[Assam] ‘I Am An Assamese, A Bengali And A S ylheti. What Exactly Am I?’ Anurag Rudra'a write up appeared Tehelka

Wed Jun 16 04:44:22 PDT 2010

Like ABCD (America Born Confused Desis) we have a new term ABCB (Assam
Born Confused Bengalis).

A friend of mine from Shillong introduces himself as a person born as
Bengali and raised as a tribal!

Its a process of assimilation. A person gets naturalised in the area
he is born in. One or two generation resist change, ultimately all
will be localised. Its faster in US or Delhi, as the immigrant has not
much option!

Mkd

On 6/16/10, Chan Mahanta <cmahanta at gmail.com> wrote:
> Anurag's account is obviously not something to do with a psychiatric
> condition. It is an expression of frustration, brought upon by the
> LANGUAGE based
> conflicts in Assam. The context is hard to miss for anyone who cares
> to understand.
>
>  >Today, I speak Assamese with dignity, and I feel proud to be called
> Asomiya, an Assamese. But when I ask myself what I am, what language
> makes me, I >never reply. Caught in the crossfire of la nguage and
> domicile, of my roots and memory, I vaguely reconcile myself to my
> homeless state. I am an Assamese, >a Bengali, and a Sylheti. What
> exactly am I, this dilemma of roots and languages? I have not been
> able to figure out even the smallest of answers.
>
>
> *** Anurag's dilemma is caused by the problems he might face from his
> Oxomiya speaking
> peers, if he exhibits ( not necessarily FLAUNT)  his Bengali speaking
> identity, something he
> obviously grew up with and cherishes, but cannot express, for fear of
> some backlash, even reprisal.
>
> *** Why so? Well, take a wild guess!
>
>
>  >I am taken aback by the fact that Mr.Rudra has not been able to thrust
>>
>> a concrete shape to his identity even at this stage!!!
>
>
> **** And   *I* am taken even more aback, by this exhibition of an
> inability to connect the dots!
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Jun 15, 2010, at 7:00 PM, kamal deka wrote:
>
>> Could it be a perfect case of identity crisis,a term used in
>> socio-psychological theory in which an individual loses a sense of
>> personal sameness and historical continuity? The term was coined by
>> the psychologist Erickson.It is a condition that occurs when a person
>> experiences great difficulties in acquiring a clear perception of
>> self.
>>
>> If you feel like you don't know the 'real you ', you may be
>> experiencing an identity crisis. According to Erikson, an identity
>> crisis is a time of intensive analysis and exploration of different
>> ways of looking at oneself. Erikson's interest in identity began in
>> childhood. Raised Jewish, Erikson appeared very Scandinavian, and felt
>> that he was an outsider of both groups. His later studies of cultural
>> life among the Yurok of northern California and the Sioux of South
>> Dakota helped formalize Erikson's ideas about identity development and
>> identity crisis.
>>
>> I am taken aback by the fact that Mr.Rudra has not been able to thrust
>> a concrete shape to his identity even at this stage!!!
>> KJD
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Jun 15, 2010 at 4:41 PM, Ram Sarangapani <assamrs at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>> Great assessment,  Mohan. You are absolutely correct in saying, you
>>> are what
>>> you choose to be - ie. defining yourself. The write-up by Anurag is
>>> well-written & from the heart, and most netters will be able to
>>> relate to
>>> something or the other in what he wrote.
>>>
>>> But to more important questions: How did you grow bhaat kerela & ou
>>> tenga?
>>> I don't think we have seen either of these in this area :-)
>>>
>>> Best of luck to Anurag, and hope to see more of his writings in
>>> future.
>>>
>>> --Ram
>>>
>>> On Tue, Jun 15, 2010 at 4:28 PM, Mohan Palleti <mpalleti at aol.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Anurag:
>>>> This is beautifully written article. I liked the honest expression
>>>> about
>>>> your feelings.
>>>> I being a half telugu and a half assamese by birth, I could relate
>>>> very
>>>> well with you. I lived in Assam as a young child and moved to
>>>> Hyderabad
>>>> therafter. I had asked the same question to myself. What am I?
>>>>
>>>> The answer is very simple. You are what you choose to be. And in the
>>>> process you do not have to forget where you came from. You set the
>>>> trend for
>>>> the coming generations and you blend into a culture you choose to.
>>>>
>>>> We lived in Hyderabad since 1973, And yet our house was a
>>>> waterhole for a
>>>> lot of Assamese folks who visited Hyderabad. My mother passed away
>>>> a few
>>>> months ago. She was like a moher to a lot of young assamese folks
>>>> who live
>>>> and work in Hyderabad.
>>>>
>>>> Although I have been living in the US for over a decade and speak 4
>>>> different languages at home. I grow dhekia xaak, bhat kerela, ou
>>>> tenga in my
>>>> garden and have loads of Khorisa  in my referigerator. It wont be
>>>> hard for
>>>> you to guess what I consider myself to be.
>>>>
>>>> I hope you get to read this email.
>>>>
>>>> Cheers!
>>>> Mohan Palleti
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: Chan Mahanta <cmahanta at gmail.com <lt
>>>> %3Bcmahanta at gmail.com>>
>>>> To: A Mailing list for people interested in Assam from around the
>>>> world &
>>>> lt;assam at assamnet.org <lt%3Bassam at assamnet.org>>
>>>> Sent: Tue, Jun 15, 2010 9:53 am
>>>> Subject: Re: [Assam] ‘I Am An Assamese, A Bengali And A S ylheti.
>>>> What
>>>> Exactly Am I?’ Anurag Rudra'a write up appeared Tehelka
>>>>
>>>> That is a believable, poignant story, Sushanta. Thanks for sharing.
>>>>
>>>> The indignities that young Anurag had to endure, hopefully, were
>>>> not in
>>>> vain and his account,
>>>> hopefully would help turn things for the better.
>>>>
>>>> Many of us in this forum have worn different shoes. And we too
>>>> wore the
>>>> ones that
>>>> Anurag had worn,at times of being a minority, foreign, alien etc.
>>>> and at
>>>> times of a dominant
>>>> group wearing the halo of being an indigenous. It has helped us
>>>> become
>>>> fuller, better people.
>>>> That said, I do realize that those of us in the US or other
>>>> counties with a
>>>> rule of law have not, would not
>>>> ( except as rare exceptions) have to undergo some of the more
>>>> blatant and
>>>> overt acts
>>>> of discrimination, bullying or even physical assaults that someone
>>>> in
>>>> Anurag's shoes might have.
>>>> That is where the rule-of-law plays a critical role, one that is
>>>> absent in
>>>> Indian governance, not
>>>> just Assam's, part of the dysfunctional state of desi-demokrasy as
>>>> I call
>>>> it.
>>>>
>>>> I agree with MM's advice: To be positive and ASSERTIVE. He has no
>>>> reason to
>>>> be
>>>> confused about his many identities, much less be apologetic. Long
>>>> ago, I
>>>> learned
>>>> to choose my first and foremost identity to be the human one. My
>>>> many other
>>>> identities
>>>> fall into place, without conflict and without apologies!
>>>>
>>>> Pass this on to Anurag, if you can. I wish him all the best.
>>>>
>>>> c-da
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Jun 14, 2010, at 12:05 PM, Sushanta Kar wrote:
>>>>
>>>> > Dear
>>>> > Friends,
>>>> > You will find this write up something interesting. Anurag is
>>>> a B.A
>>>> > student
>>>> > of Cotton College. By this time he has earned a well
>>>> reputation as a
>>>> > poet in
>>>> > English. Here he has raised a few question on the identity
>>>> crisis of
>>>> > the
>>>> > sylhetis of the state:
>>>> >
>>>> http://www.tehelka.com/story_main45.asp?filename=hub190610personalhistories.asp
>>>>
>>>> >
>>>> > Sushanta Kar
>>>> > _______________________________________________
>>>> > assam mailing list
>>>> > assam at assamnet.org
>>>> > http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
>>>>
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>>
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