bridge over Brahmaputra between Kuruwa and Narengi. Gadkari also laid the foundation for development of the Barak river as the National Waterway No. 16 for shipping and navigation and flagged off the ‘Ro-Ro’ vessel MV Gopinath Bordoloi to

crore loss due to cut in personal IT rate. So the salaried people appreciated the tax cut and lauded the budget but there was nothing new announced according to experts. The budget drew mixed response with some finding it nationalist and some saying that it’s an old dish served on a new plate. After the union budget all eyes now rest on state finance minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, as very soon he will also announce the state budget. rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

serve on the Brahmaputra river, in the same function. He advocated improvement in waterways (Brahmaputra) that could pay great dividends. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, while speaking on the occasion, said that the Centre has extended its utmost cooperation to improve the infrastructure of the State and the Northeast.

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Concern

Rahul Chanda

Legalities of smokeless tobacco sale remains clouded in confusion

The paan shop associations are mulling a massive stir against the government if the ban on smokeless tobacco is not lifted even as they remain confused about the ban status; health department meanwhile clarifies that sale of smokeless tobacco is illegal; tobacco still easily available in all paan shops

Smokeless tobacco products being openly sold in a city paan shop

ssam became the first state to legally ban the sale and consumption of all forms of smokeless tobacco, including paan masala containing tobacco and nicotine, within the state on 13th February 2014. Thus sale, consumption, manufacturing, trading, storage and advertisement of all forms of smokeless tobacco were banned in Assam. Recently, the state police was seen very proactively raiding the paan shops. According to Greater Guwahati Paan Shop Association (GGPSA) general secretary Balram Sarkar, CID recently arrested two major tobacco businessmen from Fancy Bazar, Narayan Gupta and Jaiprakash Prasad. Sarkar also said that the paan association is confused about the status of tobacco sale and many paan shop owners are facing various issues regarding the smokeless tobacco sale status. While smokeless to-

bacco continues to be easily available in the city, G Plus checks on the main issues that the paan shop owners are facing. Also, what is the actual ban status and will it be possible for the authorities to completely ban smokeless tobacco in Assam? The paan shop owners Many paan shop owners, talking to G Plus, expressed that they are confused about the status of smokeless tobacco ban in Assam, as the police inconsistently levy fines for selling smokeless tobacco. GGPSA general secretary, Balram Sarkar, said that recently the paan association conducted a huge meeting where even the Gauhati East MLA Siddhartha Bhattacharya was present and the issue raised was that if they cannot sell tobacco around 12,000 paan shop owners in Guwahati

and 25 lakh people across Assam who are involved in the business will go jobless. Sarkar said that they have sent a memorandum to all the MLAs and MPs of Assam but none have responded. Sarkar also said that after the ban in 2014, the paan association protested. At that time the BPP which was not in power assured them that they will fight for the cause of the paan association. But now, after the BJP formed the government, they have again implemented the ban. Sarkar said that the police these days are raiding the paan shops frequently along with health officials. In a rather amusing incident, on 8th December, a paan shop of one Jagat Prasad was raided by police in Vishnupur area. When the police questioned him as to why he was selling smokeless tobacco, Prasad informed that he sold the same purely to survive. During the conversation Prasad fainted.

Sarkar said if they were responsible policemen they should have taken Jagat to hospital by calling an ambulance but instead they literally fled from the spot. Sarkar said that after the smokeless tobacco was banned the paan association moved the Supreme Court, and as the case was going on there the Supreme Court stayed prosecuting the sale of smokeless tobacco and accordingly the health department sent a notification to all the SPs and the DCs to stop prosecuting the sale. Sarkar said after that and till date they are not aware of the status. The police

however are stressing that sale is banned. Sarkar said that if the sale will be banned totally the paan association will plan a huge protest against the government. While the paan association remains confused about the status G Plus checked matters with the health department. The authorities According to the paan association, after the SC asked the state government in July 2014 to stop prosecution on the sale of the smokeless tobacco, the paan shop

Weather report for the week Guwahati

SUN

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THU

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Hazy Sun

Plenty of sun

Sunny & very warm

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SATURDAY Hazy sunshine

29° / 10°C

31° / 14° Cjuthika.baruah@g-plus.in 29° / 14° C

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Concern owners did not face any problems in selling smokeless tobacco. The health department issued a letter to the prosecuting authorities of all the districts to stop prosecuting the sale of smokeless tobacco. The paan shop owners had reason to believe that the sale was legal again. Confusion however prevailed for some as while buying the smokeless tobacco, it was not easily available. Many big distributers of such tobacco in Guwahati used to say that they are not selling because it is banned and hence the paan shop owners had to buy at a higher price and further sell it to customers at an even higher price. In September 2015, the apex court disposed off the case that challenged the legal validity of the Assam Health (Prohibition of Manufacturing, Advertisement, Trade Storage, Distribution, sale and consumption of Zarda, Gutkha, Pan-masala, etc. containing Tobacco) Act, 2013. The Supreme Court disposed off the case stating that a similar issue is pending in the Gauhati High Court. Hearing the writ petition no. 383/2014 (Udai Chaurasia & Ors vs State of Assam), the apex court, in its judgment said that Gauhati High Court will do the needful for disposing off the matter and also asked the High Court to expedite the hearing of the Writ Petition (Civil) No. 1583/2014 so that the matter may be decided within three months’ time. The Supreme Court also said, “We clarify that we have not considered this petition on merits and we are disposing of this petition simply because similar issue is pending in the

High Court.” The State Health Department, on 8th August, 2016, issued an official message to the Food Safety Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police of all districts to implement the aforesaid act in letter and spirit and enforce total ban on sale, distribution, trade, storage and consumption of

the NGOs were requested to talk to the neighbouring states so that the supply of smokeless tobacco to Assam could be checked. Can it be completely banned in Assam? Enquiring how the smokeless tobacco is easily available in the

Zarda packets smokeless products such as zarda, gutkha, panmasala, etc. containing tobacco and/or nicotine with immediate effect. A highly placed source in the health department, talking to G Plus, said that the health department’s letter asking the SPs and DCs to stop prosecuting the sale of tobacco was done with some vested interest and the present government has rectified the problem by quashing that order and issuing an order to strictly implement the act. The source said that recently the top officials of all the concerned departments along with the minister and NGOs had a meeting where it was decided to strictly implement the act and

paan shops, the source said that it is very difficult to ban the use and sale of such substances completely as in Guwahati the tobacco is easily smuggled from Meghalaya through various routes. The source said that one can bring tobacco in cycles, rickshaws and other small vehicles which always cannot be caught. A senior police official, talking to G Plus, said that unless the public cooperates it is difficult to ban such products completely as it is a systematic process and there should be a time bound target within which the ban should be completely implemented. The officer said that people bring in smokeless tobac-

Namami Brahmaputra all set to take off F

or those who came in late, Namami Brahmaputra is an initiative by the government of Assam to promote and develop the Brahmaputra River. The official website (namamibrahmaputra.com) states that Namami Brahmaputra, which means “Obeisance to the Brahmaputra”, will showcase the beauty and glory of the mighty river and the land it flows through. It will also help to highlight Assam’s potential in the global platform, bringing economic opportunities and development, Chief Minister Sonowal said. The website also states that,The festival will promote the Brahmaputra as a tourist attraction. The Brahmaputra – the lifeline of Assam – is the strength of the economy and Namami Brahmaputra will promote it in a bigger way. There are more than 2,300 islands in the river and visitors will have the unique experience of seeing them first-hand. While this seems to be a com-

mendable move, what remains to be seen is whether the infrastructure and system is in place to follow through on such massive marketing moves. As is with products, hopes are that it does not become just a ‘good advertisement’ and goes on to deliver what it promises. However, as is the case with some government projects, Namami Brahmaputra carries with it a set of unanswered questions and black areas –why was this project being carried out by the Transport Department when it is clearly an initiative to promote tourism and Brahmaputra as a tourist attraction. While some aspects of the Brahmaputra do come under the Transport department, Namami Brahmaputra seems more to be in line with tourism. Namami Brahmaputra is scheduled to be held from the 31st of March to the 4th of April, just before RongaliBihu. While

the timing of the event seems to be in line with the Bihu festivities, it incidentallycoincides with the completion of a year’s ruleof BJP in Assam. However, with the completion of a year with negligible achievements, the Namami Brahmaputra event may just be an eyewash to keep the citizens distracted from the real issues. Although theNamami Brahmaputra project had been planned quite a while back, a hurriedly compiled tendering process was set up and a long drawn process will likely result in two Delhi-based agencies bagging the contracts – of event and publicity. Interestingly, the publicity contract is likely to go to Square communications, an agency which has been already widely criticised for its ‘Awesome Assam’ logo. According to one of the participating agencies of the tender, the process was not as transparent as it was supposed to be. It should also be mentioned here that this

co from neighbouring states and sell it clandestinely. Unless the public is aware and they take interest in banning it, it will be difficult for the authorities. G Plus surveyed the city markets and one salesman of a shop which was once a major dealer of smokeless tobacco said that they do not sell smokeless tobacco anymore as they do not exactly know whether it is legal or illegal to sell the same. Another wholesale tobacco shop owner said in anonymity that smokeless tobacco like zarda and khaini are not available easily and there are some people who sell it after bringing it from Jorabat in Meghalaya and Silguri in West Bengal. The owner further described that as, according to the state government, smokeless tobacco is banned, the government does not earn any taxes from such products. The people involved have a nexus and bribe the authorities at Jorabat and Silguri check points and easily bring the product to Guwahati from where it further gets distributed. But the people in the nexus procure shop to shop orders, deliver the product at the shop itself and the paan shop owners do not have to go to the market to purchase the same. So paan shop owners are mulling a stir against the government against the ban. The government has clarified that smokeless tobacco is banned but it is still easily available in all the paan shops. Will it be ever banned in true sense of the term? rahul.chanda@g-plus.in

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Kalyan Deb

9 Tweets by President Donald Trump that sensationalized the Twitterati Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump Our country needs strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW. Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world - a horrible mess! Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump Christians in the Middle-East have been executed in large numbers. We cannot allow this horror to continue! Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump ...Senators should focus their energies on ISIS, illegal immigration and border security instead of always looking to start World War III. Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump There is nothing nice about searching for terrorists before they can enter our country. This was a big part of my campaign. Study the world! Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump If the ban were announced with a one week notice, the “bad” would rush into our country during that week. A lot of bad “dudes” out there!

G Plus Feature tenderwas executed manually as against having an e-tender. It was earlier stated by the State Finance Department through a press release that all tenders above the value of Rs 20 lakhs would happen via e-tender only and incidentally the Namami Brahmaputra tender was to the tune of Rs 10 crores. Taking these instances into consideration – a rushed tender, lack of transparency, selection of Delhi based agencies and the absence of e-tendering, it is fair to conclude that the process of selection was not entirely desirable and could have been more planned and systematic. The Namami Brahmaputra event promises to be a grand one and the state would benefit from it, if promoted the right way. Since the focus is on Brahmaputra, the life-line of the state, it is bound to garner a lot of interest. The hope is that it lives up to its billing and does not become a damp squib.

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump Everybody is arguing whether or not it is a BAN. Call it what you want, it is about keeping bad people (with bad intentions) out of country! Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump Do you believe it? The Obama Administration agreed to take thousands of illegal immigrants from Australia. Why? I will study this dumb deal! Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump Iran was on its last legs and ready to collapse until the U.S. came along and gave it a life-line in the form of the Iran Deal: $150 billion On Samsung building a factory in US Thank you, @Samsung! We would love to have you!

G PLUS FEB 04 - FEB 10, 2017

Snippets

Paediatric Neuro Clinic launched in Guwahati

aediatric Neuro Clinic launched in Guwahati Apollo Hospitals Guwahati (A unit International Hospital) recently launched its own

Paediatric Neuro Clinic on 28th January, 2017. The Neuro Clinic was launched by the Head of Pediatrics, Dr. Prakritish Bora. Dr. V. P. Singh, Neurosurgeon

G Plus News

from Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi delivered a talk on the recent advances in Paediatric Neurosurgery on the occasion.

Blood donation camp organized in city school

G Plus News

elping hands of Royal Group of Institutions organized a week-long program that consisted of two days of Medical Awareness sessions and two days of blood donation camps. On the 30th of January, Dr. Usha Sharma, HOD & Professor, Tezpur Medical College addressed the audience on Cancer Awareness and on the 31st of January, Dr. Navanil Barua, Director of Neuro-

surgery; GNRC enlightened the students with an awareness session on theimportance of Organ Donation and De-addiction. Blood donation camps were held in association with Gauhati Medical College & Hospital on the 2nd and 3rd of February, concluding the 4-day program. This has been a learning experience for the students that they can save three lives by a unit of blood donation; also that there is a world outside books and studies which needs to be explored, learnt and advocated. The importance of donation and medical awareness has been focused and highlighted throughout these days. There was good participation from the students as they wholeheartedly strived towards donating blood with the aim of saving lives. Royal Group of Institutions has been organizing different Medical Education Programs continuously.

Seeds of Hope exhibition inaugurated in city

G Plus News

harat Soka Gakkai (BSG), the Indian affiliate of Soka Gakkai International (SGI), a registered non-governmental organization having consultative status with the United Nations, has organized an international travelling exhibition titled the Seeds of Hope in Guwahati from 3rd to 12th February, 2017. Change occurs when people of vision, undaunted by the world in flames around them, continue to emerge and persevere. They are able to remain undaunted because they choose to nurture the flame of hope burning in their hearts. As Dr. King said during the height of the civil rights movement, “Everything that is done in the world is done by hope.” It is a similar sentiment that inspired the joint creation of the “Seeds of Hope: Visions of sustainability, steps toward change” exhibition by the SGI and Earth Charter International. Seeds of Hope, which is a joint initiative of SGI and the Earth Charter International, stresses on our interconnectedness with the rest of the community of life and the need to broaden our sphere

of compassion and concern, which truly is the key to peace in today’s world. The first principle of the Earth Charter includes the statement: “Recognize that all beings are interdependent and every form of life has value regardless of its worth to human beings.” To further illustrate this important principle, “Seeds of Hope” is based on the following formula: 1) Learn and deepen awareness of environmental issues and realities 2) Reflect on our modes of living, renewing these toward sustainability 3) Empower people to take concrete action to resolve the issues we face The Honourable Chief Minister of Assam, Shri Sarbananda Sanowal graced the function held at the ITA Cultural Centre, Machkhowa, on 3rd February, 2017 as the chief guest and inaugurated the exhibition. He emphasized upon clean thinking and disciplined service to the state and nation. Ultimately, the goal of the exhibition is to plant the seeds of hope in the hearts of all who have the opportunity to view it so that they can recognize the potential they each possess to take concrete action to make a change in their respective communities and discover the difference they can indeed make, one step at a time.

G PLUS FEB 04 - FEB 10, 2017

Health

124 cases of leprosy in detected in Kamrup (M) in 2016

Juthika Baruah

The disease of leprosy still strikes fear among people and patients often refrain from treatment for fear of being stigmatized and excluded from the society

File photo of a leprosy patient

eprosy still strikes fear in the society and is considered a mutilating, disfiguring, contagious and incurable disease. Kamrup (M) recorded 124 cases of leprosy in 2016 which is a rather big figure and stands much higher than the previous year’s 59 cases. Because of the horrifying nature of the enigmatic physical disfigurement and since no cure was discovered until the 20th century, leprosy has, for centuries, been a highly stigmatized disease. Though leprosy is not a disease confined to the poor, it affects the poor to a much greater extent because of their social and economic vulnerability. The stigma attached

to leprosy leads to loss of employment even before manual labour becomes more difficult due to the onset of disability which often results from late or no treatment. It also leads to exclusion from society, causing physical and emotional distress. No disease is more stigmatized than leprosy and it has become a metaphor for stigma. When the family or community knows that a person has leprosy he/she suffers economic and social losses, as well as participation restrictions in the community. “There are two types of leprosy viz. Pauci Bacillary (PB) and Multi BacilYears lary (MB). Patients with MB require 9 months of treat2006-07 ment while patients of PB require treatment for six 2007-08 months,” said Dr. Dhruba Rajbong2008-09 shi, Senior Medical and Health Officer, Office of the 2009-10 Joint Directorate of Health Science 2010-11 (Leprosy), while speaking to G Plus. 2011-12 Dr. Rajbongshi said that the 2012-13 cases are more in slums and tea garden areas. A special 2013-14 programme called Leprosy Case De2014-15 tection Campaign was conducted in 2015-16 Kamrup (M) in September 2016 2016-17 and 175 new cases (UPTO Nov were detected dur’16)

ing the campaign pushing the figure up from the previous year. A few of the patients recovered bringing the number to 124. “In Kamrup (M) the number of cases is greater as many people migrate from different parts of the state and as the diseases is communicable the cases are found to be more in the district,” Dr. Rajbongshi said. Dr. Rajbongshi further informed that the MB patients suffer from Grade II disability and it is due to lack of awareness and

fear of losing work that people do not go for treatment at the early stage. The treatment is free of cost in government hospitals but people do not go for treatment. The disease is treated with Multi Drug Therapy (MDT). Determinants of stigma may be lack of knowledge, negative attitudes, perceived fear of infection and blame and shame. Community attitudes are part of a cultural belief and value system. Attitudes are often defined in terms of beliefs (evaluation), effects (feelings) and behavioural tendency. Attitudes are learned responses and are manifestations of past experiences. Fear is a major driving force of stigma. People fear mainly two things: deformity and social exclusion, or more generally, the negative social consequences of leprosy. “The latter would include diminished marriage prospects for children or other relatives and reduced earning capacity. Fear can be deeply ingrained and may be associated with the risk of transmission of the disease or with the notion of perceived impurity of the person affected. Fear to touch a person affected by leprosy is often seen even in doctors and other health workers who are not used to working with leprosy,” said Dr. Rajbongshi. The dimensions of stigma constituting a framework assessment

includes consideration like reluctance to disclose the problem, exclusion or rejection from school, work, social groups or activities, blame and devaluation, diminished self esteem, social impact on family, ability to marry and impact on existing marriage and compare stigma for different health problems in different settings. The symptoms of leprosy are:

juthika.baruah@g-plus.in

Epidemiological data for the last 10 years Annual New Total new cases Prevalence Case Detection (PB&MB) Rate (PR) Rate (ANCDR) 0.36 (per 1067 0.35 10000 PB-272,MB-795 populn. 1268 (PB-305, 0.38 4.22 MB-963) 1192 (PB0.4 3.9 250,MB-942) 1176 (PB0.4 3.78 288,MB-888) 1252(PB0.4 4.02 353,MB-899) 1000(PB0.37 3.16 247,MB-753) 1147(PB0.35 3.57 293,MB-854) 1048(PB-259, 0.3 3.21 MB-789) 856(PB0.26 2.53 197,MB-659) 781(PB0.23 2.31 178,MB-603) 781(PB213,MB-568)

0.30

2.31(NCDR)

Child Cases

Female Cases

Grade II disability cases

49 (4.59%)

269 (25.21%)

47 (4.40%)

94 (7.41%)

302 (23.81%)

72 (5.68%)

83(6.96%)

278(23.32%)

82(6.88%)

56(4.76%)

291(24.74%)

94(7.99%)

99(7.91%)

308(24.60%)

105(8.39%)

71(7.10%)

249(24.9%)

72(7.20%)

106(9.24%)

309(26.93%)

76(6.63%)

97(9.26%)

294(28.05%)

80(7.64%)

60(7.01%)

220(25.7%)

115(13.43%)

73(9.35%)

192(24.05%)

80(10.24%)

55(7.04%)

228(29.62%)

66(8.45%)

G PLUS FEB 04 - FEB 10, 2017

Ward Watch

Paltan Bazaar: From a meadow to a concrete jungle

Kalyan Deb years old. One of the first in the chain was Indira Hotel that was located near the police station. I used to take that route while going to school and most part of the area was unoccupied,” said Amar Modak, a local of the area. The change since In the process of being one of the highly populated areas by day, Paltan Bazaar has witnessed several changes. While some of the significant structures in the area

dates back to over twenty years when a few garment merchants visited the city looking for business. Back then there were only a few of them who set up stalls on the sidewalk of the street. Since then the same market has evolved to a stage where it provides a wide range of products. The lesser known fact about Bhutia Market is that none of the vendors, in any way, are related to Bhutan. It is because of their features that also resemble the people of Nepal that the name evolved thus. The mer-

The history of the renowned Nepali Mandir goes way back to 1926 when the foundation stone of the temple was laid by locals and Gurkhas who were in the British Army; a small temple was built in the area. The initiative was taken by a local named Parsingh Gurung who organised a society in the year 1926 in order get 7 kathas of land sanctioned by then Deputy Commissioner for the construction of the temple. The present structure of the temple was completed in the year 1932 and was named Gurkha Thakurbari Temple but became popularly known as Nepali Mandir as the area is known today.

hat seems like one of the busiest localities of the city today has a history that tells a different tale altogether. Crammed that it is today with commercial establishments like hotels, garment stores, eateries and several retail outlets, the area remains buzzing with visitors from all around the city, state, region and sometimes the country as well. However, what the area flaunts on this date is a far cry from the cows and buffalos that used to graze in open fields and boats that used to shuttle on a wetland. The locality got its name during the British rule when the area was a transit camp for the British army. The Guwahati railway station was established 117 years ago when the Assam Bengal Railway constructed a branch line to Guwahati. The meter gauge line built in 1900 connected the city to the eastern line and thus, the Paltan Bazaar area was used as a resting place for the soldiers. Post-independence chapter India gaining independence also worked as a turning point for Paltan Bazaar as around five commercial establishments opened in the area. One of the first such was establishments was JL Banik & Co. established way back in 1947, soon after independence. “This was the

first hardware store in the vicinity of not just Paltan Bazaar but also the surrounding areas of Fancy

over-bridge. The Durga Banerjee family of Paltan Bazaar Ram Mandir area was also a prominent old

The locality got its name during the British rule when the area was a transit camp for the British army. The Guwahati railway station was established 117 years ago when the Assam Bengal Railway constructed a branch line to Guwahati. The meter gauge line built in 1900 connected the city to the eastern line and thus, the Paltan Bazaar area was used as a resting place for the soldiers. Bazaar, Ulubari, Silpukhuri and several others. My father Jadav Lal Banik had started this shop; our initial location was near Janata Hotel,” Bijoy Lal Banik recalled. “The area was not at all like the way it appears today. Most parts of the area were open fields and we would see cows and buffalos grazing. Boats used to ply in the area where Arya Vidyapeeth College stands today and we grew up playing around the area. The structure of Shree Auto Bajaj of the area, at the outset, was designed to be a cinema hall but they could not obtain permission and thus it was used for other commercial purposes,” Banik added. There are some old Bengali families who have witnessed the alteration of the area. One of them was a general medical practitioner named Ratish Chandra Kar, who lived on the south-western side of the Paltan Bazaar end of the Paltan Bazaar-Pan Bazaar linking railway

Bengali family along with Rajendra Lal Bose. These were the first residents of the area. The lodging hub The area overhauled itself from 1972 onwards, when then state government headed by chief minister Sarat Chandra Sinha decided to shift the state capital to Dispur. With the shifting of the capital the area was introduced to a different level of development altogether. It was from 1980 when the area started transforming into the concrete jungle that it is now as hotels were established in and around the area. On this date Paltan Bazaar alone has over 200 hotels. “There were only a few shops owned by Bengali people of the area. The figure would not be more than four to five. Meanwhile, most of the hotels are not more than twenty to twenty five

are replacements, many were established with the joint efforts of the locals. The history of the renowned Nepali Mandir goes way back to 1926 when the foundation stone of the temple was laid by locals and Gurkhas who were in the British Army; a small temple was built in the area. The initiative was taken by a local named Parsingh Gurung who organised a society in the year 1926 in order get 7 kathas of land sanctioned by then Deputy Commissioner for the construction of the temple. The present structure of the temple was completed in the year 1932 and was named Gurkha Thakurbari Temple but became popularly known as Nepali Mandir as the area is known today. The temple houses the idols of Lord Krishna and Radha. Adjacent to the Nepali Mandir complex there is Gorkha LP and ME School, set up way back in 1946. Another significant structure of the area is a bronze statue of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose that was erected in the year 2004; the location earlier housed a well. It was inaugurated by the then MLA, Gauhati East Constituency, Capt. Robin Bordoloi. Locals recalled that the well was used to provide drinking water to several residents as well as commercial establishments before it dried off. The Bhutia Market is another significant garment market of the city. Located near Netaji Chowk the establishment of the market

chants visit the city in the month of October with a large variety of winter wear and stay till February or the end of winter. The foodies’ tract While much has been discussed about the transformation of the area, missing out on the different eateries would be underrating the area. How can one forget the chain of eateries near the Railway Station exit where people standing on the sidewalk calls out every one passing through; it can be annoying at times. These restaurants however, serve a large variety of dishes that can satiate one’s appetite. Thus they remain crowded by people of different walks of life. There are also several bars and restaurants for those who seek comfort and relaxation between the duration of their journeys. Apart from the permanent restaurants there are several roadside stalls that add to the luxury of choice. The scenario changes soon after sundown as several food carts throng the area and serve delicacies such as noodles, rolls, dumplings and other stuff. It is only from the past couple of years that the food carts have been conducting business in Paltan Bazaar that has added to the changing demographics of the area. kalyan.deb@g-plus.in

G PLUS FEB 04 - FEB 10, 2017

PRESENTS

BLITZKRIEG POWERED BY

JAVED ALI DATE: 4TH FEBRUARY VENUE: IIT GUWAHATI GOLD SPONSOR

G PLUS FEB 04 - FEB 10, 2017

Feature

Bridging

the Gap All you would want to know about the twin Saraighat Bridges

G Plus News

The second vital link between the north-eastern region and the rest of the country over the Brahmaputra River was finally opened on 29th January last after a long wait of eleven years. On Sunday last Union Shipping, Road Transport and Highways Minister, Nitin Gadkari, inaugurated the second bridge on the Brahmaputra River at Saraighat and announced a slew of new road projects, including several bridges, for Assam worth Rs 65,000 crores over the next five years. This much delayed bridge was scheduled to be inaugurated on 1st January this year by Gadkari, but the Assam government, in an unexpected “superstitious” move, postponed it to skirt the ‘inauspicious’ month of Puh.

Construction started in 2006 The construction activities of the new bridge started way back in 2006 with the project facing numerous problems of land acquisition, existing oil pipelines, shifting of electrical poles and lines among several others resulting in huge delays. Primary Estimated Cost

Rs. 238.34 crores Increased by

110 crores Completed at

Rs. 348 crores This new bridge is, by far, the longest single girder bridge in the country with a length of around 1,493 metres. In the initial stages the bridge was designed by IIT Delhi and SPAN. However, due to faults in the designs the bridge which was later handed over to Mott Mc Donald Company Pvt. Ltd. The foundation of the bridge is 50 to 60 metres downstream from the old bridge. The gap between the two bridges is 24 metres. The bridge was initially constructed as cantilever girders from each pier and then all ends of the girders were joined together to produce a continuous girder.

The foundation stone of the new bridge was laid in April, 2007 by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with an estimated cost of Rs 238.34 crores which was later increased by Rs 110 crores. The bridge has been completed at a cost of Rs. 348 crores.

Length

1,493 metres The gap between the two bridges

24 metres

Please mind the gap! Initial Design

IIT Delhi and SPAN

G PLUS FEB 04 - FEB 10, 2017

Feature

Inaugurated by

Jawaharlal Nehru on 7th June, 1963 Ironically, the two-lane old Saraighat Bridge that was inaugurated over half a century ago was completed within a mere three years and still stands strong. It was the first bridge to connect Guwahati with the rest of the country and was inaugurated by Jawaharlal Nehru on 7th June, 1963, at a grand function at Maligaon railway station. However, vehicular movement on the bridge started in 1962 itself.

The idea of construction of a bridge over the river Brahmaputra was first mooted in 1910 and the thought gathered momentum during the Second World War. But there were doubts over the stability of the railway line between Bongaigaon and Amingaon following devastating floods in 1942-43. However, the then Railway Minister announced the decision to construct the bridge in the budget session of the parliament in 1958 and construction work formally started in January, 1959. The bridge was completed in September, 1962 by the Hindustan Construction Company and the first engine plied over the Saraighat Bridge on 23rd September, 1962, followed by goods train service from 31st October the same year. Made at a cost of Rs 10.65 crores, the total length of the bridge is 4258 feet. The road is 24 feet wide with six feet wide footpaths on both sides. It is designed to withstand earthquakes up to G 10 (Richter scale).

The old bridge has 12 spans and 14,000 tonnes of steel, 40,000 tonnes of cement; 100 million cubic feet of earthwork were used to construct the bridge, the first of its kind in this part of the country. A 40 feet clearance is kept from the normal high flood level to ensure free navigation under the bridge. The bridge was originally scheduled to be completed by 2010. However, Gammon India failed to meet that deadline. Even after the BJP-led government came to power in the State, the company missed two more deadlines. The bridge along with other components of the project includes a signal-free intersection at Jalukbari, a flyover at the Hajo junction and illumination of the bridge among others.

Carriageway Width: 11.375 metres a total width of 13.875 metres

It has a carriageway width for three lanes i.e. 11.375 metres and a total width of 13.875 metres including a sidewalk.

14,000 tonnes of steel

40,000 tonnes of cement 100 million cubic feet of earthwork

G PLUS FEB 04 - FEB 10, 2017

Buzz

Drishti Sharma

The Brahmaputra Literary Festival How it all went down

A session in progress during the BLF

ith fierce advertising strategies to back it up, BLF 2017 saw a plethora of events, unfurling upon Assam the encouragement to embrace books and the art of reading like never before. 3 days of non-stop literary extravaganza aimed to stand true to providing arguments, discussions and activities that enhanced and inculcated the intrinsic values - much similar to what our traditional roots have taught us. The fest was preceded with installations of creative acumen - a book exchange near the Ganeshguri Petrol Pumps and Bus Stops, where one could exchange old books, borrow or maybe just indulge in the prime pleasures of reading. It was soothing to notice bystanders with their noses buried in books, for some even atoned to that being the start of a new habit. These installations throughout the city also witnessed eminent panelists like Neal Hall and Susmit Bose coming to participate in the book exchange, all smiles, being spectators of a rather validating experience unlike any other in the country. The fest also came up with a mobile library in the form of an ASTC Bus, brimming with books and innovational design as the first of its kind to be attested in North-East. The bus did regular circulations around the city,

in colleges and schools vis-à-vis upholding genuine advertising and serving a productive purpose. The fest, in collaboration with National Book Trust (NBT), aimed at spreading a message to young adults and students from all walks of life about the healthy habit of reading and contemplation. People were not restricted by age as the footfall at these installations saw aged men enthusiastically participating and being regular visitors for all the days. Further, with the contingency of these Book Exchange and Portable Libraries, the fest aimed at creating a parallel ground for literature aficionados, which they believe are at an all time hike in the city, to whole-heartedly entertain the possibility and make access convenient and frequent. Corroborators stand testimony to the successful propaganda - enhancing the image of the city and drawing attention of all book lovers to come and unite. The Brahmaputra Literary Festival witnessed an approximate footfall of nearly 15,000 people, all of who, if not necessarily discourse buffs, shared a common love and interest for culture and its proliferation. The fest included counter balanced activities ranging from performance arts (magicians, carnivals, theatre, indigenous community music with a zest

of national taste) to competitive academia (essay competitions, spelling bee, slogan writing). The winners of these impelling activities were declared on the final day of the fest. The fest started off with a 2 km long parade at Vivanta by Taj, where most of the panelists were stationed. The other hotels that hosted the guests were Ambrosia, Grand Starline and Pragati Manor to name a few. A hair-rising estimate of about 6,000 school kids took part in this extravagant carnival satiating developmental diversity in the form of discussing the history of Assamese script, paying homage to dignitaries and beacons of culture and discipline Dr. Bhupen Hazarika and Mamoni Raisom Goswami. It was also adorned with fantasy and cartoon characters in the form of dummies to add flavor to the celebration. Kalakshetra in itself is a massive appropriation of culture and diversity propounded in this part of the country. With such a dignified venue, the CM Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated the festival, kick-starting 6 coextending sessions at different halls set within the same venue. Each session was followed up with a book-signing session if valid corresponding to the writers and panelists. The venue had been strategically arranged in a way that there was ease of operations

and flexibility to move and relax. The food stalls bragged about some of the most prominent names in the industry - having CCD and Subway, and otherwise being divided among the Veg (near state museum) and NonVeg (near Madhavdeb Audi) category. The fest also took the opportunity to entertain ethnic Bodo and Missing food to give a taste of northeast to everyone participating in it alike. Gratification also surrounded in the form of visual treats as they filmed and discussed in sessions with Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra “Mirzya” while also not losing focus on Assamese cinema and talking about films like “Kothanodi” coming from brilliant feature directors like Bhaskar Hazarika and Jahnu Barua. The more youthful era of English-dialect journalists from northeast India incorporate Jahnavi Barua, Arnab Jan Deka, Siddhartha Sarma, Nitoo Das and the likes. These authors express solid political mindfulness by tending to issues, for example, character and ethnicity; a couple hailing

from Assam examine the savagery that has desolated their home state Assam because of the tussle between the secessionist activist gathering ULFA and the Indian government in complex ways. Some of them like Arnab Jan Deka dug profound into the otherworldly and scholarly legacy along the Brahmaputra valley, and furthermore highlighted its ecological fragility. There was also a book reading

session hosted on “Alfresco Grand River Cruise” to mark an exclusive celebration for the delegates and a tribute to Bob Dylan in light of his recent achievements by Lou Majaw was a treat to witness, while the performer is renowned for the same! Taking example from ferocious and passionate interest in Literature and Art, BLF aims to remove the sense of entitlement and foster understanding and taking lessons from the past. The fest also kept in mind the disadvantages of being tinted by the sheer driving force called entertainment and tried to balance excessive crowd and the quality of people interested. The fest also saw performances by Susmit Bose, The Uma Collective, concentrating on the seven states by using the festival as a platform to demonstrate our land and its beauty mixed with culture and emblazoning the multitudes of values we stand up for. Extending a fierce agenda in the form of tapping onto the prospective audience meanwhile stressing

on the need for ingenious reading habits to be cultivated, the fest did stand up for what can be, in a way, regarded as one of the fastdiminishing indulgences in the digital era. In conclusion, the Brahmaputra Literary Festival is gearing up to fast critical acclaim while standing firm on serving as encouragement and constant reminder to create exposure and indicative literary culture in northeast while promoting sustainable growth and extravaganza - proving innovation and mandated growth standing as a testimony of time through unbound passion.

Assam boy selected for International Shooting Sports

riday Hazarika of Assam has been selected for the upcoming International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Cup 2017. Hriday has been selected for

10 meter Air Rifle event which would be held on 22nd February, at New Delhi. The ISSF World Cup is a competition for the top shooters of the world, including the

Olympic medalists and world champions. 14 year old Hriday has already bagged 3 national championship awards and two regional awards in shooting. He also won

the gold medal in 15 KSS Shooting Championship held at Trrivandrum in the year 2015, with a championship point of 618.8.

G Plus News

G PLUS FEB 04 - FEB 10, 2017

special

Trotter

Police finds birds inside plastic Bottles

Are they using real chicken in KFC? Sudeep Maji Doctor, Optimist, Enthusiast 8 pieces of chicken in my KFC Big bucket. Has around 1kg meat. Costs around 400₹ in India. 1kg chicken sold in shops at presently 100rs per kg. Everything else and cooking cost included, even in worst case won’t go beyond 200rs. With such huge margins, why don’t people still accept that yes you are indeed eating chicken, Not some of its cheaper distant cousin!

Cancer burger? Fast food wrappers contain carcinogenic chemicals

he next time you get a craving for a greasy burger, you may want to reconsider. A new study has found that fast food packaging contains cancercausing chemicals –

showing that the risk of quick meals goes beyond trans fats and calories. It’s no secret that fast food contains a huge amount of oils, but in an effort to repel those oils, the packaging is actually posing a huge risk to consumers, according to a new study published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology Letters. 400 take-out packaging samples from fast food restaurants across the US were analyzed for

fluorinated chemicals, a family of chemicals which has been linked to kidney and testicular cancer, elevated cholesterol, decreased fertility, thyroid problems, changes in hormone functioning in adults, and adverse developmental effects and decreased immune response in children. Forty-six percent of food contact papers and 20 percent of paperboard were found to contain the harmful chemicals. But the problem wasn’t just contained to the wrappers. The chemicals were found to migrate from the packaging to the food itself. Study co-author Graham Peaslee, a physicist at the University of Notre Dame, said he was “very surprised to find these chemicals in food contact materials from so many of the samples we tested,” according to a Green Science Policy Institute press release. He went on to note that the chemicals are “persistent and some bioaccumulate in the body,” and stressed that “safer non-fluorinated alternatives” are available. And although fluorinated chemicals are also found in everyday products including waterrepellent outdoor gear, stainresistant clothing and furniture, and non-stick pans, scientists were quick to point out that they are likely the most harmful in the fast food context.

he horrors of the illegal wildlife trade were once again revealed this week as Indonesian police seized 21 critically endangered poor creatures found alive after being crammed into plastic water bottles destined for the exotic pet market. 21 cockatoos were found crammed into plastic water bottles in a smuggling practice that is not uncommon in Indonesia. A suspected wildlife smuggler believed to be responsible for the crime was caught by harbour police at Tanjung Perak port in the city of Surabaya, where he was found with two birds packed into jerry cans. According to Aldy Sulaiman, head of the criminal investigation unit at the port, 21

yellow cockatoos and one green parrot were retrieved in the bust after further investigation. The animals were cut free by customs officials and handed over to Indonesia’s Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA). “The birds were still alive then but some were already very weak,” Lily Djafar, spokeswoman for the Tanjung Perak police, told the media. It is believed that as many as 11 of the birds later died as a result of the ordeal. The use of plastic bottles for smuggling birds in not uncommon in this region of Indonesia, where wildlife trafficking has become widespread. Critically endangered yellow cockatoos (Cacatua sulphurea) were among the birds retrieved in the bust. Endemic to Indone-

sia and neighbouring East Timor, these birds are severely threatened as a result of the booming pet trade and have disappeared from much of their former range. “This cockatoo has suffered (and may continue to suffer) an extremely rapid population decline, owing to unsustainable trapping for the cagebird trade,” warns Birdlife International. Records reveal that over 100,000 birds were trapped between 1980 and 1992 and the current global population sits at fewer than 7,000 individuals. There’s a lot of demand for parrots and cockatoos in Southeast Asia and Europe. The yellowcrested cockatoo is a breed that is at very serious risk because of excessive trafficking of wild populations. Indonesia’s booming wildlife trade, coupled with extensive deforestation, means that the future looks bleak for the animals that call these islands home. Species are sold overseas not only to fuel demand for exotic pets, but also for their meat and as ingredients in traditional medicine. Although conservation initiatives are being implemented to increase protection of wild areas and ensure that trade laws are properly enforced, the multi-million dollar wildlife trafficking industry remains a very serious problem. (Source: NTD.TV)

Apple is set to start making iPhones in India

fter months of negotiations, Apple is set to start manufacturing iPhones in the Indian tech hub Bangalore, a government official says. The state of Karnataka, where Bangalore is located, has reached an agreement in principle with Apple (AAPL, Tech30), said Priyank Kharge, the state’s Information Technology minister. Kharge told CNNMoney that

iPhone assembly could start as soon as April at a plant on the outskirts of Bangalore. The plant will be operated by Wistron, an Apple supplier that’s headquartered in Taiwan. Apple would neither confirm nor deny the Indian official’s remarks. The company said in a statement last week that it has been talking to the Indian government about “expanding” its local operations. The U.S. tech giant currently sells iPhones and other products in India through local distributors, but it lags far behind Samsung (SSNLF) and Chinese brands such as Xiaomi, Oppo and Lenovo in terms of market share.

Apple has been hampered by a rule that prevented it from opening its own retail stores in the country. Foreign retailers can only sell products if 30% of the raw materials used to make them are sourced locally. The Bangalore manufacturing unit could pave the way for the first Apple stores in India. Setting up a new plant in India would also be at odds with President Trump’s call for American companies to create manufacturing jobs at home. But it looks like Apple has decided India’s rapidly ballooning smartphone market is too tempting to resist. The South Asian nation currently has more than 300 million smartphone users, and is poised to overtake the U.S. as the world’s second largest market for the devices this year.

‘Surreal moment’: 7 year old finds bank robber’s stash in South Carolina

seven-year-old boy made an amazing discovery after uncovering a bag full of cash in a South Carolina gas station bin that could help catch an elusive serial bank robber. Griffin Steele and his father were on their way to a toy store when they stopped at a gas sta-

tion in Horry County. As they walked toward the store, Griffin found a $20 note with red dye on it on the ground. “He handed the twenty to me and it didn’t look quite right,” Shane told a media house. “It was red and just didn’t feel right so I had the clerk check to see if

it was real. She said it was okay.” It was only when Griffin was putting rubbish in one of the station’s bins that he then noticed “a ton of money.” “I’d never seen that much money before,” he said. “And it was all covered in red stuff.” Shane called the police as

soon as Griffin told him about the cash. “It was a surreal moment,” he said. “That will probably never happen again in my lifetime, finding that much money.” The police told them the money came from one of two recent local bank robberies at Con-

way National Bank and TD Bank that took place within a week of each other. Police also received a call about money with red dye found on Glenns Bay Road earlier that day. (Source: CNN)

G PLUS FEB 04 - FEB 10, 2017

G Talk E

America bandh

elf-righteousness is an evil virtue. While it is a grand recipe for tremendous selfconfidence, it blinds one into believing that one can think and do no wrong. It is a dangerous personality trait that often discounts a counter view that might just be wiser. Physical manifestations of self-righteousness are usually wives. And a man called Donald Trump! Holding the most powerful office in the world makes him all the more dangerous to the world community because of his clouded vision and poor discerning capabilities. Or so it seems from halfway round the world. Political rhetoric (read rants, abuses and humourlessness) that convinced 59 million Americans to believe him has resulted in the great American shutdown. A country that was appealing to potential immigrants simply because of its fantastic living conditions is closing its doors to foreign workers. It is the great American identity crisis this time. And the new President can’t help but blame the H1B visa for all this. Now, I am not sure it requires rocket science knowledge to understand that non-immigrant workers (i.e. H1B visa holders) find jobs in the USA because Americans generally are not too qualified to do the work themselves. H1B visa holders are skilled people who fill in the vacancies that the Americans cannot fill. I had the good fortune to visit the headquarters of Facebook last summer. To all appearances, it was teeming with nonimmigrant workers – each skilled enough to be continually inflating the wealth of its American employer. Given Trump’s maverick tendencies, I am not too sure

what the future holds for all these Indians, Chinese and Malaysians. For all of fiddling around with immigration policies, a bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives that seeks to make it impossible for employers to hire skilled non-immigrant techies; the high salaries recommended would be the main deterrent. In one sense, it is America bandh for all concerned. All said and done, it is Trump’s country and he is free to do whatever he feels is right in safeguarding American interests. The point of concern is that Trump’s actions affect the rest of the world. For all the tall talk during his campaign, one felt that he would eventually fall into the US presidential groove, maintain certain protocols that are expected and generally tow the Republican policy line that has been the norm. Maverick that he is, with a seemingly myopic vision, being a religious bigot and with four years of absolute power, Trump is proceeding to turn his campaign rhetoric into reality. The story goes that the American president carries his nuclear arsenal in a briefcase. Should the moment of reckoning confront him, the president is at liberty to take the ultimate executive decision of declaring a nuclear war. One shudders to think that it is Donald Trump who has access to that briefcase now. The rate at which he is pursuing his presidential agenda, one just hopes that he does not meddle with that briefcase while enforcing his will. America bandh is not in the best interests of the world – America included! Swapnil Bharali Editor

Finding Divinity Imagine having a long night at office and then the next morning being a working day, you are woken up to Beedi Jalaile, Laila mai laila, Kala Chashma or a western number that asks you to shake your ‘gluteus maximus.’ Anyway, this was how my locality decided to usher in Maa Saraswati. So this year, some colleges issued a notice to the students that they have to ‘present’ themselves to college in their uniforms with their IDs as opposed to coming in a saree. Somewhere, this comes across as a move to discourage people from turning Saraswati Puja celebrations into a beauty pageant competition. Although I’m not saying this is a great decision, there has been an evolution in the celebration of this festival, and not in the best of directions. The rampant chaos alone is disturbing as the city choked up at several points because of lack of management. This has been compounded with kids having a tank full of fuel instead of a bag full of books. Even the regular absentees somehow become college students on this day. The celebrations for this day have been widely blown out of proportion. For example, why was there the need to issue a Diktat by the colleges for a dress code? Or why did Mamata Banerjee have to declare a State Holiday in West Bengal for this? Or why did e-media houses have to make a fashion show out of it in the first place? And why did year after year, students willingly take part in this ‘judgement of beauty’ contest? At the end of the day, this puja has become nothing but a series of eve teasing complaints, cat calls and hooliganism added with alcohol abuse. If only we were imparted some civic sense rather than hoping to meet the divine (pun intended) by pandal hopping, or in this case, college hopping. SIDHARTH BEDI VARMA

Finesse is Federer

ennis in today’s era is mostly about brute force, strong body frame and above all the tenacity of court coverage returning almost impossible shots as a winner. A lot of great players have demonstrated the trait in a thorough professional manner earning for themselves various coveted trophies. But amongst everybody in the tennis fraternity, if somebody needs to be a special mention, it has to be Roger Federer. Watching the maestro, it is not just about high levels of athleticism but sheer grace combined with athletic eloquence. It is like watching a performance of a prima ballerina where anything and everything is just elegance, poise and grace. Federer’s motion of his racquet is like a magician’s wand moving with tactical precision leaving the adversaries gaping in awe. The talking point today is the Australian Open and champion Federer’s performance. Zverev had very successfully orchestrated the ploy of power tennis against an in-form Murray that shattered the rhythm of the world no. 1. However, the same just did not work against Federer who anticipated his opponent’s shot selection and in turn executed a series of passing shots with pin point accuracy. Zverev soon found the tables had turned against him. If the quarter-final against Zverev was all about reading and reacting

to the opponent’s game plan, the semi-final against Wawrinka was a story of snatching victory from the brink of defeat. The maestro had once again proved to his critics never to write him off. To have a complete lay-off from the ATP circuit for 6 months and to reach the finals of a grand slam calls for some mettle. Ah! The time of reckoning had come! The grand finale of AO was set to be a battle to establish the hegemony of two fading superstars. When the tournament started very few people had given Rafael Nadal and Federer any chances of reaching the final rounds, let alone feature in the finals with Nadal slightly better seeded (9) than Federer (17). From the mental perspective, Federer did have a little edge. His new racquet enabled more stability on the ball and widened the strike zone. The final started with both players ensconced in a different level of proficiency which was apparent from the confidence they exuded playing each shot. The rest, as they say, is history. It was a see-saw battle that saw the two champions trading sets through some sublime tennis that left the audience gaping, awe-struck. We all know what happened in that match and repeating or describing the match would be an exercise in futility. But eventually, when the score

Opinion Rajeev Das

line read 2 sets all, ecstatic Federer fans (including me) were on the edge of their seats - a nail biting spree. It was rather unbearable to watch the anguish and agony on the maestro’s face. Before the start of the final set, Federer took an injury time off. He was back only to be broken by Nadal in his first service game. Again a majority felt that the wave was fast swaying towards Nadal. There also was a feeling of fear that Federer’s injury might aggravate. Moreover, it seemed that Rafa was anticipating each of Federer’s moves and had prompt answers to every shot. Time was indeed running out for the maestro and it took all of 5 games for him to turn the tables on Rafa. This time he sealed it for good with a deadly forehand crosscourt winner which just brushed the line. Game, set and championship Federer! But in all great achievements there will be some mud raking. In other words, critics who for reasons best known to them, will try to look for blemishes with a magnifying glass and in Federer’s case it was none other than a former Wimbledon champion who did not hesitate to comment that Federer’s lengthy injury time out was legal cheating that helped the Swiss maestro to claim his 18th Grand Slam title. The exchampion is perhaps there to insinuate; either the AO officials are very gullible or they are inconspicuously privy to some unethical practices. But all said and done (In Federer’s case played and won) the overwhelming response from even his non-supporters washed away all muck and mud. Last but not the least, let us not take away due credit from Ivan Ljubicic, the 34 year old new coach cum partner to Federer, who also was very supportive in Federer’s comeback. And so finally, wow! With 18 grand slams, i.e., 4 better than his nearest adversary Nadal, and a total of 89 ATP singles titles, the word ‘FINESSE’ does not only connote but can be a synonym of only one person – Roger Federer!

Letter to the Editor Crossing the limit

BJP has come to power promising people a friendlier, efficient and people’s government. The wave generated prior to the assembly elections in favor of BJP was a clear indication that people had lost hope and were disillusioned with the functioning of the previous Congress regime. After securing a thumping victory in the elections it is the duty of every MLA to tread the developmental path for the masses. The latest incident in Nagaon where a JE of Kothiatoli Development Block was asked to apologize to Raha MLA Dimbeswar Das who was on a surprise visit to the office, by touching the feet of the MLA in full view of public is highly condemnable. The concerned JE Jayanta Das, who was at no fault, fell to high handedness of the MLA who behaved like a feudal lord. The said MLA deserves to be grilled and tutored by the party high command. Else it does not take long for the public to lose its confidence on the party. I hope BJP being a cadre based party would do the needful in this regard so that such rubbish incidents does not surface again in future. Drishyaa Chowdhury, GNB Road, Guwahati-1

G PLUS FEB 04 - FEB 10, 2017

In Focus

Meet

Apuraj Barooah Scratch Artist and Guiness Record Holder

n artist from Dibrugarh town, he scratched his way to the Guinness Book of World Records after toiling with his blood and sweat for sixty hours. It was on 9th July, 2011 that the Guinness authority recognised him as the World Record holder for the Longest Scratch Art measuring 20.30 metres in length and 1.04 metres in width. Meet Apuraj Barooah! With his only tool – a shaving blade – Apuraj scratched 40 pictures of folk dance forms of different parts of the world, including Bihu and Bhangra from India, dance forms of other countries like USA, Spain, Italy, China, Australia, Brazil, Japan, France, Thailand and Russia. However, this is not all there is to his story. A man with brilliant creative instincts, Apuraj’s journey in the field of art began way back during his school days. Born in Dibrugarh to father Late Rohini

Kumar Barooah and mother Purnima Barooah, the artist pursued his schooling and higher education in his hometown. Being an artist was not quite on the agenda of young Apuraj but today, it is a story of his passion for his craft. “It all started during my school days when my father used to keep me more involved with books. But a turning point came when I was in 7th grade. The school used to hold annual exhibitions where all students participated with some kind of art form. Since my father was posted in a different city I was waiting for him to arrive home to help me with the project. It was on the last day of submission when I told my mother that I should paint something. I tried but it was a total mess and I ended up being the only student who could not submit anything. Even my teachers were disappointed with me. I felt embarrassed and disheartened and that is when I tried to learn all by myself taking help from different books,” Apuraj said, sharing his story with G Plus. Tragedy struck soon after Apuraj had appeared for his HSLC with the demise of his father. Being the eldest of three siblings the artist’s young shoulders had to take the responsibility of his family and he started tutoring children at his home. Things started falling into place in 1989 when Apuraj acquired a job in Panchayat & Rural Devel-

opment Department and simultaneously continued his studies. In 1993, the artist had gone to collect some photo prints from a colour photo lab in Dibrugarh and picked up a black paper lying waste on the floor. “On enquiring, the men in the lab explained that it was exposed bromide paper which was used for printing colour photographs. I picked it up and took it home. The black glossy surface interested me so much that I tried to apply oil shades on it. It didn’t work. However, while erasing those oil shades, the scratches (colours on the paper) became prominent. I realised that the paper contained a few colours beneath the black surface (a mixture of red and orange, yellow and white which is the base of the paper). I started scratching the paper with a pin and when more colours were added it gave a surreal effect to the art,” Apuraj said. The pin became his tool till 1998 and he started creating greeting cards and other forms of art on bromide paper. In 1998, Apuraj quit his job, decided to dedicate his time towards developing the art form and took to using the shaving blade for better effect. He has never looked back since. A lesser known fact about Apuraj is that he is also an actor and scriptwriter and has been involved in the same since his school days. He has been approached to be a part of several television shows. One of his plays, “Papur Xopunot Bastobikota,” which is a children’s play, was also staged in Rabindra Bhawan in 2003. Another inspiration behind Apuraj’s prolificacy in scriptwriting is maestro Bhupen Hazarika who, during an exhibition in 2005, advised

Apuraj to get himself registered as a writer. “Following his advice, I travelled to Mumbai and produced all my papers and became a member of Film Writers’ Association in Mumbai. Although I have been working on scripts, I consider myself a failure in this field,” Apuraj added. Meanwhile, Apuraj kept his brushes and colours aside and wielding the blade, scratched his way to glory. In 2009, the artist scratched an art piece of 120 metres for 48 straight hours at a trade fair held at Veterinary College ground at Khanapara. The feat catapulted him into the Limca Book of Records, 2010. The recognition inspired Apuraj to vie for a place in the Guinness Book of World Records with the same piece of art. “I was in touch with Guinness and although they accepted my proposal, it took several months to confirm for there was no category initially for this form of art. However, they proposed that I create a painting in the same category and in 2011 I travelled to London,” the artist mentioned. He started from 8 pm of 6th July and without a break kept materialising his art form till 8 am of 9th July. He created a painting of 100 portraits on a 200 metre long bromide paper that was 20 inches in width. However, a glitch took place in the eleventh hour when Apuraj’s proposal was rejected because of the unacceptable size of such a painting. “While discussing about the size of the painting, I was told that the painting should not be less than 20 metres in length but they did not mention anything about the breadth. I came to know about the size criterion after I had worked for 48 hours. So, I dis-

carded the portraits and within the last 12 hours, I finished a scratch art piece measuring 20.3 m x 1. 04 m. Subsequently, on 9th July 2011, the Guinness authority recognised me as the world record holder for the Longest Scratch Art,” the artist asserted. Despite not undergoing any formal training in any art form and painting techniques Apuraj could bring glory to himself, his family and the nation. However, his journey has hardly ended. The artist is currently working on several exceptional art forms. Apuraj has also engendered a scratch painting measuring 10 kilometres with the contribution of 1,000 artists from all over Assam. The artists together have scratched the painting named Colours of Peace. However, Apuraj is facing a hard time in exhibiting the painting due to fund constrains. There was also a point when he was burdened by the debt of several friends and acquaintances. But with his impregnable will to display the painting Apuraj will arrange funds through two remarkable works where the artist will transform 300 songs of Lata Mangeshkar into his art form. His work is expected to be exhibited in Mumbai by April this year. In another remarkable effort Apuraj will create the first ever painting biography of a significant figure of the nation. Apuraj believes that skill and creativity are inter-related. Creativity cannot be recognised without adequate skill to execute the creative concept. “I only follow my passion and learn from people around me. I am not here to take anybody’s place but to create my own space,” Apuraj concluded.

Some colleges in the state issued a diktat against wearing traditional dresses to college for Saraswati Puja celebrations and stressed on the prescribed uniform. Here’s how students reacted Manab Deka If tradition is banned in educational institutions’ functions, then such institutions must not welcome their Chief Guests with Gamosa and Japi in their college functions. They should welcome them with ties, bow ties, scarves etc. Even the faculty members must be forced to wear pants, shirts or skirts to maintain a common uniform regardless of gender. Why only Saraswati Puja is targeted? For moral righteousness? Bhaswati Das Here’s how you tackle this menace. Mekhela Chador should be worn, media contests should be stopped and maybe they could hold quiz shows. Uddipta N. Borah Saraswati Puja is a day where every student, irrespective of caste and religion, celebrates with great enthusiasm. Wearing traditional has been a part of the festivities since I can remember. There have been no problems earlier. Just because some media channels are creating ruckus, why change the way the festival is celebrated? Media can be banned. This is a draconian decision. Don’t take away the fun factor from such a beautiful day of every student’s life.

Amarjyoti Das Wearing saree vs wearing uniform? Is uniform traditional? Thank the heavens, that they aren’t wearing jeans or skirts. But to have an issue about Sarees? Even Saraswati Maa herself wears it. Age-old tradition changed in an instant, great! Next on the list: make the teachers of those colleges wear a uniform too. Deep Gogoi The old generation still leading our colleges as principles are full of regressive ideas of imposition and not consent. The generation also has little trust on the next generation. A little rap in an Assamese song is presented as threat to our culture. This is also a similar move where one has to take advice. Otherwise there will be a ban. Shruti Deka First they forced the girls to wear traditional, shamed them if they refused. Now they are taking away choices again, but this time it’s antitraditional. No choice in this country for anyone except the people who actually started such contests.

G PLUS FEB 04 - FEB 10, 2017

Reviews Cast: Jackie Chan, Sonu Sood, Disha Patani, Amyra Dastur, Aarif Rahim Director: Stanley Tong

t one point, Sonu Sood’s Randall is frustrated and says through his gritted teeth, “Don’t bore me…” as Chan’s character blabbers about morality. The line in itself is a short, crisp review of the movie. But if one must dive into details, Kung Fu Yoga is about Jack, one of China’s leading archaeologists, who is enlisted by an Indian archaeologist, Ashmita (Disha Patani), for finding a lost treasure that belonged to her ancestors. He comes to India along with his assistants Zhu (Yixing Zhang) and Nuomin(Miya Muqi) to unearth the mystery. But the treasure has another contender in Randall (Sonu Sood), who is equipped with a dozen kurta-clad white men, computer-animated zoo animals, sleek cars and a healthy

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dose of inherent greed. The movie begins so abruptly that you feel like you’ve started watching episode no. three of a show by mistake. Director Stanley Tong unloads a ton of information on you in the first ten minutes, leaving you half-confused and already half-disinterested. There’s some elementary-level Kung Fu and absolutely no yoga (but how else would India be represented in the title?); the English dubbing makes for awkward viewing and many lines seem to be lost in translation; there is altogether too much CGI work and to top it all, the movie sticks to a Western view of India (Elephants! Princesses clad in jewels! Temples! Snake Charmers!). It also has a strong Raiders Of The Lost Ark-meets-Temple Of Doom vibe.

Chan seems to be restricted in his moves but still has his charm. Sonu Sood could have made for a better antagonist had he been badder. The nearest thing that the movie has to a quick repartee is not between any two characters but an interaction between Chan and a lion, which forces some giggles out of you. The movie however is a good entertainer. Jackie Chan as always is good and Sonu Sood and Disha Patani have brought the Indian tadka to the movie. Barring a few scenarios that rely on his trademark slapstick humor and nifty acrobatics, Chan leaves most of the physical exertion to his younger co-stars, a motley mix of Asian and Indian actors who, sadly, have none of his charisma.

Cast: Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, Ruby Rose, Iain Glen Director: Paul WS Anderson

ver the course of the six Resident Evil movies, there have been countless faceless ghouls who’ve had their faces bashed in, limbs torn off and heads severed by Milla Jovovich’s Alice. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter is no different. Perhaps the most auspicious thing about it is its title and the sweet, sweet release that it promises. But as you wait for it to end – because, let’s face it, there is no other way to experience a Resident Evil movie – you will find yourself wondering how in the world this series could’ve lasted as long as it did when a film like Martin Scorsese’s Silence can take 28 years to finally get made, and still bomb. This time however, out of

shame perhaps, there is a noticeable uptick in the amount of effort they’ve put in. There is – and let’s be very, very clear that this is in no way praise – the flimsiest, most rickety idea of a plot. Even when compared to other video game adaptations (they’re notorious for having wafer-thin plots) Resident Evil 6’s story will likely collapse at the slightest prod. But unlike a house of cards, which is usually constructed with patience and care, the plot of Resident Evil: The Final Chapter has all the fragility of a piece of burnt paper. To make matters more confusing, she – the Queen, that is - is played by Milla Jovovich’s real-life daughter Ever Gabo, whose father, in another unnecessarily perplexing piece of trivia, is director An-

Album Process By Sampha

he breathy voice of London singer/songwriter Sampha Sisay, 27, is a remarkable instrument: indelibly evanescent, fragile yet powerful across his entire range. He’s hook man to pop’s most advanced megastars – see Solange’s “Don’t Touch My Hair,” Kanye West’s “Saint Pablo,” Frank Ocean’s “Alabama,” Drake’s “Too Much” – but his debut LP proves him their peer. With a taste for non-Western melodies and futurist beats (check the African harp and polyrhythms of “Kora Sings”), his songs are intricate weaves. But not invariably: “Take Me Inside,” recalling Maxwell’s spare take on Kate Bush’s “This Woman’s Work,” sets Sampha’s voice against a lone piano, before

layers set out on a journey of self-discovery as they assume the role of Velvet, a young woman whose once kind demeanor has been replaced and overcome with a festering anger and hatred after a traumatic experience three years prior to the events within TALES OF BERSERIA. Velvet will join a crew of pirates as they sail across the sea and visit the many islands that make up the sacred kingdom of Midgand in an all-new adventure developed by the celebrated team behind the TALES OF series. Tales of Berseria is a strong return to form from Bandai Namco and this return to form has produced one of the best

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Game Tales of berseria Platform PC

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it steps back into the marvelous digitized kaleidoscope he calls home. The debut full-length release for the British R&B singer/ producer was produced with Rodaidh McDonald. Process is an exercise in catharsis, a deep breath in that lays Sampha’s soul bare through gorgeous vignettes of his life. He worries, he regrets, he aches. He’s human. The album was a long time coming, but the wait has resulted in one of the most assured debut albums in recent memory. None of it is particularly light. Sampha’s exquisite melodies and detailed productions nonetheless make all the references to longing, disturbed sleep, injurious heat, and shattered glass go down easy.

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derson. Anyway, the Queen has a mission for Alice: She must, within 48 hours, travel to Raccoon City, across miles of post-apocalyptic wasteland, where an antivirus to the zombie plague is rumoured to have been created. Before everything else, a very important point must be raised: Milla Jovovich is a terrific action star, and we cannot dismiss the unusual distinction she has achieved of carrying such an enduring franchise all by herself. Here, the mere thought of making a ‘female-driven’ film is met with raised eyebrows and declarations of progressive thinking. So, to have survived (and defied) an industry that isn’t unlike the hellscape in which her movies are set, she must be applauded.

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Tales games out there in terms of story and overall quality. Tales of Berseria is not just one of the best Tales games in a long time, but an essential for any JRPG fan. It’s a huge step up from Zestiria in almost every way. Tales of Berseria is a joy to play: battles are easy to learn and hard to master affairs in a colorful world filled with mature characters, intriguing plotlines and intense plot twists. It is sad the game feels very oldgen here and there: dungeons are especially dull and backtracking has now become a staple in the series. Bandai Namco does need to focus on current hardware if it really wants to bring its new vision of Tales to life.

Grande Cines Paltan Bazar 9864800100 Kaabil 10:00 AM 03:30 PM 05:00 PM 09:00 PM Resident Evil: The Final Chapter 10:30 AM 02:45 PM The Great Wall 12:30 PM Raees 12:45 PM 06:15 PM 08:00 PM GOLD Cinema Paltan Bazar 9854066166 Kaabil 11:00 AM 05:00 PM 08:15 PM Raees 11:15 AM 05:15 PM 08:00 PM Kung Fu Yoga 02:00 PM Shakira Ahibo Bokul Tolor Bihuloi 02:15 PM GOLD Cinema Lakhtokia 9854077177 Kaabil 11:00 AM 02:15 PM 05:00 PM 08:15 PM Raees 11:15 AM 02:00 PM 05:15 PM 08:00 PM

G PLUS FEB 04 - FEB 10, 2017

Entertainment

Tom Alter to play Ruskin EROS ventures into Bond in short film Assamese films Kalyan Kumar Kalita

eteran actor Tom Alter will play celebrated author Ruskin Bond in a new short film to be directed by Assam-born Bhargav Saikia. Saikia, whose Kashmir-set independent thriller ‘Kaafiron Ki Namaaz’ and short horror film ‘Awakenings’ received widespread acclamations, is extremely happy to welcome the actor on board for his new project, which narrates one of Bond’s short stories. While Saikia is looking forward to a fruitful collaboration with Tom Alter, he is happy that he has Bond’s support for the film. “I met Ruskin Bond Sir in Landour (near Mussoorie) last year and he was very kind to grant me the permission to make a short film on one of his stories,” Saikia said, clarifying that his film is not a biopic on Ruskin Bond. Filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj had adapted

two Bond stories for film – ‘The Blue Umbrella’ and ‘7 Khoon Maaf ’. Tom Alter hopes to exude Bond’s indomitable spirit without trying to become a caricature in the short film, which will start its shooting at the end of April this year. “Ruskin is a very old friend. I don’t look like him, he’s far more handsome. There is nobody who can copy him, so there is no attempt to mimic him,” the veteran actor said. Alter, who’s had a fruitful career in Bollywood too, says he is glad the industry is exploring more themes now. “I’m glad people are trying out more themes now. I saw ‘Dangal’. No one would have made ‘Dangal’, ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’, ‘Mary Kom’ 10 years ago. When I wrote a sports novel in 2005, people laughed at me saying no one is interested in sports,” he said.

Hip-Hop around the Northeast – an artist’s perspective

Nishant Bharali

ow does Hip Hop sound to you? Oversized clothes, chains, sneakers, probably Jordans and women? Well there’s more to that. These two words have a world residing in them. It’s a culture, an art where a person expresses oneself in the most creative, interesting, attractive manner possible. This American culture has taken over the world like a forest fire. It’s a movement, bringing the real in you. When there’s a topic about the Hip Hop culture in North East In-

dia, it’s the home to many aspiring Rappers , Emcees , Graffiti artists , Disk Jockeys , Producers . Hip Hop music in North east seemed rare a couple of years back but today its attracting young minds from every corner of the seven states. The First Hip Hop artists of the region were K Bloodz, Michael M Sailo, D Frontier Sculpted, Fresh Cash, Still Rhyming who hailed from various parts of North East. Now these artists had a huge influence on me to get myself into the scene. I started writing lyrics that had no

t’s great news in the history of Assamese film that for the first time, famous Indian motion picture production and distribution company ‘Eros International Media Ltd’ will present an Assamese movie. The name of the movie is ‘The Underworld’ which will

be directed by Rajesh Jashpal and produced by S J Studio and Entertainment Ltd and Raga Films. Before this, director Rajesh Jashpal’s previous Assamese movie ‘Gaane Ki Aane’ released all over Assam on 14 October last year, was highly appreciated by the Assamese audi-

Kalyan Kumar Kalita

ences and also commercially a successful one. The lead characters of this movie were played by Zubeen Garg and Parineeta Borthakur among others. People of Assam loved this pair on ‘Gaane Ki Aane’. According to the director, Jashpal the same pair will also take part on the upcoming movie ‘The Underworld’. The other casts include veteran actor Nipon Goswasmi, Biju Phukan, Dinesh Das, Baharul Islam, Diganta Hazarika, Utpal Das, Lipika Borah, Kingkini etc. He also added that, the shooting of the film will start very soon on Mumbai. Recently Taran Adarsh, the famous Indian film critic, journalist, editor and film trade analyst, tweeted that Eros ventures into Assamese films with ‘The Underworld’ stars Zubeen Garg and Parineeta Borthakur, Rajesh Jashpal directs the film. This will really help to uplift the Assamese film into a bigger platform.

Rabha Folk dance travels to Bhopal Kalyan Kumar Kalita

abha Artists Forum’ in collaboration with Sanskrit Mancha, Guwahati, recently performed folk dance of Rabha, Bihu, Tiwa and Bamboo at ‘Lokrang Samaroh’ organized by Madhya Pradesh Government. The ‘Lokrang Festival 2017’ was held from 26 January to 30th January at BHEL Dussehra Maidan in

Bhopal. Popularly known as the ‘Lokrang Samaroh’, it was an annual cultural fest celebrated in the city of Bhopal and is famous for its Folk and Tribal dance forms. Based on folk, tribal and classical dance, a programme ‘Samvet’ was also showcased. Tribal and folk dances from across the country, including Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Assam, Odisha, Kerala, Mizoram and Maharashtra was held under ‘Dharohar’. The North-East team was lead by Deepjyoti Hazarika of Assam

Sanskrit Mancha, Guwahati. A total of sixteen talented artists were sent by ‘Rabha Artists Forum’. The RAF is an organization under the leadership of well-known film director Arup Jyoti Rabha. He has created the forum to uplift the hidden talent of various categories especially in Rabha community. Already the ‘Rabha Artists Forum’ has created the district communities of Udalguri and Sonitpur. The Forum has also organized a 15 day Rabha Language Learning Workshop for the entire district of Udalguri with eight centers. Every year, ‘Rabha Artists Forum’ organizes a ‘Rabha Artists Get Together’ in different parts of Assam which is highly appreciated by people of North-East. The main motto of this event is to bring all of them under one umbrella.

sense to it but I tried still. Now this is a real fact about Hip Hop music, it’s about how deep you can go with word play. So, I tried story telling skills through the beats and came up with a couple of songs and released them with the help of the platforms such as Reverbnation, Soundcloud and YouTube. Also every other rapper was doing the same and this is how the scene, the movement, the revolution is growing up here. I was a back bencher like most of the kids do growing up in school and went through every possible thing a teenager goes through from the age of 13 to late 18’s and yeah you’ve guessed it right; booze, restricted leaves, doing things you’re not supposed to do, breaking moral values, lack of courtesy and the list goes on. Looking back on my school days,

Hip hop music was not considered a part of our culture. So I got a little chance to portray what real hip hop was in school functions because I had to fuse it with folk or classical items. But I did not leave a question about what it was when I was performing around clubs and other events around the city. After working on a number of singles, collaborating with artists of various genres, I started off writing a mixtape titled “The Payback.” The production of the whole mixtape has been down by Dwipantor Roy aka Dipong . Two of its singles are out on YouTube and the third one is ready to drop along with its official music video shot by Arpit Chakraborty and Omraj Saikia. The Payback is a message to the world by a back bencher kid what is to day dream. People say HIp Hop is way too ex-

plicit and in a country and a society like ours you need to keep your words clean to make a way with your music but as an artist, I feel it is real and being explicit is the way to go. The mixtape is also an example of real Hip Hop rather than Trap or a form of mixture. Hip Hop producers around the 7 states of NE are becoming versatile, producing insane work. Call it – jazz, trap, EDM or Hip Hop. The growing production department is also vital to the Emcees and writers, making them independent and also providing an independent scene to the North East. We as artists are targeting the release of our work on social media sites. With the new year, we hope to perform around major events with new and different music.

‘R

G PLUS FEB 04 - FEB 10, 2017

Lifestyle

Suit your Tux Wedding Season Special

VAASTU SHASTRA

Vedhas In Vaastu

Shirt If you want to keep the look classic choose a wing tip collar for your collar option. This is not essential if you don’t like them. French cuffs are a must with a formal shirt as it lets you show off a nice pair of cuff links and show cases that you understand formal wear. Shoes

W confident.

hen a man wears a Tuxedo he should feel powerful, luxurious and

What is a Tuxedo? When listening to rules of Tuxedos you should stick with either a shawl lapel or peak lapel. The notch lapel is often frowned upon. Any double-breasted button stance is appropriate, and peaked lapels are standard here. Shawl collars on double-breasted jackets are very rare but smart if you can pull it off. Black Fabrics by Raymond is one of the finest with 100s count fine Merino Wool for a tuxedo. Nowadays people are also going for a more textured black jacket being the feature piece with plain trousers. We have also showcased a navy tuxedo with black satin on all pockets, buttons and the waistband (Cummerbund) which makes the suit stand out with the strong contrasting colours.

The best option for shoes when pairing them with a formal suit would be patent leather, smoking slippers or oxford shoes. The colour must be black with high shine. Belts (If not wearing a cummerbund) The belt should be black in colour and match the shoe in terms of texture or gloss. A belt with matt finish shouldn’t be worn with glossy shoes. Accessories 1. Bow Tie - They might seem all the same to some gentlemen, however they are an important feature that make your tuxedo flawless. If you can tie the knot of a proper bowtie, Alvaro is a brand that you should look for. You can also go for the elastic bowtie by SilkCity. 2. Pocket Square - Sometimes using a bold print can over power the outfit. With a tuxedo it’s best to keep things simple and use a plain white pocket square. This is the final touch for your Tuxedo. (Courtesy: R.D Store)

recipe of the week

Vedha is an obstruction to the building and is considered as a Dosha or defect. The Vedic Vaastu has identified certain Vedhas or flaws in houses. They are sixteen in number and the presence of any of them will cause trouble for the inmates. 1) Kutila: If the roof of the house is lower than the height of the owner, a kutila vedha is formed. This causes death of the family-head. 2) Kuttaka: A house built on the up paved ground causes kuttaka vedha. This gives troubles from devils and evil spirits. 3) Kanka: A house having 3 or 5 corridors of unequal measures of length and breadth forms kanka vedha. This causes distress to the family head. 4) Kaikara: A house of extraordinary height and width causes kaikara vedha. This

causes harm to breadth, disproportionate to the the mistress of house-measure forms digvatra the house.any vedha. This causes loss of progwomen who eny and abortions. had troubled 11) Chipita: A house of low lives lived in height which is disproportionate tall mansions or to the house plinth forms chipita havelis. vedha. This makes the fam5) Kubja: A ily-head fall for vices like gamhouse having bling, drug- trafficking, pornogentrance doors raphy, prostitution etc. and windows 12) Vyangya: A house which of less measure is ugly looking and grotesque of height and causes vyangya vedha. This breadth, dispro- causes the family head to be deportionate to formed. the house meas13) Muraja: A main door ure, forms kubja with either of its two sides highvedha. This er causes muraja vedha. This causes diseases causes family- extinction and like leprosy, tuberculosis, asthma, poverty. jaundice etc., to the house-owner 14) Supta: A house built on and the inhabitants of the house. the sleeping ground forms supta 6) Kana: If there is a window vedha. A ground is said to be on either side of the main door, it sleeping if the construction of gives kana vedha. This causes the house begins in ghatis 3, 4, eye-diseases to the house- 5,6, 7, 8 of the 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th, owner. 19th and 26th asterisms respecKasturi BorKotoKi 7) Andhaka: A house having tively counted asKasturi isfrom a palettethe knifesun’s artist and paints impressionist floral of designs no windows on its front forms terism. This causes death the in oils. She hails from Guwahati. andhaka vedha. This causes ail- family head. Blog: kasturiscanvas.blogspot.com ment to the house-owner. 15) Sankapalaka: A house 8) Rudhira: A house con- constructed without pillars KasHmiri natH Foodie, owner atvedha. XOXO cupcakes, structed without following 81 di- forms sankapalaka This blogger, recipe developer and visions of vaastu purusha, forms flaw makesfood the inhabitants uglyexpert on Assamese cuisine. rudhira vedha. This causes dys- looking. entery to the inhabitants of the 16) Vikata: A formidable and house very often. hideous main door forms vikata KuLKuL raHman Entrepreneur, and a of 9) Badhira: A main door or vadha. This causes mother the death passionate cook. simhadwara placed to the ground the family head. level causes badhira vedha. This causes many kinds of calamities Hemanta Kumar sarmaH and sometime, death too. Engineer, Businessman, Advanced Pranic Healer and Su Jok Acupres10) Digvaktra: A house havsure specialist. ing windows of more height and sHri sHri ravi sHanKar Founder- Art of Living Foundation.

Assamese Style Fish Curry

Assam abounds in rivers and hence fish is the staple diet of the Assamese people. Whether rich or poor every household has fish at least a minimum three times a week. The village folk catch them in their own ponds or small rivulets, while urban Assam procures their fish from the market. This here fish curry is made with three types of fish, Xol, Borali and Rou. Some Ulkobi has been added. Assamese cuisine is really simple. We do not have too many spices in our dishes. Hence, this Maasor Torkari is also very bland and easy to make.

Ingredients

Process

• Fried fish

• Half boil Ulkobi and potatoes and keep aside

• Ulkobi and Potatoes cut into four pieces and half boiled

• Half fry the fish

• Garlic paste • One onion sliced • Mustard Oil • Hot Water

In a wok heat mustard oil and add onion slices. Fry till brown and add the Kasturi BorKotoKi garlic paste. Keep frying till the raw Kasturi is a palette knife artist and garlic taste paintsdisappears. impressionist floralAdd designsthe potaoils. SheLet hailsthem from Guwahati. toes and inkobi. cook through. Blog: kasturiscanvas.blogspot.com Add hot water and bring to a boil. Add the fried fish and cook for about fifteen KasHmiri natH minutes. Garnish coriander Foodie, ownerwith at XOXO cupcakes, before food blogger, recipe developer and serving. Best had with plain rice. expert on Assamese cuisine. KuLKuL raHman Entrepreneur, mother and a passionate cook. Hemanta Kumar sarmaH Engineer, Businessman, Advanced Pranic Healer and Su Jok Acupressure specialist.

G PLUS FEB 04 - FEB 10, 2017

Lifestyle

Your Mind Is Like A Mirror

gardener is working in the garden. When you really work in the garden, you will definitely get dirty. Your hands will get dirty. Your gloves will get dirty. Your clothes will get some splashes. But after you come inside and wash up, you don’t identify yourself with the mud that gets splashed onto you while you’re working in the garden, right? In the same way, while we are in society, moving amongst people, their emotions get splashed onto our subtle mind, and we identify with them. This is what becomes a problem. We identify, “Oh, this is my emotion. This is my anger! This is my greed!” Whether the emotions are positive or negative, we identify with them. And then we try to get rid of them. It’s not an easy job. It’s like the gardener who thinks some mud that is on him will not go away. Similarly, you’re working in your office, and you are peaceful. You have done a good meditation. But your boss is uptight, and there is some problem, and you get agitated. Someone else’s agitation has latched onto you. and then you think, “Oh! I am angry.” The clever thing to do is, to not identify yourself with the emotion which has nothing to do with you. You can realize, “I am

different from the emotions. The emotions are different from me.” In Ayurveda there is a practice called Dhootnadi. You go to a doctor on behalf of someone and show your pulse to the doctor. While you’re showing your pulse, you think of the person for whom you have come to collect the medicine. This is called Dhootnadi. It means checking the pulse of a messenger. A messenger comes to collect medicine from the doctor, the messenger’s pulse is taken by the doctor, and the doctor gives the medicine for the person for whom the messenger has come. This is Dhootnadi, reading the nadi by taking the pulse of a messenger. It works because anybody you think of, their emotions and their state of mind latches onto you. Are you getting what I’m saying?

“The most intelligent thing to do is not to hate anybody because whomsoever you hate, you get those impressions embedded in you.” Your mind is like a mirror. When it is like a mirror, whatever comes in front of you is there, reflected in it. But the mirror doesn’t cry “Oh, I got dirty” when a dirty picture comes in front of it. And it doesn’t jump up and say, “Oh, I have got these wonderful qualities.” When you’re driving, you can see in the mirror that there is a garbage can behind your car. Just imagine the mirror identifying itself with the garbage can. Or, imagine

the mirror identifying with some beautiful scenery. In both cases, what would you say? It’s a stupid idea, it’s not the case. The mirror is neither the garbage can, nor the scenery. And that is exactly how it is with our own consciousness. Our consciousness is like a mirror. Different images come onto it, and they all move away. If we know this, then we’re free. But if we get attached to any of those images, that is bondage. So, wake up! Wake up and see it is a mirror. We have 186,000 nadis, or channels of energy in our body. At different times, different channels open. Sometimes that channel opens by which you get intuitive thoughts. Some other time another channel opens by which you experience emotions. Another time another channel opens. It’s very fascinating. If you keep thinking about happy people, you get happy, that channel gets opened. Thinking about unhappy things, the unhappy channels open. That’s why I have said, “Don’t hate anybody.” Why should you not hate anybody? What is the reason? Not for the sake of the person whom you hate, but for your own sake. Your own mind, your nervous system, will assume the form, shape and color of that person. That is why we don’t hate anybody. Is this an intelligent thing to do, or not? The most intelligent thing to do is not to hate anybody because whomsoever you hate, you get those impressions embedded in you.

Truth is that which doesn’t change. Chida Akasha, the causal space, which is called Shiva is your true nature, which doesn’t change at all. We spoke about the 3 spaces. Bhut Akasha is the outer physical space. Chit Akasha is the inner space, the space of the mind. And Chid Akasha is the space of pure consciousness. All 3 are space: Bhut Akasha - the physical space, Chit Akasha - the mental or ethereal space, and Chida Akasha - the causal space.

The causal space is what is called Shiva, the pure, unblemished, unattached nature of yourself. Why do I say true nature? What is the truth? Truth is that which doesn’t change. Chida Akasha, the causal space, which is called Shiva is your true nature, which doesn’t change at all, - which is ever and always the same. In the Chit Akasha - the inner space of the mind, thoughts and emotions hover around like clouds moving in the sky. Whatever clouds move in the sky, does the sky get colored by them? Does the sky get affected by them? No. The clouds come, they move, and they go. In the same way, emotions come and they go; thoughts come and they go. To some extent everyone is aware of this. To some extent you get thoughts on which you’ll never act. Every thought that you have, do you act on it? You get thoughts on which you don’t act. That ability to filter out inappropriate thoughts is what keeps you sane. What is the difference between a sane person and an insane person? An insane person acts on almost every thought. That’s Kasturi BorKotoKi why you callKasturi them because there is is ainsane palette knife artist and no filter there. onefloral step ahead in paintsGoing impressionist designs oils. She wisdom, notinonly dohails youfrom notGuwahati. act upon cerBlog: kasturiscanvas.blogspot.com tain thoughts that hover around, you don’t even identify yourself with those thoughts. natH How doKasHmiri thoughts hover around? This Foodie,that owneryou at XOXO cupcakes, is another thing need to see. The food blogger, recipe developer and microcosm expert and on macrocosm are so intiAssamese cuisine. mately connected. The macrocosm and microcosm together form one organism. The whole world just one organism. So KuLKuLisraHman how does this affect the space? Entrepreneur, mother and a passionate cook. It’s just like the meteorological department which says rain is going to come, or they predict thunder showers, or sunshine, or hurricane. All this is predicted. Hemanta Kumar sarmaH In the Engineer, Advanced same way, the starsBusinessman, and the movement of Pranic Healer and Su Jok downs Acupres- in the the moon predict the ups and sure specialist. minds. This is pure calculation.

Blossoms of Knowledge

on Saraswati Puja

hat can be more beautiful than the perfect blending of spirituality and learning? With the welcome of season of colours every heart is filled with freshness and positivity. The season brings creativity and so comes the celebration of knowledge and art. This is the time of Saraswati Puja. Saraswati is the Goddess of knowledge, art, music and creativity. A society can only prosper when young minds are liberated from the clutches of ignorance and enlightened with knowledge and awareness. The history of Saraswati can be traced from Rig Veda as part of tridevi Lakshmi, Saraswati and Parvati. The word ‘Saraswati,’ also known as ‘Sarasvati’ is a creation of Sanskrit fusion. Sara means essence

and sva meaning oneself. Thus it means “one who leads to essence of self knowledge.” On the day of 1st Feb, 2017 Guwahati witnessed the divine glory of Saraswati Puja. Students started the preparations for the Puja with full enthusiasm and spirit. From decorations to the Puja rituals to food every aspect of the Puja embraces glory and purity of the students. The festival celebrates beauty of inner self. The whole scenario was blissful. The colleges of Assam as a whole and Guwahati in particular celebrated Saraswati Puja with grandeur. The whole of Gauhati University was moving with the tunes of joy and festivity. Every department and hostel students whole heartedly participated in the Puja rituals.

The picture of Saraswati sitting in a lotus with sitar in her hands pictures the indomitable power of knowledge. However, this time the university students came up with a cause: they abstained from using plastic in the Puja celebration thus holding tight the true spirit of Puja and giving respect and care to nature. On the other hand, one observed grand celebrations in colleges like Cotton College, Handique College and B. Borooah College among others. Students in colourful traditional attire celebrated the Puja with fun and frolic. Girls especially were dressed in traditional mekhela-chador. This time one could also see boys in traditional kurtas and sherwanis. But it was observed that some news channel disrupted the sim-

plicity of this divine occasion by limiting it to silly competition. The spirit of the Puja has been brought down as such. There is no harm in praising beauty. But by judging beauty with the yardsticks of physical attributes is in no way acceptable. This time it was seen that many colleges including the historical Cotton College has barred such electronic media. It is a step that needs to be appreciated. Thus, it has been a perfect advent of spring with new hopes and aspirations among the young minds. Chayanika Das Gauhati University

sHri sHri ravi sHanKar Founder- Art of Living Foundation.

G PLUS FEB 04 - FEB 10, 2017

Citypedia Horoscope of the week

With Mars in a transformative sector of your chart, you may find that it stirs up your inner landscape of patterns and compulsions, perhaps compelling you to take certain actions. Would it be wise to give in to them? It might not if they sabotage your recent hard work. The other way to deal with them is to observe them and allow such desires to pass through you and out. By doing this daily, you could be free of them for good.

You could be quite excited by an encounter that seems a little bit out of the ordinary. If this person has magnetism and charisma, you may not be able to resist - and why should you? You could find that going with the flow and working toward a deeper connection is very exciting. It can be even better if you share certain experiences or interests in common. If you do, this might be very special and even have soul-mate potential.

You may be ready to embrace the more serious side of the new year now, which could involve committing time and energy to making your goals a reality. However, as Venus, your planet of relating, enters a more practical sector of your chart today, you might want to involve others in your plans. Get your buddies to buy gym memberships and share the joy of getting fit together. Pool info on the healthiest eating places or best yoga classes and enjoy the support.

Competitive sport or hearty aerobic exercise can be really good for you now and in the coming weeks. If you’ve felt the frustration of handling a great deal of responsibility lately, this can be a great way to let off steam and feel more upbeat. Jupiter, your personal planet, turns retrograde in your social sector at the end of the week, so you might need to push yourself to move in new circles, but it could be worth it.

The presence of Mars in your home zone can be a call to make some overdue changes. The likelihood is that you’ll feel very positive about tackling them. What seemed rather daunting earlier could seem like a piece of cake now, and you might get done in no time at all. Later, Jupiter turns retrograde in the topmost sector of your chart, so your efforts toward achieving a goal may not bear fruit quickly, but they will if given enough time.

At times, it can seem like you’re the one supporting your friends and at others that they’re supporting you, which is how it should be. But this week as Jupiter, your social planet, turns retrograde, you might prefer to strike out on your own and enjoy a few solo adventures. Perhaps there are experiences that you wouldn’t have if you were in a crowd or even with one other person. It could be very rewarding if you go down this route.

As Venus enters your sector of values and selfesteem, consider investing in yourself in whatever way seems best to you. It may be that you’d feel great with new clothes or a new hairstyle. Whatever you do for yourself can help boost your confidence at a time when you may be a little worn down by all your recent hard work. And if you haven’t received much in the way of thanks, it’s certainly time to give something back to yourself!

GUWAHATI

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police station

45 1

8 56

7 5 2

7 8 4 9 1 4 3 5 9 7 2 7 3

9 4 5 3 3 6 5 2 4 9 5 7 7 5 23 61

6 3 2

Daily Sudoku: Fri 27-Jan-2017

It could seem like you’ve emerged from a darkened cave into the sunlight this week as the shift in the planetary picture brings optimism and hope. You might be tempted by new opportunities, but you’ll also be eager to see new sights and enjoy being a tourist in another culture. If you haven’t booked your next travel adventure, you may do so this week, even if it’s at another’s insistence. And if you must delegate to get it done, it’s worth it.

721 8

A skill that you acquired in childhood could be required as part of your job or for a business idea. Don’t worry if you haven’t used it in a while. Once you get going, you may find you’re an expert. With Mars powering through your career sector, you could be more determined than ever when it comes to finding work or securing a contract. Desire can encourage you to go to great lengths. A little charm goes a long way, too.

Sudoku

Daily Sudoku: Thu 2-Feb-2017

9 2 1 6 3 4 7 5 8

1 5 68 46 33 52 4 7 9 8 7

4 9 65 58 77 12 3 9 8 1 2

3 7 24 96 85 49 5 1 1 2 6

9 2 3 6 17 4 29 7 48 9 54 8 6 1 5 7 5 3 8 3

5 8 17 31 26 73 9 8 2 6 4

7 4 89 18 95 36 2 4 3 5 1

6 1 25 53 42 17 8 6 4 7 9

8 2 33 47 16 98 7 2 6 9 5

With Mercury closely aligned with Pluto’s transformative energies in an intense sector of your chart, the week’s start could encourage a decision. Even if it isn’t the right one, the fact that you’ve chosen can bring a sense of relief. But your friends may have something to say about your choice. You’ll need to be strong and positive enough to drown out their voices and stick to your guns. At the same time, the present lively social scene can be very uplifting.

You’re moving through a phase now in which your focus may be turned inward toward your thoughts, emotions, and dreams. At the same time, the Sun is in the topmost sector of your chart, which puts you in the spotlight. If you feel a little uncomfortable, it could be because you’re aware that you’ve changed over recent months and you’re still adjusting to your new identity. Over the coming weeks, fresh insights can reaffirm the direction you’ve chosen.

last week solution

You’ve been looking not only for the deeper meaning of life but also the deeper meaning within your relationships. Any conclusions you draw can be liberating but might also encourage you to look out for other possibilities within your closest bonds. There might be more options than you realize. Venus, your planet of relating, moves into Aries this week, which could set you thinking about why one particular connection is so special to you. The answer may not be what you expect.

9 4 8 6 5 2 3 medium 1 2 3 7 1 9 6 8 4 Fatasil Ambari PS: Ph-2471412 1 6 3 PS: 2 Ph-2417323 4 7 http://www.dailysudoku.com 9 5 Geetanagar

Daily Sudoku: Fri 27-Jan-2017

Comissioner of Police: 0361-2540278 DCP, Traffic: 0361-2731847 Hatigaon: Ph-2562383 Daily Sudoku: Thu 2-Feb-2017 hard DCP, (Central): 94350-49599 Jalukbari PS: Ph-2570587 DCP, (East): - 94350-83103 Jalukbari Out Post: Ph-2570522 DCP, (West): - 94350-27744 Police Control Room: Ph-2540138, 2540113 Jorabat: Ph-2896853 Khanapara: Ph- 2281501 http://www.dailysudoku.c Azara PS: Ph2840287 Khetri PS: Ph-2787699, 2787220 Basista PS: Ph-2302158 Latasil PS: Ph-2540136 Bharalumukh PS: Ph- 2540137, 2731199 Noonmati PS: Ph- 2550281 Borjhar PS: Ph-2840351 North Guwahati PS: Ph-2690255 Chandmari PS: Ph- 2660204 Paltanbazar PS: Ph-2540126 Chandrapur PS: Ph-2788237, 2785237 Panbazar PS: Ph-2540106 Dispur PS: Ph-2261510 Pragjyotishpur Ps: Ph-2785237 Fancybazar PS: Ph- 2540285 Women PS Panbazar: Ph-2524627

Arya Hospital, Ulubari (2606888, 2606665) B Baruah Cancer Institute (2472364/66) Brahmaputra Hospital Ltd (2451634/678) Chatribari Christian Hospital 0361-2600051, 92070-44374 Downtown Hospital 2331003, 9864079366, 9435012669 Guwahati Medical College (2529457, 2529561) Guwahati Medical College Emergency (2263444) International Hospital 0361-7135005 Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital (2541477, 2543998)

Marwari Hospital & Research Centre 0361-2602738/39 Marwari Maternity Hospital 0361-2541202/01 Nemcare Hospital 0361-2528587, 2455906, 2457344 Pratiksha Hospital 0361-2337260, 2337183/84 Basistha Military Hospital (2304617/0351) Railway Central Hospital Casuality (2671025) Redcross Hospital (2665114) Sri Sankardeva Netralaya 0361-2233444, 2228879, 2228921

GMC helpline number for garbage collection

8811007000

Hospital

TB Hospital (2540193) Wintrobe Hospital 0361-2519860, 98647-77986 IHR-Institute of Human Reproduction 0361-2482619, 098641-03333 Dispur Hospital Reception 97070 20370 82539 99124 361-2235759 (Landline No. / Fax) Hayat Hospital 8011003110 GNRC Hospital 1800-345-0022 (Toll Free) GNRC Ambulance 1800-345-0011 (Toll Free)

Vigilance and anti corruption toll free number

1800-345-3767

G PLUS FEB 04 - FEB 10, 2017

Catching Up

Samrat D’one