Vol 6 Issue 4

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INSIDE

Volume 06 | Issue 04 Nov 17 - Nov 23, 2018 Price `10

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Migratory birds shying away from Guwahati

Braving digital onslaught citizens show love for books

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The counting will take place on December 12.

The first phase of the panchayat polls will be held in 16 districts on December 5 while the second phase will be held in 10 districts on

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manjeet Kaur, an IPS officer from the 2009 batch, joined the city police commissionerate in September 2016 as the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Traffic. Since then, she has experimented with many ideas to improve the city’s traffic scenario.

But the big question is: has she been able to resolve the issues?

According to many Guwahatians the DCP has failed to resolve the traffic congestion issue; rather in turn, she has created a chaotic situation in certain areas with certain unplanned decisions.

Councillor of ward number 9, Rajkumar Tewari, talking to G Plus said, “DCP Amanjeet Kaur has not done anything

December 9, 2018.

A total of 1,56,41,456 voters will exercise their franchise out of which 8,12,38,35 are male and 7,51,76,21 are female voters.

A total of 23,505 polling stations will be set up out of which 8,243 polling stations have been marked as ‘sensitive’ and 3,665 as ‘very sensitive’.

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Efforts of traffic dept not solving city’s traffic woes

The Panchayat Polls: Where, when and how The Panchayat polls in Assam will be held in two phases on December 5 and December 9 in 26 districts and 14 civil sub-divisions.

Chhath Puja celebrated with religious fervour in city

G Plus News for the city and she has majorly failed to resolve the traffic issue.”

Tewari further added that Kaur keeps busy with reducing traffic jams only on the roads where there is VIP movement. He said that she is hardly seen in chaotic areas like Fancy Bazar and AT Road which are the commercial hubs of the city. “Pranab Jyoti Goswami was better in managing city traffic,” said Tewari.

As soon as the DCP joined the traffic department, she introduced one-way on AT Road but rolled back the decision within a few days on seeing the clear failure of the move. After the roll back the DCP had said, “It was observed that there were certain pressure points which we need to look after.

We rolled it back because there is a need to do a little more work on certain pressure points. Like we have railway crossings on AT Road where every five minutes a train comes, which hampered our one-way plan.”

The city police also observed

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Maximum witnesses in police case diaries are ‘fake’ G Plus News

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he Guwahati police have always claimed that they work overtime to solve registered cases but an important document known as the Case Diary, which is maintained by the investigating officer of the case, is not always true or genuine.

A retired IPS officer, talking to G Plus under condition of anonymity said, “The investigation officers (IOs) of registered cases, many a time, cook up the names of

the witnesses registered in case diaries. The names of many such witnesses are fake.”

The officer revealed that the IOs are involved in all kinds of duties and do not get enough time to investigate cases assigned to them on an everyday basis. So they cook up stories and even “manufacture” the witnesses when the work on the case diary.

He revealed that when he was in service he managed to haul up many IOs for such mistakes and accordingly warned them. But the practice remains in Assam Police and especially in Guwahati.

Interestingly another police source from one of the police stations in Guwahati revealed that many IOs even hire civil unemployed youths to write the case diaries and these youths are paid for writing case diaries.

A civilian writing case diaries gets from Rs 500 to Rs 800 for writing one case diary.

Under the provision of Section 172 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), every police officer conducting investigation

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2 Lead Story

G PLUS | NOV 17 - Nov 23, 2018

Will get majority of seats in panchayat polls: Ranjit Das Both Bharatiya Janata Party and Asom Gana Parishad seem happy and confident contesting solo in the upcoming Panchayat polls slated for December 5 and December 9, 2018 protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016. The day the government decides to implement it we will leave this government. AGP was formed to serve the Assamese people and we will never support this antiAssamese bill. The identity of the Assamese community is supreme and AGP will fight tooth and nail against this bill. The party has been time and again fighting for the rights and issues of the

Chetan Bhattarai

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lot of effort was put in to stitch a poll partnership between Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). But it seems the regional party is hell-bent on going it alone. The primary reason of AGP going alone is its opportunity of using the evident resentment among people of Assam against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 to its advantage. Plus, AGP wants to get back to the grassroots level to increase their vote share for future polls.

The BJP seems confident of getting majority of the seats in the polls without any coalition. Party leaders are confident that the poll results will not be affected by the decision of AGP to opt out of the coalition and the saffron party will make a mark in the panchayat polls.

According to BJP state president, Ranjit Das, “BJP is going to get the maximum number of seats and will lead the seat tally. We had no partnership in the 2014 general elections and yet we managed to win 7 parliamentary seats. This time, we are again competing all alone and will win comfortably. In fact, there is no actual contest for BJP in this election.”

With AGP out of the partnership for this election, BJP has cobbledup smaller parties to contest the polls.

“Seat sharing arrangement has been made with Ganashakti, Tiwa Jatiya Aikya Mancha and the Rabha Joutha Sangram Samiti,” saidDas. BJP state general secretary, Dilip Saikia said that in many seats there will be friendly contests with the AGP. The district committees and the constituency committees have been entrusted with the task of taking forward the friendship and negotiations.

State BJP spokesperson, Rupam Goswami was optimistic about the polls saying, “We will be leading the polls, there should be no doubt. The people are with us and they know the work done by the party and the Sarbananda Sonwal-led government.”

On friendship with AGP, Goswami was clear that BJP had laid a red carpet welcome for the regional party and agreed to negotiate on district and constituency levels but AGP did

BJP president Ranjit Kumar Das not agree to it. This time, the people of Assam will give a decisive mandate and won’t be carried away by emotions, said Goswami.

Interestingly, BJP stalwart and cabinet minister, Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma told media persons in Guwahati that like the past assembly election in 2016, the party will show good results.

BJP gives priority to women, nominates 102 out of 251 For the 420 Zila Parishad constituencies BJP has announced the names of its candidates for 251 seats. Keeping the women representation in mind, the party gave 102 seats to woman candidates. The list was announced in the state BJP headquarters at Hengrabari on Tuesday, by general secretary, Dilip Saikia and organisation secretary, Phanindra Nath Sarma.

Interestingly, for the first phase to be held on December 5, the party announced its nominees for 196 Zila Parishad (ZP) seats.

Names of candidates for the remaining 55 seats that the party is contesting will be announced shortly. Women constitute a majority of 62% in the 196 ZP list.

The announced list comprises candidates from districts of upper Assam, central Assam and the north bank, besides Kamrup and Kamrup (Metro).

The party’s district and mandal units have started releasing the list of the candidature of gaon panchayat (GP) ward members, GP presidents and anchalik panchayat members.

The first phase of polling on 5th December will be held in Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat, Majuli, Golaghat, Nagaon, Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Biswanath,

AGP leaders during a protest rally against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016, in Guwahati | G Plus Photo Sonitpur, Darrang, Morigaon and Kamrup.

The second phase on 9th November will be held in Nalbari, Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Dhubri, South Salmara-Mankachar, Goalpara, Kachar, Karimganj, Hailakandi and Hojai.

The last date of filing of nomination papers for the first phase was 15 November and for second phase is 19 November. The BJP and its partners will contest in all the seats.

AGP trying to make the most of Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 to strengthen its grassroots base The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) is a partner in the BJP-led government in Assam along with Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) and other small parties. But due to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 the party has taken an aggressive stance by coming out openly to protest against the bill. There has been a tug of war between AGP and BJP over the issue and the regional party is clear in its stand.

“We will remain in the government and continue

Assamese people and so this time we are contesting the Panchayat polls on our own to strengthen the indigenous base,” said AGP leader and cabinet minister, Kesab Mahanta.

Former chief minister and founder of AGP, Prafulla Mahanta was clear about the party’s stand.

“It was first the BJP President who announced that they will go solo in the polls. In the recent AGP meet it was decided that our party will contest the polls independently, so there has to be no controversy.

In the last parliamentary election our general house had taken a decision that Assam Gana Parishad would go solo and we stood by that decision. I was the president then. We could not win a single seat due to various reasons and I was solely blamed for it, that, it was because of Prafulla Mahanta the party had failed to score in the 2014 elections.”

On any thin chances of alliance for the panchayat polls, the former party president had this to say, “The top party functionaries have unanimously decided that AGP will contest without any alliance, and now, if we go back to what we have decided in an open forum then there is no ethical politics left. For the upcoming

panchayat polls I believe the AGP should try to strengthen itself without leaning on other parties.

Our aim should be to strengthen the panchayats starting from the wards to the zila parishads. Our loss or wins will only help reveal our strengths and weaknesses.”

Grassroots workers want to contest independently: Himanta Biswa Sarma

There was a lot of confusion on whether the AGP-BJP partnership will continue for the panchayat polls. The media was flooded with mixed comments by leaders of all levels of both the parties and it became evident that something was cooking.

To clear the air and the confusion Northeast Democratic Alliance (NEDA) convenor, Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma finally came forward and stated that the AGP and BJP will fight the panchayat polls independently irrespective of the arrangement at the state cabinet.

Dr Sarma revealed that a lot of protests from grassroots workers of both the parties who were not in favour of an alliance led to this arrangement.

Speaking to media persons, the master strategist of BJP said that panchayat elections were not like assembly polls as it involves election of grassroots level workers. 2,200 village panchayat presidents, anchalik panchayat members and 420 Zilla Parishad (ZP) members have to be elected, plus, ward members for village panchayats, said Dr Sarma.

“To come to an arrangement for seat sharing for such a large number of members is not possible. That’s why we had asked for coordination and understanding at district and constituency levels. But it was evident that both the BJP and AGP workers were not interested in fighting the polls together as none of the districts came forward with a partnership agreement. The district committees from both the parties have come up with their own list of candidates and there is no sharing with any party in the lists. So, there is no coalition between AGP and BJP for the panchayat polls,” said Dr Sarma Further, AGP leaders Birendra Prasad Baishya, Dr Kamala Kalita and Ramendra Narayan Kalita, in a meeting with BJP party functionaries, had clearly stated that AGP wanted to go alone to the polls, said Dr Sarma. n

G PLUS | NOV 17 - Nov 23, 2018

4 City Snippets Explosion of Chinese toy in Ghy injures 10 year old child

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G PLUS | NOV 17 - Nov 23, 2018

Maximum witnesses in police case...

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began and was closed, the place or places visited by the IO and a statement of the facts and circumstances ascertained through investigation.

Case diaries should contain only particulars of actual steps taken or progress made in the investigation and such details of investigation which have bearing on the case.

Addresses, both present and permanent of the witnesses and all other relevant details should be invariably recorded in the case diaries.

Ironically, the names of the witnesses and their addresses recorded in most of the case diaries are fake, revealed a source in the police. n

Most reported mobile theft cases remain untouched

mysterious explosion of a toy at Manipuri Basti created panic and fear among Guwahatians.

The incident occurred when a child was playing with the toy in the area and bystanders reported the sound to be that of an explosion.

The victim is a 10 year old named Divneshi Devi, who is a student of St Nichols High School The blast has severely injured the right hand of the child and she was taken to Arya Hospital for immediate medical treatment.

Paltan Bazar police officials reached the spot immediately and an investigation has been initiated.

shall maintain a record of investigation done on each day in a Case Diary (CD) in the prescribed form.

Case diaries are important records of investigation carried out by an investigating officer. Any court may ask for the case diaries of a case under inquiry or trial and may use such diaries, not as evidence in the case, but to aid it in such inquiry or trial.

The CD, which is a record of day by day investigation of a case, shall contain details of the time at which the information reached the investigating officer, time at which the investigation

Four child labourers rescued in Guwahati

Migratory birds shying away from Guwahati

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Assam has more than 800 species of birds and every year around 300 species of migratory birds move into the numerous wetlands from Northern Latitudes, including parts of China, Russia, and even some parts of India.

But their numbers are coming down.

he District Task Force Committee on child labour rescued four child labourers from the Jalukbari area on 14th November.

The officials from the Labour department along with the city police and representatives of Bachpan Bachao Andolan rescued 3 children from two restaurants and another one from a meat vendor here in Jalukbari.

More youths will join ULFA if Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 is passed: Anup Chetia

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oming down heavily on BJP-led government in Assam, pro-talk United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), general secretary Anup Chetia warned that more Assamese youths will join ULFA, if the government did not withdraw the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016. He held the policies of the state and the centre responsible for Assamese youths coming out to join the banned organisation.

Chetia stated that the youth of the state have been upset due to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 and this is making them insecure over the future of the indigenous people of Assam.

Chetia also blamed the RSS and BJP for playing divisive politics in the state and urged chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal to protect the rights and interests of the people of Assam before things got out of hand.

Hiranya Barman

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here are many reasons behind the gradually diminishing number of migratory birds to the wetlands of Guwahati.

Whether it is increase of pollution level of water of the wetlands or it may be rampant encroachment of the wetlands. However, this time another factor has come to light is that the visit of migratory birds to the city has fallen since 2015 due to delay in fall of winter in the city.

Help Earth – a Wildlife nonprofit organization based in Guwahati through its Guwahati urban biodiversity monitoring unit has revealed that problems have arisen for birds which come from higher altitude region for breeding to mid-altitude regions

like Assam. It is known that delayed flowering of trees due to rise in temperatures deprives the breeders of their food which the tree provides. It is known that Bare’s Pochard and Common Shelduck have already stopped coming. The two types of migratory birds the Assam hosts are Passage Migrants and Winter Visitors.

“We have been collecting data on the rate of migration of birds that come to Assam this season.

The visit of passage migrants like Greylag goose is comparatively less than the last two years. They stop for rest en-route a long distance. Still, the peak time of the birds to visit is mid-January,” Conservationist Jayaditya

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n an average, around 2,000 mobile theft cases get reported in the police stations of Guwahati in a month.

But not even 5 percent of such cases are investigated by the police.

A highly placed source in the city police talking to G Plus said, “Mobile theft cases are hardly touched by police officers.

Only if the mobile phone of a VIP is lost, some investigation

Purkayastha told G Plus.

“Some birds migrate from places where there has been a sharp fall of temperature across the world including India to Assam, which is also called altitudinal migration.

They come here to breed. Due to shift in temperature in Guwahati, these birds are forced to go to the Loktak Lake in Manipur and other such places. Trees are flowering

happens.”

There are new technologies which police is equipped with to track the mobile phone with the help of the international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) number, but the police are hardly interested in spending time and effort to find the stolen mobile phones of general public.

The police source revealed that the lost and found ratio of mobile phones in Guwahati is worrisome. n

late than the normal time due to the delay of winter in the city and in nearby places.

The breeders feed on the fruits of the trees.

So the tendency to shift to places where trees are flowering in the normal time has become a norm,” Purkayastha added.

Assam has more than 800 species of birds, around 300 species are migratory birds moving to Assam from Northern Latitudes including parts of China, Russia, and even other parts of India. One of the rarest species is Greater Adjutant Stork (a residential bird) at Deepor beel. The global population of this bird is estimated at around 1200 to 1800. Deepor Beel has around 200. n

All NE states commit to declare ODF by December 2018

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regional review meeting of the North Eastern states was held in Guwahati, Assam, on 14th November at Hotel Vivanta by Taj. The meeting comprised discussions on sustaining open defecation free (ODF) status, Solid and Liquid Waste Management (SLWM), and rural water supply. Teams from Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim joined the review.

Key aspects of sustainability such as geo-tagging, verification of ODF villages, conversion of dysfunctional toilets, IEC expenditure, Swachhagrahi engagement were reviewed.

Speaking on the occasion, Parameswaran Iyer, Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation emphasized the importance of the joint effort being made by the central and state SBM teams towards sustaining gains made under the program so far. He spoke about

the importance of continued focus on behaviour change communication and periodic verifications to ensure that the safe sanitation habits and practices developed over the past few years are sustained in the future as well.

The teams from the ODF states of the region spoke about efforts to sustain their ODF status.

Sikkim highlighted the solid and liquid waste management initiatives being undertaken in the first ODF state of the country.

Non-ODF states committed to declaring themselves as ODF by December 2018. Assam shared highlights of “Mission Sambhav”, under which more than one lakh pit digging activities were initiated on a single day during the Swachhata Hi Seva fortnight.

Akshay Rout, Director General, Special Projects, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation pointed to the criticality of the sustainability phase of SBM and the necessity for the managers for regular monitoring. n

Cover Story

G PLUS | NOV 17 - Nov 23, 2018

Efforts of traffic dept not...

Continued from page » 1 that the Bharalumukh point was not able to sustain the pressure.

Hence, the experiment failed.

These initial experiments were proven to be unplanned and taken without adequate thought.

Of late, the traffic police have rearranged some commuting routes in the city and commuters are finding it a problem adapting to these changes. While the Paltan Bazar area has always been reeling under massive traffic jams during the peak hours, the condition has become further chaotic with the rearrangement of the route, feel Guwahatians.

Recently, the route from Paltan Bazar traffic point via Paltan Bazar Police Station to Godhuli Bazar crossing was changed from oneway road to a two-way road, while the route from Nepali Mandir via SAI Stadium to Godhuli Bazar point remains one-way on which only small vehicles are allowed to commute. However, residents of the area have been complaining of increased traffic congestion caused by this arrangement.

“I think this is the worst decision ever taken by the administration. I am a resident of Paltan Bazar and trust me life has

I think this is the worst decision ever taken by the administration. I am a resident of Paltan Bazar and trust me life has become pathetic ever since the new commuting routes have been put into place.

Tushar Jalan, Resident of Paltan Bazar

become pathetic ever since the new commuting routes have been put into place. Earlier, it used to take 15 minutes from Ulubari flyover to Hotel Amabarish via

Zebra crossings are marked only during VIP visits

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he Public Works Department (PWD) becomes active in the city only during the visit of VIPs. An official claimed that the government sanctions funds for marking the zebra crossings on the roads and for repairing the traffic signage ahead of the arrival of VIPs in Guwahati.

He underscored the perennial crisis of funds in the department that has hampered work on the zebra crossings and traffic signage. “There are proposals submitted to the

government and the World Bank for financial support to upgrade all the city roads with proper markings and traffic signage but sanctions for only few roads are received from the state government.”

The official however clarified that work on the zebra crossings and traffic signage is on at GS Road, AT Road and MG Road. He said a plan had already been submitted for the upgradation of roads in the city and the department is waiting for the sanction of funds by the government. n

Nepali Mandir. Now it takes over 30 minutes. The situation is the same while travelling back as well,” Tushar Jalan, a resident of Paltan Bazar said.

Similarly, many Guwahatians have complained that since the day of Dhanteras before Diwali till Chhath Puja, the traffic

Experiments are in favour of public: DCP Amanjeet Kaur

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ven though all concerned Guwahatians are not really happy with the changes, the deputy commissioner of police (DCP), Amanjeet Kaur, has some points to make. According to her, the police only think about the public before taking a particular decision.

DCP Kaur, talking to G Plus said, “Whatever decision is taken is only for the public good and to ease the traffic congestion.”

She said that while the number of vehicles is increasing, there are no new roads. So the traffic police can only regulate traffic rules but cannot create new roads.

She further described that on Dhanteras, there was a certain “auspicious” timing of three hours within which it was considered holy for people to purchase jewellery.

Accordingly, virtually the entire

PWD ignores police zebra crossing demand

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he Public Works Department (PWD) is yet to come up with visible zebra crossings at all the road intersecting points in spite of repeated reminders by the traffic police.

DCP Traffic Amanjeet Kaur said, “We have asked the PWD to make visible zebra crossings at all intersections of roads in the city many times. I hope they complete it soon.”

Kaur said that she was aware

that there were just a few visible zebra crossings and traffic signage at the intersections.

“This is the reason the traffic police are compelled to use additional manpower to help pedestrians cross the roads,” she explained, adding that jaywalking was another reason for disruption of the traffic movement due to the broken dividers on many roads.

The DCP made a case for the repair of all the broken dividers and for creation of dividers on

congestion problem was at its peak in the city.

DCP traffic Amanjeet Kaur, on her part, said, “It is for the good of the public that such decisions are taken and after observing the situation for a few days, if it is required, we might roll back the decision.” n

roads by the PWD. Another source from the traffic police revealed that according to a survey 90 per cent of the area does not have zebra crossings in Guwahati. The source said that only some important roads like GS Road have visible zebra crossing markings at intersecting points like ABC, Super Market, Dispur etc, which again gets washed away very soon and the PWD does not bother to refurbish them. n

Guwahati came out to make their purchases during those three hours which resulted in the massive traffic jam all across the city. She added that similarly, during every occasion, there are some rush hours when people come out in their vehicles and traffic jams occur. It is only because there are lesser roads in the city and these are also rather narrow, said the DCP. She said that since she joined new experiments are being tried only to find a solution.

Amanjeet Kaur is the first DCP who ordered all the malls not to charge for parking. She also mandated parallel parking in the city. n

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Snippets If you stop me in Assam, I will stop in Bengal: TMC minister in Guwahati

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he Trinamool Congress party from Bengal has lately been in controversy by making statements on various issues involving Assam.

The TMC has been sending party members and ministers to Assam and commenting on issues like the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016 and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

This time, it was the turn of cabinet minister Firhad Hakim who took the mantle from Bengal chief minister, Mamata Banerjee.

Hakim, who was in Guwahati to pay homage to the dead in Dhola killings went to the extent of saying, “If you stop me in Assam, I will stop in Bengal.”

Toeing the Trinamool party line Hakim was critical of the Bharatiya Janata Party. “BJP is more dangerous than CPI(M). All they are doing is dividing the nation on various fronts,” said the Bengal minister.

Taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Hakim said that the PM talks about the size of his chest, he should be in wrestling.

6 City

G PLUS | NOV 17 - Nov 23, 2018

Braving digital onslaught citizens show love for books “The book printing industry is among the top 10 largest industries in the world. This fact itself proves that book printing is still in the trend.” - Yeshe Dorjee Thongchi Hiranya Barman

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t seems love for books has always been in trend. Though the ongoing digital onslaught on print has restricted readers to web and e-books, book lovers across ages and different strata of society have braved their way to Northeast Book Fair currently being held at Chandmari in the city.

“Books in print will continue to overcome obstacles till the existence of mankind. Books are immortal. They cannot die,” Sahitya Akademi award winning writer Yeshe Dorjee Thongchi told G Plus.

“The book printing industry is among the top 10 largest industries in the world. This fact itself proves that book printing is still in the trend. Books are seen published every day. New books would not have been published if books had ceased to be in demand. The literacy rate is gradually on the rise across the world and in the same way good novelists and poets continue to be in the limelight in the modern day society,” Thongchi said.

“Earlier writing was troublesome affair. Writers have to send their works to the editors of newspapers then the editor analyze the work and gauge the quality before publishing. Then if the work gets published, book

Students at North East Book Fair | G Plus Photo publishers publish the writer’s works. Time has changed now as a respective writer can publish their own work. In some instances it is seen publishing houses taking money from writers to publish their work,” he said.

“However one doesn’t need a

Works in regional language have few takers!

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he organizers of Kolkata Book Fair, Publishers and Booksellers Guild (PBG) are also taking part in the ongoing Northeast Book Fair. PBG have been taking part in the fair since its inception and in fact they collaborated with the organizers of Northeast Book Fair to hold the fair’s first edition.

PBG is of the opinion that works in regional languages have few takers.

“Literary works in English is more preferred than regional works. Moreover, in comparison to earlier days people read less let alone buy books. It is obvious that sale of books in Bengali language is comparatively higher in Kolkata than Assam. We have few takers in Northeast Book Fair,” Debasis

Lahiri of PBG told G Plus.

Madina Publishers and Aninda Publishers have come all the way from Dhaka to make their debut in the Northeast Book Fair and their first time has been somewhat sluggish.

“This is the first time that we have come to Guwahati.

Throughout the year we take part in 13-14 book fairs in the country. Sale is not good here.

If our expenses don’t meet we have to reconsider our decision next time. We have good books like ‘Deshbibhag’ by Ahmed Rafi, ‘Bangabondhu’ by Seikh Mazibur Rahman etc. The organizers told us that we would make decent money as this side has potential readers and buyers; we are hoping for the best over the rest of the

publisher to write on Facebook and other social media platform.

Quality literature is also seen on those platforms being written with a flow. It is also evident that the young who are seen engrossed in smart phones like to read content on print compared to other platforms,” Dorji added. days. The daily expenses include food, lodging and transportation exceed the profits from selling the books,” the salesman at the counter of Medina Publishers said.

“It is seen in recent times that there is less recognition of Assamese writers and poets, it is also a factor attributing less creation in Assamese language.

It is rather stupid to write for winning prizes and laurels.

Compliments in form of awards and prizes will follow genuine works,” said Dr Dhrubajyoti Bora, former president of Asom Sahitya Sabha.

‘Moi Akou Jonom Lom’ by Yeshe Dorji Thongshi, ‘Pahoribo Nuwarilu Ji’ by Nilamoni Phukan, ‘Jonakar Pokhi Ure’ by Nilim Akash Kashyap, ‘Ghoristobdho’ by Pankaj Kumar Dutta, ‘Sirodin Akhomia’ by Mayur Bora, ‘Jibonor Xarangkho’

by Devakanta Handique, ‘Amrita’ by Fanindra Kumar Debo Choudhuri are among the best sellers this year. n

Bhargav lives in the Panjabari area of the city. He was among the thousand youths that thronged book fair on Monday evening. He was seen with his friend making rounds of the stalls searching for his favourite.

“This time I have bought a copy of ‘Julu’ by Ranju Hazarika among

others. Like all book lovers, I too wait eagerly for the book fairs in the city every year. I believe that books continue to be in trend despite the onslaught of digital platforms. There has been an increase in demand of books in printed forms; that is the reason book fairs are held every year,” Bhargav said.

“There are numerous digital platforms where books are available at cheap prices. Those platforms are tiring to eyes and soul often. I think a smart phone cannot be a viable medium to study. Taking a book in the hand and turning the pages makes one engrossed in it. That is a different feel, which only a book lover can only understand,” Kaustav from Kalapahar said while going through books at the Penguin book stall.

The Northeast Book Fair is being held under the aegis of All Assam Publishers and Book Sellers Association (AAPBSA). It is a 12-day affair. AAPBSA general secretary, Dhiraj Goswami, told G Plus that around 80,000 book lovers have thronged Northeast Book Fair till the 6th day.

Goswami also informed that books worth of Rs. 60 lakhs have been sold till that day.

Around 172 publishers are taking part in the book fair from across the country including the locals, according to the association members. n

Children urged to dwell more on books

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Inculcate a reading habit from a young age. This would help you in future.

Reading would help you to connect the dots towards healthy and wealthy living. Of course there are distractions in the name of social media platforms but reading books can also be a joyful time pass,” renowned writer Sumanta Chaliha said while addressing children at Children Book Festival held under the aegis of Publication Board Assam (PBA) at Sraddhanjali Kanan.

“I don’t think almost everything is available on the internet.

Children book festivals and fairs are necessary to guide our children to a correct path. We are the guardians of the children of our state and we should be available to them whenever necessary,”

PBA Secretary, Promod Kalita told

G Plus.

“It is quite difficult to inculcate a habit in children from a young age. If they like some now they would like other things later. They don’t have patience after all. Not all children like to read books,” a guardian said.

“Book Fair organizers and stakeholders should also try to initiate measures to develop other tribal languages along with the Assamese language. Every school should have a class dedicated to book reading like an example set by Asom Jatiya Vidayala. We are even thinking of setting up a quality library in the city and mobile libraries in villages,” Chief Advisor of All Assam Students Union (AASU), Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharya, said. n

G PLUS | NOV 17 - Nov 23, 2018

In The News

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Guwahati participates in worldwide Dance for Kindness Nehal Jain jain.nehal@g-plus.in

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uesday saw celebrations and observance of what the world needs a little more of: Kindness.

Guwahati participated in a worldwide event this Sunday to commemorate World Kindness Day which is celebrated every year on November 13. The day is dedicated to committing acts of good faith and establishing connections with other people of the global community.

Dancersandspectatorsgathered at Roodraksh Mall located on GS Road, Guwahati to promote kindness during the World Kindness Week, uniting with over 120 cities, 50 countries and 20,000 participants worldwide.

A flash mob dance and freeze was performed at the mall as part of the celebration wherein groups from across the globe joined together to perform a kindness freeze mob/flash mob to the same song, same dance, all happening on the same day.

Apart from school children, LGBT rights activists and other common people, kids from Parijat Academy, Pamohi also participated in the flash mob organised.

Life Vest Inside, a non-profit organization on a mission to empower and unite the world with kindness, sponsored this worldwide Dance for Kindness event. This flash mob dance is a part of the global celebrations that inspires, empowers and educates people of all backgrounds to lead a life of kindness, showing that regardless of the differences in race, religion, ethnicity culture and background - the common thread that unites

us all is kindness.

In Guwahati, the event was initiated and led by Bidisha Ghoshal, a student of B Barooah College and a budding activist.

Under her guidance, the worldwide event was organised in northeast India for the first time with over 70 people participating in the flash mob.

“The event received warm response from the people and they turned up in large numbers.

We are planning to organise regular flash mobs in Guwahati as the participants this time were very enthusiastic about the dance culture,” Bidisha told G Plus.

She further added that the event focussed on celebrating kindness and hope, because people nowadays have become more and more focused on the negativity and the violence happening around them. Thus, issues pertaining to section 377, child abuse, #MeToo and domestic violence were raised during the celebration of World Kindness Day. The purpose of World Kindness Day is to look beyond ourselves – beyond the boundaries of our country, beyond our culture, our race, our religion and realize that we are citizens of the world and that kindness is the common thread that unites us all. This year the global impact was even greater as Dance for Kindness supported non-profit organizations all around the world. Life Vest Inside donated 10% of each city’s overall fundraising to a local non-profit chosen by that city’s group leader. While the Guwahati event didn’t raise funds this year, the organisers wish to take part in this worldwide event in the coming years and also raise funds to support the cause. n

Photos by Neel

8 In The News Snippets Cake Mixing Ceremony in Novotel Guwahati

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eeping the festive spirit alive, Novotel Guwahati is all set for the annual Cake Mixing Ceremony, at round-theclock coffee shop ‘The SQUARE’ on 17th November, 2018 (Saturday). The timings for the event are from 4 PM to 6 PM. As per the hotel management, a myriad of flavours will be curated with an array of delicious ingredients such as ground almonds, raisins, black currant, prunes, figs, cherries, cranberries, sherry, rum and much more mixed altogether during this cake mixing ceremony.

Participants can unlock special surprises after the Cake Mixing ceremony and can enjoy festive Hi-Tea and a complimentary half pound Christmas Cake on the Christmas eve. There is also a 15 percent discount on the Christmas Eve gala dinner. Contact - 7578000511 for reservations.

Scan the QR code Get the G Plus app

G PLUS | NOV 17 - Nov 23, 2018

GSAT-29

by ISRO to connect remote areas of Northeast India

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ndia’s GSAT-29 communication satellite was successfully launched by the second developmental flight of Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle MarkIII (GSLV MkIII-D2) on Wednesday from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota. GSLV Mk III is a three-stage heavy lift launch vehicle developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

ABOUT GSAT-29

GSAT-29 is a multiband, multibeam communication satellite, intended to serve as test bed for several new and critical technologies. Its Ku-band and Ka-band payloads are configured to cater to the communication requirements of users including those from remote areas especially from Jammu & Kashmir and North-Eastern regions of India.

In addition, the Q/V-Band communication payload onboard is intended to demonstrate the future high throughput satellite system technologies.

Geo High Resolution Camera will carry out high resolution imaging. Optical Communication Payload will demonstrate data transmission at a very high rate through optical communication link.

ACCOLADES FOLLOW Prime Minister, Narendra Modi congratulated ISRO scientists on the successful launch. “My heartiest congratulations to our scientists on the successful launch of GSLV MkIII-D2, carrying GSAT-29 satellite. The double success sets a new record of putting the heaviest satellite in orbit by an Indian launch vehicle. The satellite will provide communication and internet services to the remotest corners of our country”, the Prime Minister said.

Assam Chief Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal tweeted, “A great milestone for India as the GSLV MkIII-D2 successfully launches the sophisticated GSAT-29 in space. This is a huge boost to digital connectivity, especially in Northeast which is transforming into a growth hub.

Congratulations to ISRO and the team of scientists behind it.”

NEDA Convenor and cabinet minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted, “I celebrate with pride the successful launch of GSLV MkIII-D2 carrying GSAT-29. The 67th launch from Sriharikota records heaviest satellite in orbit by an Indian launch vehicle. Kudos team ISRO. This shall especially boost connectivity in the Northeast.”

THE LAUNCHING PROCESS

GSLV MkIII-D2 lifted off from

the Second Launch Pad of SDSC SHAR at 17:08 hours (IST), carrying the 3423-kg GSAT-29 satellite.

About 17 minutes later, the vehicle injected the satellite into the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) as planned.

After injection, ISRO’s Master Control Facility at Hassan has assumed the control of the satellite. In the coming days, three orbit raising manoeuvres will be executed to position the satellite in the Geostationary Orbit at its designated location.

Two massive boosters with solid propellant constitute the first stage, the core with liquid propellant form the second stage and the cryogenic engine completes the final stage.

and Gaganyaan missions will be launched by this heavy-lifter.

Jayakumar B, Mission Director, GSLV Mark III said it is the guidance of the Mentors at ISRO that helped the team to march ahead while facing obstacles. “The industry partners too played a key role in this mission,” he said.

K Pankaj Damodar, Project Director, GSAT-29 said the launch will help to bridge the digital divide. He also said several next generation payload technologies will be demonstrated with this mission soon.

THE RESULT

WHAT THE MEN ON MISSION HAD TO SAY After the successful launch, ISRO Chairman Dr K Sivan said, “India has achieved significant milestone with our heaviest launcher lifting off the heaviest satellite from the Indian soil. The launch vehicle has precisely placed the satellite in its intended orbit.

I congratulate entire ISRO team for this achievement.” Declaring GSLV MKIII operational, Dr Sivan announced that Chandrayaan-2

The success of GSLV MkIII-D2 marks an important milestone in Indian space programme towards achieving self-reliance in launching heavier satellites. The success of this flight also signifies the completion of the experimental phase of GSLV Mark III.

SHORT HISTORY

The first successful mission of GSLV Mark III was an experimental suborbital flight in 2014. Subsequently, GSLV Mark III-D1 launched GSAT-19, a high throughput communication satellite, with a lift-off mass of 3150 kg, into GTO on June 5, 2017. n

Weather report for the week Guwahati

SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

Sunny

Sunny

Sunny

Mostly Sunny

Sunny

Sunny

27°/17° C

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27°/16° C

27°/16° C

27°/16° C

SATURDAY Sunny

27°/17° C

G PLUS | NOV 17 - Nov 23, 2018

TODAY’S PLAY

DETECTIVE

9-2-11

17 NOV

S AT U R DAY 7 P M

A gangster comedy set against the mesmerising backdrop of the Bombay of the black & white era. Its a whirlwind of romance, murder, deceit and suspense.

Director: Atul Kumar Cast: Atul Kumar, Neil Bhoopalam, Sukant Goel, Gagan Dev Riar, Abir Abrar, Rachel D’souza, Mallika Hanspal, Anna Ador

UPCOMING PLAYS FOREIGN

STORIES IN

BODY

A SONG

18 NOV | 4 PM SUNDAY

18 NOV | 7:30 PM SUNDAY

10 Special

G PLUS | NOV 17 - Nov 23, 2018

Chhath Puja celebrated with religious fervour in city Nehal Jain jain.nehal@g-plus.in

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housands paid obeisance to the setting sun on the banks of rivers and ponds across the city on the occasion of the Chhath Puja on Tuesday, November 13. The Hindu festival was celebrated with much fanfare and religious fervour in Guwahati along with several other parts of the country.

The four-day celebrations of Chhath Puja, dedicated to the Sun and his wives Usha and Sangya or Sandhya, concluded on Wednesday morning with thousands offering prayers to the rising sun in different parts of the country.

After offering prayers to Sun God, devotees broke their 36-hour fast and Prasad was distributed among the people.

Over the years, the festival, mostly celebrated by people of Bihar, Jharkhand and UP, has been widely adopted by people of different communities and faiths.

In Guwahati too, the Puja was celebrated with grandeur. Several stretches of the riverbank were decorated beautifully. The ghats of the Brahmaputra witnessed a heavy rush of people, with tight security arrangements made around the puja venues to thwart any untoward incident.

In order to thank the Sun God (Bhaskar) for bestowing the bounties of life on earth and to request the granting of certain wishes, devotees indulged in rigorous rituals for four days starting from November 11. The rituals included holy bathing, fasting and abstaining from drinking water (Vratta), standing in water for long periods of time, and offering Prasad (prayer offerings) and arghya to the setting and rising sun.

On the first day of the festival, devotees who observe fast take a bath in a river or pond, maintain

complete cleanliness and prepare food (consisting of rice and bottle gourd made in pure ghee). This day is known as ‘nhana-khana’ among the Biharis and is observed exactly four days from Diwali.

On the second day, known as kharna, devotees fast the whole

Devotees heading to the river in Guwahati | G Plus Photo without salt, onions or garlic. Emphasis is put on maintaining the purity of the food.

With Sun being the only Hindu God that is seen in

day without taking even water and end it by eating kheer-roti as dinner after offering it to the rising moon and Goddess Ganga. This is the only time when they eat or drink anything from the starting of the day till the last day of Chhath.

The third day is the main festival day wherein the devotees maintain nirjal vrat (fast without even water). It mainly consists of visiting the river bank and offering ‘argha’ (consisting of fruits and sweets in decorated in a winnow) and Surya Namaskar to the setting sun. Devotees, especially women, prepare Prasad that includes the traditional dish ‘thekua’ and visit the river banks during sunset, bathing and worshipping the Sun God. On the last day, Chhath Puja concludes with the offering of argha and Surya Namaskar to the rising sun and breaking the fast by eating Prasad prepared by other women of the community.

The Prasad offerings include sweets, Kheer, Thekua, rice laddu (made of rice grit) and fruits (mainly sugarcane, sweet lime and banana) offered in small bamboo winnows. The food is strictly vegetarian and is cooked

reality while being worshipped, it is believed that all the wishes (mannat) made during the puja come true. There is a tradition of filling Kosi in Chhath Puja. It is a belief that if a person wishes

for a vow and he is satisfied, he has to make a payment to God. For this, devotees prepare a parasol of sugar canes, decorate it in a pottery and offer the same to the God. n

CM Sonowal takes part in Chhath Puja celebration, greets people

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ssam chief minister, Sarbananda Sonowal, greeted people on the auspicious occasion of Chhath Puja. In his message to the people of the state, Sonowal said that Chhath Puja epitomizes performing puja to thank God for supporting life on earth and to seek divine blessings. “Since the observance of the festival involves a rigorous routine, including fasting, holy bathing, offering prayers to the rising and setting sun by standing amidst water, the festival is all about abstinence and purification,” he said.

“I hope the festival strengthens universal brotherhood and brightens peace, prosperity and progress,” Sonowal added.

Sonowal attended the

Chhath Mahotsav organized by Purbottar Hindusthani Yuvak Samaj at Kachomari Ghat in Fancy Bazar as the chief guest on November 13, Tuesday. Speaking on the occasion, he said that Assam is a microcosm of great Indian nation where people from different communities have been living in harmony and all of them are working in unison to make the state even stronger and greater.

He further stated that with the unified contribution of everybody, irrespective of all caste, creed, community and religion people are living peacefully in Assam since ages and the co-existence of everybody has made the land enriched and strong.

Greeting everybody on the

occasion of Chhath Mahotsav, Chief Minister Sonowal said, “On the holy occasion of Chhath Puja, let us all take a pledge to live more harmoniously and work unitedly to expedite the development of all.”

Governor of Assam, Prof Jagdish Mukhi, too extended his Chhath Puja wishes to the public.

In a message, the Governor said, “My heartfelt greetings to the people across the state on the auspicious occasion of Chhath Puja, where people participate in large numbers to offer prayers to Sun God. Hope the celebrations of the festival, showcasing utmost self-discipline, faith and belief, help in strengthening human values like restraint, abstinence, renunciation, etc.” n

Photo Feature

G PLUS | NOV 17 - Nov 23, 2018

City Chhath Puja in pictures

Thousands paid obeisance to the setting sun on the banks of rivers and ponds across the city on the occasion of the Chhath Puja

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Laughter Therapy Directed and designed by Meherzad Patel, Laughter Therapy is set in a therapy workshop, where we see four men - the Parsi - Mehernosh Siganporia, the Christian-Victor Rodricks, the Hindu-Mahesh Kadam and the Muslim boy-Mohammed Abdul Qadir Shaikh - all coming together to seek mental help from a therapist played by Mona Singh who seems to have issues of her own.

The 5 actors on stage portray 30 different characters in the play, which should be watched for its versatility.

These four men have done something illegal, or inappropriate, or have trouble facing their fears and have all gotten court-ordered therapy. Except, they have been forced into therapy they don’t wish to get cured and that’s what makes it hilarious and interesting. What was meant to be courtordered therapy turns into laughter therapy for the audience!

The roles of the four men are being played by Siddharth Merchant, Danesh Khambata, Danesh Irani and Sajeel Parakh.

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heatre is an art fo together to celebr through the tellin and in the presen through live-strea on. The city life and its habit atmosphere, the intrinsic be sense of grounding and pres

Detective 9-2-11 Set in the mesmerizing Mumbai of the black and white era, Atul Kumar’s shocking adventure tale is a ridiculous whirlwind of romance, murder, deceit and suspense. A casual evening at the theatre quickly turns into a fast-paced chase sequence for the unsuspecting hero when gun shots are fired at the legendary Opera House during a performance. A mysterious and beautiful woman lands in his arms pleading for help amid mob chaos and he reluctantly agrees, walking right into an international spy ring primed and ready to unleash a treacherous scheme that will disarm the nation and give away control of a vital defence secret. Without any warning or heroic intentions, Shekhar Kumar (the lead character) finds that he is the only one who can stop this outrageous plan.

Detective 9-2-11 is a gripping, nerve-wracking but thoroughly exhilarating escape drama where the events are always poised at the cusp of impossibility and yet, within the faint shadow of ‘probable’. Shekhar Kumar is the man of the hour, racing against time and hunted by both the good and bad guys all over land and sea. He remains incognito for sleazy sleuths and irresistible to femme fatales. Wrapped up in the enigmatic visual and narrative style of ‘Noir’, Shekhar is an ordinary man with an extraordinary story to tell.

Directed by the very talented Atul Kumar, the play features Gagan Dev Riar, Srishti Srivastava, Mrinmayee Godbole, Abir Abrar, Anna Ador, Mallika Singh, Neil Bhoopalam, Niketan Sharma, Rachel D Souza, Rohan Shetty, Sanket Kadam and Sukant Goel.

With that in mind, the third e Theatre Festival kicked off at Machkhowa at 7 PM on Frida play ‘Laughter Therapy’.

The Guwahati theatre festiva world-class performances w working towards becoming the cultural landscape of Gu

The idea of the festival is to b from all over India to allow a to get a feel of how producti of innovation are taking plac are not from Assam. The one to provide a platform in the of world class performing gr national, to showcase their p new audiences infusing fresh annual festival, now in its th a dynamic platform bringing and performances to the sta

The festival has fulfilled the a experience and understand in context of our human rela stereotypes.

G PLUS | NOV 17 - Nov 23, 2018

The three-day festival, this y four acclaimed plays, presen actors.

orm that brings people brate, challenge and provoke ng of stories. Theatre is live, nt world art is consumed ams, computers and so ts miss that extraordinary eauty of the art-form and sence that theatre gives.

edition of the Guwahati at Pragjyoti ITA Centre, ay, November 16 with the

al aims to showcase with quality entertainment, a prestigious landmark in uwahati.

bring a spectrum of plays audiences in Guwahati ion works and what kind ce in the theatres which e-of-a-kind event aims region for diverse range roups, local as well as performances amongst hness and vivacity. The hird year, visions to create g new and dynamic voices age.

Foreign Body Foreign Body is the beautifully crafted debut solo show by artist Imogen Butler-Cole about hope, healing and forgiveness after sexual assault. Uniquely told from the perspective of the survivor and perpetrator of the same assault, using a charged combination of verbatim, physical theatre and a stunning original soundtrack, Foreign Body is a brave, liberating and life-affirming story.

In the wake of #MeToo, #TimesUp and the naming of The Silence Breakers as TIME Person of the Year, Foreign Body has never been more relevant or more urgent.

After being developed for two years, the play premiered at Southbank Centre’s WOW Festival in March 2017, had a sell-out run at Soho Theatre that summer and toured to Exeter Bike Shed, Hamilton House Bristol, Coventry Equalities Festival, Northampton University and festivals such as Off Beat Oxford, Brainchild, Clear Lines and WOW Exeter and, most recently, VAULT Festival in London.

Written and performed solely by Imogene play has been directed by Fran Moulds.

Butler-Cole, the

Stories in a Song Stories in a Song is musical collage of theatre, literature and history, which includes accounts of music-making, and the struggles faced by musicians, laying the foundation for a collage of dramatized episodes that blend theatre, music, literature and history.

Several forms of theatre in India make abundant use of music, but Stories in a Song takes the help of theatre to tell stories of musical forms such as kajri, thumri-dadra, khayal, remixes and more. It features vignettes laced with humour and wit that tell stories of music and music making from history, literature, and theatre.

What’s most beautiful about Stories in a Song is that it is a play that talks of the subaltern, women’s emancipation, subversion, protest and repossession. But these are ideas that easily mingle with the larger stories and let you enjoy an evening of absolutely gorgeous song and dance.

The play has been conceived by Shubha Mudgal and Aneesh Pradhan and directed by Sunil Shanbag. Featuring Sukant Goel, Saurabh Nayyar, Namit Das, Avantika Ganguly, Ketaki Thatte, Trisha Kale, Makrand Deshpande, Sunil Shanbag, Gagan Riar and Sharvari Deshpande, the play wouldn’t be what it is without the musicians Sada Mulik (dholak, pakhawaj), Jayesh Dhargalkar (tabla) and Vinod Pagde with vocal support from Trisha Kale and Ajitesh Gupta.

avid appetite of the city to the relevance of theatre; ationships, culture and

year, is showcasing a total of nted by world class theatre G PLUS | NOV 17 - Nov 23, 2018

14 G Talk E

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HR challenges

round a month ago, I got a call from a good friend of mine who happens to be the chief editor of a leading English news channel.

The slight edge in his voice suggested that he was indeed desperate in trying to hire some quality copy-writers for his channel and he was seeking my recommendations for a few people who could meet his standards. Well, I failed to be of any help to him as, believe it or not, my situation was no different from his in terms of getting hold of suitable candidates for similar work on our news desks and field.

A few days later, my friend’s desperation was confirmed; I saw a Facebook update of his that looked virtually like an appointment advertisement.

I called to ask him if the update was of any help and, as expected, he said it was an exercise in futility.

The point of concern here is this extreme scarcity of people capable of delivering work as per their academic qualifications. There hardly seems to be people capable of writing short sentences and similar stuff in English using the proper punctuations and grammar correctly and one tends to ponder why the

situation has come to such a pass. And it is not without reason that you tend to wonder about the teaching quality and standards in our colleges and universities. Batches after batches keep graduating from these institutions of learning and are gainfully employed as per their acquired skills and qualifications. And yet, when it comes to the practicalities of our trade, a qualified MA in English or Journalism often comes a cropper to the extent that the academic qualification is looked at with suspicion.

This poor quality of human resources in Guwahati, especially in the field of news, is a matter of concern and the blame has to be put on the institutions of learning - right from the primary schools to the colleges and universities.

Nothing, just nothing, can be worse for the society if quality and excellence in teaching is compromised and undeserving people get armed with qualifications. Writing, journalism and such similar pursuits should not be considered as alternative careers because they are not; these are the most serious of vocations and demands total commitment.

Swapnil Bharali Editor

Making something out of Nothing “Tum doodh mangoge, hum Kiron Kheer denge...Tum insult karoge, hum cheer denge…” - Anonymous The above is a quote sent to G Plus in response to the KaranKirron fiasco. I think for a region that claims lack of attention, we always squander the opportunity to better educate ‘mainland India’ about us.

Instead of making an attempt to establish a positive image as a ‘people’, we go all out and attack anyone for having an opinion about something out of the Northeast.

The recent India’s Got Talent fiasco where Karan Johar posted a video and said that he wouldn’t wear the jaapi because it wouldn’t suit his attire sent our people in a fit (pun intended).

The Karan-Kirron fiasco teaches us that we have much to expose ourselves in terms of educating people about our region, our people, our culture and not react otherwise. If this were a positive experience for Karan and Kirron, they would make more educated videos/content on their social media channels to positively impact life in the region. However, since this experience is completely bitter now, you know that NE’s exposure on the show is going to get affected, and this of course has a ripple effect.

Other celebrities will now shy away from talking about Northeast and making the smallest attempt to connect with the region. Like it or not, Karan Johar getting embroiled in a controversy HAS an impact in Mumbai.

This means, we have to stop being offended at every little thing that goes wrong. Our obsession with asserting our culture is only going to get in the way of connecting with ‘mainland India’.

For your information, our people would equally fail to recognize tens out thousands of tribes from rest of India. There are people here equally unaware of tribes such as Bhil, Gond, Santhal, Jannsari, Sentinelese, Gujjars, Pangwala and more.

Let’s make an attempt to better educate each other rather than making it a ‘he did/she did’ incident.

Sidharth Bedi Varma

The way out: Strict traffic rules and counselling

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very Guwahatian will vouch for being frustrated every time they’re on the streets trying to manoeuvre their car or bike through a melee that just refuses to ease. Over the past five years there has been a noticeable lackadaisical attitude of the Guwahati Traffic Police (GTP) in enforcing traffic rules strictly.

Changing the uniform colours and getting leaner men cannot be a solution to traffic jams, if they hang onto their phones during peak working hours. Cars, buses and bikes stop and parked any which way they wish and GTP says nothing about it. For example, if GTP had made it a rule to wear helmets and seatbelts, then they should also make sure that people are following these rules. There should be strict monitoring in place, not just piecemeal.

Having said this, recently, I have noticed quite a flurry of activities of the GTP; stopping bikes and charging a fine from the driver for not wearing a helmet, walking up to people and reprimanding them for double-parking, et al. It is in fact heartening to see that they are getting stricter, when it has always been people like me who have been doing their work and telling people that they need to park their cars with a conscious sentiment for other commuters.

A couple of years ago, I started a ‘Clapping Club’, where I would stand at the corner of the road,

I would say, “Wow! Wonderful! Very good!

You’re doing a great job; driving on the wrong side of the road. You’re indeed setting a great example.”

They would look at me as if I was mad.

rEmpty galleries

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most of the time in front of the All India Radio gate, on the footpath and clap and jeer at commuters who drove on the wrong side of the traffic on the Chandmari Flyover. I would say, “Wow! Wonderful! Very good!

You’re doing a great job; driving on the wrong side of the road.

You’re indeed setting a great example.” They would look at me as if I was mad. Of course, I am mad about people not following the rules and the authorities not taking cognisance of this blatant fact. I have even taken pictures of the cars, bikes and cycles taking a turn towards the right onto the flyover when they could have taken the left to come around through a longer cut and believe me when I say this, there were more than 42 cars, including bikes and cycles making a wrong turn in flat 2 minutes. These people could have better still taken the road along the Assam Engineering Institute wall, which leads to Chandmari. But no, they want shortcuts at every instance and that is what is creating all the traffic woes in the city. The Chandmari Police Station does deploy some officers from time to time to catch hold of these culprits and issue challans but that too, once in a year. So, everyone has a field day and flouts the rules, knowing very well there won’t be a single traffic policeman to nab them. And the best part is, these people while breaking the traffic rules, have their daughter or son in tow. The very thought that these children are going to emulate their parents in another decade or so, breaks my heart.

These parents are leaving behind a legacy of wrong doings for their wards.

Apart from all this traffic hotchpotch, I have realised that there are very few drivers who respect pedestrians. I remember, while on a Rotary Peace trip to Canada, while crossing a road, our team from India was told to cross the road confidently, while the car stood several metres away from the crossing. If the car should try to run us down, our host repeated, the driver will be

O pinion Tinat Atifa Masood

fined and imprisoned. Here cars never stop at the zebra crossing, almost running people over, leave alone letting people cross over from one side to the other.

While I always make it a point to observe the zebra crossing rule, there would be others who would honk at me from behind, some would stall their cars and bikes right on top of the zebra crossing and some would glare at me as if I am an alien. Guwahatians have never understood the purpose of a zebra crossing, more so because the nouveau car owners have never been initiated into these pertinent facts of the road.

Drivers need training from the traffic department on how to behave with pedestrians and now, it is an important activity that the GTP should think of taking up, without delay!

Recently however, I have noticed that GTP is creating an impact with their traffic abhiyaan of imposing a fine on commuters for crossing over or standing on the zebra crossing!

It’s an absolutely new activity and people are being caught unawares. I have been taking pictures constantly of errant car drivers and posting them on social media and also reiterating on how important zebra crossings are at traffic signals and at vantage points on the road! I am sure along with extracting a fine from the drivers, GTP will also counsel them on their responsibility when it comes to the safety of pedestrians and other commuters.

The author is a writer, poet, blogger at large and socio-political activist. n

Letter to the Editor

he prestigious Bordoloi Trophy semi finals and final were held in Guwahati after all the preliminary matches were played in Sualkuchi and Dibrugarh respectively. Gone are the days of Bordoloi trophy which was played in the historic Judges field. The crowds used to mammoth as soccer fanatics used to make beelines to watch their favourite team and players live in action.

Live radio commentary by likes of Late Suren Ram Phukan, Babul Burmese, Pulin Das which was broadcast on AIR glued people to their radio sets who missed the live action on the field. The Bordoloi Trophy dominated the soccer scene in entire northeast India from 1960s to late 1980s. But with the advent of television Bordoloi Trophy lost its charm amongst the people. There are of course too many reasons, the foremost being people could see high quality international football on TV. The difference between the European or Latin American league and Indian domestic football including Bordoloi trophy is gigantic.

The empty galleries of this year’s Bordoloi Trophy semi finals and final make soccer loving people sad. Surprisingly the VIPs and VVIPs outnumbered spectators. Truly the glorious days of premier soccer competition are over and those earlier memories will be nostalgic.

Dr Ashim Chowdhury,

Ambari, Guwahati.

In Focus

G PLUS | NOV 17 - Nov 23, 2018

Neetali Das Actor

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eetali Das is a renowned actor and entrepreneur, known in the theatre circuit and TV and film fraternity of Assam. She has acted in numerous plays, many television serials, two short films and recently, a feature film.

Neetali is an actor now whose career graph has indeed been very interesting.

Born and brought up in Guwahati, Neetali did her schooling from St Mary’s Convent School till class 10 and went on to pursue higher secondary education in commerce stream from Arya Vidyapeeth College. Neetali thereafter moved to Mumbai where she graduated in B Com (honors) with specialisation in financial accounting and auditing from SNDT Women’s College.

Simultaneously while studying in college, Neetali started working part-time to support her expenses as much as possible in order to help her mother who was raising two kids single-handedly.

When Neetali was in class three, she lost her father to cancer. So, she grew up seeing her mother’s struggles and learnt from them.

Her mother is the strongest person in her life and her biggest in-

spiration. Neetali says, “I’ve learnt life’s most difficult lessons from my mother’s struggles.”

Neetali started working at fashion boutiques as a fashion advisor and later got into TV commercials through her friends in the industry. Working closely with the advertisement and entertainment industry, Neetali developed an interest in the field and decided to pursue post graduation in Advertisement and Public Relations from KC College, Mumbai.

“All through school and graduation, I was a very average student because studies never really interested me, the knowledge did. I was always more into co-curricular activities. During post graduation, however, I excelled in studies and passed with flying colours. It was the first time that I was enjoying what I was studying,” recalled Neetali, while speaking to G Plus.

While pursuing post graduation, Neetali worked in a Mumbai-based advertisement agency but moved back to Guwahati soon after completing her education to look after her mother and do something in her hometown.

In Guwahati, Neetali along with her then boyfriend and now husband opened an event com-

pany called ‘Masquerade’ in 2001.

Over the next four years, they organised various musical events, house parties, brand launches and corporate events. They catered to clients such as Hero Honda, Hyundai, and Bacardi to name a few.

At that time, the BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) sector was booming. So Neetali moved to the national capital to explore the field. However, after working at UK based Norwich Union for close to two years, she moved back to her hometown and got married to Dhirajananda Das, with whom she had been in a relationship for over 10 years.

It was after marriage that Neetali finally decided to give theatre acting a shot. She started her acting career with the English play ‘Double Trouble’ in 2007 to the appreciation of her audience.

She went on to perform in seven more English plays including ‘I Am Only Human’, ‘Date at Eight’ and ‘Bollywood Dreams’. Not only did the plays get staged in Guwahati, Neetali also travelled with the theatre group to other parts of the country like Kolkata, Dimapur and Shillong to stage the plays.

However, in 2014, Neetali made

a big shift from English plays to Assamese plays with Kopil Bora’s ‘Doytto Manhole’ written by Mitra Phukan. Since then, she’s been actively involved in Assamese theatre and has worked in Abinash Sharma’s ‘Wedding Album’ and ‘Siyor’ and D’Com Bhuyan’s ‘Aah!...Women!’ and ‘Where There’s A Will’.

Simultaneously with theatre, Neetali also started working in television serials. Neetali, who started her TV career with Munin Baruah’s ‘A Melancholic Triumph’, went on to star in well known serials like ‘Aparadh’ and ‘Ghar Juwai’. She stepped into films with Bhaskar Hazarika’s ‘Aamis’ which is scheduled to release early next year.

Speaking to G Plus about her experience of working with Munin Baruah, Neetali said, “Working with Bhaimon da was like a dream come true. He’s the one who believed in me and built my confidence. He was the one who told me that I had it in me to excel as an actor and his words kept me going. I feel really lucky to have had the opportunity to work with the legend.”

Currently, Neetali has two serials in the pipeline – Maya Senji’s ‘Srimanta Shankardeva’ and Monjul Boruah’s ‘Kaziranga’. Additionally, a short film titled ‘Cafe Storytellers’ is also in the pipeline. Her most recent project, a short film

15

titled ‘Whole in One’ directed by Rohan Das released last month.

She’s also starring in Rohan Das’ upcoming short film ‘True and False’ also to be released soon.

What a lot of people do not know about Neetali is that she’s an amazing baker. The co-owner of the Repose franchise located at Bora Service, she prepares customised cakes on order and caters to the personalised needs of the customers. The satisfaction and happiness of her clients keeps her going and she believes that taste and quality go hand in hand.

In a viral video recorded on the sets of India’s Got Talent 2018, people from the Northeast have accused Bollywood stars, Karan Johar and Kirron Kher of hurting sentiments Sanjay Singha Mistake is ours! Why are we always ready with Gamosa & Japi for any Tom, Dick and Harry? The same Gamosa is donned by our PM with such great pride. Why do we have to look towards these “bhands?” It looks like we are begging to promote. Let us do such great work that people willingly come forward to appreciate our culture. We have everything but the only issue is attitude. We still have to learn a lot, and when I say learn, it’s not about academics only but also about how the rest of the nation or world think in their everyday life. For one singer from Saregamapa like Debojit, we became so emotional. But honestly don’t you all think that another participant, the Maharastrian girl was also great? How much has Debojit done for Assam till date?

Now he is anchoring for Bengali channels. See, we have to accept that we are emotional fools.

Nikki Kaushal Today, stand-up comedians mock everything below the sky and get away with the joke tag. Even the offended people are the same who enjoy the mockery in the stand-up comedy. Often, Bollywood mocks India one way or the other. Saying this, can we stop watching his (Karan Johar) direction? If you can do this, I will appreciate all those who are hurt.

Sankoli Lochung Please get over it! I’m from NE too - particularly from Arunachal. I don’t see any racist intent in this video, though it might have just happened but I’m pretty sure they didn’t mean any harm to anyone especially towards us folks morally or sentimentally. For Christ’s sake stop giving everything a racist tag. We people have this habit of making issues out of nothing. We people always crack such jokes at home or with friends but our intension is never to hurt. If we start taking everything said on national television, then every other day there will be a war taking place in our country. And on a personal note, I didn’t find anything that could hurt the sentiments of Northeast people.

Nitesh Jain Why they find all these so amusing? They feel our northeast culture is meant to be glamorised for their publicity stunts. And it keeps happening now and then.

Dare they talk like that against Maharashtra’s cultural symbols? These people can go to any extent to get TRP for their shows. Money making is a business where today we can find culture being openly traded. Thank God that it came into limelight and people have shown their anger on social media. Now these so called Bollywood celebs will think twice before making any comments.

Roshni Chopra This show should be stopped immediately. These celebrities have no right to make fun of any religion, caste and creed. Karan Johar was nothing earlier and then suddenly he became popular and he is not able digest his popularity. That’s it. Being a popular celeb from India, he should know what to speak and what not.

Each word matters on screen by these celebrities.

16 Feature

G PLUS | NOV 17 - Nov 23, 2018

Magic of the Island of Fire in Philippines Gayatri Das

S

iquijor or the island of fire in Central Visayas of Philippines has gained notoriety as the land of black magic or mystic (depends on how you see it). One of the reasons it was chosen by the Mudois’ as it equates to bargain travel.

Late noon, as we stepped off the boat into the blue waters and the white sands it felt good to be alive.

We were the only Indian family in the expansive and exotic Coco Grove beach resort where we’d be celebrating New Years Eve ’18. At the resort lobby we were greeted with a full-throated squawk of the temperamental but colourful centrepiece, a Brazilian Macaw rescued from smugglers.

At the pre-booked suite with a sea view (more like a huge studio apartment with 1 toilet) right above the diving center, Tannishi and I took the small bedroom and the rest had the big living room with a bed and wardrobe. For such a high-end hotel it had sluggish service and dated technology (only 2 WiFi hot spots). Rupa immediately went to work making the hotel a home, much to my amusement. I got into my swimsuit and headed for the beach to gape at another striking sunset. Later in the evening after everyone else had finished their toilette, I took a relaxed shower to wash off the salt. The excited kids explored the resort then ordered dinner in the room while us adults headed for the restaurant for ‘Sisig’ (meat/ fish dish), ‘Halohalo’ dessert with cocktails and a chocolate mousse cake to conclude Uzzal’s birthday!

The next morning or the final day of the year, I woke up late to join the others at the restaurant for a hearty breakfast. With his spontaneity and planning, Uzzal had literally got the wheels rolling by hiring an auto rickshaw for 1000 peso for a day’s sightseeing tour (1 piso= Rs 1.30). The sun was hot and bright as all of us got into

the colourful jeepney to be driven around Siquijor town that’s a mixture of Goa and an Assamese village at first glance. Our first stop was a pond under an old tree that doubles as a natural fish spa.

For 10 pisos each, we dipped our tootsies in the clear lake to have an organic pedicure i.e. 5 minutes of tickling. I’d got mine done a week before, so a few nibblers settled for

my ankle wart. It appeared that the Garra rufa fish made a beeline for my friend’s neglected pads as she spends less time on herself than she does on her family.

Tannishi, The Diving Queen Next we headed to the 17th century Saint Francis of Assisi Church. We bought a few candles from the poor hawkers outside and lit them inside the decrepit house of prayer. After a quick stroll to the nunnery opposite and a few photos below the azure sky and verdant foliage, we were on our way to Cambugahay Falls. A steep descent to a little ravine took us to 3 waterfalls made accessible to tourists with fun activities like swings and a makeshift raft. A lazy local guide who was appointed our cameraman shot countless pictures as we frolicked, jumped, swam and did a ‘Ram Teri Ganga Maili’ under the cascading

falls. All of us took turns swinging off the tyre while Tanni, the daredevil did heaps of jumps from a higher altitude (pic above).

A few hours later, we headed for a modern water park with 10 meters cliff jump right into the sea. Yet again she took center stage with 3 jumps off that cliff, so Vibhan was compelled to up the ante from 12 metres.

I too gave into temptation and jumped from 10m to land straight on my ample ass which stung for days. Uzzal braved his first and suffered a similar fate. As evident in the photos (mostly shot by the Mudois’) the adults had as much levity as the kids.

Our next stop was for lunch at a scenic hill-top restaurant where we hogged like pigs and drank like fish. The sun was still high when we were back at the resort; so we went about on our own. By evening our tanned complexions glowed in formal attire; as we

readied for the NYE resort party with an expensive buffet and variety entertainment show. The cordial and helpful staff more often than not made up for their slow service. The games were fun, the food was delicious, the fireworks were spectacular, the mood of the guests was upbeat and the staff was on standby for overflowing drinks.

The dance floor was stolen by a few kids who had the audience enthralled with MJ like moves. The event ended at a decent time and we hit the hay by 2 am with exhaustion, beers and of course laughter.

Next morning I skipped

brekky, had a cuppa and swam a few laps in a near empty pool.

That activity was immediately abandoned when the pool was invaded by a raucous Chinese family. I proceeded to lollygag in a hammock with a cocktail for some ‘me’ time and make HNY calls to all and yonder. We ladies relaxed with a massage at the resort on the first day but folded early after dinner, drinks and yakking.

Coming back to the last leg of the PH trip. We were unsure whether we’d be able to make it

back to the mainland before the 3rd because of a typhoon alert.

Although prepared to leave at any moment’s notice, I wasn’t worried.

Fortunately for us, Uzzal’s dragooning got us an emergency ferry as well as certificates from the coast guard to cover any losses during the calamity. We had booked the same flight from Dumaguate and I had Cathay connecting from Manila in 8 hours.

Within 30 minutes we boarded the shuttle van to the ferry pier then the big boat to the province hoping against hope, we’d make the 5pm flight with a few other guests in the same conundrum.

The sea belied any signs of an impending typhoon and we even caught sight of flying fish and a pod of wild dolphins (another first) in the placid sea. That turned to be quite a coincidence because Uzzal had a dolphin watching trip planned earlier had nature not taken its course. At the pier we were quickly hustled into a vehicle that sped to Dumaguete airport. Guess what? We made it in the nick of time! The dolphins turned out to be a lucky omen as our flight to Manila was delayed.

In Manila airport bid a hasty farewell to the family there and ran with suitcase to the Cathay check-in.

That flight too was held up, not by 1 hour but 5 so I had much time to rest and browse.

As the plane touched down Hong Kong in the morning, I decided to give work a miss to reminisce the incredible events of a marvelous vacation (I gotta repeat every year).

Was it something about the island’s reputation that made 2018 begin with a note of adventure and surprise? Whatever the case, so far so good!

Indeed my Philippines vacation with the fun-loving Mudois’ was remarkable, because they’re an open-minded family with a spirit of adventure that would put avid travellers to shame. They’ve globe-trotted to many exotic and unheard of locales; from the remote Urumqi desert to the mountains of Leh, from Komodo Island of Indonesia to Shangrila of China…and the best part, they’ve done it as a family! n

Trotter

G PLUS | NOV 17 - Nov 23, 2018

17

Robot waiters biggest attraction at Nepali restaurant Unknown Facts: 1. Stan Lee” was a pen name for Stanley Martin Lieber 2. Before making it big, Stan Lee worked in jobs such as writing obituaries for a news service, delivering sandwiches and working as an office boy.

3. Lee was just 17 when first editing job sort of fell into his lap 4. Lee also served in World War 2 5. Fantastic Four was the first massive hit by Stan Lee after which Marvel Comics was born 6. Spider-Man, became Marvel’s most successful superhero character which was created by Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko in 1962 7. Stan Lee used to come up with a new comic book every day for 10 years 8. Lee’s favourite character was SpiderMan because for him it seemed to be the most popular, and he wanted to go with the way the world judges it.”

9. In 2009, Disney acquired Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion 10.Lee has appeared in cameo roles in nearly every Marvel movie.

Doctors pull jewellery from woman's stomach as condition sees her 'eat' metal

D

octors were left scratching their heads in disbelief after they removed dozens of metal objects, including bracelets, rings and hair pins from a female patient’s stomach.

The woman, known only as Sangita, was admitted to the hospital suffering from severe stomach pains.

Concerned, doctors ran a series of tests to see what might be behind her painful symptoms.

They were left totally

dumbfounded when they saw a lump in her stomach containing dozens of foreign objects.The patient,was thought to have swallowed the items over long periods of time causing the metal to build up and her stomach to harden.

Dr Nitin Parmar, senior surgeon at the Ahmedabad Civil hospital in India said, “The stomach of the woman had become rock hard.

When we conducted the X-ray, it showed a lump in her stomach.

Safety pins consumed by

her had partially perforated her lungs. A pin that she had consumed even punctured her stomach walls prompting the doctors to carry out the surgery immediately.

Doctors were then given the grim task of removing the various items she had consumed, many of which were sharp and metallic. One item recovered in the procedure was a mangalsutra, a traditional necklace worn by married Hindu women.

Stranger still was the reason why she had consumed these items in the first place. Sangita was thought to be suffering from 'acuphagia' - a rare disorder where a person consumes sharp metallic and indigestible objects.

Prior to her surgery and admission to a government hospital she was found wandering the streets. After a few days, she started complaining of the pain in her stomach.

She will be kept under observation by doctors to ensure that no further obstructions can enter her system.

(Source: mirror.co.uk)

Britain’s first upside down house opens its upside down doors

D

o you ever have the urge to glue all your possessions and furniture to the ceiling just to inject some excitement into your life? If so, and if you don’t mind a bit of nausea, we have some good news – you can now visit the UK’s first upside down house.

The bizarre attraction has opened its upside down doors to the public in Bournemouth, Dorset. For an entry fee of £4, you can get inside and take some weird upside down photos to really confuse your Instagram followers.

The two-storey building, which is painted pink for good measure, features fully-furnished rooms

including an office, living space, bedroom and bathroom. It is made of timber panels that fit together

like ‘big Lego’, according to Tom Dirse, CEO of Upside Down House UK. He said, “I was approached by the man who is now my business partner about bringing an upside down house to Britain.

He was behind the attraction in Lithuania and after around nine months of work we’ve managed to get this one open in Bournemouth. It’s something very different and people seem really excited by it.” The house will remain in the seaside town until at least June 2019.

(Source: dailymail.co)

“

Please enjoy your meal,” says Nepal’s first robot waiter, Ginger, as she delivers a plate of steaming dumplings to a table of hungry customers.

The poor Himalayan nation is better known for its soaring mountain peaks than technological prowess. But a group of self-taught young innovators are seeking to change that. Local start-up, Paaila Technology, built Ginger, a 1.5 metre (fivefoot) tall robot, from scratch and programmed her to understand both English and Nepali.

The bilingual humanoid robot named Ginger after a common ingredient in Nepali cuisine can even crack jokes like Apple’s Siri or Amazon’s Alexa. Three ‘Gingers’ work at Naulo restaurant in the dusty capital Kathmandu, where potholed roads and crumbling buildings still bear the scars of a powerful earthquake that hit more than three years ago.

“This is our testing ground. We are fine tuning it with responses from our customers,” Binay Raut, CEO of the company said. The team of 25 young engineers - Raut is the oldest at 27 - worked for

months to build the robot, welding and moulding the prototype by hand in their tiny three-roomed office.

Naulo opened its doors four months ago and their robot waiters have been a big draw, attracting curious customers of all ages. Ginger, who is able to sense movement and obstacles, deftly navigates the crowded restaurant carrying trays laden with food.

Customers order via a touch screen menu fitted into the tables and Ginger is called to the kitchen when dishes are ready. “It was a completely new experience,” said 73-year-old Shalikram Sharma, who was born before televisions were available in Nepal.

Ginger has become quite a selfie-star and is often distracted from her work by children keen to get a photo with the sleek robot.

“They look so good. I could not believe they were made in Nepal,” said Neelam Kumar Bimali, a diner enjoying an evening meal with his family. With its eyes on the global market, Paila Technology is in the process of patenting its design to sell at home and abroad.

(Source: ndtv)

4 men dressed up as a bus to cross vehicle-only bridge

I

n a bizarre incident, four men dressed up as a bus in order to cross a vehicle-only bridge in Russia.

A video posted on YouTube shows four pairs of legs sticking out of a cardboard yellow bus on Zolotoy Bridge in the city of Vladivostok.

According to a local daily, the bridge, also known as the Golden Bridge, has been closed for pedestrian traffic since 2015 - which seemed to be but a small obstacle for these four resourceful men.

However, though hilarious, their disguise was definitely not

foolproof. They were soon stopped by a guard on the bridge and escorted off.

The comical video of their misadventure, however, has gone massively viral on social media it has been reshared hundreds of times, collected millions of views and reactions to it have even been curated into their own Twitter moment.

According to local reports, the ministry of transport of Russia, which is engaged in the protection of the Golden Bridge, declined to comment on the incident.

(Source: indiatoday)

18 Review

G PLUS | NOV 17 - Nov 23, 2018

Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Zoe Kravitz, etc.

Director: David Yates

T Movie Review

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

to its audience, not really looking to expand its reach. It is also fairly good looking, thanks to the sprawling production design and the cinematography, even if the colours are more muted than in the previous instalment. And if you were in any way disappointed

by Michael Gambon’s portrayal of Dumbledore post Azkaban, you will be happy to know that Law is absolutely perfect in the role, oozing unexpected warmth in the midst of plot and aesthetic coldness.

But there are downsides – like the casting of Depp, who is even more uncharismatic here than in the last Pirates of the Caribbean movie. There is also the issue of tone – where the film constantly swings from over the top darkness (like children dying) to silliness in a matter of minutes, and it does so throughout the film. n

he Crimes of Grindelwald, the second film in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, has more of the same concoction of ‘magic in the real word’ levity, but it is way grimmer and darker, a tone that works in fits and starts, but makes for an ultimately unremarkable movie.

The second film is pretty straightforward – the villain has escaped prison and we are once again put in the shoes of Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) as he teams up with his buddy Jacob (Dan Fogler) to track down the dark wizard. A young Dumbledore (Jude Law), who seems to have some history with Grindelwald, is particularly interested in putting him back in prison as the mystery behind Credence (Ezra Miller) continues to waft as a side plot.

This is a film targeted specifically

Starring: : Sunny Deol, Sakshi Tanwar, Ravi Kishan, Saurabh Shukla, etc.

Director: Chandraprakash Dwivedi

K

ashinath Singh’s novel Kashi Ka Assi is a wonderfully sharp observation of the people of Assi Mohalla in Banaras.

It’s also a commentary on the social and political turmoil that India was undergoing during the 80s and 90s, when the Ram Janmabhoomi and Mandal movements were growing and spreading and heading towards their inexorable peaks.

‘Mohalla Assi’ was delayed for six years before it could be released.

However, looking at the film, there seems to be literally no reason for that to have happened. But it may have helped the film considering the Ram Temple issue has heated up again and more people will be curious to know just what is in the film. The thing is, they will be disappointed considering there is very little that will either tell you

T

he new Fire TV Stick model that was launched in the country last month comes with a price tag of Rs. 5,999.

The new Alexa Voice Remote, available with the Fire TV Stick 4K, is also available standalone at Rs. 1,999.

For the new Fire TV Stick 4K, Amazon.in is offering EMI options starting from Rs. 282. As an upgrade over the original Fire TV Stick, the Fire TV Stick 4K is designed to deliver high-quality, 4K content and supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+ technologies.

Customers with the existing Fire TV Stick can also avail the controlling support by purchasing the new Alexa Voice Remote.

The Fire TV Stick 4K is available for purchase in India through Amazon.in. Customers can also opt for a two-year OneAssist Protection Plan at Rs. 499. Additionally, the new Alexa Voice Remote is available separately for existing Fire TV Stick users at Rs. 1,999.

more on the subject, let alone hold your interest.

The film looks at the changing landscape of the holy city of Varanasi and focuses particularly on the Assi Ghat, one of the holiest places in Hinduism. The book has successfully managed to show the changing face of Varanasi through interesting conversations that happen at chai shops. The film, on the other hand, fails miserably on that subject.

Sunny Deol as Kashi is unconvincing and even seems uncomfortable mouthing the abuses that the dialogue is littered with. It’s almost as if he doesn’t want to curse on screen! Sakshi Tanwar delivers a credible performance in a role that has more shades to it than Deol’s.

Ravi Kishan, as the wily guide, could have provided the needed comic relief, but he fails to do so. n

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Similar to the previous Fire TV Stick, the Fire TV Stick 4K supports content from services such as Amazon Prime Video, Hotstar, Netflix, Zee5, and SonyLIV among others. It also has Firefox and Silk browsers to let you surf the Web or access YouTube and Facebook.

Furthermore, you can listen to your favourite music by accessing Amazon Prime Music, Gaana, and TuneIn. It is worth mentioning here that while the Fire TV Stick 4K supports 4K UHD content delivery, your TV set needs to have 4K support in order to enable the

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Amazon claims that the Fire TV Stick 4K is over 80 percent more powerful than last year’s Fire TV Stick. It is powered by a quad-core processor clocked at 1.7GHz and is touted to be the “first media stick available with Dolby Vision” support. Further, there is support for 4K Ultra HD, Dolby Atmos, HDR, HDR-10, HLG, and HDR10+ content. Users can also use the Alexa integration by pressing the voice com-

Mohalla Assi 08:45 PM

Mohalla Assi

and dual-band, dual-antenna WiFi that supports 802.11ac networks.

For connectivity, the Fire TV Stick 4K has an HDMI output and supports power via Micro-USB. The bundled Alexa Voice Remote combines Bluetooth and multidirectional infrared technology alongside using a proprietary cloud-based service from Amazon to enable controlling of your TV set as well as the Fire

volume, and mute buttons to control your TV, soundbar, or other AV equipment.

Features

You can also use new Alexa skills on the Fire TV Stick 4K to view live camera feeds, check sports scores, order food, book a cab, or stream songs using your voice. Likewise, you can pair your Echo devices with your Fire TV to control your TV and ask Alexa to play and search for your favourite content, access new apps, or control the playback on your Fire TV - all without using the bundled remote.

Verdict

mand button on the bundled remote to watch their 4K content using their voice.

There is also 8GB of onboard storage as well as Bluetooth 5.0+ LE

TV Stick simultaneously without requiring the use of the native remote controller of your TV. There are dedicated power,

With the latest arrival, the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K becomes one of the cheapest native 4K players in India. The Apple TV 4K is already available in India as a 4K player. However, it is not as affordable as the Fire TV Stick 4K, with a starting price of Rs. 17,430 for the 32GB storage variant, and Rs. 19,480 for the 64GB variant. n

Entertainment

G PLUS | NOV 17 - Nov 23, 2018

Papon releases new song ‘Mongeet’ on Children’s Day

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ngaraag Papon Mahanta released a new song titled Mongeet on Wednesday, on the occasion of Children’s Day 2018.

The song has been made in collaboration with Nilotpal Bora, the voice behind the hit Assamese song Majuli and written by Manash Mahanta, a famous lyricist of

positive change in society.

“Mongeet is my first collaboration with my little brother and a very talented musician Nilotpal Bora and penned by another dear brother Manash Mahanta. It’s our prayer together for a better tomorrow,” Papon said.

Mongeet is a song of the mind on a journey to connect with

between negativity and positivity, between the purposeless and the purposeful, between catastrophe and genesis.

The music of the song has been produced by Ishan Das and Nilotpal Bora, its recording, mixing and mastering has been done by Pranjal Borah. The beautiful video of the song has been directed and

International children’s and short film fests to be held in Guwahati

T

he first ever International Children Film Festival and International Short and Documentary Film Festival of the North East will be held in Guwahari in the third week of January 2019.

The two events will be organised

by Jyoti Chitraban in collaboration

with the Regional Institute from the Both the

Assam.

Papon hopes that the song will be liked by the audience and will be helpful in bringing about a

the he arts. It’s about ope ning the doors to creativity, harmony, love and peace by enlightening our minds to see the difference -

cinematographed by Parasher Baruah with Tonmoy Thakur as the assistant director and Saheb Bagchi as the video editor.

Suspended Inspector Boro to hit theatres on December 7

A

fte r the grand succe ss and huge box office collections of ‘Local Kung Fu’ and ‘Local Kung Fu 2’, popular actor-director Kenny Basumatary and his Local Kung Fu team is back with their third venture titled ‘Suspended Inspector Boro’. The film, whose full trailer was released on November 15, will hit theatres on December 7.

The film is an action thriller starring Utkal Hazowary, who plays an honest, no-nonsense policeman. The film’s story revolves around Inspector Boro, an incorruptible; take no-nonsense cop highly skilled at martial art.

He gets suspended for bashing up a well-connected gang of traffickers. A Superintendent

of Police asks him to unofficially track down a girl named ‘Sabrina Rai’ who’s gone missing three days ago. Someone had taken her

from her village to Guwahati city under the pretext of training her

for the hospitality industry, but her phone’s been switched off three days now and she’s not at her hostel either. Inspector Boro heads to Guwahati and punches and kicks his way to the uncomfortable truth – Sabrina might have been entangled in a trafficking ring run by a corrupt policeman.

The cast of the film includes several other actors from the Local Kung Fu film, only new addition to the cast is Poonam Gurung, who had a highly appreciated role in Bengali film Khoj.

Speaking to media about his upcoming film, Basumatary said, “Compared to the Local Kung Fu films, the action here is one level higher. We didn’t break anything in Local Kung Fu one and two. We are breaking a lot of stuff this time.”

19

Dr Bhupen Hazarika Film and Television and with support Government of Assam. events have got the

government’s nod and now only the final schedule remains to be declared.

Chairman of Jyoti Chitraban, Pabitra Margherita informed the media that although the Children Film Festival and the Short and Documentary Film Festival are two different events, both will be held in a collaborative manner.

“The events, to be of three days’ schedule each, will follow one another and will be of the same standard as the Guwahati International Film Festival (GIFF), which concluded recently. More than 100 films from over 50 countries will be screened within the six-day schedule,” he added.

The event, consisting of both film screening and brainstorming sessions, will include films meant for various age groups.

“Many film festivals are open only for persons in the age group of 18 years or above.

This ultimately deprives the adolescents. But, so many films have been made for adolescents, too, and those films are helpful for their intellectual development,” Margherita said, stressing that the upcoming festival will give a space to such youths.

Assamese Filmmaker Bobby Sarma Baruah’s ‘Mishing’ screened at Kolkata International Film Festival

M

ishing (The Apparition) a film based on the novel written by Sahitya Akademi awardee Yeshe Dorjee Thongchi was screened in the 24th Kolkata International Film Festival (Competition section) on Thursday, November 15.

The film, directed by Assamese filmmaker Bobby Sarma Baruah, has been produced by Sulakhyana baruah and Co-produced by Basanta Kumar Baruah and Bobby Sarma Baruah.

The screening of Mishing witnessed a houseful audience at KIFF. Speaking to G Plus, an elated producer Sulakhyana Baruah said, “It was a wonderful experience being a part of KIFF. The film received tremendous response from the audience and we’re very thankful for the same.

The e diting of the fim has been done by Ratul Deka, its cinematography is by Sonu, sound designed by Rahul Rabha and production design by Photik Baruah.

The prestigious Kolkata International Film Festival, which was started in the year 1995, was held from 10th

to 17th November, 2018 with the aim to make cinema goers laugh, cry, scream and sing together.

20 Fun

G PLUS | NOV 17 - Nov 23, 2018

Horoscope of the week You are now starting to become a little restless about the slow pace of progress in your career. And unfortunately, the planets are still not in a mood to put things right. Efforts never go waste so even if you don’t see the tree of your efforts bearing fruit now, if you have the patience to wait for it to grow and water it regularly, you will certainly relish the fruits in the future.

There have been some issues between you and your spouse lately. This week, you will strive to mend the fences because happiness is what you want in your relationship. And as things come back to normal, the two of you can focus on other important things in life.

Buckle up your shoes if you are a businessman for there’s some tough competition waiting out there for you. Now that shouldn’t dampen your spirits; in fact, it should get your blood pumping and mind running. Take the competition as a challenge and you will go places. If you do a job, you need to be really good at your work if you wish to remain in the good books of your boss.

Moon meets Saturn in its own Sign Capricorn – your 5th House. This will prompt you to work harder and aim bigger.

Business-people will aim bigger now. However, things may not move as swiftly as you desire.

There may be niggling troubles at work-place for professionals. No major monetary gain is foreseen for now.

Being there for your loved ones when they need you the most helps to strengthen the bond of love you share with them. Well, they need you this week; so be sure you spend some time with them. Now let’s move towards your professional front. Jupiter and Mercury transiting through the 3rd House will help you develop important and fruitful relations with significant names in your industry.

Jupiter and Mercury now move through your 2nd House. This will bring gains and opportunities, along with an expansive home and family life. Additions in family are likely now. There may also be some guests visiting you. With Mercury’s presence, you will be thinking and speaking well – and your ideas will be grand and intellectual.

If you are not careful, there is a possibility of your suffering a financial loss.

Whatever happens – look at the gains you make in terms of understanding life’s important lessons. Saturn, moving through your 2nd House, makes you learn things the hard way.

Business persons and professionals need to avoid short-term travel mid-week.

Unsure about success, you might be a little hesitant to make any commitments around this time. You will adopt a cautious approach instead of being ready to face challenges. You may even resort to performing a pooja to get divine blessings for progress and prosperity. Mars is moving through your 2nd House of finances along with malefic Ketu.

Saturn will be moving through your 12th House linked with expenditure and loss.

Expenses will soar and unexpected expenses will make surprise appearances; be prepared for both. Possibility of losses, too, cannot be ruled out. But things can be fixed with meticulous planning, isn’t it? Start saving from right now and you will be in a strong position to handle that rainy day.

You may be eager to formulate a strong strategy to increase the inflow of money, as the week begins. Jupiter, now moving in the company of Mercury, through your 10th House of Karma will encourage you. Positive influence of Jupiter over your 2nd House will add strength to your financial position – but this will happen gradually.

What is the name of the first modern day Assamese Drama?

3

Which dish was invented by Auguste Escoffier in 1880 as a tribute to a summer month in the French Revolutionary Calendar when Robespierre was denounced as a tyrant?

4

What is the Japanese word for ‘skill’ or ‘talent’?

5

Bent Ekeroth played which iconic character in the history of world movies?

6

Identify this Ballon d’Or winner Footballer from the 90s, presently the President of Liberia.

Dr. Soubhadra Chakrabarty This quiz has been brought to you by Brain Jam, a property of Priya Communications

Luann By Greg Evans

curio-city

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1 8 2

8 3 1 4 7 1 5 3 8 3 4 5 9 2 2 9 6 6 4 3 9 9 6 7 9 5 8 7 6 Daily Sudoku: Thu 15-Nov-2018 3 1 9

9 6 1 7 2 6

6 9 7 4 4 5 7 6 8 5 1 5 9 3 6 1 7 1 9 medium 2 7

Daily Sudoku: Fri 9-Nov-2018

easy

3 last 2 7week 8 5 solution 4 9 6 1 5 6 4 9 1 3 8 7 2 7 5 9 1 8 4 2 6 3 1 8 9 7 2 6 3 4 5 3 1 4 2 5 6 9 8 7 6 7 1 5 3 2 4 8 9 6 8 2 3 7 9 4 1 5 8 5 3 1 4 9 7 2 6 4 6 5 9 2 8 3 7 1 9 4 2 6 7 8 5 1 3 2 9 3 7 6 1 8 5 4 4 1 8 3 6 5 2 9 7 5 49 37 61 25 98 21 37 68 4 4 18 71 56 33 84 79 92 56 2 8 4 7 6 3 5 1 9 medium 2 Daily Sudoku: Thu 15-Nov-2018

5 3 1 8 9 2 7 4 6 Daily Sudoku: Fri 9-Nov-2018

easy

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Word of the week 1. Bayern Munich 2. Ram Navami by Gunaviram Barua, written in 1857 3. Lobster Thermidor 4. Noh, the oldest major theatre art that is still being performed 5. The role of Death in Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal 6. George Weah

Mia San Mia is the most popular chant of which football club?

4 9

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curio-city 1

Sudoku

(c) Daily Sudoku Ltd 2018. All rights reserved. (c) Daily Sudoku Ltd 2018. All rights reserved.

Moon meets Saturn in its own Sign Capricorn – your 9th House – when the week begins. This cosmic alignment may prompt you to plan for your future and be more responsible towards your work and career, feels Ganesha. Mars moving through your 10th House along with Ketu - will keep you immersed in work activities.

(c) Daily Sudoku Ltd 2018. All rights reserved. (c) Daily Sudoku Ltd 2018. All rights reserved.

This week, your 10th House is hosting Moon and Saturn. This planetary position will encourage you to plan out a sound strategy to boost your career. You will be very particular about all the deadlines and quality of work you deliver this week. Furthermore, Jupiter and Mercury, which are transiting through the 9th House, are likely to bestow a huge opportunity to make money.

valorous adjective [val-er-uh s] courageous; valiant; brave.

Crossword Across

Down

1 Pulchritude (6) 4 Straight downhill ski run (6) 8 Jordan’s capital (5) 9 Afghan fundamentalist militia (7) 10 North African country (7) 11 Black and white beast (5) 12 Defamatory (9) 17 Trump’s predecessor (5) 19 Large dish (7) 21 Adult (5-2) 22 Wherewithal (5) 23 Beer and lemonade mixture (6) 24 Wagered (6)

1 Composer of a well-known lullaby published in 1868 (6) 2 Senior naval officer (7) 3 Uniform jacket (5) 5 West Indian ballad (7) 6 Not rural (5) 7 Grammatical word structure in sentences (6) 9 Farewell remark — dipole top (anag) (6-3) 13 Whacked on the head (7) 14 Reversal (7) 15 Branches (6) 16 Forced open (6) 18 Hawaiian greeting (5) 20 Let in (5)

Last week’s solution

Lifestyle

G PLUS | NOV 17 - Nov 23, 2018

Vaastu of perfumes

A

romatherapy is an alternate healing treatment that uses natural plant extracts to promote health and well-being. It is also called essential oil therapy.

Aromatherapy uses aromatic essential oils medicinally to improve the health of the body, mind, and spirit. It enhances both physical and emotional health.

Aromatherapy is widely used as an instrument in science of late and conventional medicine has recognized its benefits. It can manage pain, improve sleep quality, reduce stress, agitation, and anxiety, soothe sore joints, treat headaches and migraine, alleviate side effects of chemotherapy, ease discomforts of labour, fight bacteria, virus, or fungus, improve digestion and palliative care and boost immunity.

Perfumes can also show one’s personality.

Room fresheners, when sprayed across a home or office or a vehicle, can bring a place to life by eliminating all negative and unpleasant odour. You feel nice when you enter a place which has a nice fragrance. It has many therapeutic benefits, too, like curing headache and treating insomnia.

Use of perfumes or fresheners at home is important to attract fresh, positive and vibrant energy.

Some common sources of fragrances are incense

must be stored in the northwest corner of the house. This is the direction for relationship and communication and ideal to store perfumes and related products.

A few tips

1. Add attar

stick,s flowers as well as oil diffusers. According to the principles of Vaastu, perfumes and fragrant products have a connection with planet Venus or Shukra.

The use of such products pleases the planet and helps promote relationships.

Directions

Items used as fragrances

(fragrant oil derived from plants) to a jar of holy water and sprinkle the liquid across the house. This helps resolve conflicts and build positive ambience.

2. Burning camphor in the house can dispel negative energies.

3. Common home aromas use include fragrant flowers, incense sticks as well as scented candles. Burning

essential oils like jasmine, chamomile, lavender and eucalyptus is excellent in enhancing the aroma of the rooms.

Fruit and flower of our love which is blur U stepped in,

Some items for luck The crystal ball: Crystal balls are useful everywhere and they have no negative effects. They are extremely lucky for students. Keep a crystal ball on the study table for concentration.

Clean it regularly in salt water because they also absorb negative energy.

Crystal balls can be hung on the window to let the sunlight diffuse through it inside the house. This is auspicious for wealth.

When kept in the southwest corner of the bedroom, crystal balls can improve relationships.

The tortoise: Feng Shui considers the tortoise as a very lucky item. The tortoise brings peace and money. It can be kept in the north in a plate with water.

Replenish the water when it dries off. Statues of tortoise mounted on coins are available.

These are also very good to keep in the office or house.

21

Feminism prevailed, womanhood began Hopes started harbouring It’s life’s beautiful lullaby.

It’s my first intended notion to ebb a metaphor Of a love action, so as to get by my section My want becomes my need From pieces of lead, it becomes a jazzy seed, To give out the fruit and flowers of our love Which is blurrr..

Hemanta Kumar Sarmah Engineer, Businessman, Advanced Pranic Healer and Su Jok Acupressure specialist.

Nafisa Tasnem habib

Fish Pakora recipe to welcome winters Shimu Dutta

Ingredients: 1.

Fish Row or Katla 4/5 pieces 2. Capsicum 2 medium size 3. Salt to taste 4. Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp 5. Refine oil 3 tbsp 6. Fish masala 11/2 tbsp 7. Kashmiri chilli powder 8. Pinch of garam masala 9. Corn flour 1 tbsp 10. Rice powder 1 tbsp 11. Besan 1 tbsp 12. Slices of Red Capsicum and Dill leaves for garnishing

Method: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Wash the fish then marinade with turmeric and salt and keep aside for few minutes.

Now boil the fish. When the fish is cooked, switch off the flame.

When it turns cool, de-bone the fish and mix the spices.

In the meantime, cut the capsicum into big chunks and stuff the fish masala in it.

Now make a batter of corn flour, rice powder and besan.

Dip the capsicum into it and shallow fry.

Now garnish with slices of red capsicum and dill leaves.

22 Buzz

G PLUS | NOV 17 - Nov 23, 2018

Maharishi Vidya Mandir crowned Servo Brain Jam champions

U

nmilan Kalita and Neelav Barman of Maharishi Vidya Mandir, Silpukhuri won the Servo Brain Jam School Quiz 2018 Trophy at GMCH auditorium on 10th November 2018 in Guwahati.

Children from 219 schools teams, accompanied by their parents and teachers were tested with some crafty questions by the quizmaster Barry O’Brien.

The theme of this year’s quiz, presented by Priya Communication and The Assam Tribune, was ‘Apne Desh ko Jano’ with a special focus on northeast India. The children had to tackle a plethora of questions on these themes in both the prelims and the finals by the quizmaster.

After the preliminary round, a special interactive session with 2014 UPSC topper Ira Singhal was held. She interacted with the students present responding to different queries on UPSC exam

preparation, civics, policy making etc.

The finals of the quiz were played between six teams selected from the preliminary written round.

The runners-up were Rituraj

Sarma and Ritwick Sinha of Don Bosco School. The winner along with trophies and gift hampers gets a handsome travel package.

The prizes were handed over to the winners by Pradip Kakoti, GM (ILU) IOCL. n

Unique Children’s Day celebration by local school

F

ollowing the footsteps of the previous years, Sparsh Group of Schools, Guwahati organized an exhibition cum sale of handicrafts made by its students and the teachers together with other agenda in the premises of Sparsh High, Geetanagar to observe Children’s Day.

Noted film and theatre personality Kopil Bora graced the occasion as the chief guest and inaugurated the colourful

exhibition put up by the students and the teachers. Following the practice of the previous years, the sale proceeds of the exhibition were donated for aid of the underprivileged children through a dedicated NGO.

This value oriented educative event was attended by many parents and well wishers of the school.

Keeping pace with the school’s traditional and unique way of

D

O

n his first day in office, former chief minister of Assam, Golap Borbora, made education free for all till Class X and for girls till Class XII. College Students Welfare Committee (CSWC) commemorates this initiative through the organisation’s scholarship program.

“The CSWC – Golap Borbora scholarship program shall extend full financial assistance with regard to tuition fees towards meritorious students.

Two scholarship awards would be given in the 2018-19 scholarship cycle,” informed Abhinav Borbora, President CSWC. In order to maintain qualitative standards in the selection process, the scholarship programme is processed by an external selection committee that is constituted by the organisation.

The selection committee comprises Padmashree Ajoy Kr. Dutta, Dr Ajanta Khaund Bezbaruah, Dr Nanigopal Mahanta, Samudra Gupta Kashyap, Rajib Kr. Das, Shri Ramani Barman, Prof. Tahrin Rahman and Dr Sabrina Iqbal Sircar.

Selection of the candidates would be made on the basis of their performance in higher secondary

examination along with the score obtained in the essay that needs to be provided with the application

form and an interview that would be conducted by members of the selection committee.

Last year, the CSWC – Golap Borbora Scholarship was awarded to Moidul Islam of Cotton University and Pushpa Shukla of Handique Girls’ College who were studying Political Science and Economics respectively. n

Three-day children’s book fest held in city celebrating Children’s Day, this year too, the school entertained a group of underprivileged children by serving lunch to them.

It is to be mentioned that the students of the school are asked to collect rice/dal etc from their respective homes by way of ‘mustidaan’ so that they can imbibe the habit of compassion and benevolence from this unique method of education.

Local NGO’s dedicated to basic children welfare activities like providing free education too participated in this educational and welfare programme organized by Sparsh. n

DBG emerges winner at NE Bharat Ko Jano Quiz on Bosco High School, Guwahati emerged champions in both the senior and junior categories of the second Northeast Region Bharat Ko Jano Quiz, 2018 which was organised by the Bharat Vikas Parishad in Imphal on Sunday.

Golap Borbora Scholarship to meritorious students

The teams, represented by Ritwick Sinha and Rituraj Sarma in senior category, and Arman Afif and Krishti Nayana Nath in the junior category, will now participate in the Bharat Ko Jano National Championship to be held in Bhilwara, Rajasthan, on January 12, next. n

T

he Publication Board of Assam organised its first ever children’s book festival in Guwahati from November 13 to 15 at Shradhanjali Kanan. The threeday long festival was organised with the aim to develop the children literature sector in the state.

poem recitation competition were held among the students from Classes 5 to 12 in two different categories. Further, on the first day, a programme titled ‘Mukutar Rang-Birong’ was held and inaugurated by writer Haripriya Barukiyal Borgohain.

On the second day, debate and extempore speech competitions

In the inaugural session of the festival, eminent writers namely Sumanta Chaliha, Dr Dinesh Chandra Goswami, Anuradha Sarma Pujari along with Higher Education Department Director Gitimoni Phukan took part. Two books namely ‘Moinar Mou Kabita’ written by Dr Karabi Deka Hazarika, and ‘Amare Moina Ai Ai Toponi Jabo Ae’ written by Dr Pranjit Bora were also released.

A drawing competition and a

were held among the students, followed by an interaction session among the editors of the concerned Assamese newspapers and children magazines and writers.

Lastly, on the final day of the fest, a quiz competition was held followed by the screening of the film ‘Sarbagunakar Srimanta Sankardev’ directed by Manju Bora in the evening at the festival premises. n

Events

G PLUS | NOV 17 - Nov 23, 2018

Bollywood singer Anirudh Bhola of Sanam Re fame performed in Guwahati this weekend. The crowd danced to the beats of the singer’s electrifying performance as he sang evergreen Bollywood numbers.

Event: Anirudh Bhola Live Date: November 10, Saturday Venue: Underdoggs Sports Bar

Event: Super Saturday Date: November 10, Saturday Venue: Dunkin Oza

Event: Ladies Night Date: November 7, Wednesday Venue: NYX Lounge and Deck

Event: Himanshu Devgan Project Date: November 1, Thursday Venue: Cloud 7

23

24 Catching Up

G PLUS | NOV 17 - Nov 23, 2018

Most shared story of the week

PIC OF THE

WEEK

#VIDEO | In a viral video recorded on the sets of India’s Got Talent 2018, people from the Northeast have accused the Bollywood stars of hurting sentiments.

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Fancy Dress participants during Children’s Day | Photo Surajit Sharma

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