Illustration: Prathap Ravishankar/ The Hindu It was a usual Facebook browsing in the evening when I came across a post that read, ‘Baksa Village is Northeast’s First Smart Village’ . The description of the village seemed strikingly similar to the one I was born in and thus curiosity stroked me hard. And indeed it was; I was up for a pleasant surprise that the remote village near the Bhutan border where I was born is now the first smart village in the entire region. The smart village Barsimlaguri, which is about 18kms north of Nalbari town, happens to be one of the most remote villages in the country. The location is so remote that an evening stroll around the paddy fields can actually give you a view of flickering lights from the villages in Bhutan. So, a village as remote as Barimlaguri is today smart. It’s a little overwhelming for me to see my distant cousins and residents of the village, who until sometime back had no idea about internet, sending me friend requests. ...