Ex-AIR announcer eyes Limca records
By Ripunjoy Das
Ajoyananda Borah
Dibrugarh, Apr 22 : When Ajoyananda Borah first jotted down his thoughts in a personal diary as a schoolboy, he had no idea that his new hobby would become an abiding passion in the days to come or make him an aspirant for the Limca Book of Records.
Borah’s diaries would be hard to beat in terms of sheer volume but the 67-year-old’s claim to fame is a non-stop journey of half-a-century. “I cannot claim that my diary is a complete record of contemporary events or has literary value like that of Lakshminath Bezborua or cultural impact like the diaries of Bhabendra Nath Saikia. But my claim is the continuous and non-stop journey of half-a-century,” he said.
The former senior announcer of All India Radio, Dibrugarh, has been maintaining personal diaries for the past 49 years, from 1961, without a day’s break. His favourite pursuit entered its golden jubilee year in January this year.
If his feat is recognised, Borah will edge out present record holder Chandulall Chowdhary of Mumbai who has been writing diaries since 1965. Borah’s diaries have already gained entry into Asomiya Book of Records — first published in 2006 and edited by Santanu Kausik Baruah.
“Though I developed the habit of writing in 1954, when I just got admitted to Jamuguri High School in Sonitpur district, I do not have records of the initial years because most of the jottings were on loose pages,” Borah said. He started maintaining hardbound diaries from 1961 after he completed matriculation and got admitted to Darrang College, Tezpur.
Borah said he “was not directly influenced by anybody but indirectly inspired by my high school teachers like Biren Borkotoki, Keshab Mahanta, Golok Rajbongshi and Radhika Mohan Bhagawati.”
Born in 1943 at Biswanath Gymkhana European Club near Pabhoi TE, Borah started his career as a high school teacher after graduating in 1964.
Five years later, he joined the All India Radio (AIR), Dibrugarh, as programme announcer since its inception in 1969. He retired in 2003 after 35 years of service. His lesser known distinction is that he was one of the first four programme announcers along with actress Eva Achow, musician Hiren Gohain and literatteur Prafulla Chandra Bora.
He also produced several radio plays like Phani Sarma’s Kiyo and Rajani Kanta Bordoloi’s Manomati, Bir Chilarai and Socrates. He dramatised multi-episode serial novel reading like Chandra Prasad Saikia’s Tore More Alokore Yatra (50 episodes) based on the life and times of Jyoti Prasad Agarwala, B.K. Bhattacharya’s Iaruingam (25 episodes), Homen Borgohain’s Asataraag, Jogesh Das’s Dawar Aru Nai and Mamoni Raisom Goswami’s Dasarathir Khoj among others. Radio listeners of AIR, Dibrugarh, still remember Borah’s replies to letters in the popular programme, Dak Pakhili.
Now a resident of 26 Ajanta Path (Survey), Guwahati, Borah is legitimately seeking a place in the Limca Book of Records.
Apart from keeping records of national, international and important local current events, Borah has jotted down weather conditions, prices of commodities such as sandals, cloth, rice and pulses as well as stitching charges, hair cut, cinema tickets and train fares in his diaries.
“Raining after five months”, he noted on March 26, 2009. “No rain from 8th Oct, 2009 till date in Guwahati,” says an entry on February13, 2010.
Borah’s personal notes run into 17,900 pages but an index allows easy reference to the volumes.
Has he set a target similar to that of Col. Ernest Loftus of Zimbabwe, who holds the world record for writing diaries for 91 years? “It is simply impossible. I am already 67. Let me see how long I can continue. I will go on writing till the last day,” Borah said. Col. Loftus died at the age of 103 in 1987.
In the golden year of his diary writing, he has a message for the denizens of his state: “I urge everybody to start the habit of writing diaries and observe June 12 — the birthday of Anne Frank — as Diary Day in Assam.”
[ via The Telegraph India ]
The trademark suit sported by North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il, seen here in September 2009, is now in. 
