And you know what to do once recording is over, right? Deuta would inevitably ask me that same question every time he dropped me at the All India Radio station building in Chandmari where I performed as a child artist in several Assamese radio plays between the ages of nine and twelve. I would roll my eyes at him and say I know, as I would skip up the long flight of stairs to the recording studio. Of course I knew what to do when recording was over. I was to sit in Borthakur Uncle’s room till Deuta came to pick me up again. I always looked forward to the days when I had a recording. Not only would I get to miss a whole afternoon of school, but also once recording was over I would get to have my most favorite treat- a ‘labanga’ and a bottle of Gold Spot at the radio station canteen. For that is where Uncle would take me while we waited for Deuta to come pick me up.
I remember Borthakur Uncle from even before that, when he and his wife, three sons and Aita, his mother lived just a block away from our house in Chandmari. He and Deuta have been friends for ever, so the two families socialized on a regular basis. But my favorite memories are of the times after I was accepted as a child artist by All India Radio. By then we has moved to the Gauhati University campus and were no longer neighbors. So it was always good to see Uncle. Deuta too looked forward to catching up on some social time with his old friend while dropping and picking me up.
During my visit to India last summer, it was with great hesitance that Deuta could bring himself to tell me that Borthakur Uncle was battling throat cancer. Deuta wanted to spare me the pain of the news during my short visit, but knowing how fond I was of Uncle, he knew that if I wanted to go see him, I had to do it then. I will never forget the big smile that lit up Uncle’s face as he realized who had come to see him. “Majoni, tumi ketiya ahila?” All of a sudden I was ten years old again, swinging my legs as I sat on a table in his office, waiting for him to sign all those ‘silly files’ so that we could go to the canteen.It was not an easy visit- the most difficult part for me was to see how the gentle, familiar voice I loved so much had become harsh and raspy, a clear indication of the disease that slowly consuming him.
As I waited for the long distance call to go though to his house in Ambikagiri Nagar this morning, the day of his Adhya Sradha, to talk to Aunty, I remembered how when Deuta and I left their house last year, something had made me go back from the gate to the doorway where Uncle was standing, and touch his feet. And how Uncle had hugged me and said “Majoni tumi imaan daangor hoi gola?”. I had held back my tears and made my voice extra firm as I promised him that I would come see him first thing on my next visit to India. As Aunty’s voice came over the line saying, “Nandini, we tried our best to save him, but couldn’t” I came back to the present with a jolt. Her loss is so much bigger compared to the rest of us. The Telegraph has described Uncle as the ‘Titan of Assamese drama’. It’s funny that this time I cannot even remember all his numerous achievements and contribution to the field of Assamese drama and literature. To me he will always be the gentle and loving person who was Deuta’s best friend and my favorite Uncle. All I can remember right now are little things like how he would always come into the studio towards the end of recording, even if I were in a play that he was not directing or performing in. How he would talk to my director, play back some of my scenes and make sure that I had pronounced all the words right. How he would pretend to take me seriously as I would suggest he should sign all his files without reading them so that we could get to the canteen earlier…. Those are things that will always remain fresh in my memory as will the taste of the warm juicy ‘labanga’ in the little canteen behind the radio station.
On this day of his Adhya Sradha, I join Uncle’s family, friends and thousands of his fans in praying for the eternal peace of his soul.
Birth: September 1, 1935, Mohkhuti Tea Garden, Sibsagar Death: December 9, 2005, Guwahati Wrote more than 70 plays in Assamese. These plays have been broadcast by All India Radio, Guwahati, by mobile theater groups and on stage in hundreds of places in Assam.
Published Novels: udaxi xondhya, begom para, beliful, brihonolla, najma adi bohutO, dikhOi nOir bali, etc. Short Story Collections: mo~khuti sidingot rati puwabolOi, khel, etc. Children's Books: poniya xOnor dex, etc.
Plays: jonmo, aho~tgurir notun bat, xipa, boliya hati, mukhyomontri, majnixar sio~r
Source: Santanu Kaushik Barua, xahityor year book, Journal Emporium, Nalbari, 2003
By Nandini Borah Das, Centennial,
Colorado
December 20, 2005
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