MANGALDAI: Assam People’s Welfare Association (APWA) at Trans -Yamuna region of DELHI NCR while celebrating its 10th Foundation Day organized a close interaction with a ‘Worthy Son of Assam’ Gouranga Lal Das, a celebrated member of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS 1999 batch), presently serving as the Joint Secretary, East Asia, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, as the guest of honour in the inaugural session of the ‘Antaranga Aalap’ on Saturday at Noida Haat. ‘Antaranga Aalap’ is a new initiative of the APWA to invite distinguished people with exceptional talent originally hailing from Assam. It aims to provide opportunities for the community to learn from intimate and meaningful conversations with these scholars and experts.
The welcome address was delivered by the president of APWA, Dr Bhupendra Kumar Sarma, followed by an introduction of the illustrious career of Das by the compere of the evening, Dr Manmee Bhattacharjya. Bikash Jyoti Hazarika, the Vice President of APWA, accorded a hearty welcome with the ceremonial Gamosa and a statuette as a token of appreciation to Gauranga Lal Das and his wife Harsha Dass IRPS serving as the Chief Personnel Officer (G), Northern Railway.
The main event commenced with the interview with Gouranga Lal Das, conducted by Uday Bhaskar Bora, a prominent member of APWA’s Executive Committee. Covering a sweeping swathe of time, from his childhood to his international assignments entrusted by the Government of India, Das kept the audience riveted with anecdotes and informative inputs for over two hours. Every query of Uday Bhaskar Bora was met with witty responses and thought-provoking insights from the Joint Secretary. In regular interludes, Das answered the queries made by the audience with empathy and acumen.
His discussion ranged from childhood days of Das, his higher education, the preparations he did for UPSC, his experiences in China while on deputation, to his exploration of the literature of Dr Bhabendra Nath Saikia, which he started reading since his second standard and continues to enjoy to this day. Significantly Gauranga Lal Das has translated more than 50 of Dr Saikia’s stories. With his fluency in ten languages, both national and international, Das expounded at length on how to gain command over any language. He also provided insights into his close interaction with two Prime Ministers of India, Dr Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi.
A highlight of the event was the screening of three specially recorded audiovisual where prominent personalities from Assam who know Das well shared intriguing anecdotes about him. Dr. Anupam Saikia, a Cambridge Scholar and professor of Mathematics at IIT Guwahati, reminisced about Gouranga as a humble yet confident student. Gouranga Lal Das was two years junior to Dr. Saikia at St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi, where they often engaged in lively “adda” sessions in Gouranga’s hostel room. Dr. Bhaskar Choudhury, CEO of an American multinational company and founder of the Assamese educational website www.kagojornao.com, spoke about Gouranga’s linguistic prowess. Guwahati City Police Commissioner Diganta Barah also fondly recalled their shared school days, noting that while Gouranga Lal Das topped the HSLC examination, he was placed second. He also mentioned that he received UPSC study notes from Gouranga Lal Das, among which he discovered English translations of Dr. Bhabendra Nath Saikia’s stories.
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