Over one lakh recite poem together across Assam to mark Bezbaroa sesquicentennial

The  sesquicentennial of ‘Sahitya-rathi’ Lakshminath Bezbaroa was held under whose aegis of the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU). Going by the estimates of the organisers, over one lakh students took part in as many as 42 locations across Assam on Saturday.

The  sesquicentennial of ‘Sahitya-rathi’ Lakshminath Bezbaroa was held under whose aegis of the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU).

The poem they chose from the literary genuis’ works was obviously “Ami Asomiya nahao dukhiya” (meaning “We the Assamese are not poor”) – written in 1915 – one that continues to remind the Assamese that they aren’t poor, but have not kept in mind how rich their language, culture, tradition and heritage have been.

“Bezbaroa was one genius who had almost single-handedly established Assamese as a modern Indian language rich in its literature, tradition and folklore. He had not only enriched the language through his multi-faceted literary works, but had also played the pivotal role in infusing modern thinking in Assam way back in the 19th century,” said former Gauhati University vice-chancellor Amarjyoti Choudhury, while inaugurating the 150th birth anniversary of Bezbaroa in Guwahati on Saturday.

“Look at his contributions; poetry, short stories, plays, songs, historical works, biographies, satire, journalism and what not. There was hardly any area of literature which he had not touched. That we speak a modern Assamese language complete in all respects, is solely because of Bezbaroa’s contributions,” Choudhury, who also recited that famous poem, said.

One of the founders of the Asomiya Bhasha Unnati Sadhini Sabha in 1888, Bezbaroa, along with Chandra Kumar Agarwala and others first brought out a monthly magazine “Jonaki” in 1890, and later “Banhi” in 1903, with the two magazines marking two specific eras (Jonaki and Banhi eras) of Assamese literature. “Bezbaroa, through his immense contributions had also introduced the Assamese to the world of modern thinking,” Choudhury said.

“Over one lakh students took part in 42 locations across Assam in the simultaneous recitation of his famous poem at noon today. It was a unique way of paying our tributes to Bezbaroa,” said AASU advisor Samujjal Bhattacharyya. Last year, an NGO based in Nagaon had translated “O mor aponar desh” – Assam’s own anthem written by Bezbaroa in 1913 – into 32 languages and organised its singing in a grand manner across the state to mark the 100 years of the anthem.