A Tribute to Subir Kumar Barua

I was deeply shocked to receive the message on 23rd October at night that our dear Ranju was no more. I, however, apprehended this after visiting him a few days ago at his residence at Harabala Path, Ulubari, Guwahati. About a month ago he had fallen down on the floor of his room, resulting in a brain haemorrhage followed by loss of memory. He had been shifted to the ICU of a city hospital and returned home in a precarious condition with the support of oxygen under the supervision of a nurse. The news of his death inflicted extreme pain upon me, and I became a bit nostalgic. Sweet memories are coming along my mind in a queue. But it’s no easy task to mention all within a limited space. Hence, I am jotting down in a nutshell about him.

Subir Kumar Barua, or Ranju, as we fondly used to call him, was the second son of the late Kshirode Chandra Barua and Hemalata Barua of the well-known Barua Family of Gauripur. Incidentally, they happened to be my uncle and aunt [Khura and khuri]. A cousin of mine, Ranju, being my contemporary, was also a good friend of mine. Khura was a PWD engineer. His was a transferable job. Once during his service life he was transferred to Shillong. Ranju had his school education there at the Govt. Boys’ High School till his matriculation. Following Khura’s subsequent posting at Dibrugarh, his college education started there at Kanoi College. Later, he studied for a B.Sc. at Guwahati Cotton College and did his M.Sc. in Anthropology at Gauhati University.

After having his postgraduate degree, he joined as the District Research Officer in the Department of Research under the Govt. of Arunachal Pradesh. As a bold, hard-working, honest and sincere officer, he served the department earnestly and with much credit. During his service life in Arunachal Pradesh, he had to be in many inaccessible places.

He retired from his service in 2004 as a deputy director. After retirement, Ranju settled in Guwahati.

A gentleman with an amiable disposition, humorous and a connoisseur of art and culture, Ranju was loved by all.

My prayers for his eternal peace on his Aadya Shraddha today.

– Trinesh Barua

Also Read: Tribute to Sardar Patel at Kalaguru Bishnu Rabha Degree College