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Assamese lingo from outer space

PHOTO: Ritu Raj Konwar

SPACE TALK: Students of Axam Jatiya Vidyalaya talk over the phone to NASA astronaut Edward Michael Fincke, in Guwahati on Wednesday. —

Guwahati: “We have heard that you are learning Assamese in space through Assamese flashcards. “Apuni Asomiya kobo pareneki [Can you speak Assamese?],” Dhrubajyoti Das, a student of the Axam Jatiya Vidyalaya in the city, asked NASA astronaut Edward Michael (Mike) Fincke on Wednesday.

“Moi alop Asomiya kobo paru [I can speak a little Assamese],” came the reply from Fincke, aboard the International Space Station (ISS), 350 km away from the Earth’s surface.

Fincke shared with Gitratha Kalita, another student, the unique experience of astronauts aboard the ISS — they get to see 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets a day.

Seven boys and seven girls, all candidates for the High School Leaving Certificate examination, had the rare opportunity of talking live from their campus to Fincke. The live talk was facilitated by the Friends of Assam and Seven Sister (FASS), a non-profit organisation. “Mike is carrying with him a special Assamese silk gamocha which he and other astronauts will autograph in the ISS and which he will carry back to the Earth,” says FASS India secretary-general Bidyananda Barkakoty.

Fincke is married to Assamese-American Renita Saikia, who also works with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

AJV rector Ranjit Narayan Deka was the first to speak to Fincke and he introduced the school to the astronaut. In the over 10-minute conversation, the students asked him: “Can you sleep normally inside the spaceship? How do you set your sleeping and waking times? How do you manage water? Do you recycle or manufacture water? How do you take a bath? Is it possible to take a shower inside the spacecraft? Can you see any manmade or natural structures on the Earth?”

And they received interesting replies. The astronauts said they recycled urine, manufactured oxygen and recycled carbon dioxide, but could not have a shower in the space station and could only wipe themselves clean with a towel. The astronauts said they could see large objects on the Earth’s surface like the Great Wall of China and the Pyramids.

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Assamese lingo from outer space

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