Mehjabin Hussain
Pursuit
of Excellence authored by Ankur Bora is a compilation
of biographical sketches of prominent personalities around the globe who have
had either their roots or some kind of connection with Assam and North-East of
India. As I read the chapters one after another, what I found most riveting is
that each and every individual featured in the book carries his own endearing
story of grace, charisma and humanity. Pursuit of Excellence is a storehouse of
information to every eager and aspiring student who has a dream to carve out
his own identity in life. The book is food for every visionary. It is a guiding
light to the clueless pupil. It can give direction to anybody who is not particularly
sure about the next move that he needs to make in his studies, research work,
social pursuits, business activities or any other career matter.
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| The Book release event on 6th January 2018 |
The book begins with an insightful foreword by Mitra
Phukan who is a reputed Indian author, translator and columnist. Indrani
Raimedhi columnist, author, journalist and Features editor, The Assam Tribune
applauds the work “The endeavor by Ankur
Bora is indeed laudable and brings to light the achievements of many Assamese
stalwarts. The book has great archival value and will serve as an inspiration
to future generations.” Pursuit of Excellence features the adventurous stories of incredible
achievers like Adil Hussain who is an Indian stage, television and film actor
who has worked in international movies like Life
of Pi ; Birubala Rabha who is a crusader against witch-hunting in India;
Manjil Saikia, a young math enthusiast, currently working as Research Fellow at
the University of Vienna, Austria, and co founder of a multilingual web
magazine called Gonit Sora ; Australia –based Dr. Rangam Rajkhowa, who has
assessed silk fibres sourced from India, eventually pioneering a new method to
treat ruptured eardrum; Rita Payne,
London-based Journalist and Media Adviser hailing from Assam; Rubul Mout who is
associated with gene editing technology ; and Dr. Rukmi Dutta, Senior Lecturer
in Energy Systems, The University Of New South Wales ( UNSW), Australia,
amongst other personalities from varied sectors.
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| Book review published in Assam Tribune |
The book documents the globally influential
leadership skills of Wahid Saleh who ,hailing from Rajabari, Jorhat, has
evolved into a social entrepreneur and
community leader based in Holland, having received the coveted Dutch honor, the
Knighthood in the Orange- Nassau , the Netherlands, and then also becoming the
recipient of the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, the highest award conferred by the
President of India, on overseas Indians. The book also profiles Dr. Rupakjyoti
Borah, currently a visiting research
fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies, Singapore; Dr. Sanchayeeta
Borthakur, astronomer and scientist at the John Hopkins University, USA; Dr. Surajit Borkotokey, a math enthusiast and
Professor of Mathematics, Dibrugarh University; Anwesha Mahanta, a versatile
Sattriya dancer; Gautam Prasad Baroowah,
the author of the book The Monk Who
Redefined the Concept of God ; Kilang Yanger from Nagaland who got featured
in the cover article of Genes and
Development, a reputed scientific journal ; Father Lukose, the Founder of the
Snehalaya Homes for the underprivileged ;and Manjil Hazarika, a dedicated
anthropologist, amongst others.
The stories
related to Peggy Carswell,
the founder of Fertile Ground and Suchismita Majumdar, Founder of Swabalambi,
make inspiring reading. Another remarkable personality featured in Pursuit of Excellence is Mike Fincke,
the American astronaut. As Chief Editor
of the Friends magazine, the author
of Pursuit of Excellence happened to get an
invitation to the NASA Johnson Space Center, and this incredible event in his
life is mentioned in the chapter on Mike Finchke. In another chapter titled as
‘ The Lone Ranger’ Ankur Bora reflects on his personal meeting and relationship
with Kuladhar Saikia, an officer of Indian Police Service.
Ankur Bora has also nominated several of the
organizations and people who are written about in this collection for
international awards. Some have gone on to win laurels and awards, such as
Pradip Kumar Sarmah, the founder of the Rickshaw Bank, (the Tech Awards)
innovator Uddhabh Bharali (Nasa Tech
Briefs )as well as groups such as Fertile Ground (Women’s World Summit
Foundation Award) which works to bring
awareness and change in several areas, and groups such as Swabalambi, the
organization that works for children with disabilities in the lower economic
sections of society, and others.
The writer has
featured nearly fifty people in the book. The essays were originally published
in The Assam Tribune, spanning a time
period of several years, during the course of which the readers of these prose pieces had reached out to the author
from different parts of the world, applauding the initiative taken by the
Dallas-based Software engineer to
express his intense feelings of affections , admiration and awe for an
entire multitude of people who have moved
and empowered him with a better understanding of human zeal, passion,
resourcefulness and fortitude.
The book Pursuit of Excellence was released by
Executive Editor Assam Tribune Mr. PJ Baruah at the Jeevan Kite and River
Festival on 6th January. The event also provided a platform for a
number of organisations working for women, children, differently able and
marginalised sections to share their experiences of working in their respective
fields. Mr. Baruah in his speech lauds the philanthropic activities which are
highlighted in the book. “From The Assam
Tribune, we would continue to support and promote such selfless service to
society, particularly towards the downtrodden. The more people know about such
activities, the stronger such movements grow” he added.
Pursuit of Excellence is definitely a laudable
project, for it will showcase the works and achievements, along with the
struggles, of these people. These stories serve as an inspiration to all but
especially to the younger section of Assam and North East. May it inspire them
to take forward this rich legacy of achievers.
( Mehjabin
Hussain is an author, freelance editor, compiler and English Teacher. She lives
in Jorhat, Assam.)
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| Mehjabin Hussain with Ankur Bora |
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