[Assam] The Hour Before Dawn / Ontorip / Ognisnan etc

[Rajen Barua]

Friends:The Hour before Dawn is a translation of the Assamese novel 'Ontorip' by late Dr. Bhabendra Nath Saikia. The book is published byPenguin India.  I wrote a review on the translation of the book in Assam Tribune which was published this week. You may see it in the link below.http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/showpage.asp?id=aug1310,13,81,141,1002,831There is a bit of good news also. The book, The Hour Before Dawn has been nominated for the Vodafone-Crossword Book Award in the translation category. It's one of the four translations shortlisted, and we will know the results at a function in Mumbai on the 20th, which will be attended by Maitreyee Siddhanta (the translator) as well as by Mrs Preeti Saikia. (wife of late Dr Bhabendra Nath Saikia). Let us keep our fingers crossed. However, Maitreyee wrote to me, "I must admit, that all the positive feedback that I have received makes me feel like a winner already - award or no award."It may be noted that the first part of the book was made into an popular Assamese movie 'Ognisnan'. Malaya Goswami was the heroine of the movie.Please see the following related News item from Houston:On Saturday, June 12th the Assamese community of Houston arranged a small get together to honor three prominent women from Assam who visited Houston for their outstanding contribution in their respective areas. They are as follows:Malaya Goswami who is highly acclaimed for her screen performances in Assam as well as India, debuted in Dr.Bhabendranath Saikia’s film “Ognisnan” (based on the novel, Ontorip). She played the role of Menoka in Ognisnan. The film received the National award in 1985 for the Best Screenplay. In 1992, Malaya Goswami received the Best Actress award in India, for her role in Jahnu Barua’s film, “Phiringoti”.Preeti Saikia, wife of the late Dr. Bhabendra Nath Saikia, has managed the sets of all of Dr. Saikia’s films, and has been the Producer for some of his films. She currently manages the rights to his publications, films, and is the Managing Trustee of Aarohan. There are approximately 600 children currently enrolled at Aarohan from low incomefamilies, who receive training free of cost in Dance, Drama, Arts, Computers, Music, and various other fields. Mrs. Saikia is also currently managing the implementation of the Dr. Bhabendra Nath Saikia Institute of Media Studies (BIMS), a Masters Degree program, in conjunction with the Dibrugarh University in the fields of Television, Radio Broadcasting, Print Journalism, and Cinema. This Degree Program is scheduled to be launched in September 2010.Nishita Goswami is Malaya Goswami’s daughter, and is a leading actress in Assam. She has performed in several Assamese films including “Dinobondhu,” a story by Dr. Bhabendra Nath Saikia, directed by Munin Barua. She played the lead in this film along with Zubeen Garg. She is currently shooting for the film “Ramdhenu” along with Tapan Das, produced by Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, owner of the TV channel News Live, directed by Munin Barua, Music by Zubeen Garg. She came to celebrate her post shooting vacation in Houston, Texas.Malaya Goswami demonstrated her talent by rendering the final dialogue of the award winning movie "Ognisnan". Mrs. Preeti Saikia gave a little briefing about her institution Aarohan, and Nishita entertained the audience by performing the theme song from the movie :”Titanic”.Rashmi Saikia (daughter of late Dr Bhabendranath Saikia) of Houston video taped the function for DY365.BTW, the novel The Hour Before Dawn is also available in www.amazon.com for the global readers.  http://www.amazon.com/Hour-Before-Dawn-Translation-Assamese/dp/0143063855/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t