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Call for people oriented inclusive development

By Staff Reporter - 15 Sep 2010 12:00 AM GMT

GUWAHATI, Dec 16 � A common cause of big dams brought two States together on Thursday as men of letters from Maharashtra and Assam instantly bonded while voicing their concern over the human predicament caused by the development projects conceived without the human face.

The pain and angst of men displaced by big dam projects and depicted poignantly in the Sahitya Akademi award winning novel Jhadajhadati by Biswas Patil of Maharashtra has touched the hearts of people of Assam as prominent writers including Mamoni Raisom Goswami profusely praised the novel and emphasized on development with a human face. This novel has been translated into Assamese as Bidirna Baghjae by Pankaj Thakur and was released today by Goswami at a function held in the auditorium of the Assam State Museum.

Goswami said that the theme of Biswas Patil�s novel was very relevant and that the people of Assam can immediately relate to it because the State too is seeking an answer to the controversial issue of proposed mega dams. She also praised the translation of Thakur mentioning that the translator has beautifully captured the soul of the novel in Bidirna Baghjae.

�We need development, but development should always be people oriented and inclusive,� said Goswami.

Biswas Patil who was present at the function said that he was happy to see that his book was accepted by the people of Assam and added that his novel was inspired by the experiences of real life people.

�My novel deals with a topical and controversial issue. It is the story of the sufferings of the people displaced by development projects like dams,� said Biswas adding that his novel does not decry development, but insists on progress with a human face.

It needs to be mentioned here that Patil�s novel has not only been critically acclaimed, but also registered huge commercial success after its release.

On the other hand Pankaj Thakur said that he felt it a great privilege to translate such a moving book.

The function was attended by many eminent persons including RK Mukhopadhya, regional secretary, Sahitya Akademi, Kolkata and Dr Lakshminandan Bora.