Goddess of Power- Durga Maa

Mahalaya is an auspicious Indian occasion observed seven days before the Durga Puja, and heralds the advent of Durga, the goddess of supreme power. Today, being Mahalaya, the day Durga Maa was assigned the task of eliminating evil, the following mantra is chanted.



Meaning in English of the Stuti mantra Ya Devi Sarva Bhuteshu

To that goddess who abides in all beings as intelligence : Sautaions to Thee, …
To that goddess who abides in all beings as sleep : Sautaions to Thee, …
To that goddess who abides in all beings as hunger : Sautaions to Thee, …
To that goddess who abides in all beings as reflection : Sautaions to Thee, …
To that goddess who abides in all beings as power : Sautaions to Thee, …
To that goddess who abides in all beings as thirst : Sautaions to Thee, …
To that goddess who abides in all beings as forgiveness : Sautaions to Thee, …
To that goddess who abides in all beings as modesty : Sautaions to Thee, …
To that goddess who abides in all beings as peace : Sautaions to Thee, …
To that goddess who abides in all beings as faith : Sautaions to Thee, …
To that goddess who abides in all beings as loveliness : Sautaions to Thee, …
To that goddess who abides in all beings as good fortune : Sautaions to Thee, …
To that goddess who abides in all beings as activity : Sautaions to Thee, …
To that goddess who abides in all beings as memory : Sautaions to Thee, …
To that goddess who abides in all beings as compassion : Sautaions to Thee, …
To that goddess who abides in all beings as contentment ; Sautaions to Thee, …
To that goddess who abides in all beings as mother : Sautaions to Thee, …

Lyrics of the Devi Stuti - Ya Devi Sarva Bhuteshu in English Text

Ya devi sarvabhuteshu Vishnu-mayeti sadbita
Namas tasyai, Namas tasyai, Namas tasyai namo namah.
Ya devi sarvabhuteshu buddhi - rupena samsthita, namas tasyai … … …
Ya devi sarvabhuteshu nidra - rupena samsthita, namas tasyai … … …
Ya devi sarvabhuteshu ksudha - rupena samsthita, namas tasyai … … …
Ya devi sarvabhuteshu chhaya - rupena samsthita, namas tasyai … … …
Ya devi sarvabhuteshu sakti - rupena samsthita, namas tasyai … … …
Ya devi sarvabhuteshu trisna - rupena samsthita, namas tasyai … … …
Ya devi sarvabhuteshu ksanti - rupena samsthita, namas tasyai … … …
Ya devi sarvabhuteshu lajja - rupena samsthita, namas tasyai … … …
Ya devi sarvabhuteshu shanti - rupena samsthita, namas tasyai … … …
Ya devi sarvabhuteshu Sraddha - rupena samsthita, namas tasyai … … …
Ya devi sarvabhuteshu kanti - rupena samsthita, namas tasyai … … …
Ya devi sarvabhuteshu lakshmi - rupena samsthita, namas tasyai … … …
Ya devi sarvabhuteshu vritti - rupena samsthita, namas tasyai … … …
Ya devi sarvabhuteshu smriti - rupena samsthita, namas tasyai … … …
Ya devi sarvabhuteshu daya - rupena samsthita, namas tasyai … … …
Ya devi sarvabhuteshu tusti - rupena samsthita, namas tasyai … … …
Ya devi sarvabhuteshu matri - rupena samsthita, namas tasyai … … …
To that goddess who in all beings is called Visnumaya
Salutations, Salutations, Salutations to Thee, again, and again.

Monot Pore...

Monot Pore Din Kaita Loi
Tumar Misikia Hahiti Loi
Soku Jaai Tumar Aramor Soki Khonoloi
Jen Hothat Tumar Maat Ti.... Maaa, Ahila!

Monot Pore... Airportor Pora Namiye
Tumar Khula Haat Dutiloi
Bihutu Ahile Kiyonu Monot Pore
Tumar Jetuka Bhora Bhorir Anguli Loi?

Monot Pore...Paniketir Bagisat Bohi
Lahe Lahe Juwa Din Keitaloi.

Xopunot Tumi Kintu
Dithokot Tumar Smriti..

Monot pore...
Tumar monot pore ne Deta?

Remembring Dad on his birthday today. My icon, my inspiration , my ROCK! Love you always Deta. Miss you.
23rd Aug 2011

Sourav Kumar Chaliha.. WHO??

My knowledge towards Assamese Literature was literally like an Axanto Electron. (The electron is a subatomic particle carrying a negative electric charge. It has no known components or substructure. Therefore, the electron is generally thought to be an elementary particle.)
Coming from an English medium school I hadn’t read anything Assamese in life, apart from my course work at school. SKC is responsible for turning it around. Quite late in life, I asked my friend Aporaj to suggest me an Assamese book to read. Prompt came the answer. Suran Medhi’s work. I was like... Who? And why would you suggest reading his books.

Now Aporaj being a calm and composed poet friend as well as an avid reader not to mention, a huge fan of SKC gave me a “prolonged summary” of his work and narrated some of SKC’s book scenes to me with a pinch of Hollyood Graphics style to it. I decided to give it a go. The first story I read was Gulam. My mum, my biggest critique and rock in life after Deuta, saw me reading SKC’s book. A sarcastic smile followed and she said... Make sure you finish the book. Reading a signboard and completing a book are two different things. Yes it was hard in the beginning and it took me twice the time to read a page in Assamese but then... language is practice. The more you speak and read, the better you get at it. Maa is also an avid reader of Assamese Literature and I often felt left out when she discussed books with her friends. I am still learning and enjoying the richness Assamese Literature has to offer.
I was hooked on SKC. I smuggled Aporaj to Panbazar and instructed him to get me the best SKC’s books and I dutifully carried them back home to London. Manoj Goswami once told me that he requested SKC to write a New Year peice for his then Axomia newspaper. SKC was reluctant and later Eta Bhaal Khobor was on the papers on one new year’s day. Altaf Da made a short film out of it , When I watched it, I was gobsmacked to see the impact, the subtleness and the beauty of narrating a story. A very well made film and I quite liked the angel Altafda chose for the film. I also liked the fact that SKC was subtle and was thrilled that he used a pseudo name. Ok, I write my blogs as Rukmini Boiragi. Why? Well why not? I dont feel the neccisity for people to know me as long as they know my work. A journalist once asked my why I chose the name. Mythologically, Rukmini came from North East and so do I. And Boiragi..ahhh It is a surname I always secretly loved to have. It sounds like a song. Beautiful and so Assamese and exotic! In real life I cannot use it and thus, that became my pseudo name. The fact that SKC writes under a pseudo name gave me a kick. Not that I am comparing him with me for that will be preposterous.

Every Time I visit Guwhaati, I am tempted to ask Altaf Da to introduce me to SKC but I shied off the idea and told myself- Bublee, Toi Jugyo Nohoi. You are not worth enough to meet such a persona.
His passing away news hit me like a bolt out of the blue through his Facebook SKC Fan Group. I was not prepared as I was not aware of him ailing.

25th June is a very special and private day for me for its when my idol and my biggest inspiration in my life, Deuta passed away... four years ago. It is spooky that SKC passed away on that very day. I felt as though somewhere in ether we connected and he gave me his blessings which I couldn’t get in flesh and blood. People like him should not be mourned for he will live forever. Today I took out some of his books and hugged them, a substitute for not being able to say my last goodbye and touch his feet.

SKC.. this is for you...
Eti Deobaror duporiyat, bagisat bohi moi apunak shrodhanjali jonalu. Ehaat dobar khelor dore, hothat apunar deha tu heral kintu siro dinoloi apuni Asomor Baputi Sahun hoi thakibo.
Mur eei xekh anurudh je moi xoidaiye jen apunar Gulam hoi thaku.

Shordhare
Eti
Bublee
(Sanchayita Sharma Goswami)
London Sunday 26th June 2011. 1.35pm)

Bloody Tea- 20 min film for Al Jazeera International, London

Wanted to share our film on Assam for Al Jazeera International (AJ). It’s been a while but the topic errupted yesterday when I was narrating our filming experience to a journalist friend. The Indian Army & the Intelligence gave us a pretty hard time throughout our journey in Assam. Hmm. We finally managed to film it. Just us two ladies and of course our driver. Three person crew. Btw, The film had to go on one name and Hazel having more experience was selected but like I care. Assam’s situation has been shown for the first time in AJ. Jobs’ done!
I understand it’s a grim subject . Assam is much more stable today than it was 5 years ago but we city dewellers shouldnt forget that prople are still suffering. My heart goes out to the people in the remote corners of Assam who have faced the unrest till date. All said and done, if we don’t tell our own stories, WHO WILL???
(Part 1 of the film below)


(Part 2 of our film) -
There were a lot of conspiracy going on while we were filming this documentary in Assam. Why would AL Jazeera be suddenly interested in Assam? Laden’s “so called spy’s “ are here. It gave us a bit of a laugh and I was in the papers for all the wrong reasons until I directly went to the required personal and levelled things up. After that it was a smooth ride...well ,sort of!

But the truth is, It took me six months to convince Al Jazeera to bring Assam’s Unrest to the world audience. My last pitch that worked was: Our men, women and children are also dying. Both rebels as well as armed force families have been effected and suffered. Do you mean they are not worthy enough of your TV slot? There has been unrest there for more than 30 years and you only concentrate on the middle east and Afghanistan. Wake up and smell the coffee.
Part 2:

Catherin'e powerful Story about turning herself around from her alcohol addiction

Thank you for sharing your story with me Catherine. I admire your strength determination and courage. Much Love!
Catherine Speaks about her Alcohol Addiction and how she turned it around. It was brave of her to talk to me, a complete stranger with just the two of us in the room and my camera. Admire her for turning her life around. Filming it was emotional yet inspirational as she is a success story.

Holy's Dual Diagnosis. California story for www.sovcal.com

Filming a corporate testemonial video for a rehab in Calfornia.
It was an experience in itself. Travelled across the pond with my ever fidling child. Filmed, intreviewed and editikng all by myself. it was lonely and the subject didnt help. got it done at last! Thanks for sharing your story with me. I know it's hard but proud of you for all the efforts.

Sixth Sense Ministry- Engineered by an Indian fellow- Pranab Mistry

The past emerged suddenly

I landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport in the wee hours of the morning. Bahadur and Lucky Singh were waiting outside to drive us to the domestic airport where we shall take our connecting flight to Guwahati. I was glad to leave behind the cold London winter and was looking forward to a few weeks of being pampered by my family. Just as I parked myself at the executive lounge for a cat nap, the Television Breaking news broke my sleep let alone my jetlag - Arobindo Rajkhuwa (AR) arrested. It brought back memories of my documentary on Assam. Too many thoughts gushed through my mind....

India Trip 2005: There comes a time in your life where you finally want to walk the walk and talk the talk. This was such a trip. I just showcased my first short film and the success it had at Cannes International Film Festival, France; boosted my adrenalin to embark on my burning desire within- A documentary on the families of ULFA.

Now, I am far from being a journalist. The only experience I have, like many, is that I grew up in the dysfunctional state of Assam in the mid eighties. My questions were from my gut, from a housewife, from a daughter of the same soil. I wanted to capture the humane aspect of it from a common man/woman’s perspective. The only rule I had for myself -don’t have any judgements, don’t show any emotions. Let them talk- this story is about them- not YOU. You shall get your answers along the way. Have patience. Easier said than done! I wanted to react badly to most of their answers but somehow refrained myself from doing so.

I had a sheltered childhood even though I was not remotely affected by the uprising. The only few memories I had was that when the lights went off while we were studying in the evenings, the black outs happened and in that silence one could hear gunshots in the nearby hills.... A man in the middle of the road in broad daylight, not far from my house had cut his chest and wrote from his blood- We Will Give Blood But Not Oil. (Tez Dim, Tel Nideu).. as if a warning to the Indian Government to stop exploiting Assam of its richness and to give back more. The road procession to Oil India campus during the Assam Agitation.. The endless trail of people walked passed our front door. I remember my parents getting buckets of water for the thirsty protesters. Today Assam has been liberally ploughed back with ample of money from the Central Government. The Assam Agitation followed by the new robin hoods that emerged and drifted away from the non violet agitators formed an armed group i.e. ULFA which had mass support and later the same ‘janta’ disowned them. What went wrong? What provoked or what motivated them to take up arms in the first place? What did they do to lose the trust from society later?

Friday December 23rd : Armed with just my driver in my dad’s old ambassador car, along with a trusted friend who could handle my camera, I was on my way to Upper Assam; to capture on film and to quench my thirst on a story what started as an uprising in the history of Assam: the formation of the most wanted separatist group in India- United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA).
My documentary revolves around the families of the banned outfit. For me, they are the real heroes, who despite all the harassment & humiliation, continues to survive and live within the society. The courage and endeavour they must have been through- their only fault being that they belonged to families of the banned outfit. Being under scrutiny 24/7, their phone calls tapped, insulted at their own premises, getting threatening calls, mental harassments and sometimes even physical torture for something they have not done makes me wonder how they cope with it all and still continues to smile and live a normal life. I love my privacy and thinking of it makes me cringe.

My first destination was Arobindo Rajkhuwa’s place in Lakuwa, a remote corner in Assam’s Sibsagar district. One evening I contacted Rajkhuwa’s brother Ajoy in a very seedy hotel in Poltonbazar, Guwahati. I was apprehensive but he turned out to be a middle aged, decent and humble man. After a little chat with me, he invited me to his place the following week and that is where I was heading. I was lost in Sibsagar. My flashy cell phone lost its network too and I stopped to make a phone call only to find out that it was a police reserve. There I was in the beginning of my journey- lost network, no proper destination address and not a single known face around me. As we drove down the dark narrow bumpy road with little electricity, it made me wonder how a boy from this remote area had a vision for his land. It’s usually the have-nots that have it in them and AR was a true example.

I wanted to reach before dusk but failed to do so. The Rajkhuwa household had prepared a feast but my sole intention was to have a word with Aaita, Rajhkuwa’s ailing mother. I wanted to have a quiet moment with her but that was impossible as the entire dynasty gathered to be introduced and I was being my decent self exchanging pleasantries. By the time I got Aaita all for myself, my camera light was not working and I had to film in whatever light that was available there.
Aaita was a frail yet emotionally strong lady. She could barely see and felt my hands most of the time. She hoped that I would bring back her son which I rectified. I was there to talk to her about my documentary. Regardless, we talked. Her emotions were just unfolding and all I did was held her hand. She is in her nineties yet her strength made me feel weak. The more we talked; anger filled my mind for her son and a question inside- How could she still long for him after all the unpleasantness she endured from the army and society. He misled her from the very beginning. One morning as she was weaving in her front veranda, he clicked one last snap of his mother saying that he was off to the Namghar (shrine) for a few weeks. Months later she found out that he had joined the outfit.

Aaita has lived many lives in one lifetime. She had the pride of being a freedom fighter’s wife. Years later, she was the Indian army’s target for being AR’s mother. If that was not enough she lost her first son to the secret killings that took place in the state. I have become almost blind crying all the time she said but I still hope to see xorupai (my youngest) one day. My last question to her: what will you say to him if you see him today? Without batting an eyelid she said- Ghoroloi gusi ah. Kheti kori kha- (Come home. Lead a simple farmer’s life here). I got very little sleep that night. Her words and her face were on my mind and added anger filled my mind for her son. My journey continued but her face stayed on my mind forever.

Back home in London I sat down to write to Arobindo Rajkhuwa- about my interaction with his mother and an email accusing him of what he had done to his mother and how could he hurt her deliberately. It was an email where I bombarded him with allegations and verbal brutality as I was certain, it would be a one way street. To my surprise an email arrived from the chairman himself, nothing aggressive compared to mine. Just saying -thank you for seeing my mother and for the photos. I miss her and have seen her after a very very long time. The last few last words saying - my motherland is greater than my mother.
Now this very man has been handed over by the Bangladesh government to the Indian intelligence. This all happened while he was just about to execute his exit from Bangladesh with his family and take a new secured shelter elsewhere. All we know is that no one has seen him since he joined the group. As I write this in Guwahati, he is just a few yards away from my home in Kahilipara where he is in safe housing. The media will flash his face over and over again from now onwards as the founder member and chairman of ULFA in custody. The Government might think that they just won a jackpot and that the key to their problem is under manacles.
The peace talks might be renewed but that to me is like boys with toys in a school playground- I shall bat, you ball and vice versa. You give me my boys back, we regroup, get stronger or is it just another senior level strategy that I have lost fate in?

These to me are very cosmetic. This will not get back our sheltered childhood, nor will it bring solace to the mothers who lost their loved ones in the decades of tragedy. Not even to the lady I met in Nowgaon during my filming, she had two sons- one joined ULFA, the other joined the police force- sadly both died- who is actually benefiting from this? Definitely not the people of Assam who are the real sufferers. Has anyone bothered to even ask their opinion?

Unless the government takes sovereignty in the agenda, no talks will happen with ULFA says their Commander in Chief Poresh Barua. Sovereignty is not in the constitution of the Indian Government. Now, the Indian constitution is a wonderful document and it can be amended as it has had 94 amendments in less than 60 years of its enactments. So what’s the harm in putting the word Sovereignty in the agenda? Amendments do not grant sovereignty, it will just open a dialogue and perhaps save millions of innocent lives and destructions in the coming years. What’s more important for the government? I feel everything in this world can be solved if people talk. The Government can decide if they want to amend the constitution again. Big Deal!
However, if we can address as to why it all started and if we can amicably solve that, I think we are laughing!

Bublee

memories of childhood

how many takes does it take