Jugal Kalita

Guwahati, March 17: The finest Assamese music, from Bishnu Rabha’s soul-stirring compositions to the latest chartbusters by pop’s poster boy Zubeen Garg, is playing at an Internet radio station in faraway Colorado Springs.

Every Friday, at 10 pm IST, log on to http://radio.uccs.edu, pump up the volume of your computer speakers and let Windows stream some of the best selections of soulful Assamese music.

This gift to music-loving Netizens comes from US-based Assamese NRI Jugal Kalita. His show on Assamese songs is titled Beyond Borders and aims to take music from “unknown parts of the world” to a larger audience through the magic of instant Internet communication.

In an e-mail to The Telegraph, Kalita, who hosts the programme himself, said: “My initial focus is to play music from Assam, where I feel India, Bhutan, Tibet, China, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand come together.”

It helps that he is technology-savvy, being an associate professor in computer science at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. He founded the Internet-based radio station at the university last year.

After the login process is over, a Net surfer has to click on the “windows stream” icon on the webpage to enjoy the show.

“As time goes on, I will play music from other regions that defy national borders,” Kalita said.

He has lined up Bihu songs and compositions by Jyotiprasad Agarwalla, Bishnu Rabha, Bhupen Hazarika and Jayanta Hazarika for future editions of his shows. “I am trying to find music from Bhutan, other parts of the Northeast, Tibet and Thailand to play in future shows along with songs from Assam.”

Kalita’s last show featured songs from Zubeen’s album Sishu, which is a tribute to his sister Zonkee, who died in an accident.

Hailing from Nagaon, Kalita moved to the US for higher studies after passing out from IIT, Kharagpur. Last year, he was at the Tezpur Central University for a month as visiting professor.

Kalita describes himself as a teacher who is the “product of the circumstances of my birth, intellectual development and life experiences that have shaped my personality. “I grew up in a house with reed walls, a thatched roof and mud floor with no electricity. Whatever I have accomplished in life is by dint of family and societal encouragement and support, perseverance and focused diligence,” he said.

His creations on the Net include the website assam.org, one of the most comprehensive portals on the state. Assamnet, the website’s discussion board, has become the most popular meeting place in cyberspace for Assamese people staying in different parts of the globe.