TEZPUR, May 22 - The Assam Association of North America (AANA) conducted a global webinar on May 16 with Asam Sahitya Sabha president Dr Kuladhar Saikia. It was for the first time that a president of Asam Sahitya Sabha addressed a global audience of more than 80 people in the 100-year history of the Sahitya Sabha, a release stated.
Assamese organisations and Asam Sahitya Sabha chapters from various parts of the world, along with participants from Australia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Oman, Kuwait, India (Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru), Scotland, Britain, Netherlands, Canada and the US availed of the opportunity to listen to Saikia and participate in a question and answer session.
Saikia emphasised that the Asam Sahitya Sabha is a very important nation-building tool. He dispelled the misunderstanding that participation in the Sabha was limited to writers and scholars � it is open to all individuals who love Assam, its language, and culture. He discussed the importance of preserving old Assamese literature by digitisation, developing creative ways to engage the next generation of Assamese, focus on enriching the language with words and phrases from other dialects spoken in the State.
The global Assamese community exchanged ideas on promoting and preserving the language, with an assurance to assist Asam Sahitya Sabha in any way possible.
The webinar began with a keynote by AANA president Suranjoy Hazarika, and Dr Shakuntala Choudhury, president of the North American Chapter of Asam Sahitya Sabha. The event was moderated by AANA general secretary Dr Jonali Baruah.
