Last Sunday, I had a chance to pick up Prof Girin Phukon from the Institute of Tai Studies and Research, Assam India at BKK airport. Prof Girin was invited to give a special lecture entitled The Tais of Northeast India and their Cultural Linkage with Southeast Asia at Mahidol University.

The lecture was very interesting and I have learnt a lot of thing that I didn't know before. Such as the Assamese are Hindu, not Bhuddist and they are not casted. The difference between Tai Ahom language and Central Thai language is that the Tai Ahom stopped to be developped for a long time and Central Thai language was predominately sanskritized.

The term " Tai" dealth with the pre-Bhuddist era where the indigenous Tai believed in anamism ( homely ghost). The path of migration of the Tai, for some Anthropologist, were divided into 4 routes (1) went to Laos (2) went to North Vietname (3) went to Chao Phaya delta where is nowadays the majority of Thai people are living (4) went to nowadays Assam.

The Assamese people, for me, don't look Thai, except the Tai kamti and Tai pakke. According to Prof Girin, the area studies topics regarding the Tai Ahom is rarely explored, and he suggested that the Government of Thai should do some cultural exchange program before the Tai would completely lose tie to each other.

As a native of the Northearn Thailand, I understand the Tai Ahom more than most Bangkokian.

Mahidol University has run the Master Degree Program in Indian Studies for a few years, and we have quite a difficult time filling the position of the lecturer of Hindi and Tamil.

According to www dot thaindian dot com, there are approximately 50000 indian working in the Kingdom ( Thai citizen with Indian parents are not counted), and the existence of Indian companies proves the dynamic business relationship between 2 countries.

I, myself, am interested to visit Dibrugarh in Assam in January ( Via Kolkata) to teach Thai for a month.

I think it would be fun.........