Nature India | Indigenus

Marital science ties

Why does a NASA astronaut’s visit to the idyllic north-eastern Indian state of Assam kick up such a frenzy? Because the astronaut is married to an Assamese-American.

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© NASA

Colonel Edward Michael Fincke recently received public felicitation in Guwahati, the capital of Assam, in a function organised by Friends of Assam and Seven Sisters (FASS). Assam’s illustrious son-in-law is married to Renita Saikia, who also works for NASA. Mike mama (maternal uncle), as he has come to be known in Assam, was Commander of the Expedition 18 mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

Earlier this year, this father of three children (called Chandra, Tarali & Surya — moon, star and sun in Assamese) addressed Assamese students live from the ISS, answering their innocent queries on life in space and stoking their ambition to step into his shoes when they grow up.

In one of his missions, Mike carried an Assamese Gamosa (scarf) and famously performed the Assamese folk dance Bihu in zero gravity in the ISS. He clicked hundreds of pictures of the north eastern states and Assam’s famous geographical landmark river Brahmaputra from space.

Now, that’s a great way of cross cultural, trans-border popularisation of science! Wonder why the government hasn’t yet utilised this avenue — international marital ties — to bring science to the grassroots in a big, concerted way.

Comments

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    Elroy said:

    Congratulations! Assamese-American is an Indian-American or what ? I should google for it. 🙂

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    Kang Otong said:

    Good information. I want include your rss feed to my rss reader.. Thanks..

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    Smuze said:

    Today I learned a new term – Assamese-American. This day wasn’t wasted!