[Assam] NRI ‘ Friends’ come calling (The Telegraph,05.01.2008)

[Buljit Buragohain]

NRI ‘Friends’ come calling
A STAFF REPORTER 

Jan. 4: They are people from the state settled abroad
and call themselves the Friends of Assam and Seven
Sisters. 

Come January 10 and these brilliant brains will
congregate in the city for a brainstorming session
— on how best to use latest western technology
for the development of the state. 

Innovations such as flash cards for phonetics and an
online dictionary will be unveiled at the session. 

Friends is a platform of the people of Northeast
origin and has its international headquarters in
Texas, US. Members from about seven countries are
expected to participate in the conference, which would
be the first international get-together of the
organisation. 

“The basic aim of the conference is to discuss
in what ways Friends members could contribute towards
the development of the Northeast. Our members would
try to introduce the best ideas what they have
experienced in developed countries,” Bidyananda
Barkakoty, secretary general of Friends, said. 

The Friends’ secretary general said most of its
members are “big assets” for the region
because they are vast storehouses of knowledge. 

The meeting will also take a decision to adopt few
destitute homes in the region. “NRIs from the
region always wanted to contribute to the Northeast
but many backed out because they apprehended that the
funds would not be utilised properly. One reason for
launching Friends is that it would oversee fund
contributions by these NRIs,” Barkakoty said. 

Not only Friends members but renowned personalities
like Nagen Saikia, former president of Asam Sahitya
Sabha, AASU adviser Samujjal Bhattacharyya and
columnist Patricia Mukhim are likely to attend the
meeting. 

“These experts on the fields would be a guiding
force to Friends, wherein ideas and projects which
could be funded by the organisation would be
shared,” he said. 

Barkakoty said Friends aims at providing an
inspirational energy, a motivation force for the
overall revival and development of the region. The
platform plans to work with various organisations,
which are already working in various welfare
activities in the Northeast and will work towards a
common goal. 

Apart from its members, Friends has notable
well-wishers as members like Audrey Cantley of the
University of London (author of the book The
Assamese), Alan Macfarlane, University of Cambridge
(author of the book Green Gold — The Empire of
Tea), Thomas Gregory of the University of Houston and
Dipak Jain of Kelloggs School of Business to name a
few.







(The Telegraph,05.01.2008)




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