G Plus Vol 7 Issue 2 by G Plus

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INSIDE

Volume 07 | Issue 2 Nov 02 - Nov 08, 2019 Price `10 Hum Doe Hamare Doe: Will Assam adhere to it?

After Diwali, air quality degrades in Ghy; SC order on cracker bursting violated

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Unseasonal fruits and vegetables flood Guwahati markets

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Assam is on its way to an

draws paltry audience despite getting world class cinema Publicity features ministers more, less art; promotion did not reach audiences who appreciate world class cinema G Plus News @guwahatiplus

film festival which promises to be different, with world class movies drawing audience from every spectrum of society, draws a blank. Reality: The third edition of Guwahati International Film Festival (GIFF) which promises to take film thinking and watching to a new level sadly misses the obvious part - the audience. College-

going students were the bulk of audience in the gala event which was promoted with so much fanfare. Notably, there was no system of buying tickets for a movie buff and even the website of GIFF doesn’t provide the pertinent details of where one can get passes. To top it even the politicians this year featured mostly with cut outs of senior state leaders which were highlighted along the roads leading to the venue at Sankaradeva Kalashtera.

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ELECTRIC FUTURE Atiqul Habib @guwahatiplus

n a bid to curb pollution, the Centre has directed all the states to promote the use of electrically operated vehicles and solar power. The Centre has come up with several policies and schemes to boost the demand and manufacture of electric vehicles (EVs) and solar operated devices. Towards initiating this need of the hour scenario, a workshop “Northeast Electric Mobility Conclave” was held in Guwahati on October 30 last. The workshop was attended by a host of dignitaries along with Managing Director (MD) of Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC), Anand Prakash Tiwari, Anil Srivastava and Principal Consultant, Mission Director, Niti Aayog among others. The workshop laid stress on the importance of use of EVs in the near future in order to balance out the Particulate Matter (PM) in a suitable condition.

PM 2.5 are fine particulate matters suspended in the air measuring two and a half microns or less in width. There are around 25,000 microns in an inch. Presence of high levels of PM 2.5 in the air

reduces visibility and causes the air to appear hazy and can pose serious health-related risks among people including respiratory diseases. Speaking at the event, ASTC MD, Anand Prakash Tiwari, said

that Assam has already taken up measures to curb the air pollution by introducing e-buses which will run under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric

Vehicles in India (FAME India) scheme in Guwahati.

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Cover Story

G PLUS | Nov 02 - Nov 08, 2019

With rest of India, Assam is on its way to an electric future From Page 01

urther, Tiwari added that in the 1st Electric Mobility Conclave, the state government was able to outline the FAME 1 and FAME 2 schemes along with the help of the central government. FAME 1 was based on capital expenditures (CAPEX) model which was implemented in many cities in India including Guwahati and under which 15 buses have been introduced. On the other hand, FAME 2 is based on operating expenses (OPEX) model in which the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises have allocated 100 buses in Assam. It is to be mentioned that in the coming years operating expenses (OPEX) model of financing will be implemented. Although many private manufacturers and operators

have come forward advocating the OPEX model, the cost effectiveness plays a major role in its way. Assam state government has already prepared the EV draft policy and has submitted the same to the central government. However, before going to the cabinet, claims and objections have to be taken from several departments after which, in the coming days, Assam will be able to present the policy soon in the cabinet and ensure that it is passed. “With CM Sonowal’s vision of a pollution-free Assam, we are committed to provide emissionfree public transport,” added ASTC MD, Tiwari. In the meanwhile, the state government is also working out a scheme in which free e-bikes will be provided to students of 10th and 12th standards. The basic aim of this scheme will be to create awareness among

the students on electric mobility and clean environment. Interestingly, the workshop was attended by many entrepreneurs from Guwahati as well as from the state that showcased battery operated scooters and bicycles. The entrepreneurs also projected the cost effectiveness of their products which stands out to be promising for the buyers.

Anand Prakash Tiwari, MD, ASTC, speaking at the conclave

ASTC to flag off 15 e-buses on November 4 in Guwahati As part of measures to check the deteriorating air quality of the state, Assam State Transport

According to a study by the World Health Organisation (WHO) updated in September 2017, Guwahati stands in the “High” category with 85.6 Pollution Index on a scale of 100. Corporation (ASTC) is all set to introduce 15 electric buses from November 4. While addressing media persons, ASTC Chairman, Ashok Kr Bhattarai, stated that both

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal aim for a clean and green India. Talking further he stated that the introduction of electric vehicles will help to tackle the menace of air and sound pollution. It is to be mentioned that Guwahati has one of the highest black carbon pollution levels in the world. Meanwhile, the Union Ministry of Heavy Industries has sanctioned 100 electric buses for Assam, out of which 50 will be in Guwahati and 25 each in Silchar and Jorhat respectively under FAME 2. According to reports, the Department of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprise under Government of India has sanctioned 5,595 electric buses to 64 cities for intra and intercity operations in a bid to promote clean mobility in public transportation.

Each selected city and state transport undertaking was asked to initiate the procurement process for deployment of sanctioned electric buses in a time-bound manner. Guwahati would emulate Delhi’s pollution levels if efforts are not taken Experts in the Northeast Electric Mobility Conclave revealed that Guwahati, with its increasing pollution levels escalated by vehicular emissions and with the setting up of new industries, will soon emulate New Delhi if some concrete steps are not taken to curb the pollution levels. Guwahati’s pollution scenario, escalated by the increasing numbers of vehicles and with the setting up of new industries, can soon compete with the Delhi’s air quality, said an environmental expert. According to a study by the World Health Organisation

(WHO) updated in September 2017, Guwahati stands in the “High” category with 85.6 Pollution Index on a scale of 100. The report based on a massopinion based data had revealed that air pollution, drinking water pollution and inaccessibility are marked at high category, while dissatisfaction with garbage disposal and unhygienic waste disposal practises are marked at very high category. According to the WHO report, air pollution level in the city is 75 out of 100, which puts the city into the high category of pollution. There are basically six atmospheric pollutants or components of Air Pollution Index (API), namely sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), PM 10, PM 2.5, carbon monoxide (CO), and ozone (O3) that are measured at the monitoring stations throughout each city. “Guwahati’s condition is not as grim as Delhi, but it is still

worrisome. While Delhi reaches a whooping 999 in Air Quality Index (AQI) during the Diwali season, Guwahati, despite having ample reserves of flora in and around, too reaches above 300 in the index. Guwahati’s normal AQI is within the permissible limit of 100-130,” said an environmentalist based in Guwahati. The state pollution control board said though the AQI reading in the city is slightly better than last year, these are worrying signs as an AQI below 50 means good air quality and a reading beyond 300 indicates that the air quality is hazardous. As per the National Air Quality index set by the Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the 51-100 API is considered ‘good’ while Guwahati falls in lightly polluted category of 101 to 150; New Delhi and Mumbai fall under the highly polluted category of above 300 API.

Delhi schools closed down as air quality worsens

n the wake of rising pollution in the national capital, New Delhi, all the schools of the city will remain closed till November 05. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a tweet said that the

schools have been shut due to the increase of smoke coming from the burning of stubble. Meanwhile, CM Kejriwal hit out the neighbouring states for the degrading air quality of the city.

“Delhi has turned into a gas chamber due to smoke from crop burning in neighbouring states. It is very important that we protect ourselves from this toxic air. Through private and government schools, we have

started distributing 50 lakh masks today. I urge all Delhiites to use them whenever needed,” he tweeted. All the 37 air quality monitoring stations across Delhi today morning recorded

the air quality in the severe category. Bawana was the mostpolluted area with an AQI of 497, followed by Delhi Technological University (487), Wazirpur (485), Anand Vihar (484) and Vivek Vihar (482).

Lead Story

G PLUS | Nov 02 - Nov 08, 2019

Hum Doe Hamare Doe: Will Assam adhere to it? G Plus News @guwahatiplus

um Doe Hamare Doe the two-child theory to control the burgeoning Indian population has been doing the rounds for nearly three decades with the infamous sterilization drive by Sanjay Gandhi - son of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi during emergency - when civil liberties were suspended. Adding a new tale to this

China’s infamous “one child per family” law to try and bring its population growth under check has led to a shortage of young people in the country. journey is Assam government’s two child policy of reserving government jobs for those who adhere to the policy. The Assam cabinet recently decided to reserve government jobs in the state for those who adhere to the two-child policy — a part of the state’s new population policy which will bar couples from having more than two children. As expected, minority organizations including the front man of the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), Badruddin Ajmal, reacted strongly to the government’s decision terming it as a move to deprive Muslims of the state who usually bear more than two children. Defying the government’s decision Ajmal openly gave a call to Muslims to bear as many children they can as Islam doesn’t believe in the two child concept theory. It’s an undeniable fact that with its 1.21 billion population which is just next to China, India is staring at a population explosion and is expected to be the number one in the population index by 2045. As resources get scarce the only available option left with the government is to adopt ways and means to check rapid population growth. However, a repeated government effort in India to put a check on the population meter has not tasted success as was desired. The famous line Hum Doe,

Hamare Doe which echoed in Indian households when television made its entry in mideighties in the middle class rooms had some effect but it was limited only to urban areas. India lives in villages and that area, despite efforts by the government, remained more or less insulated from the population control measures of the successive governments. In contrast, population control measures in many other countries like China met with immediate success so much so that many countries which put into effect strict population control laws had to reverse their decisions which led to shortage of younger people in the country. India’s arch rival China had the infamous “one child per family” law to try and bring its population growth under check. The policy, under which families were fined if they had more than one child, has led to a shortage of young people in the country. China relaxed this policy in October 2015 and allowed for two children per couple — but the fertility rate (a measure of how many children a woman bears over her lifetime) only managed to reach a dismal 1.6 children per woman in 2017. The current government is now considering relaxing the policy even further. Whereas, India’s long time friend Russia has vowed to spend 8.6 billion dollars on programs to encourage Russians to have more babies. According to a UN report released in May 2018, Russia’s population will shrink by 11 million by 2050. In January 2018, the country’s birth rate hit the lowest mark with just 1.69 million babies recorded to be born in 2017. President Vladimir Putin, in his election campaign, had vowed to spend $8.6 billion on programs to encourage Russians to have more babies. While the most developed country in the world, the United States of America, has been a known supporter of the Program of Action of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, which endorses choice of the number and timing of children, gender equality and family planning based on individual preferences. The government doesn’t officially endorse population control or stabilization and rather promotes better healthcare alternatives for women and the freedom to exercise their reproductive rights. With a continuous decline in birth rates, Japan became the oldest large country in the world by median age in 2015 and, as of June 2018, more than half of its

Representative image of Hum Doe Hamare Doe population is above the age of 46. Authorities have begun a series of measures such as the Angel Plan (1994), the New Angel Plan (1999) and the Plus One Policy (2009) to assist and encourage young couples to have children. Notably, India is now counted among the list of developed countries but the story of population control doesn’t seem to have gone down well as the birth rates had fallen in all these countries which shutter the growth of young populace. India launched its family planning programme in 1951 as part of the first FiveYear Plan, and became the first country in the world to have a state-sponsored population program. Then in 1976 the government came out with draft declaration population policy which set the legal age of marriage of girls from 15 to 18 years and boys from 18 to 21.

Coming back to the Assam government’s decision, it is an indirect effort to put a brake on the population graph by penalizing an individual for his

actions. The policy which comes into effect from 2021 will surely put many, especially in the rural areas of the state, in a tizzy where entertainment options are limited.

4 Concern Snippets BSNL will credit money in subscribers’ accounts for voice calls above 5 mins

G PLUS | Nov 02 - Nov 08, 2019

After Diwali, air quality degrades in Ghy; SC order on cracker bursting violated Nehal Jain @NehalJain96

n a first of its kind, stateowned telecom operator BSNL is giving 6 paise for every five minutes of voice calls placed by the subscribers. This offer is applicable on BSNL’s wireline, broadband and FTTH customers. The money will be credited to the subscriber in the form of cash back. The company said that it is taking several steps to better the user experience and this is one of them. It is to be mentioned that earlier Reliance Jio announced 6 paise per minute IUC charge for its users making calls to other operators.

CM Sonowal offers 50k as financial aid to ailing actor Nipon Goswami

ssam Chief Minister Sarbanada Sonowal announced financial aid of Rs 50,000 towards the treatment of veteran Assamese actor Nipon Goswami. The aid has been provided to Goswami from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for his ongoing treatment. A cheque of Rs 50,000 was handed over to the noted actor by Media Advisor to the CM, Hrishikesh Goswami. It may be mentioned that the veteran actor has been ill for the last few days and was admitted to GNRC hospital in Guwahati. Further, CM Sonowal also prayed for early recovery of the ailing actor.

ith Diwali celebrations coming to an end, citizens now find themselves vulnerable to the threat posed by the degrading air quality - the threat which is still lingering in the air we are breathing. The Diwali celebrations in Guwahati, like in other parts of the country, breached standard air quality parameters even though the Supreme Court of India, in its order, restricted the bursting of crackers on Diwali night to between 8 PM and 10 PM. The apex court had stressed on bursting eco-friendly green crackers that were less toxic and low on noise. The Air Quality Index (AQI) in Guwahati had shot up to 371 on October 27 (Sunday) and 336 on October 28 (Monday). A Pollution Control Board Assam (PCBA) official informed G Plus that these are very worrying numbers as an AQI below 50 signifies that the air is of good quality while a reading above 300 indicates that the air quality is hazardous. He further added that the air quality was worst between 7 pm and 1 am on both days, when the bursting of crackers was at its peak. “This shows that although the administration had put a window on bursting of crackers, most people disregarded the order. Even the push for green crackers went in vein,” he said. The air quality was worst in areas such as Fancy Bazaar, AT Road and Ulubari. It may be noted that on any given day, the air quality level in Guwahati is at its worst between 6-8 pm as the pollutants in the air (PM 2.5) is recorded to be the highest on an average during 6 to 8 in the evening. Officials at the PCBA have attributed the sharp rise in particulate matters in the air to the use of noiseless crackers

like phuljari, kolgos and other sparkles which release harmful gases. “The colours in the fireworks are created using metal salts. Calcium chloride is used for the orange colour, sodium nitrate for the yellow colour, barium chloride for the green colour and copper chloride for the blue colour. Use of these metals in fireworks can cause diseases in living beings. Sulphur dioxide causes sneezing and shortness of breath, cadmium can damage kidneys, copper irritates the respiratory tract and lead affects the nervous system,” a PCBA official stated. This Diwali, apart from air pollution, there was no let-up in the noise pollution levels in the city either. In most parts of Guwahati, the ambient noise was found to be more than previous years. The PCBA measured the noise level at three places in the city on the occasion Diwali, namely Panbazar (silence zone), Ganeshguri (commercial zone) and Rehabari (residential zone). It was observed that the noise levels remained close to that recorded during Diwali in 2018.

A haze covers Guwahati during the last Diwali celebrations | G Plus Photo At Panbazar, the average ambient noise level on Diwali day (October 27) between 6 pm and 10 pm was 78.40 dB(A), against 78.50 dB(A) recorded last year. Between 7 pm and 8 pm, the noise level was 82.6 dB(A) compared to 76 dB(A) last year. The safe standard for a silence zone like Panbazar, having a number of hospitals, educational and other institutions, is 50 decibel. At Ganeshguri, where the standard noise level should be 65 decibel, the average noise level between 6 pm and 10 pm on Diwali day was 71.50 dB(A), compared to 72.75 dB(A) last year. In the Rehabari area, the noise level on Diwali between 9 pm and 10 pm was as high as 84.7 dB(A).

Between 6 pm and 10 pm, the average noise level in the area was 79.32 dB(A), which is around 5 dB(A) higher than last year. The noise standard in Residential Zone is set at 55 decibel. As news items are pouring in from other parts of the country, it is clear that the Supreme Court order was clearly violated. In Delhi, where the apex court sits, air pollution levels shot up from around 280 units at 7 PM on Diwali evening to 999+ within hours which was more than ten times the permissible limits making the air purely toxic to breathe. The Supreme Court order was indeed issued with good intent; it is we the citizens, who failed to understand it.

Lighter and faster

Air Quality Index What is it and Scan the QR code does Get the Ghow Plus appit work? Air Quality Index reports daily air quality that tells you how clean or polluted your air is. The AQI is like a yardstick that runs from 0 to 500. The higher the AQI value, the greater the level of air pollution and the greater the health concern. The AQI is divided into six categories - 0-50 (good air), 51-100 (moderate air), 101-150 (unhealthy for sensitive groups), 151-200 (unhealthy), 201-300 (very unhealthy) and 301-500 (hazardous).

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City

G PLUS | Nov 02 - Nov 08, 2019

19th International Leo Expo draws massive crowds G Plus News @guwahatiplus

fter a chilly ride on the NH37 we made our way towards the 19th International Leo Expo being held at the Maniram Dewan Trade Centre, Guwahati. We were welcomed with the aroma of freshly popped corns which led us to the popcorn and cotton candy stall. Starting with home decor items to home appliances and make up and health essentials, Leo Expo is targeting to cater to each age group. Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises has set up multiple stalls giving vendors from various parts of India to showcase their products. Leo expo is providing a great platform for local entrepreneurs to showcase their craft on a larger scale to a larger audience. For the shopping enthusiasts out there this is a great opportunity to shop for items from various parts of the

world including dry fruits from Afghanistan, flowers and fashion accessories from Thailand, show pieces from Turkey, Sri Lankan gems and tea to name a few. Stalls by various Indian states have been put up which include Jaipuri blankets, Lucknowi & Kashmiri clothes, Khadi products, items of home decor & home appliances, traditional Assamese jewellery, Mekhela Chador and other products from various parts of the northeast to name a few. A range of handicraft products of Assam has been displayed on a large scale for the shopping enthusiasts. A large delegation representing Bodoland’s Industry and Commerce Department and NSIC has also participated in the expo. There are arrangements for cultural nights every evening. The beautiful main stage and the pretty light decorations work as a great space for Instagrammable pictures. The expo will also be organising an art competition which will be held from classes

A couple of shots of the products displayed at Leo Expo | G Plus Photo 1-10 in three different groups. The first, second, and third prize winners will be rewarded with Rs 15,000 along with Mini Fridge, Rs 9,000 along with an Electric Kettle and Rs 5,000 along with a Juicer. The last date to register in the competition is November 7.

GIFF draws paltry audience despite getting world class cinema From Page 01

he inauguration ceremony of the festival was attended by the famous Polish director Krzysztof Zanussi and very less cinema lovers knew about this fact. Rather, whatever promotion was done by the organisers in and outside Guwahati city, mostly promoted the politicians and the hoardings mostly featured Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and culture minister Naba Kumar Doley. According to the organisers only 30% of the hoardings featured ministers. The budget of the entire festival was approximately Rs 2 crores to Rs 2.5 crores and the organisers did not inform about the amount spent on

publicity as according to them the publicity is still ongoing. Leader of opposition Debabrata Saikia talking to G Plus said, “Any festival organised during the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled government has only publicised the politicians and wasted public money.” He also expressed that many schemes have not yet been implemented by the government, various infrastructure of the state are yet to be developed but the government is busy spending money on their pictures on hoardings in the name of festivals. On the first and second day of the festival there were mostly school kids seen in the festival who were brought from various schools. The students were seen moving around at the venue and were brought by their respective school teachers. Many were not interested in the films

being screened as they are still too young to understand the message of the cinema and appreciate the art. A city-based BJP leader talking to G Plus under condition of anonymity said, “The organisers promote the politicians to woo them, but it should be the duty of the politicians to stop it as it is wastage of public money.” The leader also said that such festivals should be properly designed and targeted at the people who are interested rather than forcing the school children to visit the festival to increase the number of footfall. He expressed that the promotion should be well planned rather than just promoting the politicians to keep getting the funds. According to media reports, the state government has allotted Rs 1.94 crores for the festival with a cost of Rs 40,000 spent for every film to be screened at the festival.

Leo Expo started its first venture with trade fares in the year 2000 and since its inception it has never looked back receiving an overwhelming response from customers, sellers and participants. Food lovers out there can find a huge range of savoury

items along with pickles from various parts of the country. The food section also includes mukhwas and locally made honey, coconut ladoo and more. There is a separate food section where people can sit and enjoy meals like biryani, chaats and various kulfis.

6 City Snippets Electrocity The Largest Electronics Store Opens In Guwahati

G PLUS | Nov 02 - Nov 08, 2019

Thekua: The blessings of Chhath Maiya Gunjan Sharma @guwahatiplus

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oused in an area spreading 8,000 sq.ft, ‘Electrocity’ is undoubtedly set to become the new, happening destination for all your electronics and home appliance needs in Guwahati. “The Walk Inn” is a plush new marketplace located in G.S. Road and is a breakthrough initiative to set new benchmarks in the way consumers interact and purchase home appliances in the city. ‘Ele ctrocity’ has the most comprehensive array of products ranging from brands like LG, Oppo, Mi, Godrej, Vivo, Panasonic, Nokia, Lloyd and Samsung. All products are showcased under their respective brands in a format that simulates a shop-inshop scenario with well trained and knowledgeable staff on hand. The categories Electrocity caters to include – Phones, Entertainment, Home Appliance, Kitchen Appliance and Accessories. The customers can also try and get a leisurely feel of the products prior to purchasing the product. Electrocity intends to follow and exceed the best global business industry practices which will deliver a truly world-class retail environment. It aims to provide customer post-sales support facilities as well. Talking to G Plus, Gaurav Chandak, Partner at Electrocity stated that the idea behind the venture is to provide, “a onestop solution to the people. Here, people can choose from a wide number of options as we follow the shop-in-shop concept and have separate segments for each brand.” He added that soon they aim to add 30 more brands to their bucket and will expand their presence all across the Northeast. Talking about the inception of Electrocity, Chandak said, “It took us one year to bring our idea into reality. Guwahati is developing at a rapid state, thus, an electronics store which can cater to every need of the people was necessary.” “We aim to make Electrocity the biggest electronic store in northeast India,” he added. Electrocity is a unit of Assam Investment & Construction Company.

t won’t be wrong if we say Guwahati is a “mini India.” From Bihu to Durga Puja and Diwali to Christmas there is a celebration for every festival. And that includes the Chhath Puja. Every year the ghats of the mighty Brahmaputra are cleaned and decked up for Chhath Puja celebrations. People visit the banks of the ghats and pray to the Sun God (Surya Bhagwan). Chhath Puja is dedicated to Surya Bhagwaan, which people believe, sustains life on the earth. It is besides the point that scientifically this holds true. The puja is also performed to seek blessings to live longer and healthily and prosper all through life. The festival is celebrated between the months of October and November. Chhath means “Six” hence the festival starts just after six days of Diwali. With every festival comes along some delicious food and Chhath Puja is no exception. Among the various types of food (prasad) offered to God Surya during Chhath Puja, ‘Thekua’ definitely tops the list. Thekua, also called ‘Khajuria’ or ‘Thikari,’ is a delectable sweet dish which has a crispy and crunchy outer layer over a soft interior. Made with wheat, jaggery/ sugar, dry fruits and ghee, Thekua could be termed as a form of an Indian cookie. Harder on the outside and softer on the inside Thekuas not only taste good but it also has a longer shelf life.

Chhath Puja celebrations and prayers at the Kachomari Ghat in Giwahati | G Plus Photo Speaking to G Plus, N Chauhan, a Guwahatian whose family has been celebrating Chhath Puja for decades said, “It is believed that during Chhath Puja, Chhath Maiya visits her maternal home maike - during which she is served several dishes including Thekua.” Another resident Rameshwar Sharma told G Plus, “On the occasion of Chhath Puja all the locally and seasonally available fruits and vegetables are offered to God as Prasad.” Speaking about the origins of Thekua he said, “Chhath Puja is believed to have originated in the states of Bihar and parts of UP where wheat and sugarcane are among the major crops. It

is believed that people started making Thekuas with such locally available ingredients/products which included wheat, jaggery, coconut and ghee. Thekuas are also popular because they have a longer shelf life and because of its non-perishable characteristics could be packed for roads. The ingredients used to make Thekua have various health benefits too. ” Adding further he said that initially people used to make Thekuas only with jaggery or gur but in recent times they have started using sugar instead of jaggery. During Chhath Puja, we always make a small batch of jaggery-based Thekuas which is offered to God.

In the recent times, some people bake Thekuas instead of frying it to make it a healthier option. Compared to other sweet dishes Thekuas have balanced sweetness in them and they go well with tea and savoury snacks. It won’t be wrong to consider Thekua as a blessing from Chaath Maiya for all the sweet lovers out there. Here’s wishing everyone a very happy Chhath Puja from G Plus. Go look for your friends celebrating Chhath Puja and grab your share of Thekuas now and if none of your friends are celebrating, the patch contains the recipe for making your own tasty Thekuas!

Recipe: Thekua Take wheat flour, sugar, desiccated coconut or dry fruits and cardamom powder in a bowl. Add ghee and mix everything for a few minutes until it becomes like a crumble. Slowly sprinkle some water and knead it into a stiff dough. Roll out the dough into a thick disc and cut the dough and give it a cookie shape. Heat oil/ghee in a pan and fry the Thekua on medium low flame till they become crispy on both sides. Cool and store in an air tight box. Your Thekuas are ready!

Thekua: as it looks like

City

G PLUS | Nov 02 - Nov 08, 2019

Dist Admin chalks out plan for Chhath Puja celebration in Guwahati G Plus News @guwahatiplus

n preparation for the upcoming Chhath Puja celebrations in the city, a meeting was held at the conference hall of the office of Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup (M), with the officers of relevant departments and Chhath Puja Committees, presided over by District Development Commissioner, ACS, Atul Sharma. The Chhath Puja or the Surya Shasti is dedicated to the ‘Sun God’ where the devotees observe rigorous fasting and perform rituals over a span of four days and throng the banks of rivers and ponds to

offer prayers to the rising and setting sun on the last two days of the festival. In view of the same, the district administration has identified the following places as places of worship: The bank of river Brahmaputra from Uzan Bazar Ghat to Bharalamukh, Chunsali Ghat Noonmati, Pandu Ghat, Maligaon Railway Stadium, Meen Bhawan Birubari, Basistha Ashram, Lalmati, Jyotikuchi, Narengi, Patharquary, Azara near Airport, Chandrapur, Khanapara firm gate, and Hatigaon. For the smooth conduct of Chhath puja festival in Guwahati, the Commissioner of Police/DCPs shall brief and train volunteers, install a

Centre issues clarification on Naga settlement issue

he government today clarified not to believe in rumours spreading across social media platforms about Naga Accord settlement. According to a press release issued by the Press Information Bureau (PIB), it clarified that before any settlement is arrived at with Naga groups, all stakeholders including states of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh will be duly consulted and their concerns will be taken into consideration. “No credence needs to be given to such rumours and incorrect information,” the notification stated. It is to be mentioned that several organisation and non-governmental organisations in Manipur have announced a 20-hour protest on October 31. Meanwhile the Coordination Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) has asked the people, irrespective of their religion and ethnicity, to suspend all normal activities on October 31 for protesting against a peace deal that could “challenge” the state’s territorial integrity.

police control room at Fancy Bazar ghat, deploy civil dressed personnel and lady police, and ensure all necessary arrangements at the places of worship in tandem with the puja committees. Safety of devotees at the ghats shall be ensured by the River Police who will take necessary steps to render all possible help during the time of worshipping and bathing in the Brahmaputra River. Inland Water Transport (IWT) Department has been asked to erect Red Flag over Brahmaputra River, where the water level is too deep in consultation with the Chhath Puja committees. They shall also take necessary steps to prohibit plying of private

engines and country boats in the river during the puja, keep rescue boats ready, and take necessary action for shifting stranded vessels from the ghats for convenience of the devotees. The Superintendent of Gauhati Medical College & Hospital is to provide ambulances, the Joint Director of Health Services is to keep a medical team ready, the Director of Fire Services is to make arrangements for fire tenders, the Commissioner of Guwahati Municipal Corporation is to supply drinking water and take necessary steps to clear garbage at the places of worship. The Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) is to prepare

the traffic plan and to restrict vehicle movement at MG Road during both days of the puja. Assam Power Distribution Corporation Limited is to provide uninterrupted power supply and the Commandant of Civil Defence is to provide volunteers at the places of worship. During the meeting, all puja committees were asked to obtain permission from their concerned police stations, arrange sufficient volunteers and submit the list of volunteers to the police, make arrangements to clear garbage, inform local police station regarding cultural function, and arrange for lighting facilities including 24 hours standby generators.

8 Sports Snippets Double Your Profits in Business- A Workshop Hosted By Round Table India

G PLUS | Nov 02 - Nov 08, 2019

Year-long Pulin Das Centenary Celebration

Concluding function held successfully G Plus News @guwahatiplus

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ound Table India is set to host a one day workshop, “Double Your Profits in Business by Working Only 1 Day a Week” at Taj Vivanta, Guwahati on Saturday, 09 November 2019. The workshop will be conducted by Mr. Rahul Jain, India’s number one business coach who has impacted the lives of 8000 plus business owners. It is to be mentioned that Mr. Jain will be coming to North East for the first time to conduct this workshop in which he will highlight the practical ways for better growth in business and also how to focus on the clients and prospects. Around 200 plus businessmen will be attending this workshop. This workshop aims to help Small Medium Enterprises (SME) in running their business more productively and profitably. The fund raised from this workshop will go towards building school blocks for underprivileged children. Notably, Round Table India under Freedom Through Education has in the last 22 years built 6189 Classroom in 2588 projects with a total outlay of Rs. 244.65 Crores impacting 6.8 million underprivileged children in India. The workshop is presented by Round Table India and Ladies Circle India. Corporate gifting partner- Solution Services, Travel and Hospitality PartnerTRAVELORR, Radio Partner Red FM 93.5, Media Partner G Plus , Printing Partner- Print Xpress, Hoarding Partner Need Advertising.

he concluding function of the year-long Pulin Das Centenary Celebration was held on November 01, the birthday of Pulin Das at Vivekananda Kendra Auditorium, Guwahati today. The Memorial Keynote Lecture on the topic “Sportsman and Sportsman Spirit- Both Equally Important” was delivered by for Ranji captain of Assam and East Zone player Mr. Bimal Bharali. In his address, Bharali delved deep into the importance of sportsmanship citing various instances of the same in the world sporting arena and especially on the international cricket field. He also recalled various anecdotes from his own experiences as an East Zone batsman who had tackled the fearsome visiting MMC cricket team which had speedsters like Bob Willis and Chris Old in its ranks. Veteran sports organiser Dr. Tapan Dutta of Jorhat was accorded a public felicitation in recognition of his life-long contribution towards sports in Assam. Dr. Dutta, in his speech, spoke of the close and long association he had had with Late Pulin Das since 1955, who was instrumental in drafting Dutta into the state’s table tennis scene as an organiser and administrator. He congratulated the Celebration Committee for successfully encapsulating the ideals and honesty that Late Pulin Das held towards sports and organising sporting activities terming him as a man who served sports without any personal or vested interest. Prior to this, Nayan Prasad, President of the Celebration Committee welcomed the august gathering that had assembled. Mr. Prasad also

Bimal Bharali delivering his speech at the Closing Function | G Plus Photo mention that the Celebration Committee is undertaking plans to have a Commemorative Stamp celebrating the Birth Centenary Year of Late Pulin Das to be released by the postal department of India over the next one year. Also, it is mulling on plans to have a sports photography and sports art and drawing Contest besides preparing to publish a book containing collages of old photographs of Late Pulin Das and his sporting activities. Premadhar Sarma, veteran and renowned sports organiser, spoke on the occasion and thanked the Celebration Committee for highlighting the huge contributions of Late Pulin towards the up-liftmen of sports in the state of Assam and hoped that these ideals would be carried forward for generations on end so as to usher in a great and lasting sporting culture in the state. He

also hoped that the Celebration Committee would find ways and means to continue their work in highlighting the work and ideals of Late Pulin Das so that the same is imbibed in the future generation of sports people of the region. The General Secretary of the Celebration Committee, Kalyan Kumar Das, delivered the vote of thanks. Chandan Sarma, Joint Secretary of the Celebration Committee successfully conducted program as the master of ceremonies. Earlier, the year-long Birth Centenary Celebration of Pulin Das began with a Memorial Meeting on November 01, 2018 with collaboration of AsamSahitya Sabha at Jayanta Kumar BaruaLakhimi Barua Hall at the Asam Sahitya Sabha premises where Mr. Larsing Ming Sawyan, eminent sports organiser and analyst,

presented the keynote address “Northeast-A Hub of Sports Talent”. Moreover, Asam Sahitya Sabha introduced a biennial award in memory of Pulin Das as the “Pulin Das Memorial Award for Best Sports Writer and Sports Journalist” and the maiden award was conferred on noted sports journalist and sports writer of the state Mr. Subodh Malla Barua at the 10th Special Annual Session of the Asam Sahitya Sabha at Raha in Nowgong on February 03. In association with the Celebration Committee, the Assam Sports Journalist Association organised the 4th Pulin Das Memorial Lecture where the keynote address on “State of Affairs in Contemporary Cricket and Its Future” was delivered by the eminent Cricket Journalist Mr. Lokendra Pratap Sahi on July 16 at Hotel Landmark, Guwahati.

NESO to protest against CAB in November

he North East Students’ Organisation (NESO) will resort to agitation to prevent the passage of the proposed Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB). The students’ organisation will hold a protest near the Raj Bhawans of the northeast states on November 18.

Announcing the decision, NESO adviser Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharya said that the proposed CAB will give protection to illegal migrants at the cost of identities, hence it is an unconstitutional and antiindigenous bill. The NESO also urged all political figures of the region to

stand against the move of the central government. It is to be mentioned that Assam health minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, had said last month that the centre will introduce the CAB in Parliament in November and will ensure that it is passed.

Bazaar

G PLUS | Nov 02 - Nov 08, 2019

Unseasonal fruits and vegetables flood Guwahati markets

Snippets Sony Focuses On Premium Brand Positioning With Unique Product Offerings

Nehal Jain @NehalJain96

one are the days when the local market was filled with seasonal fruits and vegetables only. Today, the bounty of produce in the vegetable markets of Guwahati includes broccoli in the month of July and watermelon in the month of December. Basically, you can have any food at any time!

Cold storages essentially have a temperature of 2-8 degrees. However, even in cold storage, edible items should only be kept for a limited time,” Dr Ganesh Saikia, Joint Director of Health Services. “Earlier, we used to wait for winter season to eat vegetables like mustard green (sarso saag) and coriander (dhaniya), but now these leafy vegetables are available in the market round the year. It might be due to the advancements in technology which also explains the sharp rise in prices of fruits and vegetables,” exclaimed Mitali Gogoi Dutta, a Guwahati-based food blogger and Assamese food expert. Speaking to G Plus about

File photo of a vegetable market in Guwahati the availability of unseasonal food products in the market, LR Nampui, food safety official of Kamrup (M) said, “The foods that are available to us round the year are made available through various processes like cold storage and cannot be compared to freshly produced food items.” Off-season foods have to travel much longer as compared to seasonal fruits and vegetables - well over 1,000 kilometres - to reach the local markets. This leads to higher amounts of wax coatings, preservatives and ripening agents in order to make them look fresh and healthy. Nampui informed G Plus that there are a number of cold storages set up in and around Guwahati where vegetables like

potatoes are preserved for as long as 6-8 months. He added that foods are also being made available in the market through vertical farming and crossbreeding. While many people enjoy consuming fruits and vegetables all year round, others only enjoy fresh seasonal produce. However, unseasonal food items come with side effects. “Everything has a limited life span, including fruits and vegetables. If you try to preserve them for longer than usual, they are bound to lose nutritional value and develop bacteria and fungus. Such food items, when consumed, have harmful effects on health. Some of the side effects of unseasonal fruits and

vegetables are diarrhea, vomiting and food poisoning,” informed Dr Ganesh Saikia, Joint Director of Health Services. Speaking about preserving food using cold storage, Saikia said, “Cold storages essentially have a temperature of 2-8 degrees to save the food items from rotting. However, even in cold storage, edible items should only be kept for a limited time.” Hence, while it may seem like a luxury to have any food we want, anytime we want it, eating foods in season offers many benefits. It provides more nutrients, reduces chemical exposure and most of all, saves money as the sellers charge exorbitant amounts for unseasonal food items owing to its dearth in the market.

FSSAI, SPHL tightening noose around adulterated food

ood Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) along with the State Public Health Laboratory (SPHL) is tightening the noose around unhealthy and adulterated food in the city. In an effort to improve the quality of food being sold in the market, the food safety regulators have been carrying out regular drives

in Guwahati. Regular drives are being conducted against adulterated food items in the city. Be it mangoes, watermelons, oranges, milk or water, officials are checking the edibles for harmful chemicals and destroying them on the spot if found adulterated. Officials have also served closure notices to restaurants, sweet

shops and arrested vegetable, fruit sellers for selling chemically treated products. “We have been conducting regular drives in Guwahati. It has been observed that certain chemicals like carbide are used in fruits to artificially ripen them. However, we haven’t yet observed the use of chemicals in fruits that had been infused

to preserve them,” informed LR Nampui, food safety official of Kamrup (M). He added that such drives will continue and if a person is found to be selling substandard food items or those that have adulterants added (so as to render it injurious for human consumption), he/she shall be punished.

ony India, in its endeavour to strengthen its premium brand position in the country, has launched a strong lineup of new products, exciting consumer and finance offers. Out of the entire gamut of products, our premium products across all categories together contribute about 25% to the total revenue at the moment. We expect to increase this contribution by up to 40% in the next couple of years. For Festive season, we have set a growth target of 100% in premium television segment, 15% in the overall television business, 80% in Digital Imaging, 40% in Soundbar, 60% in Party speaker and 90% in headphones category in the festive season vs corresponding period last year (Sep – Nov). A wide array of innovative products across all categories and price points have been announced with the objective of maximizing customer satisfaction during the festive season that includes the following: • Television: Flagship BRAVIA OLED MASTER series A9G and BRAVIA OLED 4K TV A8G series, Premium 4K HDR LED TVs X9500G, X8500G and 4K HDR Triluminos LED TVs X8000G and X7002G in the television segment. • Digital Imaging: Alpha 7R IV, Alpha 7R III & Alpha 7 III full-frame cameras, RX0 II ultracompact camera, a vlogger kit including A6400 camera along with additional accessories, Super Telephoto 600mm F4 G Master™ Prime Lens and 200600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS SuperTelephoto Zoom Lens • Home Audio: Home audio segment has seen the launch of HT-Z9F and HT-X8500 Dolby Atmos soundbars • Personal Audio: WHXB900N Extra Bass Noise Cancellation headphone with Alexa, SRS-402M wireless Alexa speaker have been added to the personal audio segment.

10 News This Week

G PLUS | Nov 02 - Nov 08, 2019

A quick round up of the news that mattered during the past week

Sports to be included in CBSE curriculum: Kiren Rijiju

Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Kiren Rijiju, on October 29, said the CBSE was preparing a system to ensure sports become a substantial part of education to determine the achievement of a student. According to a report, Rijiju said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already announced setting up a Board for Sports Education. Now, under the new education policy, sports will become a part of education and the CBSE is preparing a system to ensure sports become a substantial part of education.” He added, “Earlier, sports was treated as extra-curricular activities. Sports was not part of education system and it was treated as an extra.

Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde appointed as next CJI

President Ram Nath Kovind signed a warrant appointing Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde as the next Chief Justice of India (CJI) on October 29. This comes after present CJI Ranjan Gogoi initiated the process of appointment of Justice Bobde as the next CJI and wrote a letter to the Centre recommending his name. Justice Bobde will take oath as CJI on November 18.The oath will be administered by President Kovind. Bobde is the second senior-most judge in the Supreme Court to take up the judiciary’s top post.

Google buys Fitbit for $2.1 billion

Google has announced that it is buying wearable company Fitbit for $2.1 billion. Announcing the news in a blog post, Google SVP of devices and services Rick Osterloh said that the Fitbit purchase is “an opportunity to invest even more in Wear OS as well as introduce Made by Google wearable devices into the market.” Under the deal, Fitbit will be joining Google itself. According to a separate press release issued by Fitbit, the company will still take privacy for health and fitness data seriously, noting that “Fitbit health and wellness data will not be used for Google ads.

Nirbhaya case convicts given deadline for mercy plea within 7 days

The death penalty to the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape case will be carried out soon if it is not challenged before the President within seven days, the Tihar Jail authorities said. The Tihar jail administration has also issued a notice to the four convicts in relation to the mercy petition on October 28, 2019. In the notice, the convicts have been asked whether they will file a mercy petition within seven days.

NCRB data reveals maximum Bangladeshi convicts are in Bengal jails

West Bengal has the highest number of foreign convicts, mostly Bangladeshis, claims the latest report by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). According to the NCRB report, as of 2017, West Bengal had 1,379 foreigners lodged in its jails, making it the state with the highest number of foreign prisoners in the country. The state accounts for 61.9 per cent of the total foreign prisoners in the country. The report comes just days after Home Minister Amit Shah made a strong case for the NRC in Bengal during a rally in Kolkata.

P Chidambaram to stay in Tihar jail

DGCA tells IndiGo to replace faulty engines by January 31

There is no need to admit former finance minister P Chidambaram to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, a medical board told the Delhi High Court on November 1. The board, which included a nominee of the veteran Congress leader, had been set up by the high court to determine if there was a need to move the 74-year-old politician to a sterile room at AIIMS. Chidambaram had earlier this week requested interim bail for six days for his treatment by a family doctor at the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology (AIG) in Hyderabad.

India’s aviation regulator has ordered low-cost carrier IndiGo to ensure that all its Airbus A320neo aircraft have modified Pratt & Whitney engines by January 31 “at all costs.” If the airline fails to ensure this, the regulator has warned, their aircraft wills not be allowed to fly. The A320neo - an upgraded, more fuel-efficient model and part of the extremely popular Airbus A320 family - has been a headache for many airliners due its snag-prone Pratt & Whitney engines.

Several WhatsApp users in India hit by Israeli spyware

India’s unemployment rises to highest in 3 years in October

The centre asked WhatsApp for an explanation after WhatsApp confirmed it had informed several Indian users this week that they had been targeted by Israeli spyware earlier this year in a hacking spree that included journalists, activists, lawyers and senior government officials. WhatsApp’s parent company Facebook sued Israeli cyber security company NSO on Tuesday, alleging that it used WhatsApp servers to spread malware to 1,400 users across 20 countries. Pegasus, a spyware developed by NSO, was used to break into the phones during a two-week period in April.

India’s unemployment rate rose to 8.5 per cent in October - the highest since August 2016, and up from 7.2 per cent in September, according to data released by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) on October 31, reflecting the impact of a slowdown in the economy. The country’s infrastructure output fell 5.2 per cent in September from a year earlier, the worst performance in years, government data showed on Thursday.

Shakib Al Hasan banned for one year by the ICC

The ICC imposed a one-year ban on Bangladesh Test and T20 team captain Shakib Al Hasan. This action was taken against him for concealing his contact with the bookie. The ICC released a conversation between bookie Deepak Aggarwal and Shakib. The two were chatting on WhatsApp. According to a press release issued by the ICC, the bookie first approached Shakib during the Bangladesh Premier League in 2017. Since then, he was in constant contact with the bookie.

Review

G PLUS | Nov 02 - Nov 08, 2019

FOCUS ON

Canon EOS M200

A world that cannot be captured with a smartphone

Looking for an upgrade from a compact camera or stepping up from a smart phone? The new Canon EOS M200 mirrorless camera is an ideal choice which seamlessly takes a small space in your bag and can be carried around for your everyday photography offering you excellent image quality with its large 24.2 MP, APS-C CMOS sensor along with Canon’s latest Imaging Processor DIGIC 8. The EOS M200 also gives you an experience of high resolution videos with 4K (24p/25p, UHD) which is four times the resolution of full HD resulting in much sharper and higher clarity videos. With easy in camera creative tools you can effortlessly edit your images on the go and instantly share high resolution images with your friends and family. High Image Quality The EOS M200 with 24.2MP, APS-C CMOS sensor is quite a large sensor compared to a smartphone which gives you high resolution images even when enlarged or cropped keeping the details and clarity intact.

Achieve sharp Images & Videos with Dual Pixel CMOS AF The EOS M200 features Canon’s most reliable autofocusing system the Dual Pixel CMOS AF which covers a wide AF area of approximately 88% horizontal by 100% vertical which ensures maximum freedom for creative composition. You won’t miss a moment when you think, “This is it,” you can right away aim to get pint point focus in variety of scenes such as fast moving subjects or dimly lit scenes. The AF transitions naturally without hesitation, the Dual Pixel CMOS AF not only functions with still images, but during video recording as well.

Eye Detection AF Servo supported Eye Detection AF is possible with the EOS M200 while capturing still images and recording videos. By enabling the Eye Detection AF feature in camera it will automatically focus on the eyes resulting in sharp and crisp portraits. Even when shooting moving subjects it lets you shoot natural expressions as the eyes are always in focus.

Retain a high level of resolution even when cropped With a sensor that large, you can easily get soft blur backgrounds and rich gradations drawing the attention to the main subject, creating depth and perspective in an image.

Go Creative with EOS M200 Vertical Videos With the EOS M200, you can also record vertical videos and play back in full screen with in the camera. Vertical videos can be set to play in the correct orientation when exported to your smart devices or computer, removing the need for additional software to rotate your videos.

Shooting Selfies are more fun now with Camera Remote Shooting Smartphone selfies have a limited angle of view but with 180 tilt up touchscreen LCD you can enjoy clicking high-quality self-portraits. You can also click high resolution images by remotely operating the camera’s shutter from the smartphone with the help of Canon Camera Connect app. As it gives the convenience of shooting still images and movies freely in the vertical and horizontal directions, it broadens the expression of shooting selfies significantly.

In camera editing with Creative Assist

Images with beautiful background blur By including an ISO range of 100-25,600(expandable 51,200), EOS M200 lets you capture images even in dark places without compromising on the clarity and also helps in shooting handheld beautiful image by preventing camera shake and subject blurring.

With the help of the new Creative assist mode in EOS M200, it is easy to create the images as per your taste. With the creative assist feature now you can change effects like Blur to Sharp, Dark to Bright, and Vivid to Monochrome in automatic mode as well. It is like editing your pictures on the go without getting to use a photo editing software.

Always be Connected via a Network A wide variety of network functions like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in EOS M200 allows you to share still images and videos via Wi-Fi to your smart phone and then directly upload them on social network. Bluetooth low energy technology helps you stay connected to your smart device even when your camera is auto power off mode, and allows it to function as a remote control for shooting and play back.

Enjoy a Variety of Expression with a Range of Distinct EF-M lenses

Clear and beautiful images even in low light condition

The EOS M200 is truly a go getter; if you are new to the EOS M system and looking for an upgrade from a compact camera or a step up from a smartphone, EOS M200 will fit the bill. There are a total of seven EF-M lenses dedicated to the EOS M series. In addition to wideangle to telephoto, and macro lenses that can express distinct expression, a wide lineup such as pancake lenses that can make use of the light weight of mirrorless cameras support photographic expression. By using the separately sold Mount Adapter EF-EOS M, you can also make use of EF lenses used on SLR cameras.

12 Guest Column

G PLUS | Nov 02 - Nov 08, 2019

Integrity - a way of life T he English word ‘integrity’ is derived from the Latin word ‘integritas’ and generally denotes anything that is still as it should be in undiminished or in unimpaired condition. In other words anything that is in any way worse than it is supposed to be or has become weaker than its original power is considered to have lost its integrity. However, this is purely a descriptive meaning of the word. The word integrity has a strong normative content of ‘what we should do’ or ‘what we must do’, the rules that we are supposed to follow in the society. Adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty are some of the practice that are associated with the term ‘integrity’. Regarding losing parts of its original powers and divergence to a situation that is weaker or any way worse than it is supposed to be is explained by Mahatma Gandhi as “there are seven things that will destroy us: Wealth without work; Pleasure without conscience; Knowledge without character; Religion without sacrifice; Politics without principle; Science without humanity and Business without ethics. Integrity, whether it is personal, moral, cultural, religious, national, scientific or in business contains the value of fairness based on belief (B) and obligation (O). Whatever may be the form of integrity under discussion the core proposition and control is with ‘self’. Actions by individuals participating in a team work seen in the organizations should be analyzed in terms of a process. In an organization we are entrusted with some responsibility and we are supposed to perform as per the laid down policies with fairness. It is often felt that the ones that are active and eagerly taking actions are under scrutiny and the ones passing the bucks are rewarded. To dispel such misconception it is pertinent to discuss the subject ‘integrity a way of life’ in the light of ancient wisdom and the learning from the world leaders. It is mentioned that action is better than inaction. No accomplishment is possible in a state of inertia. We have to perform our duty at all times. Activity of life none can completely forsake and live – even the idle man has to maintain his body. Work is essential for survival and that is seen from the nature also. Our body is constantly working to stay alive and fit. A body not properly worked upon or taken care through both physical and

mental action turns to a burden after a period. A weak and diseased body due to inaction becomes not only a burden to self but also to the family that sustains the relationship. When idleness hypnotizes the ego into inactivity, it may bring no apparent trouble, whereas evil actions may swiftly result in dire miseries. Similarly in an organization action by the employees is essential for a healthy work environment, sustainability and growth. Inaction by any employee not only acts against the growth of the organization but also on the self. The habitually idle man and the unscrupulous business man, however, have one obstacle in common- both find it very difficult to change their respective habits and so remain enslaved. As wrong business exploitation is a social crime, idleness is a spiritual crime that debases the human being. The nature of right action is performing all works as obligation. So, first action at the right perspective is essential to improvise through core values like making integrity a way of life. To make anything a way of life, to begin with, the ‘life’ has to be alive and kicking. Oprah Winfrey once said “Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not.” The next question that arises is what should be the way to work or how actions need to be performed. The answer to this lies in the very original concept of self less work. We have to detach our ‘self’ from the work. The work has to be carried out on its merit and we need not get involved through self attachment or desire. The objective or target would be met only when we will work without any personal attachment. Action without self attachment is the way to work. So, action is better than inaction and action has to be carried out without any self attachment and only then the objective of the organization would be met. Therefore always conscientiously we have to perform good material actions and spiritual actions without attachment. By doing all actions without attachment one obtains the highest and material actions performed with desire leads us away from the target. But to achieve the objective is this the only way and will that happen automatically to all the employees or there is any role of leadership here. The pertinent question is does Leadership plays any role in meeting the Moksha or the objective. Example speaks louder than words. It is said that what the

leaders do the followers would emulate. By his mere presence one who has reformed himself is able to reform thousands. Whatever the Leaders would consider as authentic and as an important duty the follower also would tend to consider the same. The reference of leaders and followers are relative. A follower in the organization in any department may be a great leader at home or the society

The Bhagavad Gita says first we have to control our senses or the ‘Indriyas’ and kill the destructive desire or ‘Kama’ within. It calls for destroying the material want within by controlling our senses and become free from within. beyond the organization. In fact all of us are Leaders at some point of our action. And as a Leader all should remember the fundamentals that what Leaders do other observe and follow. Like a rose he diffuses his fragrance to all. The importance shown on a subject or activity by a Leader is also taken in the same spirit by the followers. If the mind indulges in moods or anger, the senses will exhibit gloom or wrath; but if the mind is blissful, the senses too will register bliss. Whatever the mind sees and stresses will be blindly followed by the inclination, moods, desires, and habits. If integrity has to be made a way of life, the Leaders in us have to make it a way of life so that others can observe and follow. Here Leader- follower relationship would be changing from one action to the other but the common understanding would be that in any action integrity to be made a way of life by the Leadership position for the follower to also make it a way of life. Dr A P J Abdul Kalam said, ‘Let me define a leader. He must have vision and passion and not be afraid of any problem. Instead, he should know how to defeat it. Most importantly, he must work with integrity’. This is understood when we are discussing about a relationship of Leader and follower in an individual capacity. It is said that relinquish all activities to the core values devoid of egotism

and expectations. In a large and diverse organization how the flow would take place? Who would be actually the Leader so that the whole organization is following the objective? Is it only an individual or a group of individuals for all to follow or something much greater to guide the organization as a whole to the followers? Here come the core values of the organization. The core values of the organization drives the vision and the vision fuels the business. The core values of the organization are the supreme and we are all working like a follower to that. So, with our conscience and knowledge all employees to surrender to the core values and work without any desire and fear. Actions to be driven by the core values and followed like a leader by all to compete in the market place. Competition is to be fought as a team being driven by the core values and that would make integrity a way of life. Sincere achievers do not renounce true duties or the proper activities necessary to perform them. They overcome egotism which makes one responsible as the doer and as the receiver of good and bad actions. A true performer feels that since the organization has entrusted them with an objective he alone is responsible of all their activities. They work for the target without worrying knowing it is the core values that are working through their soul faculties. The actions of selfish men spring from desires born of ego hopes. A dedicated employee works neither at dictates of egotism nor at those of selfish desires. He is devoid of “I-ness”. Since he is working for the organization he has no individual desire, nor does he hope to attain any material goal. What are the causes of hindrance on the way to make integrity a way of life in meeting the objective or Moksha and who our enemies? Once we understand that, practicing integrity a way of life would be natural. When greed is unmet it transforms into anger. Hence greed and anger out of that rage are synonymous. Material want at times engulfs us so much that vision is blinkered and narrow. We have to consider them as our enemy. Born of the activating attribute of Nature, it is desire; it is anger, the impelling forces full of unappeasable crabbing and great evil. ‘Know this to be the foulest enemy here on earth. While habit is the automatic force that impels man to act even against his will, the root cause of compulsive action is the Nature- instigated delusive duo of desire and its corollary

GUEST COLUMN

Uttiya Bhattacharyya of anger, or frustrated desire’. Desires are silken threads of material pleasures which the spider of habit continuously spins around the soul to form the shrouding cocoons of ignorance. Since this pair binds man to a world of illusions and quite destroys his ability to recollect his true omnipresent nature of all- satisfying divine bliss, there can be no fouler foe than this. Desire and anger can never be appeased by fulfillment, not even by control over all mater. Every material desire leads man farther away from bliss, delaying his task of finding the way back to his native state of absolute peace. The real enemy is within us in the form of desire and anger. The inner weakness need to be overcome to make integrity a way of life. The process is not difficult and has been guided very well by the wise. The Bhagavad Gita says first we have to control our senses or the ‘ Indriyas’ and kill the destructive desire or ‘Kama’ within. It calls for destroying the material want within by controlling our senses and become free from within. Therefore, first discipline the senses, and then destroy desire, the simple annihilator of wisdom and Selfrealization. Sense acts create sense habits. Sense habits create sense desires. Sense desires create sense acts. This vicious circle is to be avoided. The self-disciplined employee who does not enslave himself to the inordinate demands of, for instance, his gustatory servant, the appetite, finds that his desires for food remains normal, obedient to his wisdom. But if he indulges in a constant desire to eat and unnatural state is created in which the evil desire is repeatedly fed by fresh acts of greedily swallowing food. Pride, power, greed, anger, possessions have to be won over by self-control to attain peace and wisdom to make integrity a way of life. The inspiration may be drawn from Dr A P J Abdul Kalam who said “No matter what is the environment around you, it is always possible to maintain brand of integrity.” (The author is the Chief General Manager, Head of IndianOil marketing in the North East & SLC Assam)

Guest Column

G PLUS | Nov 02 - Nov 08, 2019

MOMENTS

GUEST COLUMN

ime is so precious. It gives meaning to our lives but only when we extract the maximum out of every moment. As humans, we are a pretty dynamic species of the animal kingdom. We absorb things and experiences from around us, consciously or sub-consciously. These lived

Life does throw a mean curve ball every once in a while, but it also gives us these sudden moments which end up being our personal sunshine. We carry them within us, wherever we go and they do a damn fine job of keeping us warm. experiences enrich us and shape us for better and for worse. The human mind is another intangible web in the otherwise complex human species. It is said that on an average, we humans use only 4% of the brain. The rest 96%, apparently, remains unutilised in

Madhumona Goswami

Representative Image our lifetime. So, if the brain was to be compared to a computer hard disk or our phone memory, we use only 4 GB out of 100 GB available. And just imagine the sheer amount of information/memories etc that this meagre 4% has! How much we cram into this 4%? Our entire lifetime of memories as humans’ life expectancy is about 75 years. Along with this, we also cram the knowledge and information that we gather during the course of our professional life. It’s like our brain knows how to compress it to fit this paltry 4%. It never ceases to amaze me when

I think of nature’s apparent best creation - the human race. This makes me fear that I’ll forget important things because I believe my mind is too crowded. I have had so much of diverse experiences in life – from rock bottom to seventh heaven levels – I believe I have lived it all and survived too, to tell the tale! But at this juncture of my life, I would rather choose to take out each of my precious memory from their wrappings, relive it and keep it back safe. I believe everyone should make the time once in a while to reminisce, so as to be able

to remove the layers of dust that accumulate over them as we go about the ordinary business of our daily life. If not done, that is when these memories start to fade away from us. At the risk of sounding clichéd, I do agree to the old adage, “The beauty of a moment lingers on far beyond it in time.” For anyone who has lived, the harvest would hold sackfulls of memories to keep us company in life’s ‘winter’- as Keats wrote. It is this bountiful harvest that is our real riches - gained from life. I know I am thankful for the same.

Life does throw a mean curve ball every once in a while, but it also gives us these sudden moments which end up being our personal sunshine. We carry them within us, wherever we go and they do a damn fine job of keeping us warm. It takes but just a moment to make it seem alright or to seem like our biggest goof ups ever. It’s all a matter of perspective. But the million dollar question here is – whose perspective? Your’s or somebody else’s? Does it actually matter who thinks what? At the end of the day you need to think about yourself, because nobody else is going do that for you. If you can live with yourself and love the person who stares back at you in the mirror, then you are alright. If not, then you need to make a paradigm shift in your thought processes so as to be able to live with your true version of yourself. It’s imperative that you make your peace with oneself. Else life is going to be a lonely and long journey for you.

Weather report for the week Guwahati

SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

Partly Cloudy

Mostly Sunny

AM T-Storms

Sunny

Partly Cloudy

30°20° C

30°21° C

28°20° C

29°20° C

29°19° C

30°19° C

SATURDAY Sunny

31°20° C

14 G Talk E

G PLUS | Nov 02 - Nov 08, 2019 T

PSUs sans Assamese

ushil Chandra Mishra has taken over as the Chairman & Managing Director of Oil India Limited (OIL) marking the first time in several years when there is not a single Assamese on the Board of Directors of the PSU. For long, the nationally and internationally operational PSUs that have presence in Assam (or northeast for that matter) like ONGC and OIL have been managed by engineers and administrators who are not from this region. Can’t help it! But a certain service policy states that it is mandatory for engineers and administrators working in such PSUs to serve a three-year stint in the northeast. I have always wondered about the intent of this rule and whether its purpose was to upgrade the quality of the local human resources through their work interactions with these more “qualified” engineers. I mean, what else could it be? But if that is so, the purpose of the intent has not been served; most such people (certainly not all) take the three-year stint as a punishment posting which cannot be avoided. And so, rather than “serve” the area, they treat it as a fiefdom to throw their weight around, exploit and then leave with a sigh of relief. This service rule is usually applicable to the officers in the middle and top management and

includes both engineers and administrators. Now there is no point blaming an engineer or a public relation officer from say, upmarket Ahmedabad, who has to come and serve in Nazira (obviously leaving his family behind for reasons of children’s education et al) for being apathetic towards the region and taking his mandatory three-year stint as nothing more than a punishment. From the local perception, there is simply no mass resentment about such officers and engineers serving here simply because they are “irreplaceable” locally. The hullabaloo over the region’s unemployment scenario is always over the menial but permanent lower-ranked jobs in the Railways or in our petroleum refineries/drilling companies where locals often tend to be overlooked in favour of “outsiders” because of political reasons. Biharis filling up such lower ranked posts rather than Assamese within the jurisdiction of NF Railway was quite a heartburn a few years ago remember? And so, for a company that has always been perceived to be “Assamese” per se, OIL’s change of guard is one indicator of worry about Assam’s dwindling quality of human resources. Swapnil Bharali (Editor) @swapnilbharali

The myth of mild Diwali celebrations Rahul: So schools have been kept shut in Delhi because of the intense pollution levels in the capital? Habib: Yeah, looks like the Supreme Court’s verdict was blatantly disregarded. Rahul: What verdict? Habib: Well, the SC had said that bursting firecrackers should be restricted to a 2 hour window. Flexible for different states, but still restricted. Rahul: Well, I guess no one really cares about such orders, do they? Habib: To be honest, it was not just because of firecrackers, was it? There is also the crop burning in the north-western plains. Rahul: Well that’s what happens when you just randomly give orders from the top. Habib: Yeah, and it just didn’t end at “not caring” for the order. I think they also failed to enforce the order appropriately. It’s good to put such checks in place, to keep the environment safe. But what’s the point if there aren’t people who are enforcing it? I think violations should’ve been monitored closely. Rahul: Yeah, I remember calling the police officials to report a “hazaar wala patti.” By the time they arrived, well, the hazaar was long silenced. And then when they left, it started again. Habib: But I think this time crackers were a little controlled. The pollution in the city was comparatively low. Rahul: Yeah, maybe, a little. But green crackers didn’t really do well, did they? And even if the crackers were controlled, I think the sweets weren’t. Here’s a mithai for you. This is an eco-friendlygluten free-sugar free-low carb mithai just to keep you in your good spirits!

Sidharth Bedi Varma @sid_bv

Diwali: A plunge into darkness

he apex court’s bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan and AK Sikri had given its verdict that burning fire crackers would only be allowed between 8 pm to 10 pm on Diwali night. In spite of this, we witnessed people bursting crackers from dusk till past midnight on Diwali and the day before the festival of lights. The bench had also only permitted firecrackers with low decibel sound limits. The Supreme Court also asked people to buy, sell and manufacture “green” crackers only and this had to be followed across the country.

O pinion Rifa Deka

facts which although may not be news to us, is definitely something for us to reflect upon. If you burnt crackers this Diwali too, you have supported the funding of an industry that promotes child labour. You have had a huge hand in emitting large amounts of sulphur dioxide, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and particulate matter into the atmosphere that we all share. An interesting fact: Did you know that the fumes from one firecracker pollutes the environment up to as much as 464 cigarettes as per an India Today report which is

to the loud noise, refusing to go out and also showed unusual aggression along with drooling, shivering and howling. Let’s not even get started about the amount of trash we leave behind after Diwali. One cannot walk a hundred meters

way beyond the safety limits prescribed by the World Health Organization? So if you’re a non-smoker burning crackers, you’ve probably done your share of damage to both the lungs of the planet and your own. Bursting of firecrackers drastically shoots up not only the pollution levels but also poses severe threat to the lives of countless people suffering with asthma and anxiety. Let aside people, stray animals even those animals that we call pets and are in the comfort of our homes - face severe aggression problems during Diwali. I myself witnessed my pet dogs bark for hours at a stretch at the loud noise of firecrackers. They also defecated inside the house due

without the sight of rubbish we leave behind after our joyous cracker burning activities. We as a race continue to become more and more insensitive towards other creatures and the environment. We speak of a need for climate emergency, ask for a blanket ban on single-use plastics, etc but will not do the absolute minimum to curb sound and air pollution. No festival is a festival worth celebrating if it gives stray animals a traumatic experience and causes problems to the sick and elderly. I laud the efforts of the judiciary for taking this small step towards a green Diwali but condemn the way we citizens behaved this year. So much for light over darkness this Diwali!

The author writes about the insensitivity shown by Guwahatians towards the environment during the last Diwali despite the Supreme Court’s diktat about muted and controlled celebrations. Did this not appeal to the conscience of us citizens? Why then do we continue to disobey such orders and continue to add to pollution of our own land? Most people left the streets dirty with leftovers from their celebrations and half burnt crackers. Bursting crackers is not something that can be stopped suddenly since it is a practice that has been going on for ages now. But that does not mean that we cannot put an end to it now. We have caused enough harm to this planet already and it is time we woke up. Scrolling through my Instagram feed, I found a post shared by one of my friends which was originally put up by a page called activism_social_ gooserose that shared some

rScaling the GS Road dividers

Letter to the Editor

Through the column of your esteemed daily I would like to draw your attention to the lifethreatening acts of the citizens on GS Road of Guwahati. The pedestrians are seen crossing roads scaling the newly constructed dividers. This act is not only risky but has also causes chaos in the flow of traffic. Pedestrians have been following this for some period of time now. It is believed that the reasons behind this are the distant pedestrian crossings and lack of foot over bridges to ease the communication. The tall dividers may have brought convenience to motorist but not to pedestrians. Through this letter I would request the concerned officials to take note of the issue and take steps regarding the same. Susmita Baruah Student at Royal Global University, Guwahati

In Focus

G PLUS | Nov 02 - Nov 08, 2019

Guwahati likely to host IPL matches in 2020

franchise’s chief operating officer, which represents Assam or entire the stadium without any hassle,” Jake Lush McCrum, had visited northeast,” wrote Rajesh Das. wrote Anshuman Dutta, joining in the Barsapara stadium, along with Saptarshi Talukdar, a concerned the opposition. the team’s local boy, Riyan Parag, citizen wrote, “The traffic will be a Some of the citizens stated that to inspect the stadium and even chaos as seen during South Asian they want a team which represents had discussions with the Assam Games and local communication the entire northeastern region. Cricket Association officials. will be hampered unless “It’s really good news but I Once a dumping yard, the alternative arrangements for local really wanted our own team Barsapara Stadium hosted its first T20I in 2017 when India played Australia. Last year, it hosted its first ODI between India and the West Indies. Even the India Women’s T20I matches against England were held here earlier this year. And now, if everything falls in place, the IPL will finally travel to the northeast. Reacting to the news, Guwahatians gave a mixed reaction to this announcement and shared their views on the social media channels of G Plus. “Green-grass field and soothing atmosphere, It will be fantastic in Barasapara Cricket Ground,” wrote a resident of the city. “First govt should improve the Lokhra road and the adjoining File photo of ACA Cricket Stadium, Barsapara roads near the stadium so that people can reach

n a welcome move, the Barasapara Cricket Stadium is likely to host Indian Premier League (IPL) matches in 2020. According to reports, Guwahati is planning to host three Rajasthan Royals matches here as per a meeting held in August 2019. It is to be mentioned that last season Assam Cricket Association stadium located at Barsapara in Guwahati was selected as a possible venue by the IPL franchises Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for home matches. The Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur will be the home ground of RR this season. However, the franchise had requested the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to allot a few of its games in Assam and the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) - which has looked after the cricketing affairs of the Board till October 23 granted the franchise’s request in one of its meetings. According to a report in The Hindu, the minutes of the CoA meeting on August 13 this year, the committee “approved a franchise’s request to play three of its matches” at the Barsapara Stadium. The report also states that there was no official word from Rajasthan Royals on the matter. Top officials of the BCCI confirmed that earlier this year, the

people are made during that time.” Some citizens were also sceptical about this news. “Have been hearing this thing for like ages,” said Prashun Some. Debanju Baruah said, “I completed my engineering, but still the news is on.”

Muslims will continue to produce children: Badruddin Ajmal This statement comes after CM Sonowal, on October 21, announced that people with more than two children will not be eligible for government jobs after January 1, 2021. G Plus followers comment: Pranami Misra

What audacity! This decision by the government is not based on any religion. It is for the better of the state as a whole. He has himself singled out Muslims and made it a communal thing. Don’t think educated Muslims will pay heed to him. Those who have only religion to live by and die for will listen to him.

Kamal Sharma

And the prodigal Moulvi has to speak for all our brothers again. The question is will he support the education, health and all the required for a human being to sustain? If not how come he is preaching such bull****? All he wants is votes, rest assured everyone can go to hell.

Amar Sharma

The government’s decision was made for the betterment of the state and country, not for the Hindu and Muslim things. Please stop this type of religious politics.

Sanjumoni Deka

Ajmal is right in one way as not many Muslims are engaged in government jobs. So it would rarely affect them and will continue their production factory, and one day they will have the maximum voting power and will determine their own law and order as was done in Kashmir.

Shantanu Nath

Give a written promise that you will take care of their children in all aspects whether it’s their education, job and everything. If you can’t provide that then don’t create mayhem by giving such statements.

Ravi Sharma

This is the ultimate truth of these people. They don’t give a s*** about the development of the state. All they care for is about Islam. They just want to live a free life on the tax paid the Hindus.

Prabal Bharali

It’s a population jihad by Bangladeshi Muslims. Now many leftist and Bangladeshi Muslims supporters will give lack of education as a reason for their population explosion. If education is the reason then why there is no population explosion in our tribal villages where education facilities are lagging behind? Why there is no population explosion in tea gardens? Why there is no population explosion in Assamese Muslim villages? It’s a jihad, a population Jihad.

16 Buzz

G PLUS | Nov 02 - Nov 08, 2019

Assam athlete clinches bronze in World Martial Arts Competition

ssam athlete Samad Laskar has clinched a bronze medal at the recently concluded World Martial Arts Games 2019 held in London. Laskar, who hails from Jamunamukh constituency in Hojai District, was a part of the National Martial Arts Committee (NMAC). The Indian team has altogether won 8

Medals (2 Silvers and 6 Bronzes) at the event. The competition started on October 25 and ended on October 27, 2019. Ahead of the event, Laskar’s journey to London was funded by a group of local organizations and the Ajmal foundation who had provided Rs 2 lakhs as financial assistance to the youth.

TU to organise chemistry Olympiad for school teachers

ezpur University’s department of chemical sciences is organising a chemistry Olympiad exposure camp for junior college and high school teachers who are involved in teaching the subject. The Olympiad will be held from November 10 to 13 and teachers from schools which are recognised by the state or central government education boards are eligible to apply. According to a report by The Times of India, the exposure camp will consist of pedagogical sessions related to concepts of chemistry that are an integral part of the experimental and theoretical components of the chemistry Olympiad. The participating teachers will be sent some of the past problems in theory and experiments. Each participant is expected to study the problems before attending the camp.

21st North East Book Fair begins in Guwahati

he 21st North East Book Fair kicked off at Assam Engineering Institute field in Guwahati’s Chandmari area, on Friday, November 01. Organised by the All Assam Publishers and Booksellers Association (AAPBA), the book fair will be held for 12 days. The event was inaugurated by the Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu in the presence of CM Sonowal and Assam Governor Jagadish Mukhi. A special programme will be held on November 5 in memory of Dr. Bhupen Hazarika. There will be different seminars and interaction programme during the 12 day-long-air.

Like every year, this year, too, publishers and book companies of national and international repute are taking part in the event. Over 200 stalls have been set up where a total of 75 organizations from Assam, Bangladesh, New Delhi, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Mumbai, Dehradun, Kolkata etc. will take part.

Assam school collects Rs 1 lakh to treat student suffering from rare disease

alt Brook School in Dibrugarh has managed to collect an amount of around Rs 1 lakh for a student of Don Bosco Higher Secondary School, Doomdooma who is suffering from a life-threatening disease. The collected amount will be invested for the treatment of Rishab Dutta, a student of Class XI, who is suffering from Aplastic Anemia, a condition when one’s body stops producing enough

new blood cells. The disorder can be cured by bone marrow transplantation. Since he is not being able to find a matched donor, he will now have to undergo peripheral blood stem cell transplant with matched unrelated donor. The treatment for the transplant would cost over Rs 30 lakhs, thus falling short to gather the amount his family is seeking public support to save their son.

Feature

G PLUS | Nov 02 - Nov 08, 2019

The experimental photographer and his brilliance Mohua @guwahatiplus

ipankar Barua is an artiste living in oblivion all these years. He tried to give a new meaning to this festival by adding his touch of novelty to the festivities. There are many who cannot take up their passion as a means of livelihood due to various reasons. Some want to keep it as a hobby. But passion always gets pronounced sooner or later because when they try to actualise it, the end result always appeals to the connoisseurs. Dipankar Barua, an artiste living in oblivion all these years, is one who might not have got the chance to showcase his creations in front of the world in the way such talent should get the chance but anyone who witnessed the depth and beauty of his efforts would remain speechless on viewing them. Barua passed BCom in 1998, LLB in 1991, CS in 1994 and PGD HRM in 2008. At present, he is working as a company secretary in AEGCL, a government of Assam company. All his paintings and photographs portray a story but his experiment with the small lights used during Diwali is a novel and original concept. “We are mad.” This is what he said about himself and his musician friend whose homes are museums of paintings,

photographs and musical instruments. According to him, artistic geniuses are mavericks. He has been silently giving shape to his passion for the past thirty years. His subject of creations is primarily Nature and abstract paintings. He collects rare stones from streets or river beds. He narrated his experiences in this way. “Fusion-VI (Nature’s Canvas) is my sixth solo exhibition apart from my participation in numerous joint exhibitions held by PSA. It is my humble effort to share a few moments of feelings and thoughts in my own way.” He started photography in 1989 with a Zenit-ET model (SLR) camera, using it for several years till he bought a Nikon FM10 (SLR) in 2003 with which he continued till 2015. At present, he uses a Nikon D-7000. Previously he organised five solo exhibitions in the years 2005, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016. He adds, “Most of my photographs are devoid of human beings because I feel, we are the cause of destruction of this beautiful planet. So, I indulge myself in nature photography most of the time. For me, all elements of Nature are the living objects which I try to portray through my photographs. I have experimented with abstracts and macro photography on art/paintings done by me and insignificant objects often ignored. I try to play with light and common objects to create pictures. My series of celestial

bodies captured on film is an addition to my collection of abstracts.” During the latter part of 2012 he embarked with a new series of creative art. He began his experimentation on waste materials including paper rolls discarded by photo printers, old newspapers, egg shells, discarded bottles etc and transforming them into showpieces thereby adding value to discarded materials. In the latter part of 2018, he experimented with acrylic colours and displayed a few of

the paintings as well. There are around 125 photographs displayed which include photographs captured by both analogue as well as digital camera. Lastly, he talked about the encouragement he received from his family, circle of friends and well-wishers that always lifted his spirits. He says that he gets 7-10 days every year exclusively for himself when he goes on an adventurous journey to find new inspiration for future creations. It is a self-taught art which he cultivated over a period of thirty

productive years. While talking about the advent of digitalisation of art and artistic creations he remarked that due to the use of digital medium everything is easier and there is more scope for betterment but it has killed the surprise element that existed in those days when they had to wait for quite some time to see the result of their labour. On the topic of Modern Art, he feels that though it might have different meanings for different people leaves room for interpretation, it appeals to the connoisseurs of Art as it gives pleasure to the eyes. He is certain that anything which can please the audience has the capability to earn fame. He says that he would like to call his process of paintings as “painting through the lens.”

The lucrative business side of social media Nilakshi M. Daimary

omewhere around a decade ago social media was used to just socialize among people on the internet from near to greater distances. Back then, social media didn’t play a strong role in anyone’s life. Now, we are a generation of likes, shares and comments. In each social media platform,

users are driven by the sense of affirmation given by interactions with their posts. In the present day the evolution of technology has put up the developers into developing numerous applications and websites bringing in a multitude of new career choices at large. The platforms of social media in today’s date is considered to be one of the greatest tools for digital marketing and career making among the present day

adolescents and young adults as well. Career choices like blogging/vlogging and creating content for social media, is a business that’s proving to be extremely lucrative. It is estimated that influencer marketing industry will be worth a whopping $10 billion by 2020. While blogging/ vlogging and creating content may have been considered to be something which people did in their past time as a hobby, many creators have

successfully turned their passion for content creation into a business through branding of products belonging to numerous brands worldwide and have made a face of themselves in the social media platforms. Today, anyone with a smartphone, internet connection and the access to social media applications can become an influencer, blogger/ vlogger or a content creator. One doesn’t even need to have a verified account with the

blue tick mark on it. Social media being an incredibly competitive space has soared the trend of influencer marketing across nations where the influencers rising with the digital times can make use of these social media platforms to build a rapport with their audience through their great content creating skills anytime anywhere to get hold of brand collaborations in order to carve a successful career as an influencer.

18 Review

G PLUS | Nov 02 - Nov 08, 2019

Starring: Linda Hamilton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mackenzie Davis Director: Tim Miller

Terminator: Dark Fate

hile T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) are huffing and puffing in order to tackle an advanced terminator, there’s a fair chance of audiences thinking: Why do they even keep coming back? With every film in the franchise, they are getting even more distant from the original thrill machines and core philosophy. Not that Schwarzenegger hasn’t come back in the past. He was there in Terminator: Rise of the Machines, Terminator: Salvation and Terminator: Genisys. All these films were mostly fan service and Schwarzenegger didn’t venture beyond his famous dialogue: I’ll be back. Now, after all these years of The Terminator (1984), even that legendary dialogue seems to be losing sheen. Even if Schwarzenegger hasn’t done

much to let it happen, these films definitely have. Dark Fate is no different. What looked unbelievable thinking by Skynet in the early 1980s is the most basic concept for every Hollywood sci-fi films now. What made The Terminator such an impactful film was the novel idea of machines turning against the humanity by developing a raw conscience. It was stimulating to imagine a world with humans controlling artificial intelligence (AI) for all the practical purposes. The game has completely changed since then. With films like Ex Machina and Bladerunner 2049, the AI-themed storylines have undergone massive changes. The directors are adding new dimensions to humanoids so much so that projecting an actor’s face on a robot seems the most natural thing to do. We now believe that they need a face. On the action front,

Transformers films have set a tough-to-beat template. There are many other similar films too. So, it’s neither idea nor action for Terminator-like films. In such a situation, can Schwarzenegger’s enigma be the only hook? Irony is that he didn’t even get to mouth his career-defining dialogue! It begins in Mexico, which should now be declared as Hollywood’s most favoured origin spot for all sorts of stories, where half humanhalf robot Grace (Mackenzie Davis) is trying her best to save Dani (Natalia Reyes) from Rev-9 (Gabriel Luna). This also serves as Hamilton’s entry point, whose affinity for guns and violence hasn’t gone down a bit in all these years. In a way, Dark Fate is her follow-up story and a pat on back for remaining the most badass woman around. She, with slowmotion shots and relatively better understanding of the milieu, tries to take control but it all scatters the moment T-800 and Rev-9 decide to give aerial stunts a try. Though director Tim Miller (Deadpool) tries to infuse some humour but it’s too late by then. Everybody knows where this is heading except the machines. Well, they’re machines after all! Despite maverick filmmaker James Cameron (the director of The Terminator and The TerminatorJudgment Day) on board as writer and producer, Dark Fate relies only on set-pieces. The script never goes beyond the obvious. The Terminator-Dark Fate is a lame throwback to the simpler times with a false promise of a better future. These terminators need immediate upgrade. Maybe Michael Bay can help. (Review from News18)

Cinepolis, Christian Basti 09435025808

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PVR Cinemas, Dona Planet 08800900009 Housefull 4 09:55 AM, 04:00 PM, 09:20 PM Terminator: Dark Fate (English) 10:30 AM, 01:05 PM, 06:30 PM Ujda Chaman 01:20 PM, 09:25 PM The Addams Family (English) 07:10 PM

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Housefull 4 09:00 AM, 12:10 PM, 03:20 PM, 06:30 PM, 09:40 PM The Addams Family (English) 09:15 AM, 02:10 PM, 07:00 PM Ratnakar (Assamese) 10:15 AM, 07:00 PM, 09:35 PM Terminator: Dark Fate (English) 10:15 AM, 03:45 PM, 06:35 PM, 09:25 PM Ujda Chaman 10:30 AM, 04:00 PM, 06:40 PM, 09:20 PM Joker (English) 11:25 AM Rowd Hoi Aha Tumi (Assamese) 12:50 PM Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (English) 01:05 PM Made In China 01:10 PM Saand Ki Aankh 03:50 PM, 09:10 PM Overcomer (English) 04:20 PM

Mi TV 4X

for connecting external audio devices to the TV. Fortunately, there is Bluetooth and HDMI ARC, so plenty of audio devices can still be connected.

Xiaomi has consistently drawn attention to its products, and the latest in the range is the new Mi TV 4X series. Priced at Rs. 29,999, the Mi TV 4X 50 has a 3840x2160-pixel screen, smart connectivity through the Android TV platform, and more. We’ve put the television through our testing process, and here’s our review.

Verdict

Design Mi TV 4X 50 has exactly the kind of aesthetic we’re used to seeing in the budget segment. The styling and build quality is ordinary, basic, and functional. Pretty much nothing about this TV stands out aesthetically, and the only thing that tells you it’s a Mi TV is a small Mi logo at the bottom. There’s a small module sticking out below the frame of this TV,

which has the IR receiver, power indicator light, and a physical power button on it. The TV has relatively thin borders on the top and sides, with the lower one being slightly thicker. On the whole, we liked that the design of the television keeps attention focused on the screen.

Specification The Mi TV 4X 50 has bottomfiring speakers, with 20W of sound

output coming from two identical drivers. It also offers support for various Dolby and DTS HD audio formats. The display is a 50-inch 4K-resolution LED screen, with a resolution of 3840x2160 pixels, a 60Hz standard refresh rate, and support for 10-bit HDR content. Powering the television is an Amlogic A53-based quad-core processor, with 2GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage. Most of the Mi TV 4X 50’s ports

and inputs (three HDMI ports, two USB ports, and one antenna input) face sideways to the right of the television, while some (AV inputs, S/PDIF and Ethernet port) face downwards. The power cable is on the left, but is long enough to come around the TV if needed. The significant omissions here are optical and 3.5mm audio outputs (although the latter is mentioned in the spec sheet), which reduce the scope

The Mi TV 4X 50 seems like a particularly impressive value-formoney proposition, giving you a screen that is just the right size for most viewing rooms along with all the features and specifications you would expect from a topend TV. Priced at Rs. 29,999, the Mi TV 4X 50 is probably the ideal television for anyone looking for a big-screen upgrade and a start in the world of streaming and 4K. Although the best performance is only seen with the best content, and options such as the OnePlus TV Q1 Pro are better in every way, this TV is still worth checking out if you have a very tight budget but want to upgrade to a bigscreen 4K TV. (Review from NDTV Gadgets)

Trotter

G PLUS | Nov 02 - Nov 08, 2019

Woman elopes with lover ‘Transphobic’ porn star denied sex because of her male genitals after husband denies her

transgender woman says she is a victim of ‘transphobic’ discrimination after being snubbed for job as a female porn star – because she still has a penis. Ria Cooper, 25, who became Britain’s youngest trans person when she transitioned 10 years ago, encountered the photographer after deciding to embark on a career in the sex industry. She says the anonymous individual messaged her saying he wanted to have sex on camera and then sell the resulting porno to make some quick cash. But little did he know that Ria was transgender and when he found out she still has male reproductive organs he immediately retracted the offer. In messages exchanged over WhatsApp, the photographer

bluntly proclaimed he couldn’t work with her because “she has a c**k.” Ria has hit out at the ‘transphobic behaviour’ and says she’s being unfairly discriminated against in her pursuit of a modelling career. The woman from Hull, East Yorks, has reported the comments to Humberside Police, which is investigating the incident as a hate crime. Ria says the man got in touch with her over WhatsApp

after she released her new glamour modelling portfolio online. He apparently told her the industry was like a ‘family’ and vowed to help her make her way to the top of it. Then the photographer told Ria he had just been informed by a friend that she is transgender, before saying “Playboy won’t accept that.” After making the discovery the man cut all contact with Ria, who says her social media profiles clearly state she is a ‘ladyboy.’ She thought the photographer knew what he was doing. Ria has described the comments as ‘discriminatory’ and ‘appalling’, comparing the abuse to that of a racist. She is speaking out about the abuse because she wants to help other transgender people suffering abuse. (Source: metro.co.uk)

Teen breaks into German prison in bid to win back jailed ex

teenager broke into a German prison in an attempt to win back his ex-girlfriend. Prison authorities in the northwestern town of Vechta told news agency DPA that the 18-year-old scaled a 4-meter (13-foot) wall last week to get to his ex’s window. Prison officials intercepted the man. He refused to climb back down, and the fire service was

called to bring him down with a ladder. It wasn’t clear whether the escapade succeeded in

winning back the heart of the young woman, also 18, who had broken up with him by phone. The man is being investigated for trespassing and unauthorized contact with prisoners. Regional broadcaster NDR reported that the man was half-naked, having taken off many of his clothes to avoid getting caught on the barbed wire. (Source: msn.com)

US woman texts dead dad daily, gets a reply four years later

hastity Patterson, 23, has texted her late dad’s old phone number each day since he passed away with updates about her life. On the four-year anniversary of her dad’s death, Patterson sent the number a long message telling her dad she loved and missed him. “It’s been four years since I lost you and not a day goes by that I don’t miss you,” she said. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you needed me the most, but one day we will [sic] our chance to watch that game!” This week, the young woman reportedly received a reply from the person who now has her dad’s phone number. The response was quite remarkable. “My name is Brad and I lost my daughter in a car wreck

August 2014 and your messages have kept me alive,” the text explained. “When you text me, I know it’s a message from God. I have listened to you for years and I have watched you grow more than anyone,” the man named Brad said. “I have wanted to text you back for years, but I didn’t want to break your heart.” He heartbreakingly explained that he wished his daughter had become the woman she is, calling her extraordinary. “I’m sorry you have to go through this but if it makes it any better, I am very proud of you!” Patterson posted their correspondence on Facebook and it has since gone viral. “I text my dad every day to let him know how my day goes, for the past four years! Today was my sign

that everything is okay and I can let him rest!” she wrote. In a later post she explained that while the man was not her biological father, she called him dad and he was there for her in every facet of life. “He never missed a school dance, prom, my games and YES he would give me long talks about my mouth and attitude,” she said on Facebook. “I’ve cried with him, told him everything and even became very independent because he took the time to love me and show me what happiness looks like,” she added. (Source: 7news.com.au)

eggs to eat

n a bizarre incident, a woman ran away from an “eggless” marriage, after she was allegedly being denied eggs by her husband in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur district. According to the police, the woman, who lives in Campierganj, had earlier eloped with her paramour four months ago and after she returned, she told the police that her husband did not give her eggs to eat and that made her upset. The woman fought with her husband on Saturday for eggs and, once again, ran away from her home. Since her paramour was also not at his house, it is believed that the two might have eloped together. The husband is a daily wage

labourer and said that he cannot afford to buy eggs every day for the family. He also alleged that his wife’s beloved took advantage of her weakness for eggs and started bringing them daily. “She was fond of eggs and her paramour regularly brought eggs for her,” he added. (Source: mid-day.com)

‘Ridiculous’ influencer claims shampoo makes people gain weight

hen it comes to gaining weight, many would say a poor diet and lack of exercise may be the cause. But a health and wellness influencer from the US recently suggested it might actually be a result of an everyday item you’ve been using. Eleni Chechopoulos shared a post with her 11,000 followers on Instagram, claiming that their “battle with the scale” could be down to their shampoo. Her controversial post has since gone viral and has received plenty of backlashes with an expert branding her words “ridiculous.” Alongside an image of herself holding a bottle of Pantene shampoo, Chechopoulos wrote: “Is your shampoo making you gain weight? “First it’s calories, then it’s hormones, then it’s gut health... now it’s my shampoo?! You count every calorie that passes your lips, but your weight won’t budge... “Managing your weight isn’t only about calories in vs calories out!” Enter obesogens,” she continued. “Chemicals that disrupt HOW your body creates and stores fat - found in shampoo, toothpaste, grocery store receipts, shower curtains, make-up, perfume, and so. much. more. “Even though you eat healthy and exercise every day, you still might battle the scale because of your SHAMPOO.” She went on to reference studies on mice to support her claims, but her comments were dismissed by health and fitness expert, Belinda MacDougall. Speaking to news.

com.au, MacDougall, the CEO of health food company, The Healthy Happy Co, said, “To say shampoo is the reason we are overweight is ridiculous and while chemicals in all beauty products can be bad for our health, weight gain is far more related to what we eat.” Many social media users were angry about the shampoo comments, with one person branding them “fatphobic.” Twitter user Chloe Elliott shared screenshots of the original Instagram post, captioning her tweet: “This is next level fatphobic. Encouraging women to think and worry about the number of calories in SHAMPOO and it’s effect on weight gain. Jesus wept.” Following the backlash, Chechopoulos has made her Instagram account private. However, before doing so, she responded to the controversy, saying, “As usual when I speak about certain topics lots of hate floods in and demand for citations and studies. I don’t disagree with wanting studies, but it is not my job to serve everything on a silver platter. I suspect many don’t want studies – they want to bully and stir the pot.” (Source: mirror.co.uk)

20 Fun Jayashree Bose Certified Feng Shui, Chinese astrology, date selection consultant & author, www.facebook.com/geoprinciples

Share your ideas with your seniors or generally build a relationship with people at work on 7th November. On 2nd November be wary of dealing with the opposite gender. 5th November avoid scheduling any meetings, you are bound to have disagreements. 6th November you will be emotionally hurt either by your parents or seniors. 8th November your views might not be accepted by others.

Just avoid dealing with your seniors and your extended family on 3rd, 5th and 6th November. On 5th November you will be emotionally hurt by your seniors or parent’s words and actions. On 6th November you could have disagreements with your boss. 8th November will be an ideal day for you share your ideas with your seniors and host your important meetings.

Utilize 6th and 7th November to share your ideas with your seniors and host your important meetings. Avoid scheduling any important meetings on 8th November, you could get into disagreements. You could have issues with your seniors or your extended family on 3rd and 5th November. 3rd November avoid trusting anyone with your secrets.

7th and 8th November will be great days for you to share your ideas with your seniors and host your important meetings. 2nd November you could be betrayed or emotionally hurt by someone at work. 3rd November be careful of your words and action as you will create your own problems, it will also be a slow day, don’t over plan.

7th and 8th November will be excellent days for you to connect with your work mates and schedule important meetings. Your seniors will be receptive to your ideas. On 7th November you could feel your seniors and/or your parents are ungrateful, they don’t appreciate you. 4th November will be a slow day for you.

On 2nd November you could be betrayed by someone at work and emotionally hurt by your family. 5th November be careful of your words and action as you will create your own problems. 6th November will be a great day for you to share your ideas with your seniors or simply just connect with them. You could schedule your important meetings on this day.

2nd and 5th November will be great days for you to build a rapport with your seniors and people at work, host your important meetings on these dates. Your seniors will be receptive to your ideas. Avoid scheduling any meetings on 4th November, results 3 will not be as you expected. 6th November will be a slow day for you.

2nd November will be an ideal day to share your ideas with your boss or connect with people at work and family. 10th November will be a slow day and things may not work out as planned. Avoid socializing or making any promises on 4th November, avoid over planning for 4th November.

Just lay low and don’t draw too much attention to yourself. 2nd November you could have a disagreement with your senior or work associate, don’t schedule any important meetings. 8th November be careful of your words and actions as you will create your own problems. 3rd and 4th November will be slow days and nothing will pan out according to your plans.

Watch yourself on 3rd and 6th November, avoid making any promises or getting into a confrontation. Share your ideas with your seniors or generally build a relationship with people at work on 2nd and 5th November, host your important meetings on these dates. You could feel emotionally betrayed by your seniors or extended family on 8th November, not a day to share secrets

2nd, 5th and 6th November are ideal days for you to mingle with your seniors, people at work and build your work network. Host your important meetings on these dates. Avoid everyone and anyone on 4th November, you are bound to get into a disagreement. 7th November you could feel emotionally hurt.

Brace yourself for a slow week. 5th November will be a great day for you to share your ideas and host all your important meetings. 4th November will be a slow day, you could feel your parents or your boss don’t appreciate your efforts at all. 7th November avoid hosting any meetings you could easily get into confrontations.

Lilliputian knackered

Hyundai Elantra Chelsea

curio-city

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Word of of the the week week Word

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

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Lagaan

Identify the breed of this dog, responsible for the capture and death of Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, the head of the dreaded ISIS.

Daily Sudoku: Thu 24-Oct-2019

What are gouda, bandel, parmesan types of?

3 47 19 21 3 very hard 1 5 6 3

24 35 92

Their aerial roots are hand woven by local people to make

Why are Rubber Fig trees so important in Meghalaya?

45 86

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the living root bridges

1 8 7 7 5 4

7 99

52 98 63 43 14 86 78

‘Once upon a time in India’ is the tagline of which famous movie?

9 3 2 6 18 51 2 2 66 24 5 4 71 37 9 8 89 75 6

Cheese

last week solution

5 1 6 8 4 27 46 73 34 58 81 98 39 77 13 35 84 52 91 26 19 72 44 63 31 63 21 97 55 74 98 65 26 12 89 72 33 11 46 95 46 59 85 28 67 Daily Sudoku: Thu 31-Oct-2019 4 7 8 9 2

Which car, also known as Avante in South Korea, is the second highest selling car in the world after Toyota Corolla?

very hard

Belgian Malinois

9 2 6 1 5 9 2 9 77 1 6 8 5 1 26 86 2 8 6 1 7 5 8 4 98 8 7 6 43 4 5 4 5 2 8 2 5 5 2 7 9 3 Daily Sudoku: Thu 31-Oct-2019 very hard 4 7 8 9 5

Which EPL club, quite popular in the northeast, is nicknamed ‘Pensioners?’

1 6 2 73 3

Daily Sudoku: Thu 24-Oct-2019

curio-city 1.

Sudoku

These predictions are based on the month of birth, and are about an individual’s work environment, parents and extended family.

adjective [lil-i-pyoo-shuhn] adjective [nak-erd] British Slang. extremely small; tiny; diminutive. exhausted; very tired

Crossword Across

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1 Loosely woven cloth from Scotland (6,5) 9 Impromptu (9) 10 Animal (with nine nine tails?) (3) 11 Himalayan country (5) 13 Excellent — shining bright? (7) 14 On ship (6) 15 Purist (6) 18 Arctic deer — a Rio cub (anag) (7) 20 Best possible (5) 21 See 23 22 Fling (9) 24 Fifth book of the Bible

Horoscope of the week

G PLUS | Nov 02 - Nov 08, 2019

2 Fit (3) 3 Person whose speech is not well organised (7) 4 Married partner (6) 5 In which position? (5) 6 Acquit — clear (9) 7 Entertainment area with coin- operated machines (5,6) 8 Narrator (11) 12 TV show (9) 16 Issue (7) 17 Male domestic servant (6) 19 Bathroom basin (5) 23, 21 UK resident who the tax man accepts as having their "true" home elsewhere (abbr) (3-3)

Last week’s solution

Fiction

G PLUS | Nov 02 - Nov 08, 2019

Reza Khan.â&#x20AC;Śthe Resident Kabuliwallah W

hen we were growing up in Shillong I remember the tall, rugged Pathans from Kabul going from door to door selling dry fruits and later clothes and even some beautiful small furniture. My father and those of his generation used to depend on them for the nutritious walnuts, almonds, cashew and various other nuts, some of which are not available today. However, I believe after our independence in 1947, when formal trade started, the Indian businessmen imported these items directly and the sales of these Kabuliwallahs dropped. Then

Thinking mediation to be the best alternative in this case the next morning I sent out word that I was looking for Reza. He came to see me two days later with a worried look on his face not knowing why I had called him. they started the business of money lending, some even obtaining licences from the government to carry on this work. Kolkata was their headquarters and a lot of Pathans came from there to seek their livelihood here in Assam. I used to hear from the elders in the family that they lent out the money at a very high interest and it was sheer trouble to get into their clutches. However this business of theirs too started getting into the hands of the Indian traders and in fact this gave the birth to the various ponzi schemes and chit funds that we hear so much of nowadays. Thus when I joined tea in our family gardens in the late 1960s , these Pathans had shifted their base to the rural areas where they could ply their money lending business as banks had hardly gone to the remote areas then. In the garden where I was put in charge, there was this Kabuliwallah, Reza Khan, who used to appear especially during pay days and I noticed him on his bicycle on the roadside trying to catch the persons who owed him money and collecting the interest dues. The workers and also nearby villagers who needed cash, especially during a wedding or a death in the family, made a beeline to Reza and would borrow the sum from him

not worrying about the interest payable. However, money lenders like Reza insisted that the interest was paid timely, not bothering about collecting the principal sum. So if a man took a loan of Rs. 500/with an interest burden of 8% monthly, he had to pay Rs. 40/- as interest every month. They did not calculate that in the year he would be paying the lender Rs 480/- i.e., almost the original sum taken and the principal amount would be carried over to the next year. I did not get any complaints about the transactions as everyone wanted this system to be alive as at times they would have a need to borrow money. If someone defaulted or refused to pay back the loan then the Kabuliwallah would come one day with a few other Pathans in a show of strength to cow down the wilful defaulter. They were very persistent and managed to collect their dues in full. They were doing a service to the people and therefore the management of the tea gardens brooked their presence as a necessary evil. On the flip side if they did not have access to such funds they would have had to steal, beg or borrow and the last option was waiting readymade in the form of the hefty Pathans. One day, a young worker called Madan, whom I had earmarked as a fit candidate for the post of a Sirdar in the field, told me that he had taken a loan from Reza of about six hundred rupees to buy a brand new bicycle for his work of checking the garden fieldworks at different locations. It was a good initiative and the rule was that if one used a bicycle the person would be entitled to an annual maintenance for the cycle of around six hundred rupees. In other words, the actual amount of the purchase would be recovered by him after twelve months! Some amount of repairing of the cycle would be required but in any case it would serve him well for at least three years. Madan had planned well but fate had a twist for him. In the month of December, there would be heavy fog at times and the garden roads would be enveloped in this, making it difficult to see ahead in the distance. As Madan was making his way to a particular tea section next to the village area he came across a herd of wild elephants at very close proximity. He almost hit one elephant who got startled and trumpeting loudly he charged towards the cyclist. Luckily Madan who had fallen off his cycle, made a dash into a drain in the tea bushes and lying low, he scrambled on all fours to safety. The angry elephant just trampled all over the bicycle and twisted it into a mass of broken iron rods,

wheels and scrap. Madan was highly agitated at his loss and the fact that the loan would be a big burden on him now hit him very badly. The Kabuliwallah would not show him any mercy and he was quite distraught. I was also worried as the pruning and various other field works were on full swing and Madan was quite useful especially in the newly planted tea areas. In a tea garden the set systems are very important and in case I broke a rule to favour someone then everyone would also ask me for the same help. At the same time I knew that Madan would require some help from me. From the managementâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s side we did give some interest-free advances to the workers and staff for a number of reasons but as I did not want to show any favouritism and burden the garden

running budget, I had to come up with an alternative plan. The garden management and the garden workers committee already had an agreement for these advances and a lump sum amount of around Rs. 20,000/- was budgeted which was like a revolving amount to be used for granting them advances. As there was a long list of applicants in line there was no way that Madan would be eligible to claim an advance in short notice from this revolving fund. Therefore, thinking mediation to be the best

alternative in this case the next morning I sent out word that I was looking for Reza and that he should meet me urgently. He came to see me two days later as he was away on work in some other gardens but he had a worried look on his face not knowing why I had called him. I told him about Madanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mishap and that he would only get around a hundred odd rupees for scrap sale of the damaged cycle. I then asked him to give me a loan of 500 rupees to buy him another cycle. He agreed at once with relief written all over his face, and before I could bargain on the interest he told me that he could not charge me any interest as he was already doing business in our garden. So Madan got a brand new bicycle for the second time in five months.

This time he however chose a different brand of bicycle for luck. He was able to pay off the first cycle loan when he got the allowance from the garden and the second loan he repaid with regular monthly instalments as no interest was charged on the second loan taken on my account. In this manner one can solve a

Ranjan Kumar Choudhury ranjanchou@hotmail.com

lot of problems quite simply with some out-of-the-box thinking which helped me a lot in my tea garden managerial days. From that time of taking the loan, I got to know a bit about Reza Khan and found out that he was actually born in Kolkata when his mother had come to India only for the second time. He grew up in that city of dreams and first helped his father in the dry fruits business and then after training came to Assam and worked as an apprentice under an uncle in Tinsukia, where there were many tea gardens for a number of money lenders to work. Only when there was a vacancy in the Tezpur area he was sent to work in some of the Biswanath Charali tea gardens. He had never been to Kabul but had once been to Pakistan to attend a family wedding. He told me that he was planning to get married soon but the Taliban was getting more and more active in Afghanistan and he was worried that he might be inducted by them. In the meantime the Marwari shops in the gardens were getting fully entrenched and they took over the lucrative money lending business from the Kabuliwallahs, who however were allowed to stay and collect their pending dues. Reza and many others could not hold on much longer and they in fact sold off their receivables at a discount to the local shops and went away with whatever amount they could salvage. The Kabuliwallah had been consigned to a romantic version in a story written by Rabindranath Tagore, but many of us had actually seen this breed of people working from close quarters. They did fill the role of banks for a quick fix but at a very high cost; but many did benefit if they were able to pay off the loans and not get consumed by the high interest factor. I never got to know whether Reza went back and got married, and if so, whether he stayed back or come to India again. He and the other Kabuliwallahs I had met never seemed warlike or acrimonious by nature and later seeing the brutality of the Taliban fighters I can never comprehend these gentle giants turning into warlords of hate, murders and cold hearted killers. And today seeing the Afghan team play cricket with such a great attitude, I am sure that Reza and his ilk would not let me down in my opinion of them.

22 Lifestyle

G PLUS | Nov 02 - Nov 08, 2019

Vaastu correction of different directions with Yantras Hemanta Kumar Sarmah Engineer, Businessman, Advanced Pranic Healer and Su Jok Acupressure specialist.

aastu has a close connection with astrology. The directions and the parts of a plot/house are controlled by different planets and deities. So when we cannot make physical changes to a structure, the ruling planets and deities are strengthened using different energisers or rituals. Yantras are some instruments which can bring positive effect from these planets or deities.

Use Kuber Yantra for north. Use Brihaspati Yantra for northeast. Keep a Tulsi plant at northeast. Surya Yantra is recommended for defects

in east. Keep a statue of Ganesha over the main door for a defective southeast. Use a Mangal Yantra for south. Use a Rahu Yantra for a defective southwest. Varun Yantra should be installed for a defective west. Northwest is ruled by the moon. So use a Chandra Yantra at northwest.

Meditation on the Ganges

The River Ganges or Ganga is one of the most sacred rivers of the Hindus. It, along with its tributaries, cover more than 10,00,00 square kilometres of

fertile land in north and east India. The Ganges originates from the Gongotri glacier and finally ends in the Bay of Bengal after numerous tributaries join its course on the way. It is written in our religious scriptures that the Ganga originated from the Jata or bundle of hair of Lord Shiva and flowed down earth by the name of Bhagirathi, the present main tributary. The Hindus consider the river Ganga as mother. In Brahma Purana, it is mentioned that bathing in Ganga gives punya or purity. Ganga is equated with the times of Rig Veda. It is believed that as Amrit or nectar is to the gods, the water from Ganga is to human beings. It is a custom of many Hindus to keep a vial of Ganga water in the house. It is sprinkled in the house to purify areas. Dying persons are administered Ganga water to attain salvation.

Millions take a dip in the river Ganga in the month of end May (Jestha) to purify themselves from all sins and negativity. Since it is not possible for all to take a dip in the river Ganga, a simple meditation or Dhyan can be done for the same purpose. Sit in a comfortable pose with your eyes closed. Take a few deep breaths. Pranayama is better. Mentally chant the mantra “Om Namah Shivaye” 11 times. Imagine Lord Shiva with the river Ganga flowing from its

Bhutan listed among top 10 travel destinations for 2020

he Kingdom of Bhutan has been chosen as the best travel destination for 2020 by the Lonely Planet, a travel guide publisher. Bhutan is located in the eastern Himalayas bordered by Tibet (China) to the north, and by Indian states of Sikkim to the west, Arunachal to the east, Assam and West Bengal

to the south. According to a report, the travel guide released the top 10 countries to visit in the year 2020. Below is the complete list of top 10 countries to visit next year: Bhutan, located on the Silk Road in South Asia, was at the top of the list, partly because of its beauty and also because

it is the only carbon-negative country in the world. England was listed at second place despite the political impasse it is suffering from due to Brexit. The third place went to North Macedonia, which changed its name last year after decades of political debate with neighbouring Greece.

The island of Aruba took fourth place. Aruba has offered the island to be a testing hub for other countries’ renewable energy solutions and is working to implement a ban on all single-use plastics. The newly renamed Kingdom of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) was fifth. The Republic of Costa Rica was listed in sixth place due to its efforts “for sustainable tourism.” The Netherlands took seventh place. The European nation is set to celebrate 75 years of freedom since World War II next year with a host of events. Liberia was in eighth place with Lonely Planet highlighting its natural wonders, including the Sapo National Park. The ninth place went to Morocco due to its timehonoured attractions and improved infrastructure, including Africa’s first highspeed train. In tenth place was Uruguay, with Lonely Planet highlighting the Latin American country’s 660 kms (410 miles) of Rio de la Plata.

Jata or hair. Let this hair bathe you. Imagine as if all your pains, sins and negativity are washed away by the waters of the river Ganga. Do it for a few minutes. End it with a few deep breaths and slowly open your eyes. You will be amazed at the freshness achieved from this meditation.

The Lost Smile Agonies of mine couldn’t be described So long in a lonely route Possibly it comes from the questioning mind, And takes me to the place of doubt. Oh no it’s so rough and tough fights I face to wrap up the smile; Within the dream of purchasing golden lights, But,bears the pains in the journey to a mile. Let me try to achieve like a holy grail But, it topples my neck to up again, Where peace is released in bail, Oh my happiness again stayed in vain; Love to thou still survive purely, While I can’t smile again surely.

Shahin Xaikia

Entertainment

G PLUS | Nov 02 - Nov 08, 2019

Madhur Bhandarkar suggests single window clearance in Assam to attract filmmakers

3rd Guwahati International Film Festival kicks off

hief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal met national award winning filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar at Janata Bhawan and discussed on various issues related to development of the film industry in the state. Bhandarkar suggested that a single window system should be put in place so that

filmmakers and producers can obtain necessary clearances and permission for shooting their films here. According to reports, Sonowal discussed about the State Film Policy which was recently approved by the state cabinet and said that several steps are being taken by the state government to revive the Assamese film industry.

Further, Sonowal informed that the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for a Film Tourism Policy in the state is being prepared which would make Assam one of the attractive destinations for the filmmakers. Bhandarkar is in the city to attend the 3rd Guwahati International Film Festival, which began on Thursday, October 31.

Acclaimed Assamese film ‘Aamis’ trailer out

he trailer for Bhaskar Hazarika’s acclaimed and highly anticipated Assamese film Aamis was released on Thursday, October 31. Aamis was premiered at the

prestigious Tribeca Film Festival in New York earlier this year and it also received an overwhelming response at the recently concluded 21st Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival with Star.

Aamis has received two awards at the recently concluded Singapore South Asian International Film Festival viz Best Director for Bhaskar Hazarika and Best Actress for Lima Das. The film will release in Assam and selected cities of India on 22nd November. Renowned filmmaker Anurag Kashyap presented the film. An intriguing tale of love, Aamis is set in modernday Guwahati. The film stars debutants Lima Das and Arghadeep Barua, while Neetali Das, Sagar Saurabh, and Manash K Das comprise the supporting cast.

he third edition of the Guwahati International Film Festival (GIFF) kick started in Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra on Thursday, October 31. The festival will screen 100 movies from 65 countries that are likely to attract over 1,000 domestic and foreign delegates during the next one we e k. The two ve nue s for the festival are Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra and Jyoti Chitabon. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated the event and the festival began with the screening of Iranian

film ‘Charcoal.’ Polish film director Krzysztof Zanussi was chief guest of the event and national award-winning filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar also marked his presence at the ceremony. Speaking at the event, CM Sonowal invited filmmakers to shoot their films in Assam and assured full cooperation from the state government. GIFF was organized for the first time by Jyoti Chitrabon in association with DBH Regional Government Film and Television Institute with support of the Government of Assam which was held from 28th October to 2nd November 2017.

Renowned video blogger Nas Daily visits ‘Forest Man of India’ Jadav Payeng

enowned travel video blogger, Nas Daily, visited Jorhat in Assam to meet the ‘Forest Man of India’, Jadav Payeng. Payeng shared the news on his Facebook page, captioning it, “In Conversation with Nas Daily!!!” Payeng is famous for his immense contribution to environment, setting an example that one man with a will can bring a change. Over the course of several decades he has planted and tendered trees on a sandbar of the Brahmaputra River turning it into a forest reserve.

He was honoured with the Padma Shri in 2015. Nas Daily runs a Facebook page going by the same name where he posts 1-minute videos about the world. His page has over 6 million followers.

24 Catching Up

G PLUS | Nov 02 - Nov 08, 2019

PIC OF THE