The state of Assam is in deep distress and great disorder. Insurgency, terror and rampant corruption have created such a situation that common men are almost losing hope for a better tomorrow. The vicious cycle of unemployment causing insurgency and insurgency in turn causing instability has left our youth weary and frazzled.
Despite such a hopeless and chaotic situation, we still come across men and women who are making a significant difference in peoples’ lives. They, with their creativity, vision and will power have proved that there still exists light at the end of the tunnel. Sanjeev Sabhapandit is such a filmmaker, social worker and philanthropist who believes that an artist too is committed to the wellbeing of society. Sabhapandit through his award winning film titled ‘Jaatingaa Ityaadi’ has brought forth his concern about the maladies of society. At the same time he has made a conscious effort to arrest the downward trend of our moral ethos and to create a positive ambiance in our troubled state with creative ideas and innovative schemes. He has started ‘GRANTHA BAANDHAB’ (a book lovers club) to promote and inculcate reading habits among the young and old alike and thereby help build the intellectual crest of our society.
His movie ‘Jaatingaa Ityaadi’ is a sincere and honest attempt to portray the anguish and suffering brought by deadly insurgency to our people. The film’s protagonist Manab, an educated youth, is appalled by everyday corruption and general apathy in society. Demoralized and frustrated, he goes back to his native village and joins hands with a group of insurgents pledging to cure the ills of society through the deceptive path of insurgency. However, he soon realizes that insurgency has nothing to do with his dreams of uplifting a frail and feeble society. It is a masquerade, a disguise that the militants were using in running an extortion racket in the garb of fighting for a social cause. He tries to escape, but the escape route is thorny. Like many others, he too becomes a prisoner of insurgency; trapped and hence an involuntary accomplice.
‘Jaatingaa Ityaadi’ is a poignant depiction of insurgency and its devastating impact on hundreds of families. Mr. Sabhapandit skillfully shows how insurgency emerged as the hydra for the state’s society. In NC Hills district there is a hill station called Jatinga where according to legend migratory birds come to commit mass suicide. The facts however are that local hunters use petromax lamps at night to lure and trap these birds. As I completed watching the movie, I felt that the title of the movie ‘Jaatingaa’ is a metaphor. Like the helpless birds, our youths have also been trapped in insurgency and its subsequent deathlike stagnation.
Sanjeev Sabhapandit is not only a filmmaker and artist but also a committed individual who has been trying hard for the intellectual growth of the Assamese youth. Mr. Sabhapandit has been aptly supported by Mr. Rajkamal Bhuyan who is the producer and financer of ‘Jaatingaa Ityaadi’. Both Sabhapandit and Bhuyan together have started a literary movement titled ‘GRANTHA BAANDHAB’. This is to arrest the downward fall of our socio cultural atmosphere. The last few decades have been traumatic for the people of Assam. The six years long Assam Movement, the miserable failure of the student leadership and subsequent emergence of insurgency have mentally crippled Assam’s future generation. The ‘GRANTHA BAANDHAB’ is a bold and sincere attempt to guide our youths through the ruins. Books are our treasure house and book reading is a habit and practice that enlightens us with all the treasures that lay hidden for us to explore and understand. I have observed that in the United States people spend a lot of time reading books and highly emphasize the value of book reading. Oprah Winfrey, the famous television host of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” has a book club and books recommended by the club usually sell in millions. Oprah Winfrey’s book club is a movement which has a deep positive impact in many peoples’ lives. Sanjeev Sabhapandit and Rajkamal Bhuyan through their dream project GRANTHA BAANDHAB hope that their movement too will create a positive outcome in the coming days. The salient features of the project are:
a) A target to create a readership base of 5 lakhs in 300 days from the date of launch of the website. The website www.ruchiraarts.com is operational now.
b) To upload all available books from and on or about North East India in a website and make those available for sale.
c) To create a direct book marketing network through a select band of about 350 youths scattered all over the region initially who are being named Mission Associates.
d) Publication of a regular monthly journal exclusively to update the book publication front.
e) To establish the biggest book showroom of North East India at Guwahati
f) To set up a print and electronic media house and to project Assam and North East India correctly and professionally.
I wish Mr. Sanjib Sabhapandit and Mr. Rajkamal Bhuyan the very best in this endeavor. I am also crafting below a short introduction of Sabhapandit and Bhuyan. Interested readers may contact and communicate to buy the movie and also support ‘GRANTHA BAANDHAB’.
Sanjib Sabhapandit, born in 1957, is a mechanical engineer and an MBA. An entrepreneur, who has always treaded paths of his own choice, has been instrumental in establishment of industries and academic institutions in Assam. An author of two books, he conceptualized and enacted the first Light and Sound show of the North East India. The engineer in him designed a unique humane mode of transport of goats in the city of Guwahati, Assam. Mother Shelter, an all-in-one flood relief camp capsule and a three-wheeler rickshaw with a humane touch, are two of his other innovations. The sensitivity in him led to the world of cinema, and his maiden film “JUYE POORA XOON” won the National Award (for best film on environment conservation and preservation) in 2004. In his second film “ JAATINGAA et al…” he has portrayed a love story, set in the extremist infested turmoil of the North East India in a forthright yet poignant way. This film has been nominated for the Indian panorama 2007. His contact information is Phone: 09864044470, and E-mail: kuhkhal@yahoo.com.
Rajkamal Bhuyan, a post graduate in Economics and a Chartered Accountant by profession, is the founder director of Liv’in Apartments (P) Ltd, a pioneering Real Estate company of the North East India. He is also a founder director of Four Seasons Garden Resorts (P) Ltd, engaged in constructing North East India’s first Water park and a resort hotel in Guwahati and a theme holiday resort in Kaziranga. Ruchira Arts (P) Ltd, which is promoted by him, is engaged in audio visual productions, book publishing, and strives to contribute meaningfully to art & culture of the region. Jaatingaa et al… is the maiden venture of the company, and the company is now actively engaged in several cultural, literary and media projects. A Rotarian, Sri Bhuyan, is the spirit behind the noble road map of Ruchira Arts. His contact information is Phone: 09435013943 and E-mail: brajkamal@hotmail.com.
By Ankur Bora, Texas
- Log in to post comments