I love poems and I got this temperament as an ancestral gift. The other such gift I got is music. My grandfather was a musician and he beautifully played more than eight instruments like organ, clarinet, flute, tabla etc. He gave me the knowledge of musical notes and  taught me how to play organ in the year 1994. I remember him performing Jyoti Sangeet and playing organ accordingly. “Golapi xokhir aji mon hol usaton” is the first song I played with organ. Then I learnt Borgeet from him. After unsuccessful treatment of cancer at CMC, Vellore, he returned back but denied to stay with us saying that he wanted to take his last breadth in that place where he passed his whole youth. He went back to the village and after a few weeks, passed away in the summer of 2003 at an age of 84. He expressed to me a lot of old-time poems, sayings and parables, some of which I remember still. He was a support of me which I have lost ineradicably. I miss him very much.

 

Afterwards I learnt mouth organ and now I am learning guitar. Guitar will be my good company till the end of my time, I feel.

 

The greatest teacher of my life is my father. I remember when I was a kid and I never saw a train, I asked my dad how a train looks like. That evening, he took me to the railway station, bought platform tickets and showed me the train, the engine, it’s large wheels and the whistle. It was a meter-gauge steam engine that ran between Nagaon and Silghat. That day I knew that like in theaters, to enter into the railway platform to watch trains you should buy platform ticket or cops will catch you. These all seems amusing to me now. My father is a great reader. There are more than 1000 books by prominent assamese writers in his office library. I lost a few books from that collection which are now not available in the market for which  I regret now and then. When I was a kid, he regularly bought me several magazines like Safura, Mauchaq, Chandamama and Natun Abiskar. I have this grand old collection with me till now. You may see a fraction of it in the online library of this site. The habit of reading is with me still and I read any book I get.

 

I have come across a lot of good peoples and they influenced me in many different ways. It will be a matter of disdain if I don't mention three persona here at this chance. Pankaj Singh, more than a friend and beyond brotherhood to me. “Pankaj Bhai, Milna hai ek baar”. The other person is Tarun Kumar, my usual tablemate. “TK; check kar lena yaar is page ko ek baar, bahut barbaad kiya tune mujhko,lekin power nahi ghata abhi tak mera, miss you”. Then Annu, he is like my younger brother “ tu hamesha yaad aayega”.

                                                                                           - Debajit Baruah, 8th of June, 2007.