pune acclaimed assamese filmmaker jahnu barua went down memory lane and recalled his days in pune when he was doing his postgraduation diploma in film direction from the film and television institute of india ftii barua was in the city to receive the bhupen hazarika national award instituted by punebased social organization sarhad which has been working to connect people from the border areas to the mainstream this is the first year of the award former chief minister of assam prafulla kumar mahanta bestowed the award on barua in a function organised at s m joshi hall on sunday every experience in life teaches you something if you dont harbour bitter feelings in your heart and embrace life with open arms said barua a recipient of the padmashree barua has won nine national awards for his films maine gandhi ko nahin mara a film directed by him won the prestigious fipresci the international association of filmcritics award in 2005 recalling his days in pune back in 1971 barua said pune is my second home the years i spent here as a are the best period of my life the city has taught me many things when i landed in pune for my interview at ftii i ran out of money within a few days so i had to telegram my elder brother to send a moneyorder so that i could gain admission and foot the bills of the lodge where i was staying prior to the admission it took a while for the money to reach and during this time i spent three nights on the benches in sambhaji garden years later when i got married i visited the garden again with my wife barua said pointing to the vast changes in the citys landscape barua said as a member of the governing council at ftii i keep coming to pune i feel claustrophobic now barua said he was touched to get the award which is named after bhupen hazarika as he considered hazarika his guru mahanta said that hazarika was the voice of assam both in the country and abroad assam and maharashtra have long history of brotherhood and we need to take this bond further he said the bhupen hazarika national award is given to those from the northeast who have been trying to connect the region with the rest of the country in their respective fields the award constitutes rs 51000 a trophy and a citation jahnu barua has rendered valuable service to this region by dealing with several social cultural issues of the northeast in his films he has won accolades for accomplishing artistic excellence while creating a strong bridge between the northeast and the rest of india said sanjay nahar of sarhad