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| Musical
shows (a still from Sa Re Ga Ma Pa above)
may be the first step to recognition but hardly
guarantee a foothold in the Bollywood music
industry |
Voice of India
Debojit Saha looks ahead to the New Year with high
hopes...
It’s the end of yet
another year. Time to take stock of the days gone
by and look ahead optimistically. I can only say
that the year 2007 has been a big learning curve,
a time for me to find my moorings in the mammoth
and competitive world of Bollywood.
Though it seems quite
a long time since I won the Voice of India title,
in Bollywood I am still a newcomer.
Here, winning a title
is not enough. You have to prove yourself again
and again just to get a toehold. But I am not
unhappy — nor unduly frustrated.
It is not an easy job
sticking around though, waiting for the right
people to notice you at the right time. But this
is part of the initiation process. Only the best
go through this gruelling test, at least mentally.
I will not call myself the best but I have faith
in myself and know that my time has come.
I recently lent my
voice to a new Bollywood film, Jimmy, which
will also launch Mimoh, son of actor
Mithun Chakrabarty.
I have got some more
playback offers in new projects and am looking
ahead to 2008 with an open mind, hoping that I
will finally be able to break into the big league.
This New Year’s eve, I
will be performing in
Jaipur, which, I have been told, is one of
the most beautiful places in the country.
I have performed
almost all over
India but
Jaipur was one place I had never been to.
I had crossed the city
once on my way to
Udaipur. So I am quite excited about my
first show at a place steeped in history. I know
that the people of Rajasthan have a deep
understanding of music. I was once asked to judge
contestants of a musical reality show called
“Voice of Rajasthan”, for which I was in
Udaipur.
I also have a few
performances lined up, some of which are outside
the country.
Finally, a few words
on my performance at Panchkula recently about
which I had written in an earlier column.
It was a great
experience performing live in front of cricket
fans during the first semi-finals of the Indian
Cricket League.
It was a completely
new experience for me and all I can say is that I
came back a very satisfied man.
I take this
opportunity to wish all my fans and well-wishers a
very happy New Year and hope that the coming year
will prove to be memorable for you.
Seminar by
Indo-Canadian Studies Centre of Assam
University in Silchar on February 2-4
Seminar at
Assam varsity on Feb 2-4
From Our
Correspondent Assam Tribune
HAILAKANDI, Jan 9 – A three-day-long seminar
on ‘ethnicity and conflict resolution in a
multi-cultural society : Canadian and Indian
perspective’ has been organized by the
Indo-Canadian Studies Centre of Assam
University in Silchar on February 2-4 next. It
has been sponsored by the Shastri
Indo-Canadian Institute of
New Delhi.
The convenor of the seminar, Dr Dipendu Das of
the Department of English informed that it
intends to offer a platform for a
collaborative study of the dynamics of
ethnicities in the two countries (India
and
Canada) and all the related issues,
which definitely will help to understand and
tackle the problems associated with that Dr
Das informed that there are many sub themes of
the seminar and these are religion, culture,
ethnicity and conflict resolution,
globalization vis-à-vis ethnic conflict,
governance, ethnicity and conflict resolution,
role of language and literature (oral/written)
in conflict resolution, role of technology and
media in conflict resolution, resource sharing
and conflict, women and conflict resolution
etc.
The papers may be sent to the Convener: Dr.
Dipendu Das, Reader, Department of English,
Assam University, Silchar- 788011. (e-mail :
dipenduds@yahoo.
co.in.)
Young
silchar footballer will join Mohan
Bagan
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Silchar out of qualifiers
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SATANANDA BHATTACHARJEE TELEGRAPH
INDIA |
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Under-15
tour |
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Hailakandi, Dec. 26:
The Silchar Football Academy has failed to
qualify for the next stage of the under-15
Manchester United Premier Cup qualifying
round but has come back home richer in
experience. The Silchar team toured
Chandigarh recently to play in the
zonal qualifying rounds of the under-15
Manchester United Premier Cup Football.
The qualifying rounds were organised among
the football academies of the country with
a team from every state.
One team will
qualify from each zone for the national
level and one team from
India will play in the Asian-level
qualifying meet. The winners of the Asian
meet will, in turn, participate in the
under-15 Manchester United Premier Cup
Football.
Subir Dey, who
accompanied the team as coach, said
participation in tournaments of this kind
was “definitely a big thing because it was
an opportunity for the team to play before
national level selectors”.
The Academy
drew 1-1 with the Mohun
Bagan Football Academy from
Calcutta.
Two players
from Silchar, Paikhuna Kabui and Moses,
will be inducted into the Mohun
Bagan Academy this year.
In the other
matches, Silchar defeated Hindustan
Football Academy of
Delhi 3-0 and lost to HBSC Football
Academy of Punjab 0-2.
Silchar/Imphal/
Silchar flight newly revised schedule
for 2008
Imphal, December
31: The
neighbouring towns of Dimapur and Imphal
will by linked by flight service from
January 1.According to a NACIL release,
Alliance Air will be launching flight
service on Dimapur/ Imphal /Dimapur
route with effect from January 1 four
days a week on Tuesday, Thursday,
Saturday and Sunday with ATR42 aircraft.
For flight no IC-7769, the departure
time from Dimapur is 7.50 am while the
arrival time at Imphal is 8.40 am.
On the other hand, flight no IC-7770
will depart Imphal at 9 am and land at
Dimapur at 9.50 am, it added.
Meanwhile, schedule for Alliance Air
flight IC-7707/IC-7708 operating on
Silchar/Imphal/ Silchar has been revised
with effect from Jan 1.According to the
newly revised schedule, flight IC7707
will depart Silchar at be 1.15 pm and
arrive at Imphal will be 1.50 pm.
Flight IC-7708 will depart Imphal at
2.10 pm and land at Silchar at 2.45 pm.
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Radio as
tool for health mission
- Phone-in programmes raise
awareness |
|
OUR
CORRESPONDENT |
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Hailakandi |
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Radio sets being distributed in
Algapur block of Hailakandi
district on Saturday. Picture by
Satananda Bhattacharjee |
Jan. 1:
The radio can be just as effective
a healthcare tool as the
stethoscope.
The
National Rural Health Mission has
begun airing radio programmes
through the Guwahati, Dibrugarh
and Silchar stations of
All India Radio for
accredited healthcare workers and
villagers to raise awareness about
common diseases and how they can
be treated.
Listeners can use the phone-in
segment of the programme to
interact with the speakers in real
time. The administration
distributed 543 radios, batteries
and a drug kit each among 543
accredited social health activists
in Hailakandi district recently.
The radios were distributed during
programmes in Katlicherra and
Algapur.
As
many as 24,296 health workers
wearing badges for identification
and carrying drug kits visit the
villages regularly.
The
health activists are trained
volunteers who help the
administration during immunisation
programmes, besides ensuring safe
childbirth and providing care to
newborns.
They
also educate villagers on
waterborne and communicable
diseases, improve nutrition and
promote the use of household
toilets and good health practices.
The volunteers basically
facilitate access to preventive
healthcare by conveying to people,
particularly in the rural areas,
what government healthcare schemes
are all about.
One
health activist is appointed for a
population of 1,000 villagers. A
health worker is entitled to a
monthly stipend.
Health
activists help register and escort
pregnant women to government
healthcare centres for
“institutional delivery” under the
Janani Suraksha Yojana.
The
objective of the scheme is to
reduce the maternal and infant
mortality rates and increase
institutional deliveries.
According to a rural health
mission official, a rural woman is
entitled to Rs 1,400 and an urban
woman Rs 1,000 immediately after
delivery in a listed government
healthcare institution.
The
free services include routine
examination, treatment, delivery,
vaccination, care of the mother
and child after delivery and
family welfare services.
Health
activists are also responsible for
organising weekly healthcare and
nutrition camps in the villages.
In Hailakandi district, 543
volunteers were selected last
year.
‘PMO, Railways to blame for
pathetic condition of Cachar
Paper Mill’
Though bamboo plantations in
Barak Valley have been rapidly
depleting, questions are being
raised as to what stands in the
way of the mill authority to
utilize bamboos from
Mizoram, which are in
abundance
From
our Correspondent
SILCHAR, Jan 1: The one lakh ton
capacity Cachar Paper Mill has
been hit by an acute scarcity of
bamboo and wood, which has
adversely affected the
production. The situation has
reached such a stage that the
Cachar Paper Project Workers and
Employees’ Union (CPPWEU) has
been holding street meetings at
Katakhal, Panchgram, Badarpur,
Janakibazar and other adjacent
areas of the mill in order to
highlight the ills of the
project and the apprehension
about its shutdown. The mill, in
fact, has been using bamboo only
as its main raw material, the
supply of which was met from the
forests of Barak Valley, Mizoram
and North Cachar Hills.
Movie club at Assam
University
From Our Correspondent Assam
Tribune
SILCHAR, Jan 2 – Assam
University, Silchar has formed
a movie club. This movie club
was inaugurated by Prof
Topadhir Bhattacharjee, Vice
Chancellor, recently. Other
dignitaries like Biswajit Seal
and Debabrata Choudhury, film
makers of the Barak Valley
were also present.
In his speech, Prof Topadhir
Bhattacharjee said that the
objective of the movie club is
to recreate, educate the
students through films. Film,
is considered to be the
effective medium of
communication, the students of
Assam University has limited
exposure to the good films.
This movie club will
definitely benefit the
students.
Satadal Acharjee, public
relations consultant and
advisor of the club said that
along with Hindi, English,
Japanese, the local
documentary films will also be
screened. Further film-related
seminar will also be organised.
The president of the club is
Monoj Singh and secretary is
Mritunjoy Das.
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Meditation as a path to
success : Singer Debojit
Saha
- Peace of mind is
absolutely essential to
concentrate, says singer
|
|
Voice of India Debojit
Saha
explains how meditation
helped him tide over a
difficult phase in his
life...(Telegraph
India)
There are times when you
feel like doing nothing
but sit back, relax and
let the mind wander. For
me, this is such a time.
I am feeling quite
relaxed at this moment
with not much work in
hand. But things were
not the same always. At
one time, I was
struggling to achieve my
dreams and it was
meditation that helped
me achieve what I wanted
in life.
I think some of the
lessons I learnt in my
initial days would be of
some help to many of
you, especially those
who are going through a
rough patch. At such
times, meditation was
one of the best things
that could have happened
to me.
When I first landed in
Mumbai way back
in 2002 in search of my
dreams, I found myself
completely lost in that
big city. I had left my
comparatively secure job
and the love of my life,
my wife Vandana, back
home in Assam. Suddenly
I found myself in the
bustling metropolis,
looking for a break
which never came. It
often left me
frustrated.
It was during those
initial years in
Mumbai that I
discovered the power of
meditation. I don’t mean
meditation in its
stereotyped form —
sitting cross-legged on
the floor in an asana
and doing deep-breathing
exercises.
For me, meditation was
music. I would put on
the electronic tanpura
and let the music
permeate into every nook
and corner of the house.
The vibrations of the
strings would touch my
soul in a manner I
cannot describe in
words.
I discovered that this
“musical meditation”
helped me achieve peace.
Suddenly, I was less
troubled by my failures
and frustrations. I also
realised that peace of
mind was absolutely
essential to
concentrate.
My guru, Pandit Aksharan
Sharma, too, told me
that I had to be at
peace with myself to
achieve what I had set
out for. Riaz,
according to him, was
not only practising for
four-five hours. It was
not only about toning up
my voice but my soul
too, he said.
I can say now that the
meditation sessions
ultimately helped me win
Zee TV’s musical reality
show in 2005, which gave
me the footing I was
looking for in Bollywood.
A few years have passed
since those initial
days, but I have not
given up on meditation.
I have even seen some
other great singers like
Sonu Nigam’s
style of meditation,
which is to put on some
music and let the notes
do the rest. And it is
effective too, for I
have never seen Sonu
appear troubled.
It is a fact that all
musicians have a
spiritual inclination
and I am not an
exception. I know that
many among you have
faced or may face
similar circumstances in
life. If you have faith
in yourself, you can
conquer all odds.
Last but not the least,
I wish you all a very
prosperous Magh Bihu.
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Champ Club stun
Silchar
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A STAFF
REPORTER |
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Bud Challenge |
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Guwahati,
Jan. 6:
Champ Cricket Club,
Imphal, today pulled off
an unexpected
three-wicket victory
over Silchar Cricket
Coaching Centre to march
into the quarterfinals
of the 6th Bud Challenge
Jugal Kishore Newatia
invitation cricket meet
played at Nehru Stadium.
Chasing a stiff target
of 256, the Imphal men
reached 257 for seven in
39.1 overs with M.
Todiba scoring a
half-century off 37
balls. He hit four fours
and two sixes in his
52-run knock and was
adjudged the Man of the
Match.
Asked to bat first, the
Silchar boys rode a
78-run eighth wicket
partnership off 42 balls
between Arindam
Chakraborty and Bishal
Tiwari to pile up 255
for eight in 40 overs.
Chakraborty scored 47
while Tiwari remained
not out on 31. Masarab
Hussain Laskar chipped
in with 49 while
Biswajit Bhattacharjee
made 43.
For Champ Club, U.
Robinson topscored with
59 (7x4).
River Rine Club will
play host and last
year’s runners-up Bud
Cricket Club in a
quarterfinal match
tomorrow.
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Consumer protection panel meet
at Silchar
From Our Correspondent
SILCHAR, Jan 4 – Increase in
price of pulses, rice and
other essential items,
black-marketing of LPG
cylinders duplicate medicines,
inefficiency of supply
department were the issues
discussed at the consumer
protection committee meet at
Silchar. The meet was
organised at Gandhi Bhawan
here in the presence of many
people recently. The
participants salled for public
support for a permanent
solution.
As the main speaker, Dr P J
Goswami from
Assam University gave
his opinion on behalf of the
CPC. As guest of honour,
Gautam Ganguli, DC Cachar,
said that the consumers should
be conscious of their rights.
Other officers from various
departments also discussed the
problem faced by the
government.
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Bangla bans Meghalaya
coal again
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|
OUR
CORRESPONDENT TELEGRAPH
INDIA |
|
Silchar
Jan. 3:
The
Bangladesh government
has placed an embargo on
the import of Meghalaya
coal, most of which
reaches that country
through the trade centre
at Suterkandi checkpost
in Karimganj district.
A senior official of the
central excise and
customs department at
the checkpost said it
had received an order to
that effect from the
department’s counterpart
in
Dhaka yesterday.
The Bangladesh
government has stated
that the high sulphur
content in Meghalaya’s
low-ash coal is the
reason for its embargo,
which was clamped last
Tuesday for an
indefinite period.
The order said that
Meghalaya coal contains
six per cent of sulphur,
against the
international norm of
one per cent.
This is the second time
that a ban has been
imposed on the export of
Meghalaya coal. In 2003,
Bangladesh had
imposed a three-month
embargo on the import of
coal.
Since the Meghalaya coal
pits are located only
125km from
Karimganj
district, Suterkandi is
coal exporters’ favoured
trade centre.
The ban will hit coal
exporters in South Assam
and Meghalaya.
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Reang militants
warn of abductions
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OUR CORRESPONDENT
TELEGRAPH
INDIA |
|
Silchar, Jan. 4:
The United
Liberation Front
of Barak Valley, a
five-year-old
Reang militant
outfit active in
Assam’s Hailakandi
district, has
threatened to
intensify its
abduction spree if
the state
government does
not consider its
plea for a
surrender package.
The outfit
yesterday freed
two hostages it
had abducted on
December 31 from
Gharmurrah forest
on the district’s
border with
Mizoram.
Hossain Ahmed
Laskar, the
24-year-old son of
Congress candidate
from Baldabaldi
gaon panchayat,
Abdul Khalik
Laskar, and party
supporter Abdur
Noor were abducted
while campaigning
in the Barak
Valley districts
for the third
phase of panchayat
polls, scheduled
for January 9.
The militants had
sent a ransom note
of Rs 10 lakh to
Laskar’s family,
but police claimed
that no money
finally changed
hands.
Sources said the
outfit released
the two after the
police and the
CRPF launched a
combing drive and
the tribal headmen
in the district
appealed to the
outfit’s leaders.
Laskar and Noor
walked eight hours
from the rebel
hideout to reach
Baldabadli village
under Katlicherra
block yesterday.
Talking to this
correspondent over
phone this morning
from somewhere in
south Hailakandi,
the outfit’s
chairman, Panchau
Ram Reang, said he
wanted the state
government to open
a dialogue with
them and consider
their package of
demands to pave
the way for their
return to the
mainstream.
The demands
include grant of
amnesty to nearly
100 cadres of the
outfit, their
rehabilitation in
jobs and
self-employed
professions and a
one-time monetary
grant to them,
ranging from Rs
25,000 to Rs 1
lakh.
Reang said he had
communicated the
amnesty plea to
Assam chief
minister Tarun
Gogoi in a letter
last June, but the
government was yet
to respond to the
appeal. He
threatened that
the outfit would
intensify its
abduction spree
and hit-and-run
operations,
targeting
government
institutions, if
the government did
not meet its
demands.
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Assam money
racket busted
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OUR CORRESPONDENT
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Silchar, Dec. 27:
The BSF
today busted a fake currency racket
by arresting six members of a gang
in Assam.
While one member was arrested at
Rangauti village in
Hailakandi district, the
others, including the kingpin of the
racket, were arrested in Karimganj.
Today’s
haul of counterfeit notes was one of
the biggest in recent times in the
region, totalling Rs 197,000, the
BSF claimed.
Acting
on specific information, a BSF team
raided the residence of one Aftab
Uddin in the wee hours when he was
asleep and confiscated a wad of 197
fake notes of Rs 1,000 denomination
each. Confirming the arrest, a BSF
spokesman said they had been keeping
a close watch on Aftab.
Aftab’s
confessions led to raids in
Karimganj district where King Khan,
the kingpin, along with four of his
associates were arrested.
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Bid to save reviled
bats in Barak Valley
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OUR
CORRESPONDENT TELEGRAPH
INDIA |
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South
Assam
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Jan. 2:
Once as common as the
sparrow and the crow in the
villages and towns of south
Assam, bats have become rare
in these parts because of
rapid urbanisation over the
past few years.
Three conservationists have
now come together to save
bats from disappearing
altogether from the region.
In Brahmansasan village, the
group of three — Badal Roy,
Rekharani Namasudra and
Mukul Deshmukya — has
arranged for roosting of
bats. The population of this
much-reviled mammalian
species, the only one that
can fly, has since swelled
to over 700 in the village.
The trio believes
indiscriminate felling of
trees in the towns,
particularly Karimganj, for
construction of buildings is
responsible for the
disappearance of bats.
“I have developed a fondness
for these mammals,
particularly the young
ones,” Roy said. “Bats must
be saved to maintain the
ecological balance. They
never do any harm to the
humans.” Amalendu
Bhattacharjee, a Silchar-based
college teacher and folklore
researcher, said people were
prone to looking at bats as
“something dreadful” because
of ignorance and myths.
The
conservator of forests
for south Assam, Y.
Suryanarayan, praised Roy,
Namasudra and Deshmukya for
taking the initiative to
protect the species. He said
the forest department would
also launch a project to
conserve the species across
south Assam.
The distinguishing feature
of bats is the shape of
their forelimbs, which
extend into wings. Bats emit
high-pitched sounds and have
good vision.
Aveek Gupta, professor of
ecology at
Assam Central
University in Silchar, said
the project launched by Roy,
Namasudra and Deshmukya was
the perfect model for more
initiatives to restore the
population of the species.
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Cachar police on alert for
panchayat polls
From
Our Correspondent Assam University
SILCHAR, Jan 2 – Cachar district
administration declared the
security position in the backdrop
of the panchayat polls in the
state. The declaration was
outlined in the conference hall of
deputy commissioner, Cachar in the
presence of various political
parties. In the meeting it was
specifically mentioned that in
Cachar district, 259 polling
stations have been identified as
most sensitive.
In the meeting it was said that
the district had been clustered
into 14 security zones. In every
security zone, there will be one
zonal officer. In 1,658 polling
stations, from morning to evening,
69 sector officers who will be
allotted vehicles for inspection.
One sector officer will cover
20-25 polling stations. There will
be one control room also. In a
polling booth one constable and
one Home Guard will be deployed.
If Home Guard is not available,
there will be UDP. The main reason
for such arrangement is to control
law-and-order situation at the
time of election.
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