Mamoni Raisom Goswami

Mamoni Raisom Goswami is one of the very popular name in the field of Assamese literature who has bagged many prestigious awards like Sahitya Akademi Award and Jnanpith Award including various other recognition during her lifetime. She was not only a noted writer and litterateur but also a teacher, poet, peace adorer and a lively person. She was born to a Brahmin family of Umakanta Goswami and Ambika Devi in Guwahati, Assam on 14 November 1942 and has led a very eventful life. Her family was deeply associated with Sattra life of the Ekasarana Dharma. She studied at Latashil Primary School, Guwahati; Pine Mount School, Shillong; and Tarini Charan Girls’ School, Guwahati and completed Intermediate Arts from Handique Girls’ College, Guwahati. She majored in Assamese literature at Cotton College in Guwahati and secured a Master’s degree from Gauhati University in the same field of study.

She had her real name as Indira Goswami but used to write under the pen name ‘Mamoni Raisom Goswami’. She is also popularly called as Mamoni Baideu and was highly regarded for her excellence in the field of literary works and her contribution to bring around social change. She was encouraged by Kirti Nath Hazarika who published her first short stories Chinaki Morom in 1968 — in a literary journal he edited where she authored a number of short stories when she was only thirteen years of age and a student of 8th standard in the school. she was encouraged by Kirti Nath Hazarika who published her first short stories — when she was still in Class VIII (thirteen years old) — in a literary journal he edited.

She has suffered from depression[8] since her childhood and had many times attempted suicide. The death of her husband Madhaven Raisom Ayengar in an accident after about eighteen months of their marriage was another incident that left her at a state of shock and depression and as such started taking high dosages of sleeping medicines. She however recovered from her misery and joined the Goalpara Sainik School as Teacher and later on started writing to kill her loneliness and survive. She contributed many masterpiece to Assamese Literature and some of her widely read novels and short stories are Mamore Dhora Tarowal (novel), Hriday Ek Nadir Nam (short story), Adha Lekha Dastabej (autobiography) and countless other compositions which reflects her high standard of writings.

Mamoni Baideu passed away on Tuesday morning at around 07:45am in GMCH after she was reported to have multiple organ failure. She was suffering from illness for a prolonged period of time. Suffering from lung infection and various other diseases, she was undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit of a hospital at Gurgaon for many days after which she was shifted to Guwahati Medical College and Hospitals (GMCH). She was 70 years old when she died and only a few weeks ago she had celebrated her birthday in the ICU.

It is almost impossible to summarize the life and works of Dr Mamoni Raisom Goswami in a single article. Her creativity and unique style of writing can be well analyzed from her famous novel Datal Hantir Une Khowa Howdah which featured the interesting character of Indranath. Besides all of her achievements and success, she also came to limelight for her role in acting as a mediator on behalf of People’s Consultative Group (PCG) to find a peaceful solution between the Central Government and banned outfit ULFA and even if the talks failed, her efforts were highly appreciated and widely acclaimed in the society.

Dr Mamoni Raisom Goswami’s death is indeed a great loss to the people and the nation and her absence will felt deeply. The void created by her demise cannot be filled but her literary works, wisdom and contributions to Indian Literature will remain in hearts of the people and be remembered forever.

Indira Goswami known by her pen name Mamoni Raisom Goswami and popularly as Mamoni Baideo,[3] was an Assamese editor, poet, professor, scholar and writer. Early life and education

Indira Goswami was Born 14 November 1942at Guwahati. Her Father was Umakanta Goswami and mother was Ambika Devi. Her family was deeply associated with Sattra life of the Ekasarana Dharma. She studied at Latashil Primary School, Guwahati; Pine Mount School, Shillong; and Tarini Charan Girls’ School, Guwahati and completed Intermediate Arts from Handique Girls’ College, Guwahati. She majored in Assamese literature at Cotton College in Guwahati and secured a Master’s degree from Gauhati University in the same field of study. Career

In 1962, she published her first collection of short stories, Chinaki Morom, when she was a student.[7] Popularly known as Mamoni Raisom Goswami in Assam, she was encouraged by Kirti Nath Hazarika who published her first short stories — when she was still in Class VIII (thirteen years old) — in a literary journal he edited. Depression

Goswami has suffered from depression[8] since her childhood.[9][10] In the opening pages of her autobiography, The Unfinished Autobiography, she mentions her inclination to jump into the Crinoline Falls located near their house in Shillong.[11] Repeated suicide attempts marred her youth. After the sudden death of her husband, Madhaven Raisom Ayengar, in a car accident in the Kashmir region of India, after only eighteen months of marriage, she became addicted to heavy doses of sleeping tablets.[12][13] Once brought back to Assam, she joined the Sainik School, Goalpara as a teacher. At this point she went back to writing. She claims that she wrote just to live and that otherwise it would not have been possible for her to go on living. Her experiences in Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh,[14] an Indian state where her husband had worked as an engineer, was used in her novels Ahiron and The Chehnab’s Current, respectively. Life in Vrindavan

After working at the Sainik School in Goalpara, Assam, she was persuaded by her teacher Upendra Chandra Lekharu to come to Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, and pursue research for peace of mind. Her experiences as a widow as well as a researcher finds expression in her novel The Blue Necked Braja (1976), which is about the plight of the Radhaswamis of Vrindavan who lived in abject poverty and sexual exploitation in everyday life. One of the main issues that the novel touches upon is the plight of young widows for whom companionship beyond the confines of their ashrams and fellow widows become impossible. Their urge to live, as well as the moral dilemma that they face vis-a-vis the order of precepts of religion in this regard, are brought out with astonishing clarity and feeling in the novel. The novel exposed the uglier face of Vrindavan — the city of Krishna, an Hindu deity — inviting criticism of Goswami from conservative sections of the society.[15] It remains a classic in modern Indian Literature.

It is autobiographical in character as she says the anguish of the main character Saudamini, reflects what she had gone through after her husband had died.[15] It was also the first novel to be written on this subject.[citation needed] The novel was based on Goswami’s research on the place as well as real-life experience of living in the place for several years before she joined the University of Delhi as a lecturer under the guidance of Bhabananda Deka who was subservient in the introduction of Assamese Language in MIL Department of Delhi University (DU). In Vrindavan she was involved in Ramayana studies. A massive volume of Tulsidas’s Ramayana purchased during her stay there for just eleven rupees was a great source of inspiration in her research. This finds expression in the unparalleled comparative study of Tulsidas’s Ramayana and the fourteenth-century Assamese Ramayana (the first Ramayana to be written in any modern Indian language) written by Madhava Kandali in her work Ramayana from Ganga to Brahmaputra. Life at the University of Delhi

After relocating to Delhi, India, to become Head of Assamese Department at the University of Delhi, the most glorious phases of her life begins. While at the university, she wrote most of her greatest works. Several short stories, including Hridoy, Nangoth Sohor, Borofor Rani, used Delhi as the background. Her two classics — Pages Stained With Blood and The Moth Eaten Howdah of a Tusker— were also written during this period. The other books completed while she lived in Delhi were Ahiron,The Rusted Sword, Uday Bhanu, Dasharathi’s Steps and The Man from Chinnamasta. In Pages Stained With Blood she writes about the plight of Sikhs in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots following the assassination of Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India. Goswami had witnessed the riots while staying in the Shakti Nagar area of Delhi. She visited many of the other sites to complete this novel. She even went to G. B. Road, Delihi’s red-light district, to depict the lives of the prostitutes who lived there which forms a part of her novel. In The Moth Eaten Howdah of a Tusker she writes about the plight of Assamese Brahmin widows in Satra, religious institutions of Assam.

This novel was anthologised in the The Masterpieces of Indian Literature and was made into a film, Adajya, which won several national and international film-festival awards. The novel was also made into two television mini-series; Nandita Das played the role of Giribala in one of the mini-series. At the peak of her literary career she wrote the controversial novel The Man from Chinnamasta, a critique of the thousand-years-old tradition of animal sacrifice in the famous Hindu Shakti temple to Kamakhya, a mother goddess, in Assam.[16] Goswami reported that there was even threat to her life[citation needed] after writing the novel. In this novel she quotes scriptures to authenticate the argument she puts forward in the novel — to worship the Mother Goddess with flowers rather than blood. She said in an interview, “When the novel was serialized in a popular magazine, I was threatened with dire consequences.

Shortly after this, a local newspaper, Sadin, carried an appeal about animal sacrifice, which resulted in quite an uproar—the editor was gheraoed and a tantrik warned me. But when the appeal was published, the response was overwhelmingly in favour of banning animal sacrifice. I also had to contend with rejection from a publisher who was initially keen and had promised me a huge advance, but who later backtracked, offering instead to publish any other book of mine. But the rest, as they say, is history and Chinnamastar Manuhto went on to become a runaway bestseller!”[17] Another major piece of her fiction during the period was Jatra (The Journey), based on the problem of militancy/secessionism that has affected almost the entire North-East India frontier ever since Indian independence. Mamoni Raisom Goswami died in Guwahati on 29 November 2011 at 7:45 AM IST. Success

She received the Sahitya Akademi Award (1982). She received the Jnanpith Award (2000), India’s highest literary award, for writing about the subalterns[clarification needed] and marginalised. Two of the main features in Goswami’s writing has been the focus on women and the cultural and political construct of the Assamese society. However, it is also to her credit that she also created possibly one of the finest male characters in contemporary Assamese literature, viz. the character of Indranath in Datal Hantir Une Khowa Howdah (The Moth Eaten Howdah of a Tusker).Her contribution in the Assamese feminist literature is self-evident in this work.She takes up the issue of patriarchy existing within Assamese Brahmin families with an illustration taken from a small place in Assam known as Amranga,Borihat.This work is also encrusted with a post-colonial tinge in it as we see the mimicry of the colonizers among the colonised.

It is also to her credit that she made extensive use of the relation between different variants of the modern Assamese language as both signifiers of the politics of social and cultural differences among the various Assamese communities. But the overall emphasis remained on the unity of the Assamese identity. This may be taken as her way of dealing with the nature of contemporary politics in Assam marked by ethnic confrontation, besides the larger politics of the militant secessionism.She also contributed a major sum of the Claus Laureate[2008] to a Public Health Centre of Amranga,Borihat in Assam.This contribution is not merely material in its nature but a dream since her childhood, come true. She died on 29 November 2011 after suffering a long ailment in Guwahati Medical College.

Indira Goswami in inauguration ceremony of a 2nd India Saraswati temple at Bijoy Nagar, Guwahati She was the winner of the Sahitya Akademi Award (1983),[4] the Jnanpith Award (2001)[5] and Principal Prince Claus Laureate (2008)[6] A celebrated writer of contemporary Indian literature, many of her works have been translated into English from her native Assamese which include The Moth Eaten Howdah of the Tusker, Pages Stained With Blood and The Man from Chinnamasta. She was also well known for her attempts to structure social change, both through her writings and through her role as mediator between the armed militant group United Liberation Front of Asom and the Government of India. Her involvement led to the formation of the People’s Consultative Group, a peace committee. She referred to herself as an “observer” of the peace process rather than as a mediator or initiator. Her work has been performed on stage and in film. The film Adajya is based on her novel won international awards. Words from the Mist is a film made on her life directed by Jahnu Barua.

Bibliography

Novels
* Ahiron (1980) * Budhasagar, Dhushar Geisa aru Mohammad Mucha (The Budha Sea, Hazy Geishas and Mohammad Mucha) * Chinavar Srota (The Chenab’s Current) (1972) * Chinnamastar Manuhto (The Man from Chinnamasta) * Dashorothir Khuj (Dashorothi’s Footsteps) * Datal Hatir Une Khowa Howda (The Moth Eaten Howdah of a Tusker) * Mamore Dhora Tarowal aru Dukhon Uponyas (The Rusted Sword and Two Other Novels) (1980)| * Nangoth Sohor * Budhosagor Dhukhor Geisha Aru Mohammed Musa * Nilakanthi Braja (The
Blue-Necked Braja) (1976) * Ekonshor Dostabej * Shadow Of The Dark God (1986) * Tej Aru Dhulire Dhusarita Prishtha (Pages Stained With Blood) * Udaybhanur Choritro (Udaybhanu) (1986)| Autobiography

* An Unfinished Autobiography (Assamese: আধা লিখা দষ্টাবেজ) Short stories
* Beasts
* Dwarka and His Gun
* Parasu’s Well
* The Journey
* Sanskar
* To Break a Begging Bowl
* Udang Bakach
Poetry
* Pain and Flesh
Non-fiction
* Ramayana from Ganga to Brahmaputra, Delhi 1996. (Research work on Saptakanda Ramayana) Online Works
* “The Journey” (short story)
* “Pakistan” (poem)
Awards
* 1983 — Sahitya Akademi Award (for Mamore Dhora Tarowal) * 1988 — Asam Sahitya Sabha Award * 1989 — Bharat Nirman Award * 1992 — Sauhardya Award of Uttar Pradesh Hindi Sansthan of Government of India. * 1993 — Katha National Award for Literature * 1996 — Kamal Kumari Foundation National Award in 1996 * 2001 — Jnanpith Award * 2002 — D Litt Degree from Rabindra Bharati University, West Bengal * 2002 — Mahiyoshi Jaymati Award with a citation in gold by Ahom Court of Assam * 2002 — Padma Shri (She refuse to accept)| * 2007 — D Litt Degree from Rajiv Gandhi University Arunachal Pradesh * 2008 — D Litt Degree from Indira Gandhi National Open University * 2008 — Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar Gold Plate from Asiatic Society * 2008 — Principal Prince Claus Award[18] * 2009 — Krishnakanta Handique Award, Asom Sahitya Sabha * Awarded the Ambassador for Peace from the Inter Religious and International Federation for World Peace * The International Tulsi Award from Florida International University for her book, Ramayana From Ganga To Brahmaputra * Asom Ratna –
the highest civilian award in the State of Assam, India| Indira Goswami Born 14 November 1942

Guwahati, India Died 29 November 2011 (aged 69)[1]
GMCH, Guwahati, Assam, India[2] Occupation Activist, editor, poet, professor and writer Nationality Indian Ethnicity Assamese Period 1956–2011 Genres Assamese literature Subjects Plight of the dispossessed in India and abroad Notable work(s) -The Moth Eaten Howdah of a Tusker -The Man from Chinnamasta

-Pages Stained With Blood Spouse(s) Madhaven Raisom Ayengar (deceased)

Bhupen Hazarika is one of the most well-known personalities from Assam, India. Born in 1926, in Sadiya, Assam, he holds an M. A. in Political Science in 1946. He holds an M.A. in Political Science from Beranes Hindu University, and a PhD in Mass Communication from the Columbia University, New York, where he came in contact with,and was greatly influenced by, Paul Robeson. He also received the Lisle Fellowship from the Chicago University, USA. He cut his first L.P. record when he was just 10 years old, and his first role as an actor was for the Assamese movie, Indramalati, made in 1939.

He was involved with the Indian Peoples’ Theatre Association (IPTA), and has also sporadically tried his chance at electoral politics.

He won the National Award for the best film maker for “Shakuntala” (1960) “Pratidhwani”(1964), and “Loti Ghoti”(1967). He also won the National Award for best music composition in 1977 for “Chameli Memsaab”. His other honors include Padma Bhushan(1977), Sangeet Natak Academy award (1987) and Dada Saheb Phalke award (1993. Full Name- Bhupen Hazarika

Born- 8th September, 1926 (Age 84)
Origin- Guwahati, Assam, India
Occupation- Singer, Musician, Poet, Filmmaker and Lyricist
Years Active- 1936-Present
Web Page- Bhupenhazarika.com
Bhupen Hazarika is a renowned singer and music director who hails from Assam,
the north-east state of India. Early Life
Bhupen Hazarika was born on 8th September, 1926 in Sadiya, Assam. He wrote and sang his first song, a child parody at a tender age of just 10. At the age of 12, he worked for his second talkie, Indramalati in 1939. Bhupen Hazarika completed his intermediate from Cotton College in 1942 and then went to Banaras Hindu University (BHU) to pursue his BA In1944 and MA in Political Science in 1946. He also earned a Ph.D from Columbia University in New York, USA in 1954. He also became the president of Asom Sahitya Sabha in the year of 1993. Career

Bhupen Hazarika is primarily known for his flawless singing and crisp baritone and not to forget the diction. As a lyricist, he is considered a pillar because of his soulful poetic compositions and parables that touches a wide range of themes-ranging from social and political commentary to erotic and as a composer for the usage of folk music with a dash of contemporary style. He is a name to reckon in Assam, West Bengal and Bangladesh. Other than singing in his native language, Hazarika has even sung in many other Indian languages like Hindi and Bengali. Some of his composed music for few bollywood movies includes * Aarop (1973)

* Ek Pal
* Rudaali
* Gaja Gamini
* Daman: A victim of Marital Violence
* Kyon?
Some of his famous songs are
* Aami Axomia Naho Dukhia
* Asom Amar Rupahi
* Akaxi Ganga
* Auto Rickshaw chalao
* Bstirno Parore
* Dil Hoom Hoom Kare (From the movie, Rudaali)
* Gajagamini (Gajagamini’s Title Song)
* Ganga Mor Maa
* Moi Eti Jajabar
* O bidesi bandhu darbhagia
* Parshi Puwate
* Sagar Sangamet
* Kolir Krishna bolir
* Koto Jawanor Mritu Hoyi
* Meghe Gir Gir Kore
* Juye Pura Tirashir
* Ami Ekhkekon Naore Jatri
* We Are In The Same Boat Brother
* Rimjhim Rimjhim Borushune Nepor Bojai Kat
* And many more immortal songs

Awards
In 2001, Bhupen Hazarika was conferred upon Padma Bhushan by the Government of India for his contribution to music. In 1992, he received the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke award for his imminent contribution to the world of cinema. He has also been conferred with ‘Sangeet Natak Academy Ratna’ award. He has also been awarded with ‘Assam Ratna’ by the Government of Assam for his contribution towards building bridges of culture and unity in India and abroad. Bhupen Hazarika has also won the National Award for the best music composer in India in the year of 1977 in acknowledgment for his work in Assamese movie, Chameli. In February, 2009 All Assam Students Union honored him by erecting his life size statue in the heart of the city of Guwahati. The statue was unveiled by Dr. Bhupen Hazarika himself.

From a stepping stone to a Milestone

Popularly known as Mamoni Raisom Goswami, Indira Goswami was an Assamese poet, editor, writer, professor and scholar who was also known as Mamoni Baideo. She was the pole star of Assamese Literature. The only second Assamese recipient of the “Jnanpith Award”, Mamoni Baideo was born on 14 November 1942 in Guwahati. Mamoni Raisom Goswami was born to Umakanta Goswami and Ambika Devi, who were very much attached to Sattra life of the Ekasarana Dharma. She was married to Madhevan Raisom Ayengar who died in a car accident after 18 months of their marriage. She studied at Latashil Primary School, Guwahati; Pine Mount School, Shillong; and Tarini Charan Girls’ School, Guwahati and completed Intermediate Arts from Handique Girls’ College, Guwahati.

She majored in Assamese literature at Cotton College in Guwahati and secured a Master’s degree from Gauhati University in the same field of study. Mamoni Raisom Goswami suffered from depression since her childhood. Even in the opening pages of her autobiography, “The unfinished Autobiography”, there is a mention of her inclination to jump into the Crinoline Falls located near their house in Shillong. Repeated suicide attempts marred her youth. After sudden death of her husband, she started taking heavy dose of sleeping tablets. After she was brought back to Assam, she joined the Sainik School, Goalpara.

After working at the Sainik School in Goalpara, Assam, she was persuaded by her teacher Upendra Chandra Lekharu to come to Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, and pursue research for peace of mind. Her expressions as a widow as well as an researcher finds life in her novel, “Nilakantha Braja” (The Blue necked braja). This novel is all about the radhaswamis of Vrindavan who lived in utter poverty and sexual exploitation in everyday life. One of the main issues which the novel revolves around is the lives of the widows for whom companionship beyond the walls of the ashram becomes impossible.