Mondeep Das

BookWorm/CinePhile
Simple bloke livin' the life in muddle

[Joy Bhattacharjya @joybhattacharj]

I still find it difficult to fathom the kind of belief and courage that Indians took from the words of a 72 year old man whose language and accent they probably did not understand most of the time.
It's the 84th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's epic speech at Gowalia Maidan asking the Brits to Quit India, and the reactions around the country were stunning.
Lohia and JP in Bihar, Ballia, Bangalore, Talcher, Satara, Tamluk. Satara and Tamluk had parallel governments that lasted for over a couple of years.
A teenaged Kanaklata Barua shot dead in Gohpur while carrying the tricolour. 72 year old Matangini Hazra martyred in Tamluk, more than 100,000 arrested.
The Quit India Movement was a watershed moment in our freedom struggle and the stories of those heady days are amazingly inspiring.

[Joy Bhattacharjya @joybhattacharj]

This is Kokura, the luckiest town in the world.
On 6th August, 1945 the town of Kokura was the back-up target for the atom bomb in case Hiroshima was obscured. It wasn't, and Kokura, an ammunitions hub, was spared.
Two days later, Kokura was the main target. The town was clearly visible initially, but while the B-29 bomber waited for an accompanying plane to catch up, clouds and smoke obscured the town and forced the Americans to instead bomb the back-up target, Nagasaki.

[Nibir Deka @nibirdeka]

Why is Sivasagar Flooding in this year's Assam floods?

For the last few days, one question has kept coming up. "How is Sivasagar flooding?"

People who have lived there for decades tell me they have never seen anything like this. Sivasagar and Charaideo were never districts that defined Assam's annual flood story. We grew up associating floods with the Brahmaputra chars, Dhemaji or Lakhimpur.

The answer doesn't begin in Assam. It begins in Nagaland.

Between July 19 and 20, districts like Mon, Mokokchung and Wokha received rainfall that was between 435 and 490 per cent above normal. Nearly five times the rainfall these hills would ordinarily receive. Today these districts have badly suffered due to landslides. In Mon district itself, at least nine people have been confirmed dead.

When the hills receive that much water, gravity takes over. The rivers don't ask where one state ends and another begins.

As for Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat and others, the water came rushing downstream with very little time to spare. By the time it reached Assam, rivers like the Dikhow had become something entirely different.

Entire neighbourhoods that had never imagined floodwaters at their doorstep suddenly found themselves underwater. Homes became islands overnight.

Families climbed onto rooftops waiting for rescue boats. This is not the Assam flood we have learnt to live with. This is a new geography of disaster.

And if you think the worst is already over, one statistic should stop all of us.

Even now, nearly 20 to 25 per cent of the affected areas have still not been reached because roads remain submerged and connectivity has been cut off.

Imagine that. Days after the flooding, there are still thousands of people we simply haven't been able to reach.

Some are waiting for food. Some for medicines. Some are simply waiting for someone to know they are still alive.

Floods don't end when the rain stops. They end when the last family returns home.

Until then, this remains everyone's responsibility.

If you can donate, donate. If you can volunteer, volunteer. If you cannot do either, then do something equally important.

Keep talking about Assam floods.

[Piyush Goyal @PiyushGoyal]

असम की प्रसिद्ध GI-टैग प्राप्त तेजपुर लीची अब विदेशी बाजारों में अपनी मिठास बिखेर रही है।

@APEDADOC के सहयोग से तेजपुर लीची की पहली निर्यात खेप दुबई रवाना हुई। इस कदम से यहां की लीची को वैश्विक पहचान मिलेगी, किसानों को बेहतर मूल्य प्राप्त होगा और पूर्वोत्तर भारत के कृषि उत्पादों के लिए नए अवसर सृजित होंगे।

[Joy Bhattacharjya @joybhattacharj]

Bhimrao Ambedkar sat on a gunny sack at school & had to wait for the peon to give him water as being an untouchable he could not touch the tap or surai.
When he passed the 4th standard in school his Mahar community wanted to organize a feast as no one had studied that far.
He was the first Indian to obtain a Doctorate in Economics from abroad. His work ' Waiting for a Visa' was a textbook in his alma mater, Columbia University. He was a prolific reader, with a personal library of over 50,000 books even though he lost a whole lot when the ship bringing his books from his Columbia days was torpedoed.
His work, 'The Problem Of The Rupee : Its Origin And Its Solution' and his presentation to the Hilton Young Commission is regarded as one of the primary inspirations behind the creation of the RBI
He led the team that drafted our constitution. He opposed Article 370, wanted a uniform civil code & resigned when his Hindu Code bill demanding equal share for women in inheritance & equal status in marriage was stalled in parliament.
On B R Ambedkar's birth anniversary, remembering a giant.

[Krishna Dharma @KrishnaDharma]

Only those unmoved by the incessant flow of desires are peaceful, not they who strive to satisfy them. #Bhagavadgita

[Awesome Assam @aweassam]

The revered Batadrava Than, the birthplace of the 15th century Vaishnavite Saint, cultural revolutionary and social reformer Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev, is spiritually and culturally very significant in Assam. For preserving and strengthening this spiritual and cultural heritage, the site has been rejuvenated to match its grandeur.

#AwesomeAssam
#ExploreAssam
#BatadravaThan
#SrimantaShankardev
#SpiritualSojourn
@CMOfficeAssam
@himantabiswa
@RanjeetkrDass

[Physics In History @PhysInHistory]

𝐍𝐢𝐤𝐨𝐥𝐚 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐥𝐚 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 💭

The mind is sharper and keener in seclusion and uninterrupted solitude. No big laboratory is needed in which to think. Originality thrives in seclusion free of outside influences beating upon us to cripple the creative mind. Be alone, that is the secret of invention; be alone, that is when ideas are born.

— as mentioned in ‘An Inventor's Seasoned Ideas’ (1934)

📷 Nikola Tesla Archives

[Harsha Bhogle @bhogleharsha]

What an inspired appointment Temba Bavuma has been. Quietly, and with dignity, he is taking South African cricket to wonderful heights.

[Shashi Tharoor @ShashiTharoor]

My article in @the_Hindu this morning looks at Delhi’s chronic air quality crisis, analyses the multiple factors involved & suggests a way forward:

[Joy Bhattacharjya @joybhattacharj]

“Zindagi to apne damm par hi jiyi jati hey..dusro ke kandhe par tohh shirf janaje uthaye jate hain.”
Live life on your own terms. You need the support of others only as the pall bearers at your funeral.
Bhagat Singh, unforgettable & inspirational.
Born on this day in 1907

[𝗠𝗮𝗮𝘇 @ibeingMaaz]

"The Real Motivation From the Real Chad '#SalmanKhan ' My Spirit Animal 🔥

[The Northeast Dialogue @TheNEdialogue]

Zubeen Garg’s melodies knew no boundaries. 🌍

An old video of the U.S. Air Force Band performing his iconic “Mayabini Raatir Bukut” has resurfaced, reminding us how his voice touched lives far beyond Assam.

This heartfelt tribute on an international stage celebrates not just his music, but the universal power of art to bridge cultures and souls. 🎶❤️

India lost its singer, Assam lost its heartthrob, and the Northeast lost its rockstar — but his songs will forever echo across the world.

#ZubeenGarg #Mayabini #Assam #LegendLivesOn

[Dimpy Koch @DimpyKoch]

#ZubeenGarg Assam lost its last icon.

An Obituary: Zubeen Garg (1972–2025)

With the passing of Zubeen Garg, Assam has lost not just a beloved artist but the last Assamese icon of this millennium. Icons are born when history and circumstance collide to make one individual the face of a people, their longings, their griefs, and their joys. After Bhupen Hazarika, it was only Zubeen who carried that impossible burden. He was not merely a singer—he was a phenomenon, an attitude, a bridge between the old soul of Assam and its restless new generation.

Zubeen came at a time when Assam was bruised and fragmented, yearning for voice and visibility. His music, his raw irreverence, his stubborn independence gave people something to rally around. He sang for the silences, for the streets, for the river islands, and for those who had lost faith that their language and culture could ever find mass resonance again.

He was a contradiction—fragile yet fearless, unpredictable yet dependable in the way only true artists are. He could make the air tremble with his voice in an intimate hall, or roar like the Brahmaputra before lakhs in an open ground. His presence was never just performance—it was communion.

After Zubeen, there will be singers, celebrities, influencers. Some will have immense popularity. Some may even become national names. But they will not be icons in the way Zubeen was. The age of icons has ended because icons are not manufactured; they are born of cultural turning points, of shared hardship, of collective memory. Assam will love many artists in the years to come, but the singular electricity, the embodiment of a people’s heartbeat—that chapter has closed with him.

For those of us who lived in Zubeen’s time, he will remain a reminder that Assam could still dream in its own voice. For those who come later, he will be a myth, a legend retold in songs and stories. For his family and loved ones, an irreplaceable absence. For Assam, an eternal icon.

Zubeen Garg was the last Assamese icon of this millennium. His music will echo long after the microphones fall silent, because he gave us not just songs, but a sense of who we were.

[Krishna Dharma @KrishnaDharma]

Like fruit laden trees, the wise bow low in humility.

[CinemaRare @CinemaRareIN]

#BhupenDaUncut, a documentary by @bobbeeta_sharma premieres Sept 7th in Guwahati, showcasing rare 1999 footage and unseen poems to mark Bharat Ratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika's centenary.

#BhupenDaAt100

[Joy Bhattacharjya @joybhattacharj]

Netaji's speech to the INA, 1943
..You have voluntarily accepted a mission that is the noblest that the human mind can conceive of. For the fulfillment of such a mission no sacrifice is too great, not even the sacrifice of one's life. You are today the custodians of India's national honour and the embodiment of India's hopes and aspirations. So conduct yourself that your countrymen may bless you and posterity may be proud of you.
I have said that today is the proudest day of my life. For an enslaved people, there can be no greater pride, no higher honor, than to be the first soldier in the army of liberation. But this honor carries with it a corresponding responsibility and I am deeply conscious of it. I assure you that I shall be with you in darkness and in sunshine, in sorrow and in joy, in suffering and in victory. For the present, I can offer you nothing except hunger, thirst, privation, forced marches and death. But if you follow me in life and in death, as I am confident you will, I shall lead you to victory and freedom. It does not matter who among us will live to see India free. It is enough that India shall be free and that we shall give our all to make her free. May God now bless our Army and grant us victory in the coming fight !
Inqualab Zindabad ! Azad Hind Zindabad !

[Nibir Deka @nibirdeka]

40 years of Assam Accord

Today the accord was signed on August 15, 1985 after a long anti-foreigner movement.

[Tea Board India @teaboardofindia]

Blessed by rich loamy soil, generous rains, and a climate unlike any other — Assam crafts some of the world’s finest orthodox leaf teas.
#AssamTea #IndiaTea #IndianTeaLove #IndiaTeaAndMe

[Joy Bhattacharjya @joybhattacharj]

To have two series like Ind Aus 20-21, and Ind Eng 2025 within five years beggars belief. Two of the finest test series in our history!
And no scriptwriter could have written this ending better!