Kusum Devi: A Tribute

Our bor-maa Kusum Devi was born in 1941 at Krishnabi hari near Demow in Sivasagar district. Fourth among seven children of the late Debendranath Borthakur, she was married to my bor-deuta the late Ramendra Nath Sarma in 1955 when she was hardly fifteen years of age. Since my bor-deuta first served in the Digboi Refinery after being part of the great Burma Evacuation operation in the Second World War, Kusum bor-maa also spent the first decade of her married life in the refinery town. In 1964, she shifted to Duliajan when bor-deuta joined Oil India Ltd. As the family finally settled down at Moran, Kusum bor-maa spent the last three decades or more there until her death on January 15. Despite being deprived of completing high school education, Kusum bor-maa was a storehouse of information, had an amazing memory, and could easily recall various incidents and experiences, apart from names of the remotest of relatives. A mother of four daughters and a son, Kusum bor-maa was lady with a strong heart who took it on her stride the sudden and rather untimely death of bor-deuta in 1993, as well of a son-in-law and a daughter in the subsequent years. Having special affection for me, she would always be the first to call during bihu and other occasions. This time round, she missed it as she took ill in the evening of Uruka and passed away on January 15. On her adya-shraddha today, I pray to the Almighty on behalf of all family members, to grant eternal peace to her departed soul.

-Samudra Gupta Kashyap.