Mar 15, 2024

Into the nativity

learning about my own legacy

when he neglects #

I have spent more or less 10 years of my life neglecting Assamese. I wasn't too keen with its grammar and literature even though it's the language I use for communication on a daily basis. I hate to admit, but I considered Assamese as an "inferior" language. I considered my own mother tongue to be "poor". Never have I ever was so ashamed of making a statement.

Maybe it was due to my compassion towards English and western lifestyle, maybe I had just taken it for granted or maybe I was ignoring my ignorance. I didn't "connect" with my own tongue. It slipped forgotten and remained there in the corner, full of dust, until last year.

Professor Khadane is one of the most brilliant people I have ever met. He had this thing, he made people question reality (so mind-boggling he was). People in academia are kind of weird. He told us to read in our mother tongue, and that only through it we can understand wholly and become good humans. And I thought, "huh, maybe I should try it."

This was all before I was into any of this: writing wasn't my passion, philosophy was an adversary. Those days I spent in the IIST Campus were of contemplation and revelations. I understood a little more about what I want.

when he learns #

Fast forward to the last quarter of 2023,

I started to read Assamese, and thankfully, I knew enough to read it (or else I would've been a big disgrace, eh?). I just had some problems while writing it. I wrote Assamese as frequently as I would take deworming medicines (i.e., very rarely).

I started reading those weekly regional newspapers, perhaps later that year, and they had short stories at the end. I liked them very much.

After taking some time to explore outside of the end-pages, I was baffled to see translated texts of English literature, philosophical talks (which I was getting into, in English). And suddenly, I felt proud. There was a sense of belonging. My ideas converged with my nativity. I was highly influenced by them. The ambition to create a movement came from reading a few articles there.

Soon, my mother got me some books that were packed my Grandma's trunk. I was so amazed to see them. I picked one up and started reading it. It was "Bohnisikha" (Rain of Fire) by Ranju Hazarika, a sci-fi apocalyptic tale. It was interesting.

Things changed when I picked up Jayanta Patowary's "Buddhijibir Atmasamarpan"(Intellectual's Surrender). It had themes like morality, modernity and its cons, society, intellectualism, people, etc. And man, it gave me a surreal experience. I didn't feel that it was written about 20 years ago; it felt as though it was written so recently. I want to translate it sometime.

Now, I feel this sense of connection and it's not explainable. I am learning new vocabulary and I feel grateful to have finally learn the real value of it.

One really shouldn't neglect their own language, their legacy. I want to live to see our generation, especially the ones living in urban areas to carry on our cultural heritage. It is crucial and indispensable.