Ankur Bora
Out of a vast interaction between ocean, mountain and land,
a great river emerges. Rising from a mountain peak, at a mystical lake in Mount
Kailash, he runs nearly two thousand four hundred miles, emerging again and
again into a fertile passage of blue hills and green valleys, winding its last
miles back to the element which gave it origin, the sea. The river Brahmaputra
is the soul of Assam and Assamese as a nation is identified to the river. The local
people called the river ‘Burha Luit’ (the ancient river) out of reverence and
affection. The influence of Brahmaputra in life and culture of people is deep
rooted and Assamese people for generations have talked and sung about Luit expressing
how deeply they feel connected to their river.
The great river Brahmaputra fulfills our lives with moments
of joy and abundance, stimulates our minds with curiosity and wonder and binds
us with a vein of unity and togetherness. Our river is also the perfect
antidote to urban living – to reconnect people to nature. A few years ago, a
young couple in Guwahati, came out with inspiring ways for community to get
down to their riverbank. This young man Suresh Goduka had a vision of a clean
litter free river, a beautiful place for people to look at and get close to
nature, an event where commoners can enjoy river songs sitting together in a
starlit riverbed. Working together with Karabee Mahanta and a host of
volunteers, they developed concepts of how it could be accomplished. With great
excitement and inspirations, and the headlines of a wild challenge before them,
they launched a unique initiative. The festival titled ‘Jeevan Kite and River
Festival’ was organized to host a variety of events including a campaign to
reduce plastic litter and other pollutants, depiction of the river life through folklores, paintings and sand arts,
kite flying and adventure sports at the riverbank and a glorification of the mighty river
through songs, dance, music and prayers. The festival which has been running
annually for the last seven years is a tribute to the triumph of one man’s
indomitable spirit and this year 2018, we the Assamese diaspora, under the
banner of Assam Foundation of North America (AFNA) decided to join hands and
participate in this event.
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| Participants at Jeevan Kite and River Festival 2018 |
“Louhityare bahal
parok Pronipat koro” – In this famous song, Dr. Bhupen Hazarika, who loved
Assam from the bottom of his heart, bowed his head before the wide banks of
Brahmaputra. The song is like a blessing so joyful that even in distant corners
of the globe we claim with pride the glorious civilization that we have
inherited. And it is our connection to our motherland and to our beloved river
that keeps us alive and invigorated. AFNA has been publishing a calendar
annually managed by young Assamese spread over the city of Detroit, Los
Angeles, San Francisco and others. The proceeds of the campaign is going
directly to multiple programs geared towards schools for underprivileged
children, providing scholarship to meritorious college going engineering and
medical students from economically poor background, disabled adults and women
support groups. The Jeevan kite and river Festival provided a unique platform
to these AFNA project partners to come together and share their experience of
working in their respective fields.
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| Suresh Goduka |
We became the stories we listen to. The manifestation of the
river Brahmaputra can be felt in movies , music , legends, folklore, prose ,
poetry , television , newspapers – and those stories we listen to form our
lives. The AFNA calendar is a portrait of ordinary men and women, people who
have turned their talents, efforts and energies towards the uplifting of others,
thereby achieving greatness inherent in every human being. That day, the
riverbank of Brahmaputra came alive as representatives of Swawalambi, an
organization working for the differently able in rural Assam; Seneh, a shelter
home for elderly women; representatives of Rickshaw Bank that provides
microfinance support to poor rickshaw pullers; Tapoban and Shishu Sarothi, organisations working for the differently
able; Parijat Academy and Snehalaya, an orphanage in Guwahati and Mission
Birubala working in the field of eradication of superstition and witch hunting,
were lauded and honored for their services. Each of these individuals taught
some infinite wisdom to the rendition of epical song “Bistirno Parore”, its
lifting music stayed in everyone’s memory to hum the song repeatedly. Perched
on the gigantic river, and not very far from the event venue, stands Umananda,
the smallest inhabited river island in the world. The song reverberated to the
tiny island, as if the trajectories assumed a new meaning and resonance. The
participants dispersed thankful to Suresh Goduka for boasting community
cohesion in the process and knowing that it was a true tribute to mighty
Brahmaputra along.
Understanding Brahmaputra has never been more crucial to our
society, as individual citizens, we all need to know how the river works. Assam
is a land of rivers and a land of rich wetlands. We can prosper and industries,
agriculture, transportation can strive if and when only we know how to use our
water resources intelligently. The Brahmaputra campaign by Suresh Goduka aims
to inspire people to take pride in our waterways, understand the challenges
they face and come together to create a healthy future for our rivers. It is
time to fulfill our responsibility to revitalize Brahmaputra before it is too long,
our survival as a species depends on it.
