Dr. Ratan Bhattacharjee
Lakhipur College comes out with a wonderful mission of rediscovering the Brahmaputra by focusing on the riparian culture of Assam and their editorial venture opens up a new vista of information about this great river of India. The river plays a pervading role in our life, but the Brahmaputra is for Assam what Ganga is for North India and the Padma is for Bangladesh.
The recently published book Rediscovering the Brahmaputra edited by Jayanta Saloi and Himani Devi of Lakhipur College will meet a long demand for a good informative well-researched book exclusively on the Brahmaputra. A few years back I myself was invited to Narengi Anchalik Mahavidyalaya to speak as a Resource Person on the Brahmaputra and the River Culture and I saw overwhelming enthusiasm among the academics and creative people to present facts on the Brahmaputra. But this time the outstanding attempt to preserve the musings by Lakhipur College is really commendable as they edited a book on the Brahmaputra. Herman Hesse in the famous novel once wrote: “Have you also learned that secret from the river; that there is no such thing as time?”
That the river is everywhere at the same time, at the source and at the mouth, at the waterfall, at the ferry, at the current, in the ocean and in the mountains, everywhere and that the present only exists for it, not the shadow of the past nor the shadow of the future.”
Those who know the river culture of Brahmaputra will at once agree with Herman Hesse. The Brahmaputra is the life force of Assam. No one will deny its all-pervading influence on Assamese life, be it social, economic, political, or cultural. Life cannot be imagined without the presence of the Brahmaputra and its tributaries.
Mythologically this male river is not merely a river for the people of Assam, its benevolent or malevolent impact is fully integrated into the life of the people living in the valley. This edited volume is enriched by the researched articles of a good many academicians and the book is peer-reviewed by Dr. Syed Abdul Azimi (Retd. HOD, History) of Habraghat Mahavidyalaya, Dr. Lalit Rabha, Principal Dudhnoi College, and Dr. Binita Bora Debchoudhury of Bhattadev University.
The range of research articles encompasses a wide range. Dr. Gitali Saikia in her article made an analysis of how the great poet singer Bhupen Hazarika dreamt that the land which is swept by the river Brahmaputra will be illuminated by the light of knowledge and wisdom.
Humanity and universal brotherhood, unity and equality will be its strength, “Endharor Bheta bhangi Pragjyotishat boi jeuti nijarar dhar/Sata sata bantire gyanare dipalire jilikibo Luitare par”( Rifting the barrier of darkness/ A shroud of light appears in Pragjyotishpur /Hundreds of lamps with the light of wisdom lit).
The banks of Luit will be illuminated as discussed the role of the songs of Dr. Bhupen Hazarika in assembling the different communities of language and culture. Abu Sharma Ahmed in ‘Tourism in Assam’ made a data-based analysis of the composite colourful culture of Assam vis a vis Brahmaputra.
On the banks of Brahmaputra, Assam developed into a melting pot of diverse cultures of the Mogoloids, Aryans and Indo-Tibetans. It is also a land of the aboriginal tribes like the Tiwas, the Bodos, the Karbis, the Misings, the Rabhas and the Singpho and so on.
It also attracts tourists for its flora and fauna as well as the Tantricism and Muga fabric. Jyotika Deka shows how the Brahmaputra shapes the history, life and culture of the Assamese people and the river here is a silent witness to all the historical and cultural events, which have a far-reaching impact. Geology, Geography, History, Culture and Society cannot be envisioned without the Brahmaputra.
Tripti Sonowal explores the riparian sensibility in Assamese Folklife and literature. She cites a lot of poetic lines to show how Assamese culture and literature are deep-rooted in the riparian sensibility.
Manash Jyoti Nath and Heerak Jyoti Nath also focused on the songs of Bhupen Hazarika to show how the identity of Assamese people is in many ways linked to the Brahmaputra, “I am the Lalung, Chutia, Lushai, Miir, Garo, Mishimi, Khamti, / I fight for equality and friendship.”
Even in science research, the Brahmaputra is unavoidable as Ananya Phukan and Kalyani Mali have shown how many important Angiopermic flora of Brahmaputra valley enriched medical science. He traces back to the early 19th century when Francis Buchanan-Hamilton started the survey on forests of lower Assam for systematic floristic studies focused on the Flora of British India.
The book has two sections English and Assamese and the Assamese section contains many valuable articles written by Mala Ghosh, Dr Swajeda Khatun, and many others. Rajen Das focuses on the mention of the Brahmaputra in some songs of Bhupen Hazarika in his paper entitled ‘Bhupen Hazarikar Geetot Brahmaputra’.
He analyses ten songs of Dr Hazarika in which the composer glorified the mighty river as well as its banks of it. Gitanjali Nath in her paper ‘Asamor Jatiya Jibonot Mahabahu Brahmaputra’ discusses Brahmaputra as the lifeline of Assamese people.
In the research paper entitled ‘Nilmoni Phukanor Kobita Brahmaputrat Surjastyo: Eti Alochana’. Priyanka Kashyap discusses ‘Nilmani Phookan’s use of the metaphor of Brahmaputra’. Another article ‘Garo Janagoshthi’ by Dipty Das focuses on the Garo tribe of Brahmaputra Valley and their lifestyle.
Mira Barmam in her article ‘Boichitromoy Nadi Mahabahu Brahmaputra Asomor Jibon Probah’ has an overall discussion on the influence of Brahmaputra on the people of Assam. Mira Barman’s article needs special mention for its new perspective on the Brahmaputra.
Unless we go through all the articles, the value of the bilingual book on the Brahmaputra cannot be fully assessed. Both the editors did their job wonderfully.
Any venture from a college is impossible without the active interest of the Principal, IQAC Coordinator and the college management authority. The wonderful coordination of Lakhipur College can be a model for many other institutions of Higher Education in Assam, for publishing this kind of book of well-researched articles, especially on a very different kind of topic that is so intrinsically related to Assamese life and culture.
Ratan Bhattacharjee, a poet cum columnist, may be reached at: [email protected].