BIBEKANANDA: A HARDWORKING DEVOTED TALENT

Jack Welch once remarked “To be a winner in this competitive world you need to be lucky; yet hard work and dedicated entrepreneurs seldom miss the luck”. This   remark amply describes the performance of Bibekananda Saikia. He along with his classmate Dhiren Kumar Borah started an engineering firm, of water management and construction, twenty five years ago, with mere Rs five thousand each as the capital. Due to utmost dedication and handwork, the firm’s turn over clocked multimillion rupees as on 2011. “Bibeknanada was a silent but extremely hardworking and dedicated person,” remarked his co-entrepreneur.

   Bibekananda Saikia, a co- founder of a well-known technological firm,” Eastern Engineers” has been an epitome of trust to his friends and public and private sector clients. The Eastern Engineers completed silver jubilee years of business and was an example of solid partnership for the state where most partnership endeavors failed. He died on November 23^rd of a brief but incurable illness. He was 65 years of age.

“Saikia”, the utterance of the name brings out a vibration of empowerment to many of his batch mate. They remember him as a decent and compassionate person. This quality of his endeared him among his fellow students in engineering college and later during his business dealings to his colleagues and staff. He graduated from Assam engineering college during the later part of sixties of last century.

 Initially he joined All India Radio as an engineer .After a few years he resigned the job to form an engineering consultancy and implementation firm along with his college pale.. The firm did some pioneering work in the field of Water Management and construction of water delivery system beside industrial, commercial and residential buildings. Many however, remember him for his musical talents. He was a percussionist mainly. Both Borah and Saikia Duo were role –model for budding and aspiring   engineering entrepreneurs of Assam. In Assam whenever some one pronounced the name of their fIrm everyone knew that it is a reference of reverence to the Business Duo who was known for their time bound work delivery, honesty and integrity.

A brilliant student all through he had his early education in Tinsukia, his place of birth, and later studied at Guwahati. He made his name not only as a brilliant student but became much more popular for his helping attitude towards his friends and class mates. He was a compassionate and kind person and this attitude of his reflected in the business dealings as well in social circle throughout his career and life. Not only his family but his classmates and contemporary students were proud of him.

Babul Saikia, a well-known planters from Magors reminiscenced that  “ Bibeka was so dependable that in case someone missed a class he would narrate the exact  class work taught on the day and help his fellow students. Bibeka was not only my class mate but was also my roommate. We lived together for years and there were no occasion when he lost his temper even against all odds”, he added.

Bibeka was a Hindu by birth but later he got attracted to Buddhist philosophy and joined BSG organization. He developed a deep faith in the Buddhist philosophy and could bear all pains of life without showing his agony. He died a valiant death. Perhaps he knew that he was afflicted by incurable dieses but never mentioned to anyone about his agony and sufferance. He came to this world with a cry, but lived with a smile and passed out with  grace. Bibeka is no more with us but his values of life still inspires his friends, colleagues, staff and members of his family. He left behind his wife, Chapakali Saikia and teenaged daughter Sanjibani. To him work was the worship. He was in fact a workaholic. The work was not a duty to him. It was a passion. He felt, only through dynamic work, the entrepreneurs not only could be able to achieve profitability but could also achieve salvation. In fact he applied the theorem of Buddhism into practice. “Work before self’ was his motto. He felt it was the selfless hard work that can only bring about the total inclusive growth with peace encompassing, industrial sector and social sector.

.Bibeka was a total person full of humility, honesty, integrity and hard work. He has remained as the poll Star to all of us to show us the path of honesty, integrity and social justice and to become a good human being. On the occasion of his Shradha Ceremony we remember his decent personality and offer our condolences to the bereaved family. We invoke the blessings of GOD for the peace of the departed Soul.

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                (G.P.BAROOWAH)