This week there was so much to write about; about the mentality re-exposed by the documentary India’s Daughter, the Railway Budget, the stringent raise of censorship in India and the breeding of a radical ideology in India. But since I haven’t written for quite some time now, I believe I should stick to something more humanistic, something more personal. Hence here I write about an attitude, an attitude that is very hard to find in a city like Delhi, in fact even in Guwahati. I am talking about a mentality that is prevalent in the small towns of India. Lately I travelled to Hisar, a town in Haryana and then to Agra. Also, in the last two months I have been to Assam twice. All these trips were basically an escape, an escape from the monotonous cosmopolitan lifestyle I adore the most. This much sought after lifestyle creates a void and drives you out of warmth. Hence to survive a superficial society and a pretentious existence, we head out. A lot of it is explained by the incre...

When we stay away from our land, either of two things is bound to happen. Either our affinity towards our culture will increase or we become an alloy of mixed culture and fail locate our origin. However, I might be wrong, and we might remain the same as we used to be back home, and continue being ignorant. Map of Assam- Courtesy: Maps of World So this other day I was with an esteemed gathering of the Assamese community here in Delhi where a very famous actress performed a monologue of her famous on screen appearances. The crowd mostly comprised of working professionals and students from Assam, who have settled in Delhi and somehow attach themselves with the cultural sphere back in the state. And hence her performance was no less than a treat for most of us. The performance of hers was undoubtedly brilliant, and I don’t absolutely doubt her credentials and her grip over the subject matter. But there was one particular thing about one of her monologue that really both...

Rediscovering and reevaluating some old memories rather experiences is probably one of the most interesting things to do. After a substantially busy and constructive six months, which totally rearranges your perspective, you tend to reevaluate few things close to you in a different manner. This time when I was back in Assam, I decided to rediscover the old travel experiences I which I used to have during my childhood. Since my family migrated to Guwahati, most of our close relatives resided in small towns within some 200 km radius from the capital city. And this time, I decided to pay them a visit, in Shahrukh Khan’s Swadesh style. I decided to leave the luxury of taking a car and use the most basic level of transport available. Thus on 16 th March 2013, I was at the Guwahati Railway Station, with Bongaigaon as destination which happened to be 155 kilometers away. The train route covers almost all the small and medium sized railway stations of the Lower Assam, and also crosses...