The news of a huge catch of ‘Sol’ fish in the pond popularly known as ‘Singi Pukhuri' had gone the round of the village. Many of the villagers had reportedly caught quite a sizable number of it simply by angling. Benu immediately took to his heels to run errands for his friend, Cheni, who however knew about it much earlier. Both were at their wit‘s end as none of them … [Read more...]
Lalit Saikia
Kathanibarighat : Mahim Bora (Translated by Lalit Saikia)
KATHANIBARIGHAT (A River station on the Brahmaputra) With huge collections of coal heaped around and the eroded bank of the Brahamputra laid bare, the greeny waves of the newly grown grassy weeds on river—silted sandy bosom vibrated to the last edge of vision. The river, during summer, reaches out as far as the gravelled road. It is receding now and it takes one to walk a … [Read more...]
Three Minus Three : Mahim Bora (Translated by Lalit Saikia)
It was a Sunday, the day of weekend marketing and a rest-day for the plough and the field. Purnakanta was awake and was sprawling in his bed with a long yawn. His eldest son was working out an arithmetical sum, possibly one of subtraction. Five cannot be subtracted from two, so a digit must be borrowed. And the figure becomes twelve and when five is subtracted from it, the … [Read more...]
The Little Toe : Mahim Bora (Translated by Lalit Saikia)
People pour in like a stream to see a newly—wed bride. The impact of a marriage seems doubled in the aftermath than in the wake of it From far-off villages relatives, old and young, thronged in, with a passionate desire to dine together and see the bride. The newlywed bride is Jogeswari. the consort of Someswar. Something, other than her usual bashfulness, seemed to make her … [Read more...]