> 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. I was going to say the exact same thing. Our good wishes are with them. I hope all the stores in that area learn from them - and that true hospitality (and humility and over all, decency) can go beyond the boundary of their residence (I am assuming they welcome people well enough when they visit them at home, as all/most Assamese do). BTW, amongst book stores, Moni Manik Prakash provides good (relatively) customer service - it takes a while to break the ice though :). Modern and Western book Depots? So so! I noticed English is still a "preferred" language though. :)
“In order to make spiritual progress you must be patient like a tree and humble like a blade of grass” > Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2008 08:29:12 -0500> To: assam@assamnet.org> From: [EMAIL > PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [Assam] Assam’s French daughter-in-law restores 18th > century tome> > 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> >- Assam’s > 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 > Chavelier’s Journel de mon > >voyage a Assem.> > So was it just academic > interest that drew her > >to this 250-year-old manuscript?> > Not really. > Caroline’s “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 Lawyer’s Book Stall, one of > >Assam’s 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 Chavelier’s > >travels to Assam in several > documents and > >research works but his manuscript remained > >hidden under > thousands of other papers at the > >Bibliotheque de l’Institut 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 Delouche’s help for > >translation, which was a “very tedious job” > > >since Chavelier’s 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, Chavelier’s > >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 _________________________________________________________________ Helping your favorite cause is as easy as instant messaging. You IM, we give. http://im.live.com/Messenger/IM/Home/?source=text_hotmail_join _______________________________________________ assam mailing list assam@assamnet.org http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
