A conversation that travelled through a red bus and a blue bicycle

Former Assam DGP and Sahitya Sabha President Kuladhar Saikia sat down for a candid conversation with veteran journalist Bitupan Borborah, and it was much more than a literary dialogue.

From recalling his first story “Bagh (Tiger)” written in Class 6, to being scolded by a teacher for another story in Class 8, Saikia spoke about how storytelling is instinctive to human existence.

“Humans tell stories because they can. A crow cannot narrate pain but humans can,” he reflected.

Nostalgia flowed freely especially the Red ASTC bus, a symbol of shared journeys and everyday life, which later found its way into his writing. For Saikia, the bus was not transport as it was society in motion.

What makes Kuladhar Saikia unique is the thin line he walks between the State and Society. As a former DGP, he represented the state at its highest level yet as a writer, he wrote about common people, emotions, and lived experiences that transcend geography and class.

One of the most striking moments came when he spoke about the economics of language thereby questioning why a language should survive if it offers no social or economic leverage, citing everyday examples like people unable to use their mother tongue at workplaces.

Saikia belongs to a rare breed of writers who make non-writers feel included, who open literature to everyday readers and not just intellectual circles.

Perhaps that’s why people still call him from across Assam, telling him they “feel peace” knowing Assamese has been granted Classical Language status.

A life lived between power and people, authority and empathy, this conversation was a reminder of why Kuladhar Saikia remains deeply connected to the masses, not just through uniform or office, but through words.