who said that there is nothing as powerful as an idea whose time has come? UmeshPradip Kumar Datta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:Diaspora aid for archer- Assamese NRIs gift bow to Ranjumoni Baruah OUR BUREAU Ranjumoni Baruah poses with her medals. Picture by Eastern Projections Guwahati/Dibrugarh, Nov. 2:
Sitting cross-legged behind a mound of assorted vegetables, Ranjumoni Baruah deftly haggles with customers, trying her best to conceal that she is new in business. But what she hopelessly fails to hide is the pain of having to give up her bow for the vegetable basket. After Dispur failed her countless times, the medal-winning archer, who won the first gold for the state at a national championship, got help from unlikely shores. A group of Assamese NRIs based in the US, moved by a documentary based on her struggle, came together and gifted her a custom-made fibre bow, which she will receive at a function on November 24. Produced by Simi Deka, the 30-minute documentary, And miles to go..., had a shot with Ranjumoni saying that she could perform better if she had a fibre bow. After I heard about Ranjumoni and her struggle, I
decided to make the film on her since I was always interested in subjects and issues related to women. Another objective of making this film was to motivate the younger generation to take up sports, Deka said. Little did she imagine that the film would move the diaspora to help the archer. Deka said Dilara Boruah of California and Zona Ali of Wisconsin got hold of a copy of the documentary and showed it to other Assamese NRIs based in the US. And the least they felt they could do was gift the archer with the fibre bow she wanted so much. Ranjumonis dreams were dashed when her father died earlier this year, forcing her to sell vegetables at the Milan Nagar locality in Dibrugarh. The eldest of four siblings, Ranjumoni said she was promised help by the Congress government way back in 2001, but nothing has come my way. Being the eldest in the family I have to ensure that my two younger sisters do not suffer. This is why I have taken up selling vegetables, she said. The archer, who honed her skills in her backyard, has won eight medals at different national and regional-level competitions, representing her home state, Assam. Yet, she has never been a part of the state squad in the National Games. I am thankful to all those who have been sympathetic towards me, but I need a platform to perform. Otherwise, what will I do with the modern equipment if I do not get a chance to perform? she wonders. Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail. ___assam mailing
listassam@assamnet.orghttp://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.orgUmesh Sharma5121 Lackawanna STCollege Park, (Washington D.C. Metro Region)MD 20740 1-202-215-4328 [Cell Phone]Ed.M. - International Education PolicyHarvard Graduate School of Education,Harvard University,Class of 2005weblog: http://jaipurschool.bihu.in/website: www.gse.harvard.edu/iep Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com ___
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