The overnight program was attended by more than 80 from Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman and Oman. It was for the first time that the Assamese Community of United Arab Emirates celebrated the advent of the Assamese New Year in a big way together with their counterparts from Oman.

To soothe the body and mind seared by soaring temperatures, a host of chilling options have hit the town. And, of course, without cutting deep into your pocket.

The mouth-watering tarbooz (water melon) is seducing the passerby at every road junction in the city. These round characters have come from outside the state-all the way from places as far as Hazaribagh, Dhanbad, Siliguri, etc.,-and have been strategically placed at busy crossings and market places in the city.

India has lodged strong protest with Bangladesh against aggressive acts in that country's borders with Meghalaya and Assam and asking Dhaka to desist from such inimical activities. In the wake of the series of such incidents-first at Pyrduwah village where BDR personnel encircled the BSF post, killed one BSF jawan and took some of the injured personnel captive, drove out the villagers and settled Bangladeshi civilians on indisputably Indian territory and then shot down a BSF patrol party inside Indian territory at Boraibari also in Meghalaya.

When 67-year old Maulana Abu Syed Munshi, the Imam of Natun Majid at Thakuranbari village woke up on Wednesday, he was shell-shocked to find himself all alone in the village. The other villagers were nowhere to be seen. The 112 odd houses wore a deserted look, with not even a dog or a chicken in sight in the village that stretches for 1.5 kilometre.

The Bihu day started with a picnic at the beautiful Kitty Hollow Park in southwest Houston. The weather was perfect with sunshine and a clear blue sky. Little kids were fishing from the wooden piers with their fathers and grandfathers under the shade of trees. Some others were flying colorful kites at a distance behind a hillock reminding me of the lazy hazy days of summer in Guwahati.

It is strange but true. But even at the dawn of the 21st century there are people in the state for whom the AGP is a kind of "beej," (a seedling), the Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta is "something unknown" to them, and Mahatma Gandhi is the "father" of Indira Gandhi.

The bloody clashes over the past few days along the Indo-Bangladesh border that have reportedly claimed the precious lives of 16 BSF personnel once again highlight the oldest and the basic cardinal principle of war, or rather its quintessence-the element of surprise. As in Kargil two years back, this time too our forces were caught napping. Unfortunately, this has been the hallmark of all the major conflicts that India fought as an independent country, be it the 1947, 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak wars or the more recent 1999 Kargil conflict.

'Natasamrat' Girish Choudhury - a name Assamese cultural workers and theatre lovers cannot miss for a moment. The path breaking contribution made by this octogenarian dramatist, playwright and social worker along with his writer/producer brother late Anil Choudhury in the field of Assamese drama movement is invaluable. It is to them the women theatre artists of the state owe gratitude to, for introducing co-acting in Assamese theatre amidst severe criticism and hurdles.

GUWAHATI, APRIL 21: The use of elephants by Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) President Prafulla Kumar Mahanta has run into rough weather with animal rights activists strongly objecting to the use of animals for electoral purposes, even as the State Election Department has taken serious note of it.

SHILLONG, APRIL 20: With tension easing between India and Bangladesh and the situation returning to normal in Pyrdiwah, Dawki and Lyngkhat sectors of Meghalaya, it is instructive to recall that due to a lack of political will, these 265 acres of land are still classed as "disputed."

In 1955, a similar intrusion took place at Pyrdiwah by the then Pakistani government. Islamabad claimed that the fertile lands of Pyrdiwah and Borhil areas belong to East Pakistan. However, a year after the intrusion, the Pakistanis were pushed back.

The ground was utilized by the citizen of Dispur area not only as a play ground but was an important venue for pubilc meetings, functions and special gatherings. Moreover, as a play ground it has a cricket coaching centre from which more than 30% of the players get selected for Assam team. Another aspect of concern is the risk of environmental damage that would be very disturbing if the complex is constructed at that place by cutting hundreds of matured trees. The govt. should have considered the fact that there is no open space for the need of the public.