Very nice to know. The last time I stopped by at LBS, perhaps three years back, it was a sad looking place. Sadder still were the sullen and totally disinterested demeanor of the sales-folks. I hope Bhaskar and Caroline will breathe new life into the dying institution of that ancient book store.
At 6:00 AM -0700 3/12/08, Dilip/Dil Deka wrote: >Caroline and Bhaskar Dutta Baruah chose to go >back to Guwahati from London after Bhaskar's >father passed away, just to keep the family >business Lawyer's Book Stall going. Bhaskar now >has another line of business called "LBS >Publications". > I commend Caroline for her dedication and effort. > Dilip > > > The Norman connection >- Assams French daughter-in-law restores 18th >century tome OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT >Caroline Dutta-Baruah with her book in Guwahati >on Monday. Picture by Eastern Projections >Guwahati, March 11: In 1752, a snobbish >Frenchman who had travelled to this part of the >world as a representative of the French East >India Company went back home and wrote about his >travels in Assam. > Two hundred and fifty-six years later, a >Normandy-born researcher stumbled upon the >worn-out pages of the 18th century travelogue >and as chance would have it, she happened to be >married to the scion of one of the oldest >publishing houses in Assam. > Three years of back-breaking research and >Caroline Dutta-Baruah is ready with what she >describes as her labour of love Adventures of >Jean-Baptiste Chavelier in Eastern India, a >loyal translation of Chaveliers Journel de mon >voyage a Assem. > So was it just academic interest that drew her >to this 250-year-old manuscript? > Not really. Carolines interest in Assam >peaked when she became a daughter-in-law of the >state in 2000. > Being married to Bhaskar Dutta-Baruah, whose >family owns the Lawyers Book Stall, one of >Assams oldest publishing houses, provided the >necessary encouragement. > I found out about the historical memoirs from >the French researcher Jean Delouche with whom I >had worked for a brief period. It was such a >fascinating piece of work that I had to bring it >to the people of Assam, said the 31-year-old. > There have been many references to Chaveliers >travels to Assam in several documents and >research works but his manuscript remained >hidden under thousands of other papers at the >Bibliotheque de lInstitut in Paris till >Delouche discovered it in 1985 in a very bad >shape. > Delouche restored the manuscript, filled in >some missing pages and gave it a proper shape, >Caroline said. > The Adventures of Jean-Baptiste Chavelier >includes the part that is most relevant to the >state, Journel de mon voyage a Assem (Journal of >my travels in Assam). > Caroline, of course, took Delouches help for >translation, which was a very tedious job >since Chaveliers language was Old French and >many words have been either lost or changed over >the years. > The 214-page was launched at the World Book >Fair in Delhi recently but will be available in >Assam only next week. > Delouche, who has written the introduction for >the book, describes Chavelier as kind of >Asterix in Assam, brave, bold, but impatient, >besides being full of his Gallic superiority and >incapable of appreciating any other type of >culture. He simply missed the magic potion of >the cartoon hero to make a feat of this journey. > However, the simple flaws apart, Chaveliers >observations could become major source material >for researchers and even pleasurable reading >for the common people, Caroline said. > Having met her husband at Leeds in England, >when both were studying there, Caroline is also >working on popularising Assam silk in the West. > >_______________________________________________ >assam mailing list >assam@assamnet.org >http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org _______________________________________________ assam mailing list assam@assamnet.org http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
