Volume 31, Issue No 1
ASA Newsletter
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n e w s l e t t e r
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News & events of the Assamese people living around the
world
This newsletter is dedicated in the memory of Dr.
Bhabendranath Saikia
who passed away to the heavenly abode on August 13,
2003.
In this issue:
_ Assam 2003 in St.Louis
_ Assam 2003 in UK
_ Assamese Handwritten Manuscripts
_ Funds for AAROHAN
_ Cultural Program and Activities in NJ
_ An Assamese Co-Founds a Successful Company
_ Srimanta Sankaradeva Bhawan
_ Paper Cutting by Jupi Das
_ Probaxi Axomiya Sanmilan
_ Summer Picnic at New Jersey
_ Community News: Visitors from Assam
_ Seeking Business in the US and Elsewhere
Assamese Community Celebrates Cultural Heritage: Assam
2003
========================================================
Amid great enthusiasm, festivity and delicious food,
the Assamese community of
North America held its annual get-together, Assam
2003, to celebrate its heritage of
Assamese language and culture, in St. Louis. Assam
2003 coincided with US
Independence Day celebrations as well as the
bicentennial commemoration of the
expedition by Lewis & Clark into America's West. A
joint effort by all Assamese
organizations of North America including Assam
Association of North America,
Assam Society of America, Assam Foundation of North
America, Asom Sahitya
Sabha of North America, and United Assamese
Organization of North America,
Assam 2003 brought together more than 200 families of
the Assamese community
settled in North America. Those attending participated
in various social and cultural
activities during this two-day event.
The first day�s evening cultural program began with
the singing of the US national
anthem performed by the Assamese youth of St. Louis.
It was followed by a program
of Assamese folk songs and dances by the children and
young adults including
performances of Bihu and other traditional folk
dances, Xatriya, Jhumur, Odissi and
Bharat Natyam.
The second day of Assam 2003 began with the annual
meetings of all the sponsoring
Assamese organizations. A community discussion forum
on "What does it mean to be
an Assamese" was held in the afternoon with more than
100 first and second-
generation Assamese American adults and youth
participating.
The second day�s evening cultural program included an
Assamese chorus, followed
by a series of songs, poems, and an eulogy presented
in the memory of a community
member who recently passed away. Assamese songs,
Assamese folk dances (Bihu,
Husori), Assamese Xatriya dance (Ojhapali), Indian
folk dance (Rajasthani), Indian
classical dance (Bharat Natyam, Kathak & Odissi) and
dances from popular Hindi
movies were part of the evening. Assam 2003 event was
brought to a close with the
rendition of "O' Mor Aponar Desh".
Various sports events - Badminton, Cricket,
Volleyball, and Track � were also held.
A major highlight of the Assam 2003 was bountiful food
and delicacies evoking
memories of traditional Assamese cuisine such as
Maachor Tenga (tangy fish curry),
laru, pitha, and other traditional snacks of Assam.
Mantu Baishya, President of Assam Society of America,
lets us know that
discussions and preparations for the celebration of
Assam 2004 (Joint Assam
Convention/Assam Day) are in progress.
Assam Day 2003 in UK
========================================================
Assam Day 2003, held on 23rd and 24th August 2003, in
Brooklands Hotel, Barnsley,
Yorkshire, was well attended by many Assamese living
in the UK and was a grand
success. It was a colorful, relaxing and enjoyable
weekend where the old and the
young participated in open forums, debates,
discussions and cultural activities with
great enthusiasm.
The first evening, organized by Bhupen Sharma, was
devoted to the young
participants and they rose to the occasion exhibiting
their talents in Assamese folk and
Indian classical dances, and renditions in
instrumental music. The second day started
with addresses by the President and the General
Secretary, Kamini Aranadhara and
Probir Brahma, respectively, followed by a ten-minute
banter from Jay Borkakati and
Nina Goswami on their views of Assam, and
presentations by both Ranjit Barua and
Jitendralal Borkakati. Notable artists for this
particular musical evening, organized by
Nripen Borkataki, included an Assamese violinist Manoj
Barua and Xatriya dancer
Rupali Barua. However, the main performer was Xomor
Hazarika. He won the
hearts of the audience singing his own songs together
with some old classics.
The dinner was attended by the Mayor of Barnsley, Mr
William Newman and his wife
Patricia Newman.
(Nina Goswami/Romen Goswami, London, UK)
Assamese Handwritten Manuscripts
========================================================
Assam has a very rich literary history. Assamese
authors have been publishing books
for several hundred years. For example, Assamese is
known to have written literature
starting the thirteenth century although the first
printed books were published only in
the early 1800�s. Before the Europeans brought the
printing press to Assam,
thousands of books were written in Assam. The books
were handwritten painstakingly
on especially prepared paper from locally available
resources. A large number of such
books that predate the printing press are still
available in Assam.
The climate of Assam is very humid. It rains
torrentially during the Monsoon season.
The Brahmaputra and the many hundreds of big and small
rivers and tributaries in
Assam are prone to damaging floods almost every year.
Earthquakes are fairly
common as well. There are hardly any scientifically
maintained archival facilities, and
as a result of the natural calamities, sheer neglect
and lack of knowledge, the precious
handwritten books, dating back centuries are slowly
getting destroyed.
A project for preservation of such Assamese
handwritten manuscripts using modern
computer technology was started during Assam 2002 held
in Denver, Colorado, USA.
The first book to be copied into digital images is
Parijata Harana, available at the
museum of Borduwa Satra. The book was photographed
during January, 2003, using
digital camera by a well-known professional
photographer of Assam by the name
Utpal Barua & then converted into a CD. All the pages
have been published in the
recent issue of Amerikar Oxomi (available at
http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/~kalita/Asomi2003). Another
such book in manuscript
form, Bhakti Ratnawali was scanned in Kuruwabahi
Xatra, Bokakhat, in August of
2003.
Currently, digitization of such books is going on at
Kuruwabahi Xatra, of Bokakhat,
Elengi Satra of Titabar and other places. The
equipment used in the project include a
digital camera (donated graciously by Samar Gogoi of
Omaha, Nebraska), and
lighting equipment. A laptop is used (borrowed from
well-wishers in Guwhati,
Assam, whenever available) to enable digitization of
several books in one session,
since the camera has got just 256 MB storage.
The project members include Naren Kalita, Nagaon,
Assam; Babul Gogoi, Guwahati,
Assam; Chandan Mahanta, St. Louis, Missouri; Jugal
Kalita, Colorado Springs,
Colorado; Prabodh Nath, Nagaon, Assam; Vavani Sarma,
Secane, Pennsylvania; Sarat
Nath, California; Kedar Bhuyan, Mays Landing, New
Jersey; Dhrubajyoti Kalita,
Torrance, California; Mantu Baishya, Omaha, Nebraska,
and Mahesh Baishya,
Dublin, California and many others.
Updates on the project will be posted at Assamnet as
well as Assam.org. We intend to
publish articles in newspapers and magazines in Assam
as well.
The manuscript preservation project is sponsored by
the Assam Society of America
and Assam Foundation of North America. Funding so far
has come from members of
Assam Society of America. Any generous individual who
wants to help in this
project, financially or otherwise, is requested to
contact Mantu Baishya, President of
Assam Society of America at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cultural Program and Activities in NJ
========================================================
To accommodate the needs of the growing number of
young people in the Assamese
community in Northeastern USA, an information-rich
cultural program was organized
at the Bridgewater Public Library on August 23, 2003.
"This is a program for kids of
various age groups below 16 years old", according to
the organizers: Satyajit Dutta,
Purandar Sarmah, Sankumani Sarmah and Sanjay Saikia.
"Currently we are planning
items like recitation of poems, singing, musical
performance, discussion of scientific
topics, training in public speaking, instrument
playing, dance performance, acting or
anything else you can think of" - said the four hosts
in an email circulated to members
of the community.
About 20 Assamese kids from New York, New Jersey and
Massachusetts and their
parents attended this first session of the program.
At the outset, Satyajit and Jolly
Dutta introduced the children to the audience. They
were encouraged to say a few
words, sing a song or do any acting while introducing
themselves. Reema Rajbonshi,
a recent graduate of Harvard and her sister, Ruby who
is a final-year undergraduate
student at MIT, held an informative quiz about Assam
and the Assamese that was
appropriate for the age of the children. Poonam
Bordoloi led a short session in
interactive story telling and rhyming. Rahul Kalita,
a sophomore at Northwestern
University, presented a story on the life of Mahatma
Gandhi and noted that Martin
Luther King derived inspiration from Gandhi.
At the end of the program books were presented to each
of the participants to
encourage good reading habits. Mahesh Kalita of NJ
donated a few of these books;
others were purchased by the organizers. School
supplies like pen and pencil were
distributed as well. Pizza was served for a quick
lunch.
Finally, there was an open discussion in which it was
decided to make this a monthly
program. Senior members of the community and visitors
from Assam also
participated in the discussion.
(Contrubuted by Jukti Kalita, NJ)
Funds for AAROHAN
========================================================
AFNA (Assam Foundation of North America) has been
conducting a fundraising
drive to collect money for AAROHAN, an excellence
center for children in Guwahati,
a project started by Late Dr. Bhabendranath Saikia.
The trust needs about Rs. 30 Lakh
(Approx $65,000) to equip the building with minimum
facilities so that it can be
opened in February 2004. Please make your check
payable to AFNA, mark it for
"Aarohan", and mail it to: 44963 Lemont Road, Canton,
MI 48187. AFNA�s website
address is: www.geocities.com/assamfoundation.
(Kaushik Krishanu, Detroit, Michigan)
Paper Cutting by Jupi Das
========================================================
This was another busy season for Jupi Das of
Harrisburg, PA, who specializes in the
craft of paper cutting or Scherenrchnitte. This year,
she attended several shows in
Harrisburg, Philadelphia and Lancaster in
Pennsylvania, Buffalo in New York and
Bloomsberg in New Jersey. She likes the appreciation
that she receives from the art
lovers in these shows and has also been successful in
selling some expensive pieces of
her artwork. Some of her best art sells for over
$1,500.
With superlative accuracy, she moves her blade through
paper to create intricate
shapes and designs. From a distance her work looks
like skillfully drawn pen and ink
designs. However, upon close inspection, the viewer
realizes that the artwork is not
of pen and ink, but is an exquisitely implemented
paper cutting. "I translate my
feelings into each piece that I cut, preferring simple
form and bright colors to express
the stories and experiences of my life. I create so
that the energy and enthusiasm that
I put into each piece will bring as much joy to people
as the process of creating them
brings joy to my life," says Jupi on her website,
www.jupisart.com.
Jupi has earned accolades for her excellent work
including an invitation to the White
House at the end of 2002. She was one of the two
artists from Pennsylvania whose
ornaments adorned the Christmas tree at the White
House last year. She has an art
gallery in her basement.
Jupi is originally from Guwahati and lives in
Harrisburg with her husband Jyotish and
two children. Her parents are visiting her this
summer.
(Contributed by Jukti Kalita, NJ)
Probaxi Axomiya Sanmilan
========================================================
A large number of Non-Resident Indians with root in
Assam have been pursuing
different professions in almost all the countries of
the world. Many Assamese are
prospering in India, outside Assam as well. With a
view to establishing contact and
also for interaction with them for obtaining their
valuable counsel for growth and
development of Assam, a convention of the NRIs of
Assam origin and other
Assamese living outside Assam (all non-resident
Assamese or NRAs) is going to be
held at Srimanta Sankardev Kala Khetra, Guwahati on 27
& 28 December, 2003.
The convention will cover various issues on which the
NRAs may extend their help
for development of Assam such as quality education,
improvement of the primary
sector, real estate and urban development, power,
tourism, agro-processing,
pharmaceuticals, and process industries.
Further information can be obtained from Mr Jatin
Hazarika at 'Jivagiri', Sarania
Hills, Ulubari, Guwahati 781007. Tel: +91-361-2221583,
2543341. Email:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] The North American
coordinator for this event is Jugal
Kalita of Colorado Springs, Colorado
([EMAIL PROTECTED]). The UK
coordinator is Rini Kakati ([EMAIL PROTECTED]).
Srimanta Sankaradeva Bhawan, Delhi, India
========================================================
Assam Association, Delhi has recently constructed a
cultural complex named after
Mahapurusha Srimanta Sankaradeva. It is located near
Jawaharlal Nehru University
(behind IIT, Delhi). The building has all amenities
such as an auditorium, an art
gallery, a conference hall, a library, an office for
Assam Association, a kitchen,
dormitories for both boys and girls, guest rooms, and
an open air theatre.
The complex hosts a cultural center for research and
training in dance, drama and
music forms of Assam. It has an educational center for
Assamese language and
culture. It provides accommodation for students,
patients, and guests. It has a
restaurant for those hunkering after Assamese cuisine.
Its auditorium and open-air
theatre facilitate organizing cultural functions,
seminars, and study circles. The
Assamese library emphasizes preservation of old
literature. There is a training center
for traditional crafts of Assam as well.
Assam Association, Delhi was created in 1947 with an
objectives to "Provide a Forum
for socio-cultural linkage, Organize Functions &
Festivals, Organize seminars and
meets, Establish a cultural complex to impart training
on Assamese Language, Art,
Drama and Dance forms". It has about 300 life members
and more than 1000 general
members. There are about 15000 Assamese living in
Delhi.
For further Information, please contact: Srimanta
Sankaradeva Bhawan, A-14-B
Satsang Vihar Marg, Qutab Institutional Area (Behind
IIT-Delhi), New Delhi 110067,
India. Website: www.assamassociation.org.
Summer Picnic at New Jersey
========================================================
Summer and outdoor activities always go together
rather fine in the North East. And
what if you combine that with an outdoor event
involving community members? Lots
and lots of fun and a jolly good time, you bet!!!
Well, that's exactly been the idea when a community
picnic was organized by ASA on
Sept 6, 2003 at Mercer County Park, NJ. The setting
was perfect at Mercer County
Park, a picture-perfect park with a large lake and a
bright sunny day with highs in the
70�s. The food was delicious and plentiful, a true
blend of East (an assortment of
Assamese and Indian sweets, pithas served with hot
Assam tea, pulao rice) and West
(delicious barbequed chicken, corn, hot dogs, burgers,
pasta). There were plenty of
activities including soccer, cricket, and badminton
and of course Bihu dance. Children
had a terrific time with the slides, swings in the
play park. If you were too tired from
the activities, you could just chill out with some
"Assamese Adda" or just listen to
Assamese music to please thy soul.
About 40 families participated in the daylong event of
fun and frolic. Surely
everybody had lots of fun and was looking forward to
the next summer picnic.
(Contributed by Utpal Brahma, NJ)
Community News: Visitors, Births and the Like
========================================================
Little Anoushka (Pori) came as a miracle of joy to her
proud parents Paban and
Sagarika (Sarma) on December 6, 2002. She waited for
first three months to finally
see her grandmother (Dr.) Anjali Sarma who flew all by
herself from Guwahati
immediately after her retirement as head of Assamese
Department, Handique Girls
College, Guwahati. Dr. Sharma�s stay in Colorado was a
lot of fun and enjoyment.
She specially remembers the festive moment during the
Rongali Bihu celebration in
Colorado Springs. Anoushka's annapraxon was also
celebrated on June 08, 2003. All
the Assamese and Bengali families in Colorado made the
special event very
successful with a nice and lazy summer lunch in
PinneConne Apartments' club house
of Fort Collins.
Pritish, a baby boy was born on Thursday March 13,
2003 to Prakash & Baishalee
Das of Foster City, CA. Congratulations to parents &
big sister Priyam. Baishalee's
parents Bishnu Prasad & Dr. Ranjita Medhi of Guwahati
came for the happy occasion
& left.
Rhea, a baby daughter was born on Monday, June 02,
2003 to Rupam & Sangeeta
(Luna) Sarmah of Elk Grove, CA. Congratulations to
parents & big brother Ritam.
Sangeeta's parents Kumud & Meera Sarmah (elder brother
& sister-in-law of Kabita
Barua of Ames, IA ) of Jorhat are visiting them.
Alok, a baby boy was born on Wednesday, August 20,
2003 to Rajeev & Alpana
Barua of Rockville, MD. Congratulations to parents &
big brother Avik. Alpana's
parents Benoy & Aradhana Das of Guwahti are with them
till the first week of
November, 2003.
Miraya, a baby daughter was born on Sunday, August 24,
2003 to Akhil & Ranjita
Chowdury of Livermore, CA. Congratulations to parents
& big sister Kirby.
On October 4, 2003, Tarun Gogoi, Chief Minister of
Assam with his wife will be
visiting their daughter Chandrima & son-in-law
Prasenjit Phukan who live in the San
Francisco Bay Area. The Bay Area Assamese Community is
arranging a get-together
to meet CM on October 4, 2003 at the Indian Community
Center, Milpitas, CA. All
are cordially invited to attend. In that get-together
attendees will get a chance to hear
CM first & then ask him relevant questions pertaining
to developments, problems,
solutions of Assam & NE.
Dr. Lopita Nath has come as a Visiting Professor of
History, at the University of the
Incarnate Word, San Antonio, Texas. She is a senior
Lecturer, in the Department of
History, Cotton College, Guwahati. She has her Ph.D.
on colonial transformations in
Assam, and is presently engaged in research on the
Nepali Immigration to North-east
India. Her book "The Nepalis in Assam: Ethnicity and
Cross-Border Movements in
the North-East" was published in July, 2003. She has
recently been awarded the South
Asia Regional Fellowship by the Social Science
Research Council to work on her
second book on the Nepali Dairy Farmers in the
Northeast. At the University of the
Incarnate Word, Lopita teaches a course on the History
of India, and another on the
History of USA and also lectures on various aspects of
Indian Culture.
Surajit Chaliha of Delhi (formerly of Guwahati),
father of Rashmi, father-in-law of
Kaushik Kalita & grandfather of two years old Nikhil
of San Diego, CA is currently
in the USA visiting families & relatives. He is the
younger brother of Debajit Chaliha
of Mountain View, CA.
Surendra Kumar and Giribala Thakuria are visiting
their son and daughter-in-law
Jayanta and Nilakshi Thakuria of South Brunswick, NJ.
Surendra Kumar is
enthralling the audience in the get-togethers around
New Jersey area with his
melodious songs - the most popular one being a
romantic song "Bohudin tomar
khobor poa naai...".
Nirala B. Deka of Guwahati is currently visiting her
son and daughter-in-law Prakash
and Anuradha Deka and her youngest grandson Ayan of
North Brunswick, NJ.
Dr. Harendra Nath Sarma and Dr. Anuja Bala Devi of
Guwahati are visiting their son
and daughter-in-law Sankumani and Shravani Sarma and
grandsons Arunabh and
Abhijat of Marlboro, NJ. They also visited their
daughter Ranjumani Sarma, son-in-
law Pranab Sarma and grandchildren Devapratim, Arindam
and Prerana
Priyadarshini of San Jose, CA as part of this trip.
Both Dr. Sarma and Dr. Anuja Bala
Devi have been involved with literary activities. It
is worth mentioning here that Dr.
Anjula Devi composed the opening chorus "Aaji ekoish
xotikar duar meli" of Assam
Y2K get-together in Cherry Hill, NJ.
Anil and Chinta Baruah of Guwahati are visiting their
daughter and son-in-law Rakhi
and Apolok Borthakur and grandson Eeshan of Sugar
Land, TX as well as son
Reeturaj Baruah of Houston.
Narayan and Minu Das of Guwahati are currently
visiting their daughter and son-in-
law Jyotish and Jupi Das and grandchildren Jyotirmoy
and Jahnavi.
Harinandan Bhattacharjee, father and father-in-law of
Gayatree and Vijeet Sarma of
Edison, NJ, is visiting them for a few months.
Amongst the visitors who came recently to Iowa, were
Mr. Bijoy Bhuyan, a tea
planter and now settled in Guwahati, and Mr. A.C.
Pathak, Chief Engineer, Oil India
Limited, Dulijan. Mr. Bhuyan came to visit his son,
Satyam, who is a graduate
student in Physics at Iowa State University, Ames,
Iowa. During his stay, Mr. Bhuyan
visited North Carolina, New York, Denver and St.
Louis. Mr Pathak, who has been
with OIL for 31 years, has two sons both studying
here. His elder son, Jyotishman, is
a graduate student in Computer Science at Iowa State
University, while his younger
son, Ujjal, who accompanied him from India, joined
Louisiana State University,
Baton Rouge, Louisiana with major in Computer Science.
Mr. Pathak also visited
Denver along with Mr. Bhuyan. Their host and hostess,
Ganesh and Jacqueline
Bhuyan of Westminster, gladly welcomed both of them.
They had also visited We
wish Jyotishman, Ujjal and Satyam good luck with their
studies.
(Contributed by Satyam K Bhuyan, Iowa; Mahesh Baishya,
California; Prakash Deka,
New Jersey; Jugal Kalita, Colorado)
An Assamese Co-Founds a Successful Company
========================================================
Agribuys.com is a leading US provider of supply chain
management software and
services targeted specifically at the fresh foods
industry such as, meat, seafood,
poultry, floral, dairy, deli, and ingredients,
empowering buyer, seller and carrier to
complete entire negotiations online.
Since 1999, Agribuys.com an e-commerce service company
that connects food buyers
and sellers online, has attracted venture financing
worth $1.5 million.
Presently, the company is backed by Rustic Canyon
Partners and Internet Capital
Group. Its strategic partners include the WorldWide
Retail Exchange which has 62
members around the world with combined sales of U.S.
$855 billion, is a premier
Internet-based business-to-business (B2B) exchange for
retailers and their suppliers.
For more information, visit the company's website at
www.agribuys.com or call (866)
792-5100. The India Office is located at: 1216/7
Shivajinagar, F.C. Road, Pune 411
004, Tel: 020-4004071.
One of the Co-Founders of the company that employs
about 100 people is Dhruba
Kalita. He is the Executive Vice President & Chief
Technology Officer of the
company. He grew up in Tinsukia, went to IIT
Kharagpur, got his degree in
Mechanical Engineering, and then went to University of
Arizona to obtain an M.S.
degree.
Seeking Business in the US and Elsewhere!
========================================================
Luit Infotech is a provider of comprehensive IT
solutions to businesses. The company
was established in Chennai, India, by a group of
dynamic IT professionals in 2003.
The company works with clients to identify and realize
opportunities to increase their
return on investment, improve productivity, and
enhance their relationships with
customers, employees and partners.
Luit Infotech performs a wide range of IT services.
Its engineers have extensive
experience in the design and development of various
types of software and in
executing IT solutions for clients. They utilize both
open source and proprietary
technologies to develop IT solutions. Luit Infotech
prides in providing customized
software development, offshore development services,
Web applications, Web site
design, multimedia applications, and data conversion
services. Luit Infotech's IT
solutions are developed using proven methodologies for
software and Web
development and are backed by project management and
clear and comprehensive
documentation."
Luit Infotech can be reached at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Phone: +91-44-22579313.
Website: http://www.luitinfotech.com.
Radha Sarma is the CEO and a founder of the company.
Radha has several years of
experience spanning academia, the IT, media and
entertainment industry in the USA
and. Radha and her husband Dr. Boijayanta Bezbarua, a
professor at IIT, Chennai, are
seeking business connections from the US and
elsewhere. Boijayanta, a Ph.D.
graduate of University of Massachusetts, Amherst in
Environmental Engineering.
Boijayanta who worked in the IT industry in San
Francisco returned to Assam in
2002.
Transliteration of the Assamese script to the Roman
Script
========================================================
Along with the growing popularity of computers and the
Internet as a
principal mode of communication, the need to write
with an Assamese script
in the electronic media is not only welcome but also
imminent. The
development of any Roman-input-Assamese-output
software would constitute a
major leap in tuning the English keyboard to Assamese
needs the first step
to the same revolving on the fixation of a standard
for the transliteration
of Assamese script to the Roman script, which ought to
be both accurate and
easy to use. An effort to this end is being undertaken
which has resulted in
a scheme which complies with all the major ISO
directives, so necessary for
its universal acceptance. The path to popular
acceptance is really not very
windy. Apart from individual efforts here and there,
there are only four
major universities in Assam, which are involved, in
serious research
concerning Assamese linguistics. Once a scheme is
accepted and used by these
four universities and then, hopefully, baptized by the
Oxom Xahityo Xobha,
it can be considered to be a de facto standard;
pending the approval of ISO.
To this end, a few members of the Assamese community
of N. America are in
communication with the concerned individuals in these
institutions, as their
opinion and involvement in the subject will pave a
smoother way for the
general success of the scheme.
Seeded in a stray discussion on AssamNet, the
transliteration scheme was
soon viewed as having quite a bit of constructive
potential as far as
developing a standard transliteration scheme was
concerned. Any standard
transliteration scheme, to be popular and widely
accepted, has to fulfill
three basic requirements: pronounce ability,
simplicity of graphic
representation and traditionality. Incidentally, it is
interesting to note
that, even though not concurrent to the ISO standards,
quite a few schemes
of "popular" transliteration are being currently used
all over the state and
is being cataloged by some members of the Assamese
community. Among these,
the scheme of transliteration, which developed out of
discussions in
AssamNet, has its own unique position simply due to
the fact that it is
simple to use: being almost instinctive and
pronounceable. Of course,
transliteration from one script to another can never
be perfect; it is just
a matter of striking the right balance between the
preservation of
spelling and sound.
A few years ago a very popular movie in Assamese had a
name which meant
"You are mine; only mine". The name was
mis-transliterated, unfortunately,
into English as "Tumi Mur Mathu Mur" which, as Prof
Deven Dutta pointed out,
essentially meant "You are a head; and nothing but a
head!!" A standard
transliteration scheme, hopefully, will weed out most
of such
unfortunate mistakes.
(Contributed by Syamanta Saikia, Wichita, Kansas)
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